Hi, I’m Marco and right now I’m writing to you from Utrecht, Netherlands. I want to share how the first two weeks went.
I’m 21, Italian, and I work in marketing and as a founder associate, I’m basically the right hand to founders, helping them scale growth, operations, and strategy.
Sooo why did I choose this program? A colleague recommended the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program to me. I’d wanted an entrepreneurial work experience abroad for years, and this was it. The Netherlands seemed like the right place to start.
I started working with my host entrepreneur the day I arrived. The first days were intense but welcoming. I met the whole team, and we had dinner together, which made me feel less like the new guy and more like part of something real.
In two weeks, I’ve learned more than I expected. I’m using strategies I’d never worked with before, operating in a workflow with few approval layers that lets me move fast and execute. Coming from Italy, watching how a different European startup ecosystem works has been clarifying: decisions happen faster here, there’s less bureaucracy, more trust. You propose something, and if it makes sense, you run with it.
Outside of work, I’ve been building a life here. I met my housemates, reconnected with a friend who studies here in Utrecht, and started meeting people around the city to hang out with. The city is becoming familiar. The canals don’t all look the same anymore, I know which café makes good coffee, which bridge to cross to get home. Small things, but they matter when you’re trying to feel less like a visitor and more like someone who belongs.
Leaving home wasn’t easy. I cried when I said goodbye to my grandparents and the rest of my family. I miss home sometimes. But the further I go, the more this place is becoming home too. In a different way, in a new way, but it’s happening. That realization, that I can carry home with me while creating a new one, has been one of the most surprising parts of this experience.
It’s been 14 days. If I could go back and make this choice again, I would. Every single time.