Colinda van Gog, Luuk Kempers and Fleur Willems. Source: own photo
While one is still studying at the age of 30, the other already has a company in their twenties that has launched a special music book. Special, because three young people came up with something for people with dementia.
Emjoy, originated from the words enjoy and memories, is the company of Luuk Kempers, Colina van Gog and Fleur Willems, who studied Entrepreneurship & Retail Management at Fontys Hogeschool Eindhoven. One part of the third year was setting up a business. That became Emjoy and the music book Time flies for people with dementia. The three young people have so far received publicity in North Brabant, Zeeland and Limburg. They managed to win several prizes, including that of public favorite of the year in the national competition of the Young Entrepreneurship Foundation. Time to conquer the Netherlands “and help the dementia community on a large scale”, they think. Time for Metro to call one of them for the young entrepreneurs section.
Because how do you manage all that at such a young age? That asks Metro to entrepreneurs every week Young and Enterprising (the section is back after being ‘absent’ for a few months).
Name: Luuk Kempers
Age: 22 years old
residence: Esch
Function: co-owner of Emjoy
Young and enterprising during student years
A music book for people with dementia, how do you come up with that at a young age?
Luuk Kempers: “In our student group of five people at the time, in the corona school year 2020-2021, several people already had experience with people with dementia. Fortunately, I am not in my immediate environment, but I do know healthcare workers who deal with dementia. For our assignment we wanted to link an existing product to a social goal. By existing I mean children’s books with cheerful melodies. This is how we came up with people with dementia and their loved ones, to allow them to experience beautiful moments together. The music book plays on the music memory. Important moments in your life are often linked to a specific song and it has been scientifically proven that people’s music memory is hardly affected.”
Were you not concerned that the existing idea had been recorded?
“As soon as you develop an idea in a different way, you no longer have to deal with it. What did bother us were music and photo rights. That’s the biggest struggle throughout the development of our product. Music rights in particular are everywhere and nowhere these days. The music we provide Time flies is all at least fifty or sixty years old. To achieve this, we had to make many calls and send emails. It was quite a puzzle to find out who exactly you should contact if, for example, you need Universal in America. But it was nice to be able to experience that in practice at a young age.”
Can you have a personal music book made with your own songs and photos?
“Not yet, but that is something we want in the future.”
The music book Time flies by Emjoy. Photo: Emjoy
Three full-time jobs
Is marketing the music book for people with dementia your job now?
“No, all three of us have full-time jobs, but we put as much time into Emjoy as possible. If there is a lot of demand and we soon have several products, the ultimate goal is ‘to make sure we don’t miss out’. We have very different jobs. I am a recruiter for HR vacancies, Colinda works in a marketing department and Fleur is training and working as an accountant. She can do our bookkeeping very well, so we are very happy with that, haha.”
When did your entrepreneurial blood start flowing?
“I have always had a soft spot for doing things myself, for example within the music association of which I am a member. I am always organizing and helping where possible. That entrepreneur was always there, but it wasn’t until the Retail Management course that I learned what entrepreneurship really entailed. The fact that we had to set up a business as a learning component gave me the energy to actually do it.”
Dedication to people with dementia became a fantastic learning project
How has your entrepreneurial journey been so far, in your opinion?
“I wouldn’t say easy, I underestimated entrepreneurship a bit beforehand. It often sounds easy, when you hear stories about all kinds of great start-ups, for example. But starting a business and making yourself known was quite difficult. Still, I think it wasn’t really a problem, but much more of a challenge. The ups and downs and the effort was more than worth it, because we see Emjoy and the music book for people with dementia as a fantastic learning project. I have been able to develop well myself and that is why my current company also hired me.”
Young and enterprising with good help?
Did you receive good help, or did you have to figure out how to run your business all by yourself?
“We have had some support from various quarters. For example, during the school project we had someone from the business community who had entrepreneurial experience himself. This pointed us to important aspects if we wanted to take a new step. Our families also helped, a little financially, but also with ideas about what the product should look like, for example. That’s great, because it means you’re not alone in your own bubble. But we actually figured out everything about the actual approach ourselves and showed a lot of our own initiative.”
Is the goal that you can make a living from Emjoy?
“That will not happen in the short term, I dare say that. But we can envision our own office with staff in a few years. And then have a company that perhaps has a broader target group than just people with dementia.”
Has all this met your entrepreneurial expectations so far?
“Sure. The result we have been able to achieve so far is better than we could ever have imagined. I will not share any financial figures, but I will tell you that we managed to sell more than two hundred books within a year. With all the effort we put into the music book, we think it is a great achievement.”
The three from Emjoy. Source: own photo
Work hard first
What is your life motto?
“Enjoy all the fun things and get the most out of it. As I said, I do a lot at my music club, which means four evenings a week now. That is an outlet that I really enjoy and it fits in with what I like to do in terms of work and entrepreneurship.”
What do you want to pass on to young entrepreneurs?
“What I especially want to tell young people is that you first have to work hard and literally do things before you start achieving results. I then think about my high school days. I could have gotten more out of that if I had tried harder. I have no regrets, but if I had continued with that attitude, I would never have been able to do Emjoy and the music book for people with dementia. Quickly and as easily as possible, no, that kite will not fly.”
Read all articles from Jong en Ondernemend here. Would you like to know more about Emjoy and the music book, then look here.
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2023-10-24 17:35:40
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