Blogs - Werken bij Marktlink

Q: It's really addictive - Fredrik Jonker

I studied General Economics for 1 year at the University of Groningen, completed the Higher Education in Economics and Administration/Management Economics and Law/Banking and Insurance at Hanze University of Applied Sciences at Groningen, followed by Business Studies with a concentration in Business Economics/corporate Finance at Radboud University in Nijmegen. I have been working at Marktlink since 2010. I chose Marktlink because of the freedom and responsibility you are given here right from the get-go, as well as the entrepreneurship that’s demanded of you. The work has exceeded my expectations and is really addictive. Every day I assist entrepreneurs with the purchase and sale of companies. It is challenging and exciting work, and no two days are the same. It's work that matters, where emotions can come bubbling up. We are often buying or selling someone's life's work! Entrepreneurship, the confidence to take steps very quickly if you do the right things, and thinking in terms of opportunities – these are all hallmarks of Marktlink. It's a pleasure to work every day with really ambitious and smart people who’ll do everything they can to make great and creative things happen for our clients. I can enjoy every phase of a project, from bringing a fantastic potential client to the table and getting a potential buyer interested, to putting together a smart takeover construction and finally getting a great deal done and dusted. It has brought back many great memories. Which ones? Do you have a few minutes...?

Q: You create something from scratch – Tobie van der Leeden

After my bachelor's in Sports, Management and Entrepreneurship at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, I did my master's in Financial Management at Nyenrode Business University in 2016. At the beginning of 2017, I started at Marktlink, which I chose primarily because of the opening it offered to the mergers-and-acquisitions profession. Daily contact with motivated and passionate entrepreneurs, serving as a sparring partner, and especially the spirit of cooperation in entrepreneurship – that’s what inspires me every day. I’m really pleased with the choice I’ve made. Marktlink gives me the opportunity to grow: every day I learn new things that make me more and more effective as a mergers-and-acquisitions consultant. In addition, Marktlink gives you many responsibilities right from the start, and you get to dive right into the entire process of buying and selling. This means that, from the very beginning, you can provide a lot of added value within the company. I get such a buzz from calling an entrepreneur during a purchase process and asking them whether they’d be open to selling all of part of their company. You can really get some entrepreneurs thinking, and before you know it you’re sitting down with them to discuss the sale of their business. You’re actually creating something from scratch, and you might even end up buying their company. Something else that is also really Marktlink: the bonds between colleagues and partners are really quite strong. You really work as one team, and everyone tries to help and support one another however they can. I have great memories of our ski trip with the whole company to St. Anton. From the start, I felt as if I was away for a long weekend with a group of friends and not just with colleagues.

Q: Cooperation and commitment are typical – Karin Kamminga-Krist

I like to tell people that I work in the nicest secretarial team there is. It consists of five professionals who work together to support all of the project teams within Marktlink. Marktlink is a young and dynamic employer. Words like that always sound nice and fine, but in this case, they’re true. No two years in the past ten have been the same: innovation is always the name of the game in the company, including in my own field of expertise and when it comes to improving ways of working. Marktlink is moving right along with the times, and it has made great strides altogether this year, particularly in ICT. And now I can proudly say that I have been working for this great company for almost 11 years. It has certainly lived up to my expectations: I work with top-notch professionals and have been given a lot of opportunities to develop my potential further. Cooperation and close engagement are hallmarks of the company. Everyone at Marktlink has their own tasks to be getting on with, but together we make the best deals happen, starting from the first welcome at one of our offices all the way through to pop the cork when the transfer is actually effected. And do I get a kick out of all this? You betcha. In addition to all their hard work, Marktlinkers are always up for a party or a teambuilding event. For example, making a trip in beautiful old cars, rafting, waterskiing, visiting concerts, and various ski trips in Austria. Nice memories that we often talk about during the daily lunch together.

Q: Marktlinkers are the enterprising sort - Jeroen Oldengarm

I studied Business Administration at Nyenrode Business University. After a number of years of working at Cargill, I made the switch to Marktlink in 2007. Why? Because even then it was already an important player in the Dutch acquisitions market. I thought it would be a nice enterprising outfit where I could shoulder a good deal of personal responsibility. At Marktlink you’re in touch every day with entrepreneurs, who help you buy, sell and build companies. You offer a solution for the continuity of the company and all of its stakeholders, on both the buying and the selling sides. As a specialist, we can be of considerable help to entrepreneurs as they move through a process that is very important to them and that most of them go through only once in their lives – always in different markets and with different motives. So it's always a little different. Marktlinkers are enterprising people who always go the extra mile to get the result. With all our gusto, we invariably aim to go beyond expectations. We enjoy not only the work we do, but also the time we spend with each other, for example on our group ski trips. Jeroen started in 2007 as a manager at Marktlink, a late entrant to the field. Since 2017 he has been a partner and thus a co-owner of Marktlink. For us, everyone who starts at Marktlink is partner material. Do you also want to embark on a career in mergers and acquisitions? Check out our openings for professionals.

Q: You're dealing with committed entrepreneurs

I did my master's in Finance and Investments at Erasmus University, and have been working at Marktlink as a consultant since 2014, in 2017 I made the step to become a manager. The active disposition everyone has typifies Marktlink: we’re always keeping our eyes peeled for opportunities and pragmatic solutions. What makes working for Marktlink really interesting for me is the substantive element– analyses, calculations, contracts, and so on– combined with being able to deal with a lot of SMEs and entrepreneurs. This variety is great, and you get to work with entrepreneurs who are really engaged in running their companies, unlike directors or managers at large companies, for instance, who don’t really have a stake in the company they work for beyond the job they do. In addition, you can get involved in all aspects of deals: you’re quickly assigned responsibilities, and that gives a huge boost to your personal development. By far the best moment comes when the deal is finalised at the notary's – and right up there for me was the first transaction I completed under my own steam: the sale of Ton van Leeuwen Snijwerken B.V. Jelmer started out as a Junior Consultant in 2014 but is now an independent deal maker. Would you like to know more about the career path that Marktlink can offer you? Read more here.

Q: Not beginning by spending a year at a desk – Jeffrey Scholtens

After studying Sports Management and Entrepreneurship at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences from 2007 to 2011, and then taking a master’s in Financial Management at Nyenrode Business University from 2012 to 2014, I started at Marktlink in April 2014. What attracted me to the company was the young and dynamic team I would be part of, the commercial and financial side of the work, and the fact that I would not first have to sit behind a desk for a year but would be fully involved in all projects from the get-go. And Marktlink did not disappoint me one bit. It’s a young company, made up of commercially oriented people who have a financial background. The atmosphere is informal, with a lot of freedom in your work: go full throttle when you have to, and take your foot off the pedal when you can. Every day you come into contact with successful SME entrepreneurs, to whom you offer solutions to one and another issue around buying and selling. You get a real kick out of creating something from scratch by bringing the two sides – buyers and sellers – together. The euphoria around closing a process, with all the feelings that the buyer and seller alike express, is really something. And after all, that’s why we’re here. Jeffrey started in 2014 as a junior consultant at Marktlink. In January 2019, he was appointed as an independent manager. Would you like to know more about your career path within Marktlink? Click here . Would you like to start as a junior consultant just like Jeffrey, and evolve into an independent dealmaker? Check out our latest openings.