You both graduated from the master’s degree programme Entrepreneurship & Innovation in 2021. Can you tell us more about what you have been up to since your graduation?
Didier van Hooren
“After the degree, I moved to Berlin to work as a Founder’s Associate at a small MedTech startup. Here I learned most of what I know today. As the only team member who was not part of the executive level, and one of just two full-time employees, I gained hands-on experience in fundraising, investor relations, setting up a US entity, financial planning, and the many challenges that come with building a hardware product. After this, I joined TIER Mobility for a more data driven role, when they were about to roll-out their E-Bikes. Unfortunately I was part of a layoff soon after I started, which also was a valuable learning experience. Shortly after completing a few courses I found a job as Portfolio Analyst at Enpal where I soon after became Jr. Teamlead carrying responsibility for the data operations in their asset management company.”
Willem van den Eijkel
“After graduation, I first joined the family business, focusing on digital transformation during the COVID period, when other opportunities were limited in early 2022, I took a different path and moved to Rio de Janeiro for three months to complete an intensive
Portuguese course. Later that same year, I began working at Personio, a Munich-based scale-up, as an Implementation Specialist. In this role, I supported medium-to-large international clients by implementing the company’s HR software. Within this company, I transferred to Madrid where I currently still live.”
What motivated you to choose to study Entrepreneurship & Innovation? How did you decide that this programme was the right fit for your academic and career aspirations?
Didier: “I get very motivated from starting things from scratch, which can be a business, but also for example projects and events. I’d consider myself a ‘doer’ and this degree with its great accreditation is still incredibly hands-on. This was for me the perfect combination to decide to come to Lund.”
Willem: “I’ve always been fascinated by new concepts, technologies, and innovations, so the combination of entrepreneurship and innovation immediately appealed to me. The one-year structure of the programme also made it very attractive. Beyond that, the courses covered a broad set of skills useful in today’s economy, which aligned well with my career aspirations. Coming from a family with several entrepreneurs, I think this background also influenced my decision to pursue this programme.”
During your studies, were there any specific project, research, or course that had a great impact? How do you apply this knowledge in your work today?
Didier: “Knowledge we still apply today is e.g. the course about the founder’s dilemma, Business model canvas, or the lecture we had about building a pitch deck. This remains valid throughout time while e.g. the field of marketing has changed tremendously after AI was introduced. A research paper that stuck is probably the one about Opportunity Recognition, as I often still refer to this when explaining Entrepreneurship from an academic angle. Also the set-up of an advisory board and how this can be useful is knowledge I applied at my first employer, as well as now at Ellie.”
Willem: “The Business Model Generation course had a particularly strong impact. Working extensively with tools like the Business Model Canvas and the Value Proposition Canvas gave me hands-on experience that has proven invaluable. In addition, the focus on creating and pitching business ideas was extremely useful. Being exposed to so many examples of pitch decks and business models during the programme made it much easier to develop my own later on.”
A research paper that stuck is probably the one about Opportunity Recognition, as I often still refer to this when explaining Entrepreneurship from an academic angle.
- Didier van Hooren
What are your favourite memories from your studies at LUSEM?
Didier: “We had these 'pizza and brainstorm nights' where we would just meet up with a few people from the programme to brainstorm ideas.”
Willem: “What stands out most is the supportive environment among classmates. Whenever someone came up with a new idea, we could count on constructive feedback and encouragement. I also have fond memories of the early brainstorming sessions at Ideon, where we spent many late afternoons and evenings discussing and developing ideas together.”
You are now working on building Ellie, a language learning app focused on personalized learning. Can you tell us more about this?
Didier: “Ellie is built to prioritize the learning curve in every individual's language journey. 70-90% of learners do not reach goals with loss of motivation as reason #1. Apart from gamification, the real motivational drive is making tangible progress.
You tell Ellie your goals and interests and it uses this information to provide you with personalized lessons, directly aimed at your goal to make targeted progress. With grammar explanations and custom mistake corrections, we aim for you to understand, instead of just memorize.”
Willem: “Ellie is a language learning app that adapts exercises to each learner’s goals, interests, and background languages. Many people lose motivation when they are forced to study topics irrelevant to their lives. With Ellie, we aim to solve that problem by making the learning process more personal and engaging. It’s an idea I’ve been passionate about for some time, and with the rise of AI, it finally feels like the right moment to bring it to life.”
With you working on Ellie , what can a typical work week look like for you? What are your main responsibilities?
Didier: “Usually no week looks the same. We are currently campaigning for our crowdfunding, which we launched on 6 September. So this includes a lot of marketing, PR and social media. There is strategic, technical and creative knowledge required to set up funnels and create the material to draw attention.
Furthermore, we work on our presence as a business, which includes launching the product on various platforms, surrounding ourselves with advisors, and establishing an investor network. Building a pitch deck automatically requires you to work out a business case, which of course develops over time. We spend a lot of time on understanding the business we are in and the (financial) metrics and KPIs that come with it. A D2C product in a saturated market is not always the most logical choice, yet I am convinced Ellie is not just 'another language app'.”
Willem: “Because we are a small team of three, no two weeks ever look the same. My main responsibilities, however, revolve around business strategy, marketing, and shaping the linguistic foundation of the app. I also focus on building partnerships — from collaborating with teachers to engaging with stakeholders in the education sector — to ensure Ellie develops in line with the needs of learners and the industry.”
