HI, I'M ROSHAN DE JONG
I'm a rare breed: a true generalist. That quality has led to diverse adventures, many of which you can read about here. The constant theme of what I care about and do best: nourishing healthy growth with capital + commitment. Call it 'purpose', if you're so inclined.
I believe in business, the power of profit to fuel good, and the value of hard work and 'thinkey-pain'.
What do you believe in?
CURRENT POJECTS
I view life as a series of projects. This is a selection of what I'm currently active in.
Agile Organisation Consultant
Leading consulting projects for a variety of clients on Agile Organisation and Strategy.
Visiting Fellow: Erasmus School of Economics
Teaching a seminar (12 ECTS) to Masters students at the Erasmus School of Economics (Erasmus University Rotterdam). Title: 'FinTech: A Strategic Perspective'.
Model Public Equity Portfolio Design
Opinion-based service on publicly traded equity, for a small number of public equity investors. Flat-fee structure. Invitation only.
Not currently taking on new clients.
PROJECTS I'D BE INTERESTED IN NEXT
The last few years have been a roller coster. We have all lived through COVID-19. And personally I have experienced both serious business and private losses & change. Maybe you have too.
The world in general is changing, and I'm open to change mine along.
COO ROLE | INTERIM / PERMANENT
Joining the executive team of a purpose-driven organisation with a clear vision. Particularly open to companies with an interest in self-management.
STRATEGY CONSULTING
As part of a large scale or niche top player.
AGILE COACH
Agile Coaching / Board consulting for organisations interested in framework-agnostic Agile
INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Willing to travel / relocate
PAST PROJECTS
A selection of the projects I've done in the past. For an idea of the major positions I've held you can scroll down a little further, but I believe this will give you much more insight into what those job titles (and my experiences) really entail.
HOSPITALITY GROUP | HEAD OF OPERATIONS
Group of several restaurant concepts and a hospitality change management branche. Oversaw founding, establishing team, and daily operations.
INTERIM BOARD MEMBER
Hands-on and strategically involved with a venture-backed MedTech company in a distressed debt situation. Focused on strategic decision making and financial restructuring.
ADVISOR / MINORITY SHAREHOLDER
Hiring process-focussed HR-tech company. Focussed on financial restructuring, hiring, and exploring potential go-to-market strategies.
Significantly extended runway until next funding round.
MANAGEMENT BUY-IN (MBI)
Advised on potential exit through management buy-in (large majority share) of a niche recruitment firm.
CONSULTING
Product-Market fit for an early-stage energy start-up in The UK. Shifted focus from competing with existing infrastructure to partnering with DSOs.
Move resulted in eliminating need for further capital injections (client-funded trial).
CONSULTING
Created dashboard for monitoring tenant satisfaction and community engagement for a local branche (100+ tenants).
Ran 5-month pilot on tenant activation that improved both satisfaction (35%) and activation on secondary revenue streams (120%).
CONSULTING
Increased website conversion (200%) and revenue (40%) for a national chapter of a large European NGO.
Also served as general advisor to two consecutive boards.
CONSULTING
Consulted on a new marketing strategy for a hard-to-sell piece of industrial heritage. Designed new approach to marketing as undeveloped residential units. Units now all sold.
PROJECT MANAGER
Ran a large scale empirical research project on strategy and marketing practices in (primarily) SME/Midcap companies.
Visited and consulted with >100 organisations over the course of 18 months.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Ran a team of 7 business developers and designed go-to-market strategy for an investor-backed tech company.
MAIN POSITIONS HELD
Background & Expertise
December 2022 -
ASSOCIATE | SOOPLE
Agile & Self-management consultancy.
2019 -
LECTURER | ERASMUS UNIVERISTY ROTTERDAM
FinTech: A strategic Perspective.
Starting in 2019, I'm teaching a seminar-style class for Masters students at the Erasmus School of Economics. This is a new subject, co-designed by me. 12/60 ECTS.
June 2016 -
PARTNER | STRATTICUS
Boutique consulting practice.
Sept. 2014 - May 2016
HEAD OF CONCEPTING | PARTNER
Think Tank and research company on marketing and strategy.
Oct. 2012 - Sept. 2014
CREATIVE & STRATEGY | PANDAMEDIA
Boutique marketing strategy firm.
2007 - 2012
BEFORE THAT
As a cheeky 17-year-old bugger I was fed up with being in school full-time, and decided so swap the school benches for the stove. Starting as a kitchen-aid, I grew into a to sous-chef (in <6 months), and then relatively quickly left steady employment to become a freelance chef. What followed was an adventure that took place anywhere from private parties for ambassadors to events with 2000+ attendees. I’ve hung away my apron now, but not before I learned a lot about hard work, the importance of strong processes, and especially that no-one dines out just for the food.
My hospitality background, combined with experience in fundraising from big sponsor when I was a volunteer for an NGO, took me to my next step: Douwe Egberts, where I did sales for mid-sized companies (30-200 FTE). Dealing with customers here came natural: I made my targets with 180%+. The working climate in an organisation with 6 layers of management in our local office felt less natural to me. I left for a start-up, after having learned about leads, sales, and ‘knowing your place’. And about the value of believing in your product - because I don’t like Douwe Egberts’ coffee.
The first start-up I worked for ended up failing, despite having secured a good deal of funding and despite the team I lead outperforming on sales. But it did teach me a lot about what can go wrong, and gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about both marketing, entrepreneurialism, and the metric ton of bullshit that start-ups sometimes traffic in.
GENERAL SKILLS
What I bring to whatever I do.
TRAINING
I've delivered hundreds of hours of training and education. I've designed and delivered trainings on sales, marketing, strategy & innovation, feedbacking, and more. I am now also teaching at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
PROBLEM SOLVING
I love solving problems, especially from a 'solution broker' position. I apply a human-centred and system-thinking based approach whenever appropriate (which is almost always).
ANALYTICAL
I'm great at breaking down complex matters and looking for truth and insight. I particularly thrive with complex and poorly defined challenges.
CREATIVE THINKING
I know how to rapidly alternate between divergent and convergent thinking. Other people call it thinking outside the box; I like to think I'm just very flexible in picking unusual boxes to think in.