Hi Marc,
Welcome to the Techspire team!
As we would like to introduce you, tell us …
Who are you?
Hi! I am Marc, 29 years old and I was born in Heemstede – not too far from the new Techspire office. I share a house with good friends in Amsterdam Oud-West and my life revolves around (water) sports and technology.
Would you like to share something about your background?
In my early twenties, I was a real wanderer; I traveled the world and explored a lot, tried different roles and studies, countries and cultures – figuring out where my passion lies. This taught me to find creative solutions, and made me unafraid of speaking up when necessary. It showed me that my passion is in technology..
After I did my Engineering Bachelor’s I followed my natural interest in people and cultures, and went on to study entrepreneurship. Now, my interests fully come together in my position as a developer: by understanding the people, I am solving business challenges in a technical way. When diving deep into a coding problem, and solving it, I can really enjoy that moment of flow and getting sucked in, even forgetting about time. This possibility of getting into this wonderful state of mind is an important reason for me to work as a developer.
What are you most proud of?
I am proud of the way I adapt to different people and situations, on a personal and technical level. Easily I find my position in a group and I know when to bring in help and/or people with their specific skill sets. As a result, I usually have a good understanding of the kind of problem I am solving and I can figure out an adequate approach.
On a personal level, my outreach to different people has taken me to some very good places. For example, by asking an old friend and experienced IT-engineer about his career, I got in touch with Techspire. Here I am.
What should we know about you?
Being Dutch, I used to be the fastest bike courier in Sydney 😉
And I did my share of cycling in Paris, as you can see in this video.
Are you currently working on any (IT) projects at the side, as a hobby?
Low-tech or high-tech, my interest in technology and engineering is broad! I always have a couple projects going on. Currently I am working on my ‘home office’ and the final details of my new commuter bike. In the past, I have really enjoyed some 3D-printing projects, and milling a phone dock from a solid block of aluminum from a 3D-model. Next, I will be building my own version of a lighting-based wake up alarm in my bedroom, stay tuned for a home automation blog on that! Meanwhile, check out our Home Automation blog from my colleague and founder of Techspire, Freek.
Any bloopers you dare to share?
I love building stuff with my hands, and when stuff breaks in the house, I tend to fix it. One of my funniest mistakes was that time I tried to put up lights in my student room. I drilled a hole in the ceiling, right through the roof. It had been raining all day, and the hole was right in the lowest part of the roof, where water had saved up. I’d say I had roughly four buckets of water on the floor of my room, by the time I had temporarily plugged the hole.
Another of my beautiful creations was when I built a wardrobe from an old bed frame. I had been drilling holes and screwing wood into the wall for about an hour, when my flatmate entered the room. He started laughing so hard, he could barely stop himself. That was when I found out my level (Dutch: waterpas 😉 ) was broken. It was off by about 10 degrees.
Well, we learn from our mistakes, right?!
Do you practise any interesting sports?
Yes, I am a big sports fanatic.. Depending on my whereabouts, the season and -sadly- some injuries, in the past thirty years I practiced several water- and team sports. Currently, I do a bit of yoga and paddleboarding, a lot of biking and swimming and some supplementary HIIT. High on my bucket list is freediving!
In my third year of windsurfing, I made a bet that I would do a forward loop, or shave off all my hair. As that year was coming to an end, I was spending a month in this tiny Moroccan village, a true windsurfing Mecca not too far from the Western Sahara. In spite of postponing my flight for a week, I lost my bet, so yes.. I did shave my hair. Shortly after, ironically, I successfully did that forward loop. I still wonder if taking pride out of the equation was the final step for getting there…
How do you feel about Kitesurfing?
I think that should be windsurfing pictures, on our website background, haha! Somehow, there is a bit of competition between windsurfers and kitesurfers. I love wind and waves. Now that I am with Techspire, maybe the next crash will be with a kite instead of a sail?
Why do you (want to) work for Techspire?
Techspire is refreshingly young, but very mature at the same time and that is quite a unique combination. Now combine this with a team of competent, responsible people and a strong culture of trust and you have a very pleasant workplace.
—–
Would you like to become a colleague of Marc and the rest of the Techspire team?
Do you have what it takes? Look at the Techspire vacancies and find out!
—–
Follow all Techspire news?
Follow our LinkedIn page: Techspire LinkedIn