From her office right next door to the Bijlmer prison in Amsterdam, surrounded by wholesale companies and scooter dealerships, Maartje Frederiks leads the successful food startup HelloFresh. She enjoys the impact that she has as an entrepreneur, but she enjoys the tangible product that she delivers even more.
You had a fantastic job at &samhoud, a bureau that is famous for being a great place to work. Why did you give that all up to start your own business? “During my work as a change consultant, I learned a great deal and I had the opportunity to gain experience in a wide range of sectors. But I missed the feeling of having a real impact. As a consultant, you don’t have much influence on what people eventually do with your advice. It was naturally very exciting to make the switch. I left behind a great job, but I immediately knew: this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I had a clear vision, and I knew that making an impact was important to me. Even when I was little, I wanted to help people. First as a teacher – my father was also a teacher – and then as a doctor. Now I help lots of people to eat delicious, healthy and convenient foods. I enjoy the fact that we make a very tangible product that helps people, because everyone needs to cook. It’s a lot different from just giving advice.”
‘During my studies, I was often the person pulling the cart on group projects’
You were asked to do this work. Why did they approach you? “They approached me via our mutual contacts. I have a strong sense of responsibility, and I work intensely hard. During my studies, I was often the person pulling the cart on group projects. You have to be willing to give 100%. I am very results-oriented, and I’m a people person. I pay a lot of attention to my team.”
Did your company do well from the very start? “You grow into it and you learn a lot. For example, my colleagues and I are sometimes too caught up in the latest new thing, and we focus on what we could be doing better, but we forget to take a moment to reflect on what’s going well. I’ve learned to set clear goals and then to celebrate when we’ve reached another milestone. Now that we’ve grown, I have to learn how to let go. I believe in giving people freedom and responsibility, but in the end I’m responsible for the company in the Netherlands and Belgium. It’s still my baby.”
What is your average work day like? “I start every day with a half-hour bike tour. When I get to the office, I make sure that I have another half hour to prepare the day: what’s on the agenda, and what appointments do I have? Otherwise, every day is different. I have to manage my employees and make sure everything goes as it should, so I have a lot of appointments here at the office. But I also visit partners and suppliers to select new products.”
‘Now that we’ve grown, I have to learn how to let go’
“Together with my team, I spend a lot of time working on our company strategy. I also regularly visit the warehouse in Zoetermeer, where the HelloFresh boxes are packed by hand and where deliveries are coordinated. That might sound easy, but we spend a lot of time on optimising our processes, so that the boxes are packed quickly and without mistakes. Doing that well is very important to us. Compared to my work as a consultant, I don’t travel as much, and I like it that way.”
What do you like least about your work? “It’s sometimes hard to have so much responsibility. It never stops. I can separate work from my private life, but I’m never really free. Our customer service is operational seven days per week, and we even deliver at the weekend. If something in the chain goes wrong, I always have the final responsibility.”
Why did you choose for the Vrije Universiteit? “I grew up in Hoorn, and many of my classmates went to Groningen to study. The Vrije Universiteit had a reputation as being more scholastic than the UvA, with more structure. That appealed to me at the time. For the first year, I lived at home and commuted back and forth.”
Do you still use the knowledge gained at the Vrije Universiteit? “Business Administration is a good foundation. Although I didn’t think it was as interesting at the time, I was really happy that I had taken accounting courses when I stared HelloFresh. They helped me quite a bit. We also did assignments for companies, which was a good preparation for my work as a consultant and now as an entrepreneur. I always felt that business courses and guest lecturers were a good supplement.”
How did you get your first job? “I always had jobs and did work placements during my studies, because I had to pay my own way. For example, I worked as a receptionist at a gym and as a server at the Amstel Hotel. That taught me the importance of being service-oriented. But my part-time jobs soon became more important. I was an account manager at an advertising firm, and during my studies I started working at &samhoud, where I went on to move up the ladder.”
