Meet the bee: Wouter Huybrighs
Our meet the bee interviews introduce you to the people behind Beeple and give you a peek behind the scenes. It was immediately clear who was going to be the first: Customer Success Manager Wouter did an internship at Beeple almost 6 years ago and never left. A unique story we'd like to share with you.
"When I finished my Master's degree in Communication Studies in July 2016, I wanted to gain some work experience during the summer. Through an online vacancy, I ended up at the start-up Beeple and after a conversation with CEO Karel, I started a three-month internship. In the beginning, I was mainly responsible for creating support articles for customers, but soon I also started onboarding and guiding customers. After those three months, I was offered the chance to become the first real employee of Beeple and I grabbed it."
Six years later, Beeple has grown considerably as an organisation and Wouter is now part of a real Customer Success Team. "Beeple has changed tremendously over the years, but my job essentially still comes down to the same thing: making Beeple's customers successful. I do that by training them and explaining how they can work efficiently with Beeple. In doing so, I often have to look for creative solutions to help the customer in the best possible way. And that's where my background comes in handy. Something that not many people know is that for my Master's degree in Communication Studies, I also studied Fine Arts."
Will I still be at Beeple in 5 years?
I think so. Beeple offers me a lot of flexibility. I love that I can arrange my own schedule and I have a very good work-life balance.
- Wouter, Customer Success Manager
A day in the life of a Customer Success Manager
"What an average working day looks like for me? That is different every day, but since this year I try to structure my schedule better. Monday and Tuesday are for weekly or monthly follow-up meetings with customers. Wednesdays and Thursdays I block off for training sessions, mainly for new clients. And Friday is for me - like for everybody at Beeple - no-meeting Friday, so I use that to catch up on work. At Beeple, you get a lot of ownership, both over your customers and your own agenda, which for me is a real added value."
So Wouter's days consist of a lot of customer contact. "I get a lot of energy from being successful together with my customers. Two of my recent clients started off with a flying start, after a short training I noticed immediate progress in the weeks that followed, which is very nice. Another customer that has been close to my heart for several years is the Alcatraz festival. I go to the festival every year, but I also work there as a volunteer. I get scheduled with Beeple and use our app, not only fun, but also very educational."
What will the future bring?
"I like doing my job as Customer Success Manager and I’m good in it as well, so I don't plan to change jobs any time soon. Will I still be at Beeple in 5 years? I think so. Beeple offers me a lot of flexibility. Even before COVID-19, there was a realisation here that you can work efficiently from home. In addition, I can arrange my own schedule and I have a very good work-life balance. On top of that, we also have 32 days of holiday, ideal!"
