So, where shall I start? About three years ago, at the end of my first year studying Leisure & Events Management at BUAS, I decided to specialise in 'Events for Business', or business events. This wasn’t the most popular choice; most of my fellow students dreamed of organising festivals. At that age, preferences often lean towards something less formal. Yet, I felt a strong attraction to this specialisation. The analytical aspect, the problem-solving nature, and the opportunity to make a difference with an event—whatever that difference might be.

On the first day of Events for Business, a quote was read out. I can’t remember exactly who it was from, but it went something like: "We are alive because of science, but we live because of celebrations." I completely agreed with this. Memorable, meaningful events enrich our lives and are also part of our identity. Shortly thereafter, during a guest lecture by Sjoerd Weijkamp, I was recommended to read "The Experience Economy" by Pine & Gilmore. Although the book has been around for a few years, it still offers valuable insights for our industry, even if the content is sometimes a bit challenging to digest. Through this book, along with the lessons and guest lectures I attended during my year of Events for Business, it felt like I wasn’t just studying business events; I was becoming them, if that makes sense ;).

Developing concepts makes my heart race.

The vision of Events for Business strongly developed my passion and interest in business events, particularly in concept development. I increasingly started thinking in images and enjoyed brainstorming until all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Out of curiosity, I followed trade magazines and formed opinions on everything. This led me to notice things that should be approached differently, ideas that caught my attention, or issues that occupied my mind. My goal was to inspire my environment and classmates; I was never really focused on profiling myself or getting noticed by interesting people. In fact, LinkedIn was my biggest enemy. Lecturers pointed this out to me almost weekly: “Networking is incredibly important,” etc.

But despite my relaxed attitude towards networking and self-promotion, my passion for the field always came first. Just doing what you enjoy and saying what you think, without thinking too much about it. This led to one of my lecturers asking me to participate in the IDEA Talent Scout in 2022. At first, I had doubts; I was incredibly busy with, among other things, my first internship. Still, I decided to attend the IDEA meetings at school, partly because it also felt like a unique opportunity, considering only a few students were asked to participate.

First place at the IDEA Talent Scout.

During these meetings, it quickly became clear that many other candidates had already thought a lot about their presentation for the 1-minute pitch. I hadn’t given it any thought and actually hadn’t had the time for it. So, I decided to simply share my own vision and tell my story as I saw it.

My pitch was about the importance of internal branding, a topic I was doing a lot of research on and reading about at the time, and which still fascinates me immensely. How it is often an overlooked aspect, but how great the impact can be if you do pay attention to it. I used examples of work ethics at a strong brand like De Vegetarische Slager and referred to Simon Sinek's quote: "Customers will never love your company until the employees love it first." Because it was a topic I fully believed in, I could deliver my pitch convincingly and substantiate it clearly. As I nervously sat on the edge of my seat, wondering if I had come in 9th or 3rd, the news came: this pitch and performance were awarded first place! Totally unexpected; after all, I was just there to say what I thought.

Please, no 9-to-5 job—or maybe yes?

What followed was a flood of positive reactions, congratulations, and conversations with various 'colleagues'. One conversation, in particular, stayed with me: that with Neeltje. She handed me the first prize and understood my story about internal branding like no one else. We had a pleasant, spontaneous conversation about our shared interests, which created a connection. At that time, I was interning at another nice agency, but I secretly felt that my project role there didn't quite fit me. A week later, after reflecting on everything, I decided to do what I liked: have a conversation with Neeltje and Marijke about a possible internship. That immediately felt right, and I met people who, like me, were visually oriented, drew inspiration from everywhere, and saw potential in everything. I decided to start directly at Obsession as an intern in concept development. Here, I had the chance to learn a lot and received good guidance in various areas, such as structuring and planning my often enthusiastic and sometimes chaotic ideas, and much more. During my internship year, my biggest fear was getting stuck in a 9-to-5 job, Monday to Friday. It seemed like the ultimate form of monotony. And yet, here I am now, still doing what I enjoy, but much more professionally and well-founded—something I want to develop further in the coming period. I now have a 9-to-5 job, Monday to Friday, and it's fantastic. Every day stimulated, inspired, and challenged. Who would have thought?

Fresh ideas from Young IDEA.

After winning the IDEA Talent Scout, the question also came if I wanted to join Young IDEA, the shadow board of IDEA consisting of young talents from the industry. Of course, I said yes to that! Young IDEA gave me the amazing opportunity to attend almost all IDEA events. This provided me with a unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the industry, meet remarkable people, and finally learn to network in a way that suited me. Now, almost 2 years later, I am still an active member of Young IDEA. We brainstorm about new concepts for the IDEA Talent Scout, its content, and other aspects of IDEA. Our goal is, at least speaking for myself, to provide the event industry with fresh, new perspectives and to be a source of inspiration for young talent interested in business events. Because today's talents are tomorrow's leaders. Although I always had a plan for my life, I ended up where I am now—at one of the leading agencies in the Netherlands—simply by doing what I enjoyed and following my passion. Actually, just by continuing to do what I like.