"The reason why you start a business is extremely important to you as an entrepreneur."

Entrepreneur Jochen Boeykens was already on an incredible trajectory. After being closely involved in companies such as TapCrowd, Engagor and Blendr.io, Jochen founded the venture fund Torus and the platform Skindr. He now does so from a different vision, says the entrepreneur. Because according to him, the "why" of your business is extremely crucial.

Currently Jochen is mainly involved in Skindr, where he is co-founder, and Torus, which he founded himself. Two very different ventures: one is a platform for dermatologists, the other a venture fund. "Skindr was actually created by a problem I had myself," Jochen tells me. "In 2019, I suddenly developed a terrible rash. I hardly dared to come out with it, so I wanted a solution quickly. Then I discovered that waiting times for dermatologists are very long. I ended up walking around with that rash for a month."

"Coincidentally, not long after, I came across a dermatologist who also wanted to do something about those long waits, and now Skindr is here. You can do a quick online consultation with a dermatologist there and get a response within 48 hours, although it doesn't replace physical visits. It's especially useful if you have minor problems or are waiting for a physical consultation."

Generation with responsibility

In addition, Jochen passionately invests from the fund he founded, Torus.vc. "Torus is what is called a double bottom line fund in America. Besides the financial aspect, the social purpose the company fulfills is incredibly important to us," the entrepreneur points out. "I feel that our generation has a responsibility to do a lot of fiddling in the world, I want to reflect that in the companies we invest in. We're not going to invest in an advertising software tomorrow, for example. There always has to be a bigger social purpose behind it."

Jochen does not run Torus alone, but with 10 other tech entrepreneurs, from five different countries. That, according to the founder, is a great asset. "We are still funding a company at an early stage, then it is ideal if your investors do something more than just provide capital. Then it helps if you have a group around you that has recently gone through the same thing."

Although at first glance the companies are completely different, there is at least one thing they have in common: Jochen started them from a larger, underlying purpose. The founder himself experienced that such a thing is necessary to remain passionate about entrepreneurship. "Look, the reason you start a business is extremely important as an entrepreneur. It's what you get your energy from, even when the going gets tough. The stronger the 'why' of your venture, the more likely you are to succeed."

"When I started as an entrepreneur, my why was finance. Nothing wrong with that, because that was a strong motivator at the time. Consequently, the start-ups I got into as a co-founder were all sold to an American competitor. Even though that was not necessarily the goal, but if you then get a nice offer, you don't turn it down ", outlines Jochen.  

Soul searching in Thailand

Yet with that conviction, he soon hit his limits. "When I finally achieved that financial dream, I fell into a black hole. It turned out I hadn't arrived at Valhalla after all. For me it was a turning point after which I did all kinds of soul searching. I felt that the financial aspect alone would not motivate me enough, but I did not know what to do next. My surroundings also felt that that was gnawing at me; at that time I was radiating a lot of negativity."

And Jochen takes that soul searching very seriously: "I then started a silent retreat in Thailand, where I stayed for ten days. That actually set everything in motion. I came back with a different perspective. I experimented with a lot of other things after that, like meditating or a strict vegan diet. Currently, I am fascinated by the Wim Hof method."

"It is fascinating to see how people stand on the edge of depression or burnout, and then find something to not only get out of it, but even go to the next level," Jochen says. "Personal growth is now an important pillar in my life, and that also reflects itself within Torus. We know better than anyone else the rollercoaster you go through as an early stage founder."

101 reasons not to do it

Jochen believes that to be a good entrepreneur, you have to make your personal growth a priority. "I know that my trajectory in that area will never end. Entrepreneurship is not an easy career path, but the challenges you find there give you the opportunity to develop yourself. But you must not lose sight of that personal growth. The current context in which we build companies today, where scaling quickly seems important, doesn't help. But those who ignore that will get the repercussions anyway."

Standing still and looking critically at yourself, how do you make time for that as an entrepreneur? "Rubicon offers a good answer to that," Jochen nods. "Thanks to the sounding board sessions, you can tackle your personal growth in a structural way. What I often see happen in sessions, with myself and others, is that you tell your challenges with a certain belief. You don't question that belief yourself for a long time; the group does. By doing that, you can push your boundaries."

Thinking you are immune to this is a major pitfall, according to the founder. "As an entrepreneur, you hit your limits at some point. There are always things that scare you. You're not ready for it yet, you don't have the right people for it yet, you need to prepare some more ... there are always 101 reasons not to do it. Rubicon's sounding board sessions help you come back to that. They make you realize that you can indeed take that step, it doesn't have to be perfect."

"But in the end, it all folds back on your 'why.' If you don't have a higher purpose that you want to achieve with your business, then you are much more likely to give up. The reason why you start a business is extremely important," the entrepreneur concludes.

‍