Our investment committee decides on all our investments, checking them against our investment philosophy. This committee consists of four people, sometimes with outside help. These four people are Marieke and Joost, our founders, plus two others: Tycho de Valk, the eldest son of Marieke and Joost, and Patrice de Haan.
Tycho de Valk
Tycho studies “Technische Bestuurskunde” at Delft University, best translated as Technical Policy & Management. He was one of the youngest speakers ever at WordCamp Europe 2023, with his talk on Tomorrow’s generation’s perspective on WordPress.
Tycho brings that younger generation’s perspective to the Emilia investment committee. He often challenges the elderly (aka his parents) on whether young people would use a particular product or service.
Patrice de Haan
Having joined Emilia Capital in August 2023, Patrice de Haan brings extensive experience. With it, he can help our portfolio companies navigate various challenges in growing their businesses and, in the investment committee, determine whether they’d be good investments.
His experience: two years at Rabobank as a business consultant, nearly 16 years at BASF primarily as a business analyst in sales, and over six years at Yoast as both a business analyst and Finance and Business Intelligence Team Lead. Patrice leverages this experience and his knowledge to assist companies. By offering insights, Patrice strives to prepare businesses for the different issues they may encounter throughout various stages of their life cycle.
In addition to a passion for supporting others in a professional setting, Patrice is also an active volunteer at local football club AWC. This includes training and coaching youth players four times a week. He also coordinates the teams for ages 11 to 19, and contributes to the club’s policy. Patrice believes strongly in giving back to the community, both through work and in his personal time.
