My name is Anita, I am 22 years old and I took part in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs as the New Entrepreneur. My Host Entrepreneur is Carlo van der Heijden, a Dutch entrepreneur who guided and helped me through this adventure.
I have a bachelor in Film and TV production and my business idea is based on video production, specifically regarding podcasts, multi camera productions and social media content.
I discovered the EYE program because I was looking for ways to improve my business idea, and gain some extra skills and practice that I needed to make sure my business would have the best chances of success. When I read about the program online I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me, since I would be able to experience a real work context, I would get to learn from a real-life entrepreneur, who knows the challenges of this kind of job, and I would get to bring my ideas to projects that the host entrepreneur is working on.
During my time here in the Netherlands, I got to work on many different projects and to improve my skills in different areas. I mostly worked on audiovisual products, like pictures and videos for social media and for Youtube, which were delivered to my Host Entrepreneur’s clients and partners, but I also got to work on a website design project and I had the chance to attend a conference about entrepreneurship and clusters in the European Union. The relationship with the Host Entrepreneur was very open and helpful and I got a lot of knowledge out of it. I always had the opportunity to talk to Carlo and discuss any problem or challenge that I would encounter and I also had the chance to see the way he works and how he makes decisions, which was very interesting and useful for my future. I am really grateful for this opportunity, because it was eye-opening when it comes to entrepreneurship and everything that goes into owning and managing a business.
I had the chance to build a strong relationship with Carlo, my Host Entrepreneur and with a lot of other people who were working in the same co-working space as us. I believe that I will stay in contact with Carlo and he will be a reference point for me when it comes to entrepreneurship and business owning. I will also stay in touch with all the other people who I’ve met through work or in other circumstances during my time here and the network that I’ve created around me will be beneficial to my future career.
I believe that this program gave me the chance to try out my skills in the real world and to see how much more I need to learn, but also to assess my abilities and to know where I stand and what I can offer to my clients.
I’ve realized that I probably don’t have enough experience to start a company and deliver high-quality products yet, but that I have what it takes to work in this field and with another year or two of experience I will be ready to start my own company.
The EYE program made me more aware of my strengths and my weaknesses and it helped me gain more insights into how to start and run a business. I realized I still have a lot to learn, but this was a good time to plan my future, which will for sure involve entrepreneurship and my own company.
