Stef van Boekel

International Expansion & E-commerce Advisor

Stef (1984) is a consultant with over 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship and strategic consulting, with a strong specialisation in international expansion. He has worked with over 100 companies to expand their markets, including both growing SMEs and multinationals.

During his career, Stef has led several investment projects and realised two exits. His background is firmly rooted in e-commerce, including marketplaces, online players, digital agencies, and fulfilment. Thanks to his broad knowledge of the entire e-commerce ecosystem, he helps companies operate scalably and grow successfully internationally.

Stef is a strong sparring partner for organisations with <30 FTEs and SMEs that aspire to enter new markets. He combines strategy with a hands-on mentality, always focused on clarity, acceleration and sustainable results.

Education

  • International Trade & Wholesale
  • NLP Neuro-Linguistic Programming
  • Various workshops on strategy and personal leadership

Work Experience

  • Various interim assignments related to European expansion within e-commerce and distribution 2011-2018
  • Business Coach & Advisor Brilliant Work 2016-2019
  • Managing Director Marketplace Distri (exit) 2018–2024
  • Director of Business Development (exit) 2023–2025

Hidden talent

Recognising a bottleneck for growth.

Favorites superpower

Going back in time.

My approach

I focus on identifying strategic opportunities based on the current setup and immediate quick wins. My focus is on quickly identifying the actions that are necessary in the short term to secure a strong and future-proof position in the long term.

Google reviews

Marjolijn Hoogendam

Marco and Lizanne have taught me a lot in business over the past year. Marco challenged me to get clear on what my WHY was. My style is rather; 'a bit of everything' and non-committal and at the same time ambitious. Lizanne knew how to coach me finely on my complete package of challenges, questions and ambiguities that I did not know how to answer on my own. A great result with: 'a clear picture of what i4facilities stands for and is about', my Business Administration studies resumed towards the completion of my Master's thesis, a new website and above all 'my own clarity & a plan. That in fine conversations, at home, on location or online. Brilliant Work is really a smart club of service people with an open mind and good rapport. Highly recommended if you want to take the step further as an entrepreneur!

Misha Yurchenko (Seranova)

I'm an American entrepreneur based in the Netherlands running a startup called Carrus.io. When I setup the business in Amsterdam I was looking for coaching as a first-time founder (on growth/fundraising/positioning) and as a new resident to the country (navigating the local fundraising and sales environment). I was quite lucky to find Brilliant Work. I worked closely with my coach Lizanne for several months (still ongoing!) who has helped connect me to an incredible amount of resources and knowledge in the country that I would not have been able to find otherwise. Through monthly, 1-1 coaching sessions I've been able to pivot my business, revise my pitch deck to raise angel investment, and overall am certain that these sessions helped impact the direction and growth of my business the last 6 months! What I liked the most is that my coach has real business experience as an entrepreneur and she could relate to a lot of what I was saying while sharing stories of her own. I highly recommend getting in touch with Brilliant Work especially if you're a founder or small business!

Rianne Doller

Lizanne's coaching helped me fantastically to turn my dreams and mission into practical steps. After all, it was my desire to make the world more beautiful with my business without additional stress. With Lizanne's help, I learned to see the business side of what I do and she gave me many valuable insights. For example, how to translate my impact into financial benefit for my partners and how to prioritize so that there is stability in your business. Lizanne thinks well of her client's needs, and is also strict when you try to ignore the business side because you are dreaming very hard. I now have roadmaps for my sales and marketing and tips on how to pitch even better. Thank you so much! Definitely highly recommended!

4.9

Google overall rating

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