A journey of 12 years: From VTON to feeton

 

 

My 12-Year Journey with feeton

Today marks a special milestone: 12 years ago, I embarked on a journey with feeton, then known as VTON. Reflecting on this incredible adventure, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come. It took courage to leave my job and pursue my ambitions and ideas, but that’s exactly what I did. My belief that every child deserves a fun and educational training experience was the driving force behind this decision.

 

In the early days, many thought I was crazy, while others admired the bold step I took. But in the end, it all came down to doing what you love and what energizes you. Over the years, we’ve developed strategies, crafted business plans, designed curriculums, built applications, and immersed ourselves in IT and sales. We’ve presented, traveled, discovered new possibilities, and constantly pushed ourselves beyond our comfort zones. Despite not having formal training in these areas, we did whatever was necessary to succeed. And along the way, we’ve learned invaluable lessons. Trust your instincts, spend wisely, and use your common sense.

 

Together with Erik de Jonge, I refined the idea further, and Auke Swart, our IT genius, brought it all to life by digitalizing everything. We developed a unique methodology and created applications such as the offline coach app, the training ground, the play app, and the dashboard myfeeton. These tools empower clubs and coaches to realize our vision that every child deserves a fun and educational training experience. And we’re not stopping there. While we continually enhance our existing applications, we’re also working hard behind the scenes on new innovations.

 

What started as just an idea with no clubs has grown into a platform now used by more than 350 clubs. Today, 13,000 coaches use our applications weekly, and that fills us with immense pride. Of course, we didn’t achieve this alone. The feeton team has grown to include 20 passionate individuals, each bringing their unique expertise. Surrounding yourself with the right people is key to success. It’s important to recognize your strengths and, more importantly, to acknowledge where you need help. Focus is essential for growth, and we’re grateful to have the support of experts like Joost Jetten and Egon Diekstra. Their strategic guidance has been invaluable in steering us in the right direction.

 

The journey is far from over. While we haven’t set a final destination, we’re well on our way.

 

Lastly, we want to thank everyone we’ve met over the past 12 years. You’ve inspired us, placed your trust in us and in feeton, and made this journey truly special.

 

The adventure continues, and we eagerly look forward to what the future holds.

 


“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”

- Muhammad Ali -