The story of Jorine Zandhuis
Jorine loves creating new products. With a true start-up mentality, she combines engagement, creativity, and challenges in her work and private life.
As Senior Business Development Manager in the Scale-up and Innovation team, Jorine works on product development and has co-developed the First Time Right programme (FTR) and Dutch Alternative Credit Instrument (DACI). “Additionally, I focus on unlocking European funds for Invest-NL and the Dutch financing market. A broad profile indeed. The common thread is creating new products. Actually making something. That’s what I enjoy and it gives me energy.”
A young and dynamic organisation like Invest-NL is essentially a startup. It offers opportunities and challenges. That was also what attracted Jorine. “Before Invest-NL, I lived for four years in San Francisco and worked in early-stage funding for Deep Tech start-ups. When I moved back to the Netherlands, I quickly got the tip to consider Invest-NL. My experience in early-stage financing would fit well there. And it turned out to be so.”
At Invest-NL, my desire for ‘a job with impact’ perfectly aligns with my experience in technology development, startups, and early-stage financing.
“Invest-NL combines for me a number of important aspects of working in a start-up (being involved in building the organisation, many opportunities for interesting projects) with the advantages of working for a well-founded organisation, with a great group of passionate professionals from whom you can learn.”
“As an employer, Invest-NL is engaged and places great importance on the team. When Invest-NL was established, we were given a number of challenging tasks. We can only perform these well with good people. Additionally, Invest-NL is also a learning organisation that is willing to adapt processes and strategies when – through newfound insight – it becomes clear that this is necessary. I appreciate that open and involved attitude.”
At Invest-NL, a wonderful mix of people work: from junior staff to highly experienced investment or sector specialists. The people are diverse and come from various backgrounds, such as entrepreneurship, banking, VCs, government, and investment companies. “We also need a broad mix to effectively carry out our investment and development tasks. No matter how diverse, the nice thing is that we all share the same drive; every employee cares deeply about their work and wants to make a societal impact.”
The world faces major challenges. I am experiencing an increasing sense of urgency and therefore I would like to contribute.
The balance between work and private life is important to Jorine. And she also seeks the challenge there. “I am a rock climber and prefer to do it outdoors in nature. The beauty of climbing is that it is both a physical and mental challenge. You learn to deal with fears. And be creative in finding solutions. You have to push yourself without taking unnecessary risks. And it creates great friendships. When you climb together, you have to trust each other 100%. You are a team.”