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Summer Time: not all play, but work too.

I’m now on my way back from Greece to the Netherlands. In the Transavia Airline magazine, I found on a page about music reflecting on true aspects of music lyrics, with one quote pertaining to the Netherlands that I have found has been resonating with me tremendously since January. 

“We love Orange” – Andre Hazes, “Of course we complain about the weather, the road tax and a bit about everything and then some. But secretly we also know we are incredibly lucky to have been born here [the Netherlands].”

Though I truly enjoyed my vacation in Athens and Mykonos, the trip was a good reminder of the macro economic differences that can be felt at the micro/individual level. The motivations of individuals are shaped by the initiatives (or lack of) governments put in place. When I met with an economic officer at the Dutch Embassy in Athens, as well as with a Greek businessman and lawyer, it was explained to me that up until the economic crisis in Greece, young people could depend on the government for a long term career job. Working in the public sector was more lucrative than working in the private sector, and the private sector was dependent on government contracts for business. With such realizations, it makes sense that it is difficult for young entrepreneurs to be successful in the very neoliberal startup world. Not only is there no network or infrastructure to help young companies mature, culturally such ambitions had been looked down upon. This seems to be changing now according to the aforementioned contacts, though there is still a long road to go. 

Getting Back to Business

Back in the Netherlands, I’m looking forward to starting my summer. Right before heading off to Greece, I’d just finished the first half of the year at Leiden University, for my MA International Relations. As for the academic side of things, the summer offers the opportunity to write the majority of my thesis before the semester kicks off again in late August. I’m now also taking over as President of the International Studies Student Association, in which I intend to use the summer to plan all of the activities for the fall semester. Lastly, I will use the summer to prepare the application for Johns Hopkins SAIS program in Bologna, Italy. If all goes well, that’s where I will be next year for a 2nd MA in International Affairs. 

Next to this, business keeps churning for Laanen the Brand and for OpenStrategic. Much effort will be put into OpenStrategic to ensure a successful Global Venture Forum back in the Bay Area in November. This is a conference focused on the development of the US-European Tech Corridor, especially in getting American investment eyes on business opportunities with European startups. Going into it’s third year, the conference is building momentum with past speakers coming from firms and corporates such as Andreessen Horowitz, Facebook, Twitter and more. I’m looking forward to all the work in front of me as always. Last but not least, several friends from California are visiting for which I am very excited, see you guys soon! Since I have a little less writing to do for school, I hope to catch up on my blogs and make them more frequent. Thanks for reading, and til next time!