The student entrepreneurs

Name: Joost Reintjes
Course: Mechatronics
Company: Reintjes Techniek

Joost's passion is the development of new technical systems as an entrepreneur, which led him to set up the company Reintjes Techniek in 2015.
Through his company, Joost hopes to contribute significant technical innovations both in the Netherlands and beyond.

Reintjes Techniek is a technical company which concentrates on the development of standard products within Mechatronics. These could take the form of systems which are used for the support and implementation of assembly- modification,- and processing activities. 

In the future, Joost hopes to lead a healthy and growing company, known for it's in-house expertise, good profit statement, and motivated employees. In addition, he hopes to transfer his own passion and drive so that his future employees enjoy their work as much as he does.

Once Joost has been admitted to the Student Entrepreneur Program, he will be able to complete a challenging company project as his graduation assignment. Of course, Joost can make good use of the extra coaching and Master classes provided by the program.

Joost Reintjes

Iliya Sivkov
Study: International Business
Company: Trading Fanatic

Entrepreneurial since a very young age, Iliya had his first business venture in 2016. He borrowed money from his dad and opened up his first company – Gaming Space. Iliya was importing console games and accessories from the UK and reselling them in his native country. Few months later, he achieved a 100% return on his borrowed money and that was a lightbulb moment – he knew business was calling.

Iliya is a fan of online businesses. ‘’I want my business to be mobile, passive, time and stress free.’’ He first started with dropshipping and Amazon FBA, but that wasn’t his passion. Everything changed when he got introduced to the Financial Markets. Stocks were the first interest, but they came with a few downsides – bigger capital requirements, no access to American stock trading brokerages, no proper education platforms. Then, Iliya started learning about the Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market and the more time he spent on it, the more obsessed he became.

During his learning journey, Iliya had an inspiration to share his learnings and progress with other people and started providing value. It was a huge leap, as he started an Instagram and YouTube account and as every new creator – imposter syndrome was present. With time and most importantly – consistency, the channels started growing and a lot of traders resonated with Iliya’s approach to trading and his unique way of content delivery. Many people wanted to be mentored and learn from him and that’s when Iliya identified a business opportunity.

Trading Fanatic was officially registered as a company in the Netherlands in January, 2020. Since then, the company has been generating consistent and increasing revenue. Iliya is reaching more and more people from all around the world each month and has helped over 300 traders with his private program and mentorship. Trading Fanatic has a combined following of over 118,000 people and this is just the beginning.

Iliya is building diversified wealth by trading, investing in stocks, swing trading crypto, ads revenue, sponsorships, consulting and more. His aim is to teach people how to become financially free in a simple and sustainable way.

‘’I believe being a Student Entrepreneur will help me network with the right people and get valuable advise from the highly-skilled coaches!’’

Illiya Sivkov
Trading Fanatic

Name: Lynn Feskens
Study: Lifestyle Research & Concept Creation
Company: Fesly

Fesly is a jewelry webshop that creates its fame through Instagram, set up by Lynn Feskens, student Lifestyle Research & Concept Creation at Fontys Tilburg.

Lynn has always been busy making and collecting the most beautiful jewelry. As a little girl she already sold homemade bracelets. Starting a webshop was not yet on her mind, but she knew that she would eventually do something with this creativity.

With a great passion for fashion and following trends, Lynn ran into the fact that many webshops do not pick up on certain trends or too late. In addition, trendy webshops are expensive and if you want to wear a new set every so often, this is unaffordable for many. In addition to trendy jewelry, Fesly is also a lifestyle, the focus within this brand is on feeling good and mixing timeless jewelry with eye catchers.

There is a large target group that wants trendy jewelry with a good price-quality ratio. Lynn saw a market here and decided to start her webshop last summer. After orienting herself for a while in the field of purchasing and marketing, she built her own webshop.

Lynn comes from the Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam and has learned everything here in the field of design and website building. She can now use all of this to express herself on social media. She and her friends are models and they regularly drive to the beach for photo shoots.

Fesly is growing faster through online campaigns and has been live since 2020. All items on the webshop are first tested extensively, one of Fesly's USP is that the jewelry can be worn 24/7 and does not discolour. Initially, only gold was available in the webshop, because Lynn wears it herself and she can test it well this way. Now that the webshop is starting to run well, in addition to many new gold items, silver items are also being added. At the moment Lynn is discussing points of sale and organizing shopping nights at nice catering establishments.

Lynn still has big plans, she wants to expand the webshop and design her own collection abroad. Next summer Lynn will devote her graduation assignment to her webshop.

Are you curious? Take a look at www.fesly.nl or Instagram.

Lynn Feskens

Name: Leon Chen
Study: International Business
Company: OZEANOS Technology GmbH

Leon grew up in a very tech-savvy environment with parents operating in the technology and computer industry for over 25 years. There is no wonder that he was already really interested in discovering and experiencing new technology and innovations from an early age.

Having this kind of environment also brought the fast-developing industry naturally to Leon, where he already attended many fairs to see everything related to technological products, which fascinated the young boy and even increased his interest in the whole industry. This also brought the advantage that he understood new technology quite fast, where he was curious to analyze and solve problems of various technological products.

During the studies at Fontys he then thought about, like every teenager, to turn his hobby and passion to his business and career. Looking at the technology market, Leon realized that nearly every shop is overloaded with a lot of input, which is potentially overwhelming beginners in this sector.

So, the idea in the end was to launch an e-commerce shop, called OZEANOS, selling all kinds of products related to technology and electronics, ranging from pc-components to smart home products to household appliances to make the life of their customers easier. However, the difference is that he wanted to keep the portfolio as tidy as possible to not overwhelm possible customers. The plan for the future is to increase the portfolio step-by-step, not into the depth but into a wider range of different products.

After that a pre-built gaming-PC shop, called OZ-PC, was launched, where the plan is to offer plug-and-play ready PCs to “beginner” or new PC enthusiasts.

Having the customer in focus and not the cheapest price on the market allows Leon to provide the best possible service as he can to the customers. Now, having a great team of young people with different strengths, they can focus on growing into the right direction in the future.

Through the Fontys Student Entrepreneur Program, he received valuable consultation to support growing the business and he is sure that the program will be a great way to build a network to discuss ideas with fellow student entrepreneurs.

Leon Chen
OZEANOS
OZ-PC

Name: Yunus Demirel
Study: International Finance & Controlling
Company: Wirsinz

Yunus and his Co-Founder love coffee, just like you probably do. As they started to get more and more involved with the topic of coffee, one thing quickly became clear: the coffee industry is often anything but fair. The farmers who laboriously grow the coffee on the plantations benefit the least from the popularity of the hot beverage. The farmers’ esteem in the global supply chain is far too low for what they achieve. Often, they are left with a pittance that is barely enough to live on.

That was the spark that motivated the founders to start their company to make a difference. wirsinz is an e-commerce startup that offers specialty coffee from individual farmers to make coffee trade as personal, transparent and humane as possible. The company started with one product called “Tomás”, named after the farmer who grew the coffee. Soon, the company will introduce two new farmers on their website from which customers can buy their coffee from.

wirsinz’s vision is to change the way how people and companies trade with each other. The company believes that everyone can profit from trading without the need that one party has to suffer. On the platform of wirsinz, every farmer profits with every single sale. With every kilogram of coffee that is sold through wirsinz, the farmers get an additional social premium of 1,50€. The aim of wirsinz is to create a win-win-win situation, because behind every cup of coffee there is a person whose life you can improve.

Yunus Demirel

Wirsinz

Name: Gerrit Scholle
Study: International Finance & Control
Company: Taxi Scholle

What's the most important thing that elevates man from animals? Some say it's the languages humans share amongst ourselves. Others say its our societies, risen from nothing. Others again say it's complex culture, a heritage, a shared vision created in man's eyes.  But all  these things have one thing in common:  humans that share, come together and connect with each other, to make something bigger than themselves.

One line of work that's in the business of connecting humans together is the humble taxi driver. They bring loved ones to each other, business people to important meetings, families to where they enjoy the greatest moments together. They listen with an ear to people sharing their troubles and joy. They drive through sleet, snow and rain so that others don't have to, always keeping two eyes on the road.

Certainly, there is nothing innovative about a taxi business, nothing disruptive about driving people around. A taxi business is a business like a barber shop or a bakery, essential but forgotten by most unless needed. Most of the time, you don't read about taxis in the newspapers like you would new, innovative businesses and ideas.  This may be the case. Because it's not about being disruptive. It is about something more deeply profound - about helping people connect and share across distances.

That is why Gerrit owns a Taxi company in Straelen, right across the border from Venlo. Yes, it has been an ordinary job for him for many years  - but it has also been a journey to bring all humans closer together for more than 5 years now.

Gerrit Scholle

Name: Frederique Gerritse
Study: Fontys Communications
Company: FG Media Design

FG Media Design is a graphic design agency based in Tilburg. Frederique graduated in 2017 as a graphic designer at SintLucas in Boxtel and now studies Fontys Communication to get her bachelor’s degree. After her graduation she started working as a freelancer. On 2-2-2020 FG Media Design is officially registered at the Chamber of Commerce. FG Media Design designs for a broad target group. This target group includes entrepreneurs, event agencies, wedding planners and individuals. She finds her passion mainly in life style events.

FG Media Design focuses mainly on SMEs and event agencies. Frederique designs everything from A to Z for the most beautiful moments in the life of a 'client'. For example, a wedding. FG Media Design provides a save the date invitation, and everything else that comes with the big day in terms of graphic designs. Frederique thinks that it is very important that the designs are printed by companies (printing houses) which deliver good quality. She wants to be involved in all aspects of the design process. The graphic designs that FG Media Design delivers are high quality. FG Media Design mainly delivers luxury prints. Working together with clients is Frederique's main focus, which leads to the best results.

Clients reach out to FG Media Design for the unique style, personal approach and short lines of communication. So far, Frederique's company has received clients mainly through word of mouth. The social media accounts can still get more attention so that brand awareness will most likely grow. How to create brand awareness is one of the facets where Frederique hopes to get help with through the Fontys Student Entrepreneurship Scheme. 

Frederique Gerritse

FG Media Design

Name: Jonas Lieske & Manuel Osterloh
Study: Business Informatics / Software Engineering
Company: Merchkraken

Selling white-labelled products with your own designs printed on it has been in the trends for some time now, the process is called Print-on-demand (POD).

No wonder, considering there are a lot of people praising POD as an easy way to earn passive income. Nevertheless, POD requires lots of work and experience, whether it be the design realization or research of profitable niches to sell in.

There are plenty of people experimenting and failing to get into this business, even though it has been a growing market for years now. Seeing this opportunity, Jonas Lieske decided in the beginning of 2020 to offer a graphic design service for POD beginners and experts.

Starting with close to none orders on the freelancing platform “Fiverr”, the business built up over months. Two orders in February became twenty in November, so Jonas decided to get help from a friend – Manuel Osterloh.

With his help, the company MerchKraken was founded – A graphic design company, focussed on print-on-demand designs. 

Manuel’s expertise in customer relations led to the realization that the only way to stand out in an otherwise overcrowded pool of graphic designers would be to step up customer satisfaction by offering top quality, highly detailed designs and outstanding communication.

Soon they climbed the ladder to the top selling sellers in their niche on Fiverr. Larger companies, agencies and even some big players reached out to them to get their work commissioned. By then the company was already making 4 figures and needed additional working force to proceed offering the best outcomes.

That was when Jonas and Manuel got a dedicated designer engaged in the business process.

Right now MerchKraken is growing and has around 40-50 orders per month. Manuel and Jonas are constantly trying to scale the business by validating new sales channels and broadening their offered services (Apparel design, logos, infographics, illustrations and more).

Both of them share a common vision where they want to create a casual working environment where everyone can flourish and grow their personal traits.

Jonas Lieske

Manuel Osterloh

Merchkraken

Name: Fabienne Janssen
Study: International Business & Management
Company: FÉLINA by Fabienne

The B2C jewelry brand FÉLINA by Fabienne was founded in October 2020 and distributes fashion jewelry online. It combines trendy jewelry styles with high-quality materials and a luxury customer experience. The USP is the luxury branding and packaging combined with affordable prices and the personalization of the brand through an authentic representation by the founder.

Our Mission
There are only a few things to which people develop a deeply emotional bond and one of them is jewelry. We all have a very special piece of jewelry that we never take off and always carry with us. This piece of jewelry reminds us of a beautiful experience, a special moment or a loved one. And when we don't wear the jewelry, we feel like something is missing. FÉLINA by Fabienne wants to create such pieces of jewelry with a timeless design and high quality materials.

Fabienne Janssen

FÉLINA by fabienne

Name: Adrian Garn
Study: International Marketing
Company: Website-WirdZeit

The Webdesign- / Marketing Agency „WWZ“, based in germany was founded in June 2019 and began to expand in possibilities from minute one. The Business began as a basic Website-selling Service and branched out to now offer close to all services that have to do with running an Online-Business. The „WWZ-Team“ is steadily growing and started with 3 Friends that specified thier studies in different parts of Web-Development and Marketing. The USP of the WWZ-services is a very personal and flexible system for self-employed people and middle-class sized Companies, with moderate Budgets and their 2-week Website Service if your project needs to be finished asap.

The guys from Website-WirdZeit will find a solution for almost every idea you might have, that can be put on a website. If you are interested check them out at www.website-wirdzeit.de .

„Challenges are what makes our job interesting, our focus is always quality, with the right amount of speed!“ – Adrian Garn WWZ

Adrian Garn

Website-WirdZeit

Name: Maksim Roļščikovs
Study: ICT
Company: EXOY

At the age of 16, Maksim became bored of usual programming. He decided to try himself as a businessman and develop something that people have never seen before. He has put together a team of friends and they started looking for projects. Throughout the whole year, the team was trying to assemble different contraptions and later Maksim has discovered a passion for lighting and decided to dedicate his life to this area.

In 2020 Maksim founded a company called Exoy and started the development of unique lighting equipment. He and his team spent months on courses and by the end of 2020, the products became ready to be offered to the market. They have developed products with the unique infinity effect in a cube, dodecahedron, and mirror shapes. The simplest infinity effect is created by putting two semi-transparent mirrors facing one another with the LED strip in between. However, if arranged in a different shape, the effect becomes mesmerizing.

Not only the infinity effect was the selling point, but the precise music synchronization feature, mobile app control, and sophisticated modes as well. Each product looks alive when the music is turned on, it reacts to each beat, visualizing the composition. The products are designed with a “plug-and-play” possibility in mind, so no settings are necessary, just plug it in and enjoy! Nonetheless, the modes can be set up precisely to your wish using the mobile app.

Currently, the team is working on new shape and size development, they have great plans on making club and festival lighting. Maksim is hoping to get connections, partners, and colleges in Eindhoven and believes that the Student Entrepreneur Program will help him in that. He admits that it is only the beginning of his career and there are multiple things he will need to learn before he can build a sustainable and independent lighting manufacturing corporation that will impress and inspire its customers.

Maksims Rolscikovs

EXOY