What people experience in contact with me
Testimonials
Every person is wired differently. And so a meeting between two people will always be different. To give you an idea of what can arise in contact with me, I would like to give the floor to a few people who have or had contact with me in different settings.
For four years Klaas has accompanied me on a transformative journey in both my personal and professional life. In our first year working together, he helped me through a particularly difficult personal period, and thanks to him I was able to put these experiences into place.
His guidance goes beyond personal coaching; as a board member of our SaaS startup, he brings the same deep and compassionate insights. It is refreshing to realize that not everything has to be solved with the head. Each session with Klaas is a revelation, and together we reveal insights that I might have overlooked (and heart) myself.
The challenging themes we work on always feel less heavy because of the warmth and safety that Klaas brings to every conversation.
Maarten Jansen, co-founder Dashdot and Webclew
"Gestalt therapy is a unique and special form of therapy, in which by paying attention to what your body is telling you in a mild and grounded way, you gradually get closer to your core. Klaas guides you through that process. With his warm and generous personality, he searches with you for your essence, for your true needs. This way you can let go of unnecessary ballast and stand even more in your strength."
Tina
"I am the founder of a climate tech start-up and know Klaas through a network of entrepreneurs. Klaas advises us as a company to grow sustainably, based on his own entrepreneurial experience. In addition, Klaas personally coaches me to grow as a leader of to find and maintain a team and a balanced work-life balance What I personally appreciate very much in the collaboration with Klaas is the “safe space” he creates to name things as they are on an equal footing, in complete openness and trust be or feel."
Kenneth Van Den Bergh, Founder and CEO, Carbon+Alt+Delete
You don't want to feed them, all the coaches. Professionally I had a number of questions: am I still in the right place, how do I deal with a change of position, ... and could use some help with that. I couldn't see the coaches through the woods anymore. Coincidentally I heard Klaas on a podcast, no less skeptical than before. A testimony cannot convey what Klaas has meant to me. Thanks to him I learned to recognize habits and dynamics and I took steps that I didn't see before. There is no rounding the pot, things are named. You are challenged, Klaas is not a therapist who always nods yes. Some exercises are remarkable to say the least and I started with the necessary suspicion, but they taught me so much about myself. And although I initially came to Klaas with a professional approach, there is room to discuss all aspects of your life.
You need a coach. But if you're hesitating to see if that's the case with Klaas, I hope my testimony is the nudge you need to contact Klaas.
Peter Eysermans, CTO in residence
"My previous experience with board meetings has been mostly mechanical. Board members look at the company's key KPIs and discuss which ones are in the red. They ask tough questions about run rate and cash flow and dig into root causes. They pierce weak arguments and share their helicopter view that we as founders miss in all the craziness.
Klaas immediately takes board meetings to another level. He manages to combine an analytical view with attention to the relationship between and motivation of founders. I was usually prepared for tough questions about sales progress or market size. I was disarmed by unexpectedly open conversations about where we stand as a team and what we struggle with.
In short, board meetings are usually about what a team needs to do towards the next milestone. Klaas helps us to think again and again why we put so much energy into a startup and how we channel it to achieve the right objectives."
Thomas Ghys, Founder & CEO WebClew
"Klaas guided our executive team on an offsite, creating an environment where everyone felt safe, allowing things to be said in a connected way, where they couldn't be discussed before
become.
Klaas has a special combination of competences: on the one hand, his past and experience as CTO and company manager, which ensured that he quickly gained insight into our business and quickly built credibility with our team. And on the other hand, his skills as a coach and therapist, with which he created the necessary openness for growth in team members as individuals, in dynamics between them and in the group as a whole, in a safe and connected way."
Jonathan Berte, Founder Robovision
"Thanks to the coaching sessions with Klaas, I have become much more aware of my own drivers and impact. I can also let my emotions be more and talk about them much better. Which has helped me a lot in processing difficult events.
I'm much less rushed and now I understand why I came across like that. I take my time to prepare well and to relax. I consciously take more time for myself.
On Klaas' recommendation, I also started taking voice coaching. This has partly ensured that I experience much less stress and stand up for my ideas and needs with more confidence.
Thanks to the sessions with Klaas, I have been able to take major steps in both my private and professional life. Klaas has given me new insights and tools, such as breathing exercises, that help me."