Who are you
I am René Smit and I live in the province of Groningen with my wife and a dog.
What company do you have?
After my studies in Groningen, I founded the company Concept7 with four friends. A leading company in user-centered design. After ten years I left the company and continued as a freelancer. I also lived on Curaçao for a number of years. That was fairly easy because I can do my work from behind a laptop.
Nowadays I have two companies in Ter Apel, the area where I grew up. With KIX 360, I mainly offer strategic advice on online growth. I put companies on a processual footing so they understand how to get more out of their online efforts. I love sitting down with entrepreneurs and sparring about this.
With my other company, Fuse IT, we create software for railroad construction contractors. ProRail only has a handful of companies that are allowed to work on the tracks, and we help these companies automate their processes so they can accomplish more with the same team and make fewer mistakes. At Fuse IT, we just started, but we are already growing fast and have some people working for us as well.
What are your plans for your company and what are you running into?
I notice that many entrepreneurs are afraid to make decisions, but are also not convinced by the team that provides them with online marketing advice or development. These account managers often need some persuasion, experience and seniority, which is where I come in. As an experienced entrepreneur and consultant, I can see through the process and cut through knots. In doing so, I work with a flexible shell around me of professionals who can support me. For example, working together with Erik Hermeler of eRocket Marketing, also a member of the MetalBC.
Why did you become a member of the MetalBC?
I prefer to share knowledge with people I have a click with. I used to attend just about every networking club, from BNI to local smaller business clubs. But it does help if you have something in common, which is listening to shit noise. It makes networking fun again!
And I must say that I also find the MetalBC meetings at festivals really cool. I am very busy, creative and easily distracted. I like to do a lot in one day. I can’t watch bands all the time, but I also want to talk to people. As a result, meeting like this at a festival works perfectly for me. I also like to talk to band members of other bands on tour about their work or experiences. That fits in nicely with this.
What music/work-related story have you experienced in practice?
Everything in terms of entrepreneurship started with music for me! I built the website of Punkhol Café Erica, the predecessor of Pitfest. Through that I got contacts with bands and started arranging things. That’s how I formed my first band, for which I arranged shows and tours. That’s where entrepreneurship began for me. When I was 19, I started my first company and then I needed people. Through music, I knew Rick Venema and Francis Bijl, for example, who then joined Concept7. So I also started working with David Brinks of the MetalBC, who wrote texts for Concept7 as a freelance copywriter.
In what area would you like to spar with other members of the club?
I don’t need to make any revenue from my membership, so that’s not my point. What I do like to do is gain new knowledge. A lot of knowledge. It doesn’t matter whether my discussion partner is a mega-size company or a self-employed person. I am often interested in why companies make certain choices, how they deal with their customers or how they make teams better. Getting inspiration for my own business and that of my clients. As long as you know about something, I love to learn from you.