"Discipline is a tool toward results, especially for entrepreneurs."

The ideal activity to livestream

And then came Yogalive, an online platform where you can practice yoga, connecting yogis and yoga teachers. That that was the next step, according to Sibren, is no accident. "We really do business from the vision of inspiring people to live healthy lives. When all the sports centers closed, we started wondering how we could still get people to exercise. And actually, yoga is the perfect activity to livestream. During yoga, you mainly want to focus on yourself and others can be a distraction. It's also a big advantage for the yoga teachers themselves, because now they don't have to rent expensive studios. Important when you know that many of them can't make ends meet financially."

Sibren, Willem and Fabrice knew how to switch extremely quickly. "In May we made the switch, in August we already had an MVP that we could have tested and now we have an app that everyone can use. We are trying to build a model that can exist even after corona. We think the future is hybrid, just look at players like Peloton. Although after the lockdown everyone will be screen tired for a while," laughs Sibren.

Macrotripping

Still, Sibren was not yet rid of that negative little voice in his head. For that, he turned to Rubicon - but also to more unconventional means. "One year ago I did a guided macro trip in the Netherlands. At that time, I had rationally realized that I was well enough, but emotionally that hadn't quite sunk in yet. I expected, naively, that the trip would be fun, but it seemed like the negative voice in my head only got louder. It kept repeating itself, until I made the click: I have to learn to accept myself. Very confronting."

"First make sure you have good habits mentally and physically and only then can you do business optimally."

"Thanks to Matthias and Rubicon, but also to Mario Haneca associated with them, I completely got rid of that feeling in the last year. What also helped was the Rubicon weekend in Barcelona. Then I saw that a lot of entrepreneurs are going through this. Feeling that others are going through the same thing helps me a lot. At the end of the weekend, we also did an exercise where we told how we perceived others. It was a real eye opener for me that the rest saw me as someone who has already achieved a lot at a young age. Very different from how I saw myself."

"During a Rubicon event like this, it's easy to be open. They create deep connections so quickly, so you quickly drop the superficial 'everything is going well.' You quickly build deep relationships with other entrepreneurs that would otherwise take months. I still form a close group with the people from that weekend. And helping others from my own experience gives me a lot of energy," Sibren says.

Business in balance

The common thread throughout our conversation remains working on yourself and living healthy, both mentally and physically. Not surprisingly, Sibren closely monitors the balance between business and life. "I try to do business sustainably. I often work mornings and evenings, in between I take breaks to go outside or exercise. Getting enough sleep, exercising, eating healthy, I don't deviate from it. Discipline is necessary, but I can maintain my lifestyle relatively easily. When I do all those things, I feel good. First, make sure you have good habits mentally and physically that you can maintain for years, and only then can you do business optimally. Discipline is a tool to results."

"A lot of people struggle with the same thing," concludes Sibren. "As a result, they often don't control their lives. Life moves fast, so it's not about always taking everything seriously. In life you have to have fun, just like in business."