THE PEOPLE BEHIND LIGHTHOUSE
Lighthouse Investments was founded by Jitze Jongsma and Emile Schoenmaker in 2010. This company was born out of a love of entrepreneurship. We were convinced we could realize value and growth for particular companies. Our passion is building and improving companies.
Jitze and Emile each bring more than twenty years experience with performance improvement, and they complement each other well in approach as well as expertise. Their combined skills mean Lighthouse can provide support both financially and strategically, in process and organization.
When Jitze and Emile aren’t at “their” companies, they work at the Lighthouse office in Rotterdam. From the colorful and vibrant Scheepvaartkwartier, Jitze and Emile explore national and international markets for opportunities for prosperous entrepreneurship.
Emile Schoenmaker
Emile has extensive experience working with large companies both on the financial and process sides. Despite achieving a beautiful career at a young age, he missed something— he missed the independence that would allow him to put his ideas into practice. During a vacation with his good school friend Jitze, he realized—“We must join forces.” With Lighthouse, Emile can work with companies that he is passionate about.
Because Emile has been involved in just about every aspect of running a business, he can quickly identify where a company can improve processes and whether it's an interesting business to invest in. He makes that judgment not only by delving into the books. How do people in the company interact with each other? Do employees seem to feel comfortable working there? Is management in control of the business? Emile quickly translates the human side of business into a concrete improvement process.
“The great thing about SME companies,” says Emile, “is their ability to innovate and their flexibility: what we want today can be set up tomorrow.” That does not mean that every change comes easily— Emile has a talent for persuading and the ability to involve people in change processes. With confidence and humor, he can also deliver difficult messages and take the necessary steps.
Emile loves working with Jitze, and together they form a complementary team: "I come up with wild ideas and Jitze challenges them—and vice versa. That enables us to come up with creative but feasible solutions." Emile works with companies with great growth ambitions and the desire to go all out together. And with Emile's perseverance, not many things are impossible: “I'm at my best when something has been tried three times and still doesn’t work. When I come in, I just make sure it works."
Jitze Jongsma
Jitze started his career, like Emile, as an accountant and management consultant at KPMG, but after a few years he chose to be an entrepreneur. Among other businesses, he owned an accounting firm that helped relatively young entrepreneurs to professionalize and grow. The company also helped with mergers and acquisitions and strategic and organizational development. Thus it was that early on in his career, Jitze was already making other companies successful. It was the perfect opportunity for him to share all his practical and business knowledge with those companies: a formula highly appreciated by his customers.
When the global financial crisis broke out in 2008, Jitze saw a huge opportunity. For those who wanted to invest anti-cyclically, this was the perfect time: there were many companies in need of support and capital in order to grow. While on a ski trip, he discussed his ideas with his friend Emile. Lighthouse Investments was born.
Jitze works hard, and he enjoys teaming up with entrepreneurs who are willing to learn and who are dedicated to investing in their businesses. Jitze loves his job most when his ideas are put into practice and the plan comes together. Jitze tends be quite goal-oriented—whereas Emile is good with, for example, creating cultural change within organizations and motivating people, Jitze is more willing to take risks and make firm decisions. They complement each other very well.
Jitze is not only a fanatic at work but also on the hockey field or on skis—at the office as well as on the hockey field, there has to be something at stake. “But fanaticism really should go hand in hand with the willingness to listen and an easy atmosphere,” says Jitze. “The best people to work with are entrepreneurs who take their businesses dead seriously but after work like to have a beer and a great time.”