Welcome to the EVP Talent blog! This blog series exists to demystify common startup roles, create clearer pathways and tell the stories of exceptional operators within the EVP Portfolio.
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Jeroen Williams is the Chief Operating Officer at EatClub, are on a mission to restaurants with empty tables to offer last minute discounts to customers in real time, helping to fill excess capacity and to drive additional foot traffic to their venue.
We had the pleasure of (virtually) sitting down with Jeroen to learn more about his experience and what he does as a Chief Operating Officer.
How would you explain what you do as a COO to a 5 year old?
It’s hard to give a short answer to this in general, let alone to a 5 year old, but here goes:
As COO at EatClub, I'm like the dad at a birthday party. I coordinate with the parents of your friends, so they will all be there, set up the garden for the party, man the BBQ, so everyone gets fed and clean up when stuff goes wrong.
What could a day, week, or month look like for you?
Every month can be different from the last, which is one of the exciting things about working at a startup like EatClub. A big part of the job is recurring and has a more routine nature such as managing billing, reviewing numbers across the business, check-ins with team members, and onboarding and service of partners and customers.
The other part is much more dynamic and focuses on the product and process improvements within the business. EatClub has a product that's continually evolving, which means we are constantly learning and looking for better ways to do things. Part of my job is to capture those best practices in new processes. I actively work with all our departments to implement these learnings, ensuring all of us stay on top of our game.
How did you make the jump into startups/your current role? What gave you the confidence to do so?
It happened through backpacking! I landed in Sydney after a few months of travelling in South East Asia and needed a job.
I found a sales job via Gumtree. A role I would have never considered taking if I had been applying in the Netherlands (where I grew up), as I was set on landing a traineeship at one of the top FMCG companies there.
Only when doing the interview, I learned the business was backed by Rocket Internet and decide to take a punt, so I joined the founding team of foodora (Delivery Hero). We were at the frontier of the food delivery era as we now know it.
That's how my startup journey started, and I can't imagine myself working at a big corporate after experiencing the incredible highs (and lows) of startup life.
What prior skills had you developed that set you up to succeed?
I've always leaned quite strongly on the social skills that I've developed through life, to help me work in teams and be able to lead.
I strongly value the sales experience early on in my career, as I believe a solid understanding of commercials as well as being able to pitch a product or story is a very useful skill when running any type of business.
My Masters in Psychology had a strong focus on data analytics and I lean on these skills a lot in my current role, something I had not foreseen when doing my research at University. Lastly, my Dutch roots have given me a natural disposition to save cash, which is a useful trait when looking after financials.
Was there anything that you needed to unlearn or upskill in?
The biggest adjustment I had to make when getting used to the fast-moving startup world, is to not strive for 100% perfection. You simply don't have the time, resources, or data to get to this, especially when innovating and launching pioneering products. It's exciting: You commit and launch, gather new info, learn, and adjust.
Who do you work most closely with?
Allen Luo, our CTO, is on speed dial. He is the human machine behind the inception of a lot of our processes, and we work closely together on the day-to-day operations. I also chat a lot with Pan Koutlakis, our CEO & Founder, to make sure the day-to-day priorities and activities align with the strategic priorities and touch base frequently with our department heads.
What do you love about your current environment? What is hard?
I love the excitement of building something that's unprecedented with an incredibly committed team. No day is the same, we keep learning and hustling to get the job done. The hard part is building something that's unprecedented. There's no best practice, we build the plane while flying it, which requires a lot of sharpness, flexibility, and hard work. It wouldn't be as fun, though, if it was easy and predictable.
What misconceptions do people have about the COO?
Within the team, I don't think there are any. Externally, the COO role can differ from business to business. Based on that, I think it depends on what people have previously experienced a COO in their company to do, as to what they would expect from or understand of the role. It can be something of an all-encompassing title, which can naturally lead to misconceptions based on past experience.
Do you have a moment, day, team or piece of work that you’re immensely proud of since starting your current role that you can share?
There are quite a few, but if I were to pick one, it would be how the team coped during COVID. In a period that impacted us and our industry so heavily, people stuck with it, kept up the activity and hustle, and are still with us building the company. For me, it was the ultimate test for the team and the business, and I believe we passed with flying colours. More so, the product and team have come out of it better and more robust, so we're ready for anything.
What advice would you give yourself or someone else starting in a COO role?
Stay close to your teams and your processes. In a business where things change continuously, processes can become redundant very easily. That’s because the basis on which they were built might have changed since the process was implemented. Make sure to execute your processes regularly (i.e. doing the job of someone that uses the process). There's no better way than finding out if they still work well or need improvement.
Lastly, keep open lines of communication with team members, especially the newer ones. People with a fresh view are more inclined to question things and are often well-placed to point out outdated processes.
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Interested in COO roles? Check out Talent_OS to see opportunities across the EVP Portfolio, or reach out to Fred or Charmaine from EVP's Talent Team!
Welcome to the EVP Talent blog! This blog series exists to demystify common startup roles, create clearer pathways and tell the stories of exceptional operators within the EVP Portfolio.
****
Jeroen Williams is the Chief Operating Officer at EatClub, are on a mission to restaurants with empty tables to offer last minute discounts to customers in real time, helping to fill excess capacity and to drive additional foot traffic to their venue.
We had the pleasure of (virtually) sitting down with Jeroen to learn more about his experience and what he does as a Chief Operating Officer.
How would you explain what you do as a COO to a 5 year old?
It’s hard to give a short answer to this in general, let alone to a 5 year old, but here goes:
As COO at EatClub, I'm like the dad at a birthday party. I coordinate with the parents of your friends, so they will all be there, set up the garden for the party, man the BBQ, so everyone gets fed and clean up when stuff goes wrong.
What could a day, week, or month look like for you?
Every month can be different from the last, which is one of the exciting things about working at a startup like EatClub. A big part of the job is recurring and has a more routine nature such as managing billing, reviewing numbers across the business, check-ins with team members, and onboarding and service of partners and customers.
The other part is much more dynamic and focuses on the product and process improvements within the business. EatClub has a product that's continually evolving, which means we are constantly learning and looking for better ways to do things. Part of my job is to capture those best practices in new processes. I actively work with all our departments to implement these learnings, ensuring all of us stay on top of our game.
How did you make the jump into startups/your current role? What gave you the confidence to do so?
It happened through backpacking! I landed in Sydney after a few months of travelling in South East Asia and needed a job.
I found a sales job via Gumtree. A role I would have never considered taking if I had been applying in the Netherlands (where I grew up), as I was set on landing a traineeship at one of the top FMCG companies there.
Only when doing the interview, I learned the business was backed by Rocket Internet and decide to take a punt, so I joined the founding team of foodora (Delivery Hero). We were at the frontier of the food delivery era as we now know it.
That's how my startup journey started, and I can't imagine myself working at a big corporate after experiencing the incredible highs (and lows) of startup life.
What prior skills had you developed that set you up to succeed?
I've always leaned quite strongly on the social skills that I've developed through life, to help me work in teams and be able to lead.
I strongly value the sales experience early on in my career, as I believe a solid understanding of commercials as well as being able to pitch a product or story is a very useful skill when running any type of business.
My Masters in Psychology had a strong focus on data analytics and I lean on these skills a lot in my current role, something I had not foreseen when doing my research at University. Lastly, my Dutch roots have given me a natural disposition to save cash, which is a useful trait when looking after financials.
Was there anything that you needed to unlearn or upskill in?
The biggest adjustment I had to make when getting used to the fast-moving startup world, is to not strive for 100% perfection. You simply don't have the time, resources, or data to get to this, especially when innovating and launching pioneering products. It's exciting: You commit and launch, gather new info, learn, and adjust.
Who do you work most closely with?
Allen Luo, our CTO, is on speed dial. He is the human machine behind the inception of a lot of our processes, and we work closely together on the day-to-day operations. I also chat a lot with Pan Koutlakis, our CEO & Founder, to make sure the day-to-day priorities and activities align with the strategic priorities and touch base frequently with our department heads.
What do you love about your current environment? What is hard?
I love the excitement of building something that's unprecedented with an incredibly committed team. No day is the same, we keep learning and hustling to get the job done. The hard part is building something that's unprecedented. There's no best practice, we build the plane while flying it, which requires a lot of sharpness, flexibility, and hard work. It wouldn't be as fun, though, if it was easy and predictable.
What misconceptions do people have about the COO?
Within the team, I don't think there are any. Externally, the COO role can differ from business to business. Based on that, I think it depends on what people have previously experienced a COO in their company to do, as to what they would expect from or understand of the role. It can be something of an all-encompassing title, which can naturally lead to misconceptions based on past experience.
Do you have a moment, day, team or piece of work that you’re immensely proud of since starting your current role that you can share?
There are quite a few, but if I were to pick one, it would be how the team coped during COVID. In a period that impacted us and our industry so heavily, people stuck with it, kept up the activity and hustle, and are still with us building the company. For me, it was the ultimate test for the team and the business, and I believe we passed with flying colours. More so, the product and team have come out of it better and more robust, so we're ready for anything.
What advice would you give yourself or someone else starting in a COO role?
Stay close to your teams and your processes. In a business where things change continuously, processes can become redundant very easily. That’s because the basis on which they were built might have changed since the process was implemented. Make sure to execute your processes regularly (i.e. doing the job of someone that uses the process). There's no better way than finding out if they still work well or need improvement.
Lastly, keep open lines of communication with team members, especially the newer ones. People with a fresh view are more inclined to question things and are often well-placed to point out outdated processes.
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