‘Well-being has become my number one priority.’

That is why co-founder of StartDock Stephan van Eken has decided, in mutual agreement with his partners, that he will stop his work activities at StartDock. He confidently leaves co-founders Johan Assink and Thom Wernke in charge. Stephan would like to explain the journey that led to his decision in his own words: ‘Well-being has become my number one priority.’

Stephan: “Together with my associates, and the entire StartDock team, we built a working environment for entrepreneurs where dreams are realized. We still do this by our motto: “It takes a community to grow a company”. Even now, I get a lot of energy from building and nourishing entrepreneurial communities and we are privileged to do so in the most awesome locations! In addition, I get to work with the best clients in the world; entrepreneurs! Together with Johan, Thom and the whole StartDock team, we continued to grow this amazing company of which I am really proud of. We created a strong organization, have grown from one to four locations, celebrated successes but also supported each other in more difficult times. This period of entrepreneurship has brought me a lot of beautiful and valuable experiences but unfortunately also affected my personal health. With the aid of professional support, I started to understand my situation better and this led me to one of the most difficult decisions in my life: Together with StartDock I decided to step down and stop my work activities at StartDock.

I want to thank my network for their support, collaborations and trust during the past six years. It was a tremendous honor to create the most fun working environment in Amsterdam and Rotterdam for our Dockers! StartDock is stronger than ever and I have no doubts that it will stay a healthy and growing company. This year I will focus on my own well-being. I am sure that another adventure will follow.”

Thom: "We have seen Stephan struggle with his health in recent years. Where we rationally understand that this is the best choice for him, it is extremely difficult for our colleagues, our customers and for StartDock that Stephan will no longer be active at StartDock. His inexhaustible enthusiasm, enormous amount of knowledge and feeling for hospitality and service are absolute pillars in the success of StartDock. We will miss that, but as a friend I wish him a healthy life. Stephan is happy to leave behind a stable growing company, which Johan and I and our fantastic team of colleagues will continue to grow towards our Big Hairy Audacious Goal: helping 10,000 Dockers with their growth ambitions!"

Johan: “When I think of Stephan, I think of someone who always has the best interests of others in mind. With that in mind, I can only respect his choice to now choose for himself and his health. His commitment, people skills, sense of detail, "can do" mentality and enthusiasm will be missed within the team in addition to that I’ll personally miss him as a friend and colleague. StartDock will, even when Stephan has left the ship, continue to grow towards our goal of 10,000 Dockers by 2028 which is only possible because of the great team Stephan has helped build over the past six years.”

The photo belonging to this announcement was taken during the startup phase of the Prins Hendrikkade location. This was one of the last moments that the three founders together had a brainstorm meeting about future StartDock plans.