Comments on: 12 Questions: Meet Marc Köhlbrugge (the Netherlands) http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/ crowdSPRING's blog about design, digital creativity, business strategy, and more. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Interview with Marc Köhlbrugge (PressDoc.com) | EU-Startups http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-6702 Interview with Marc Köhlbrugge (PressDoc.com) | EU-Startups Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:16:16 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-6702 [...] Marc Köhlbrugge: I would probably be a designer at web design agency. In fact, I did an interview about my design work couple of months before becoming a real entrepreneur so if you want to get an perspective on how I looked at things back then, and compare it to what I’m saying now, then you can read it here. [...] [...] Marc Köhlbrugge: I would probably be a designer at web design agency. In fact, I did an interview about my design work couple of months before becoming a real entrepreneur so if you want to get an perspective on how I looked at things back then, and compare it to what I’m saying now, then you can read it here. [...]

]]> By: jkbrams http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-654 jkbrams Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:54:32 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-654 nice ! very influence me.... nice ! very influence me….

]]> By: jkbrams http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-5637 jkbrams Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:54:00 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-5637 nice ! very influence me.... nice ! very influence me….

]]> By: cheezitimposter http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-653 cheezitimposter Sun, 18 Jan 2009 06:15:49 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-653 @ULTRASQAUARED CrowdSPRING didnt just hire him to make the front page, but the main pages of the website, i.e. sumbissions, homepage, gallery. so end the end it was a fair price. @ULTRASQAUARED
CrowdSPRING didnt just hire him to make the front page, but the main pages of the website, i.e. sumbissions, homepage, gallery. so end the end it was a fair price.

]]> By: angrypuppy http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-652 angrypuppy Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:13:58 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-652 Nice read Marc. I wish i had a grasp on life at that age, like you. You are sure to be a success in life if you stay on the path you have chosen. Get some sleep will ya?! You make us look bad! lol Nice read Marc. I wish i had a grasp on life at that age, like you. You are sure to be a success in life if you stay on the path you have chosen. Get some sleep will ya?! You make us look bad! lol

]]> By: ULTRASQUARED http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-651 ULTRASQUARED Fri, 09 Jan 2009 06:14:08 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-651 @MARC Nice way to approach things MARC...it shows a very high level of maturity @jmarfurt As for JMARFURT or whatever your name is...i guess you work for crowdSPRING...it shows but my advice..don't come at people because of their opinion...I think you have a lot to learn from MARC...no hard feelings my respect for CROWDSPRING...with their commitment... Great job guys @MARC

Nice way to approach things MARC…it shows a very high level of maturity

@jmarfurt

As for JMARFURT or whatever your name is…i guess you work for crowdSPRING…it shows
but my advice..don’t come at people because of their opinion…I think you have a lot to learn from MARC…no hard feelings

my respect for CROWDSPRING…with their commitment…
Great job guys

]]> By: ArtbyAudree http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-650 ArtbyAudree Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:58:04 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-650 Marc- I co-create with the kids everyday, now that I think about it. (Does Rock Band count?) If you find something, I'd be very interested. Thanks. Marc-
I co-create with the kids everyday, now that I think about it. (Does Rock Band count?)
If you find something, I’d be very interested. Thanks.

]]> By: marckohlbrugge http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-649 marckohlbrugge Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:06:50 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-649 Cool thanks! Cool thanks!

]]> By: Ross http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-648 Ross Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:59:39 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-648 Marc - I'll email a copy of the article to you. Marc – I’ll email a copy of the article to you.

]]> By: Ross http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-5636 Ross Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:59:00 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-5636 Marc - I'll email a copy of the article to you. Marc – I’ll email a copy of the article to you.

]]> By: marckohlbrugge http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-647 marckohlbrugge Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:54:47 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-647 @ArtbyAudree Yeah definitely look into the concept of co-creation! I'm not sure if there are any good books about it or anything. I will ask around and let you know if I find something. Perhaps you could try to co-create with your children ;). About the Chicago Tribune, I didn't know that. Thanks for lette me know! Do you happen to know if it's still possible to get that issue somewhere? Would be cool for later. @ArtbyAudree
Yeah definitely look into the concept of co-creation! I’m not sure if there are any good books about it or anything. I will ask around and let you know if I find something. Perhaps you could try to co-create with your children ;) .

About the Chicago Tribune, I didn’t know that. Thanks for lette me know! Do you happen to know if it’s still possible to get that issue somewhere? Would be cool for later.

]]> By: Startup Expenses You Might Not Have Thought About | KillerBlog http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-646 Startup Expenses You Might Not Have Thought About | KillerBlog Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:08:16 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-646 [...] 12 Questions: Meet Marc Köhlbrugge (the Netherlands) [...] [...] 12 Questions: Meet Marc Köhlbrugge (the Netherlands) [...]

]]> By: ArtbyAudree http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-645 ArtbyAudree Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:08:20 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-645 Marc, I love the bit about co-creation. I'm going to tuck that away and try to implement it someday when I'm not trapped in a house with small children. (Children that I love madly, of course.) It was great learning about the guy whose work I see almost every day. You know, a sample of your work was printed on the front page of the business section of the Chicago Tribune in August. That's how I found out about crowdSPRING. The Tribune has a HUGE circulation. Try and wrap your head around THAT one! Good luck with all your creative endeavors. Audree Marc,

I love the bit about co-creation. I’m going to tuck that away and try to implement it someday when I’m not trapped in a house with small children. (Children that I love madly, of course.)

It was great learning about the guy whose work I see almost every day. You know, a sample of your work was printed on the front page of the business section of the Chicago Tribune in August. That’s how I found out about crowdSPRING. The Tribune has a HUGE circulation. Try and wrap your head around THAT one!

Good luck with all your creative endeavors.

Audree

]]> By: Ross http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-644 Ross Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:05:08 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-644 Site design for us was extremely complicated. When we first started developing, we were working with a traditional designer, thinking that we could get the best design that way. And we fell into the same trap that most people do - we looked at three designs and disliked all of them. REALLY disliked all of them. That process was one of the MOST frustrating times during the two years we've been working on crowdSPRING. As simple as it sounds, designing for yourself is real tough. So - in February 2007 as we were frustrated with our designs and considering options, we realized that we needed to broaden our search and take a gamble - to let the world design our site. We knew that if that failed, it would possibly compromise our entire business model. On the other hand, as Marc says - we wanted to "eat our own dogfood" and show the world that we would let our community design our own site. At the time, our community was tiny and that was a huge risk. But we felt confident about the process and the risk we took. If it was as simple as paying someone $5000 to design a site, we would have considered it. Believe me -we talked to lots of experienced designers. It wasn't so simple. We made LOTS of sketches. LOTS and LOTS of sketches. You would not believe how much time we devoted to this issues. We were extremely proud of that first project, amazed with the response, and thrilled with so many outstanding designs. In the end, it was the cheapest $5000 that we'll ever spend as a business. It saved a tremendous amount of aggravation for us (personal and business), allowed us to meet some great designers, introduced us to Marc, and resulted in a site design that we are all very proud of and that has been recognized - by many - to be among the top designs online. Ultrasquared - we do our best not to censor here. We have an open community, we try to be transparent with everyone and we ask for the same courtesy in return. That's why your comments weren't censored - we don't pre-approve comments because we trust that our community will have a mutual respect for one another (and for us). When you say "something different kind of happened"...we're proud of that. We are different. And we celebrate that difference every day. Site design for us was extremely complicated. When we first started developing, we were working with a traditional designer, thinking that we could get the best design that way. And we fell into the same trap that most people do – we looked at three designs and disliked all of them. REALLY disliked all of them. That process was one of the MOST frustrating times during the two years we’ve been working on crowdSPRING. As simple as it sounds, designing for yourself is real tough.

So – in February 2007 as we were frustrated with our designs and considering options, we realized that we needed to broaden our search and take a gamble – to let the world design our site. We knew that if that failed, it would possibly compromise our entire business model. On the other hand, as Marc says – we wanted to “eat our own dogfood” and show the world that we would let our community design our own site. At the time, our community was tiny and that was a huge risk. But we felt confident about the process and the risk we took.

If it was as simple as paying someone $5000 to design a site, we would have considered it. Believe me -we talked to lots of experienced designers. It wasn’t so simple. We made LOTS of sketches. LOTS and LOTS of sketches. You would not believe how much time we devoted to this issues.

We were extremely proud of that first project, amazed with the response, and thrilled with so many outstanding designs. In the end, it was the cheapest $5000 that we’ll ever spend as a business. It saved a tremendous amount of aggravation for us (personal and business), allowed us to meet some great designers, introduced us to Marc, and resulted in a site design that we are all very proud of and that has been recognized – by many – to be among the top designs online.

Ultrasquared – we do our best not to censor here. We have an open community, we try to be transparent with everyone and we ask for the same courtesy in return. That’s why your comments weren’t censored – we don’t pre-approve comments because we trust that our community will have a mutual respect for one another (and for us). When you say “something different kind of happened”…we’re proud of that.

We are different. And we celebrate that difference every day.

]]> By: Ross http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-5635 Ross Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:05:00 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-5635 Site design for us was extremely complicated. When we first started developing, we were working with a traditional designer, thinking that we could get the best design that way. And we fell into the same trap that most people do - we looked at three designs and disliked all of them. REALLY disliked all of them. That process was one of the MOST frustrating times during the two years we've been working on crowdSPRING. As simple as it sounds, designing for yourself is real tough. So - in February 2007 as we were frustrated with our designs and considering options, we realized that we needed to broaden our search and take a gamble - to let the world design our site. We knew that if that failed, it would possibly compromise our entire business model. On the other hand, as Marc says - we wanted to "eat our own dogfood" and show the world that we would let our community design our own site. At the time, our community was tiny and that was a huge risk. But we felt confident about the process and the risk we took. If it was as simple as paying someone $5000 to design a site, we would have considered it. Believe me -we talked to lots of experienced designers. It wasn't so simple. We made LOTS of sketches. LOTS and LOTS of sketches. You would not believe how much time we devoted to this issues. We were extremely proud of that first project, amazed with the response, and thrilled with so many outstanding designs. In the end, it was the cheapest $5000 that we'll ever spend as a business. It saved a tremendous amount of aggravation for us (personal and business), allowed us to meet some great designers, introduced us to Marc, and resulted in a site design that we are all very proud of and that has been recognized - by many - to be among the top designs online. Ultrasquared - we do our best not to censor here. We have an open community, we try to be transparent with everyone and we ask for the same courtesy in return. That's why your comments weren't censored - we don't pre-approve comments because we trust that our community will have a mutual respect for one another (and for us). When you say "something different kind of happened"...we're proud of that. We are different. And we celebrate that difference every day. Site design for us was extremely complicated. When we first started developing, we were working with a traditional designer, thinking that we could get the best design that way. And we fell into the same trap that most people do – we looked at three designs and disliked all of them. REALLY disliked all of them. That process was one of the MOST frustrating times during the two years we’ve been working on crowdSPRING. As simple as it sounds, designing for yourself is real tough.

So – in February 2007 as we were frustrated with our designs and considering options, we realized that we needed to broaden our search and take a gamble – to let the world design our site. We knew that if that failed, it would possibly compromise our entire business model. On the other hand, as Marc says – we wanted to “eat our own dogfood” and show the world that we would let our community design our own site. At the time, our community was tiny and that was a huge risk. But we felt confident about the process and the risk we took.

If it was as simple as paying someone $5000 to design a site, we would have considered it. Believe me -we talked to lots of experienced designers. It wasn’t so simple. We made LOTS of sketches. LOTS and LOTS of sketches. You would not believe how much time we devoted to this issues.

We were extremely proud of that first project, amazed with the response, and thrilled with so many outstanding designs. In the end, it was the cheapest $5000 that we’ll ever spend as a business. It saved a tremendous amount of aggravation for us (personal and business), allowed us to meet some great designers, introduced us to Marc, and resulted in a site design that we are all very proud of and that has been recognized – by many – to be among the top designs online.

Ultrasquared – we do our best not to censor here. We have an open community, we try to be transparent with everyone and we ask for the same courtesy in return. That’s why your comments weren’t censored – we don’t pre-approve comments because we trust that our community will have a mutual respect for one another (and for us). When you say “something different kind of happened”…we’re proud of that.

We are different. And we celebrate that difference every day.

]]> By: jmarfurt http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-643 jmarfurt Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:19:25 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-643 Great interview Marc - you're definitely one of the most motivated 21-year-olds I have ever "met"!Keep up the great work...you are very talented and will definitely be successful in life. :) ...and I absolutely love the portrait pic you chose for your interview. haha ;) @ ULTRASQUARED - I am not sure what you are trying to accomplish by complaining about a contest that ended almost a year ago, but I find your post completely inappropriate and rude. These interviews are about highlighting creatives who have something to offer to the crowdSPRING community... it's supposed to be a POSITIVE thing. Please don't take away from that .... Great interview Marc – you’re definitely one of the most motivated 21-year-olds I have ever “met”!Keep up the great work…you are very talented and will definitely be successful in life. :) …and I absolutely love the portrait pic you chose for your interview. haha ;)

@ ULTRASQUARED – I am not sure what you are trying to accomplish by complaining about a contest that ended almost a year ago, but I find your post completely inappropriate and rude. These interviews are about highlighting creatives who have something to offer to the crowdSPRING community… it’s supposed to be a POSITIVE thing. Please don’t take away from that ….

]]> By: marckohlbrugge http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-642 marckohlbrugge Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:13:37 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-642 Thanks for the kind words people! @ULTRASQUARED, I'm sure crowdSPRING would have been able to design their homepage themself, they have a great team with some excellent design skills. I can think of a couple of reasons though, why they would have chosen do create a project and let the community come up with ideas instead. The most obvious reason I think is, because by relying on the community for their own design they show they believe in their concept and show it really works. If you think about it, not doing it this way is similar to a webdesigner outsourcing his own website. You have to "eat your own dogfood" as crowdSPRING puts it. So it's a great advertisement for their services as well. Also, I know it can be hard to design your own website. It never seems to look right. And lastly, by tapping into the creativity of almost 100 creatives (if I remember correctly), you get more ideas than you can come up with your own so you can pick the one you like best. A website design is not something you just sketch up some day. It takes a lot of work, even though the end result may look obvious when finished. I can see how $5,000 looks like a lot of money (it is for me too), but it's "ridiculous" much when comparing it with some other webdesign services. I think you wouldn't even be able to just get the coding done for $5,000. There a lot things you and I might not know about but which are of strong importance in keeping the website running, especially with thousands of visitors a day. A poor coding job will not scale well, is hard to update, etc. You need a programmer with some qualitative skills and they don't come cheap. In the end, it's all personal whether you think something is ridiculous or not. I don't think it is, but it's good to know we can have an open discussion about it. I'm interested on hearing your thoughts on my reply. Best, Marc Thanks for the kind words people!

@ULTRASQUARED,
I’m sure crowdSPRING would have been able to design their homepage themself, they have a great team with some excellent design skills. I can think of a couple of reasons though, why they would have chosen do create a project and let the community come up with ideas instead. The most obvious reason I think is, because by relying on the community for their own design they show they believe in their concept and show it really works. If you think about it, not doing it this way is similar to a webdesigner outsourcing his own website. You have to “eat your own dogfood” as crowdSPRING puts it. So it’s a great advertisement for their services as well. Also, I know it can be hard to design your own website. It never seems to look right. And lastly, by tapping into the creativity of almost 100 creatives (if I remember correctly), you get more ideas than you can come up with your own so you can pick the one you like best.

A website design is not something you just sketch up some day. It takes a lot of work, even though the end result may look obvious when finished. I can see how $5,000 looks like a lot of money (it is for me too), but it’s “ridiculous” much when comparing it with some other webdesign services. I think you wouldn’t even be able to just get the coding done for $5,000. There a lot things you and I might not know about but which are of strong importance in keeping the website running, especially with thousands of visitors a day. A poor coding job will not scale well, is hard to update, etc. You need a programmer with some qualitative skills and they don’t come cheap.

In the end, it’s all personal whether you think something is ridiculous or not. I don’t think it is, but it’s good to know we can have an open discussion about it. I’m interested on hearing your thoughts on my reply.

Best,
Marc

]]> By: ULTRASQUARED http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-641 ULTRASQUARED Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:27:35 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-641 Okay something different kind of happened { i noticed}... Now why would anyone award a price of $5,000 just for the look of the front/first page of a website?!? You guys could have just sketched it yourselves...i am sure you guys have viewed web pages before and have different designs you liked... My point is...that is really ridiculous...$5,000 for the front page of a website?!? You could have made the whole website with all PHP/MySQL codings COMPLETE for the same amount!!!...well it is left to you to think about it...Good day! Okay something different kind of happened { i noticed}…
Now why would anyone award a price of $5,000 just for the look of the front/first page of a website?!?
You guys could have just sketched it yourselves…i am sure you guys have viewed web pages before and have different designs you liked…

My point is…that is really ridiculous…$5,000 for the front page of a website?!?
You could have made the whole website with all PHP/MySQL codings COMPLETE for the same amount!!!…well it is left to you to think about it…Good day!

]]> By: ULTRASQUARED http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-640 ULTRASQUARED Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:23:08 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-640 the truth is all comments here are been screened...i have something to say but it won't get pass {so i will keep it to myself}...that's the problem with comments nowadays...the truth really hurts :( the truth is all comments here are been screened…i have something to say but it won’t get pass {so i will keep it to myself}…that’s the problem with comments nowadays…the truth really hurts :(

]]> By: decisivedesign-Jason http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-639 decisivedesign-Jason Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:55:14 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-639 Great interview/writeup. Keep it up, Marc and CrowdSpring Great interview/writeup. Keep it up, Marc and CrowdSpring

]]> By: decisivedesign-Jason http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-5634 decisivedesign-Jason Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:55:00 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-5634 Great interview/writeup. Keep it up, Marc and CrowdSpring Great interview/writeup. Keep it up, Marc and CrowdSpring

]]> By: rmscreative http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-638 rmscreative Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:13:11 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-638 Very useful and insightful thoughts Marc. Thanks for sharing some of your thought processes & philosophies - it furthers continued sharing amongst our community. ;) Very useful and insightful thoughts Marc. Thanks for sharing some of your thought processes & philosophies – it furthers continued sharing amongst our community. ;)

]]> By: BeyondDesigning http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-637 BeyondDesigning Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:46:38 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-637 Nice interview! This place is full of great people :) Nice interview!

This place is full of great people :)

]]> By: Jabraulter http://blog.crowdspring.com/2009/01/12-questions-meet-marc-kohlbrugge-the-netherlands/comment-page-1/#comment-636 Jabraulter Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:51:44 +0000 http://blog.crowdspring.com/?p=899#comment-636 Great interview! I envy your skill with simplicity (looking at crowdSPRING's site design). Keep up the good work! It's great to see that I'm not the only "young" designer here ;-) Cheers, Jon Great interview! I envy your skill with simplicity (looking at crowdSPRING’s site design). Keep up the good work! It’s great to see that I’m not the only “young” designer here ;-)

Cheers,
Jon

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