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Writer's pictureTom Vanhecke

Meet Lien - Co-founder of LYNX.

Updated: Jul 12, 2022


My story started 32 years, 8 months and 22 days ago. That is, if today is the 10th of November 2021, in any other case you can do the math.


Lien Vertommen, Co-founder of LYNX.
Lien Vertommen, co-founder of LYNX Partners.

I was born in Leuven, Belgium and grew up in a small town called Schriek. My life went exactly as one could expect. There was school, ballet, music lessons, a cat and a lot of time playing in the garden. Life rippled on as it was expected to. Somewhere around my 10th birthday, I understood that however lovely, that life wasn’t for me.


Authenticity

I figured that for me, if 2 days were almost the same, there is no use for that second day. Since then I’ve been searching for novelties everywhere I could. I wandered off the beaten pathways and found beauty everywhere. In a new country, a new dish, a new book, a new road to work, a new acquaintance, a new glass of wine...


Living this way I really got to know myself, and it turns out that I’m the kind of person who can’t wait to leap, who can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.


Solution-oriented

This path of curiousness has led me through Denmark, England and Ireland where I not only studied business management in school, but also people in bars and other social places.


It also led me to take a tuk-tuk through Sri Lanka; take on horse riding lessons when I was 30 years old; to owning a library full of books and to some of the nicest places on earth whenever I take a walk and just get lost.


Through this amazing journey (so far) I’ve failed a lot. My aspirations in criminology didn’t end well, I still can’t ride a horse, I’ve fought the wrong battles, I overestimated myself,.. the list is endless.


But the moments after you fail, when you know there is a problem and are trying to figure out how to solve that problem. That is when I feel most alive. Every failure has put me on a road full of opportunities, and If you see opportunities instead of problems, you’re always lucky!


Efficiency

After my studies, I started a job as a young potential as I believed that was the way to learn the most in the shortest time. And I did, however, I learned mostly what I didn’t want. No 9-5 job, no routine, no big multinational where everything is decided for you, no culture of complaints nor blaming others.


All ears

So of to the next adventure, sales, because no 2 days can be the same in sales right? It turns out they can... However, this job has taught me my most valuable lesson yet. When you listen to people and are open to seeing things from their perspective, you can no longer fail.


Freedom

I was lucky to be part of a small innovative company that offered many opportunities if you were open to them. After 2 years in sales, I got the chance to manage a team, and later to manage and grow 1 and even 2 offices. It gave me the chance to learn and experience strategies, people management and growth. It also gave me the chance to understand my strength: to run and organize things, and to empower people.


Through these experiences, I started to long for the freedom of writing my own story. One where I could use my strengths to empower other entrepreneurs and leaders.


I took the leap and went for it, together with Tom, who I’m very lucky to call my partner in business and life. For when I leap, he’s there to make sure it’s spot on!


So our story started exactly 1 year ago, that is if today is November 10th, 2021.

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