Marcel lives in Katwijk and is married to Marianne. Together, they have three children, the oldest is 17, and the youngest is 10. "They're all quite sporty, so Saturdays are filled with football and basketball." Marcel himself enjoys running and completed his first marathon in Rotterdam last year. "I'm also a coach for my oldest son’s football team."

After studying IT, Marcel became an application manager at Akzo. "But I preferred making changes myself, rather than asking others to do it." He then moved to Accountview, where he gained a lot of hands-on experience in programming. To work closer to home, Marcel transitioned to MostWare. "There, I learned that you need to make money from what you create." After a management change, it was time for the next step, and he came into contact with Florisoft through a recruiter. "It’s actually kind of silly, because it’s just around the corner!"

"Hey, this is exciting," he thought. "For me, it was like a return to the industry because I used to do seasonal work in the flower industry." He joined as a web developer, which was emerging and interesting for the company, even though they weren’t sure yet if there would be clients for it. But right after he started, there was a huge demand for web development.

"Not surprising, because e-commerce is growing everywhere, including in the flower and plant export industry." After an extremely busy year, Marcel was asked to set up a separate department for web development. He now leads twelve employees. Expanding the team hasn’t been easy. "We’ve hit a ceiling: occasionally, someone new joins, but someone else leaves."

Passionate about Florisoft and the Industry

"For people who aren’t familiar with the flower and plant industry, we’re unfortunately an unknown. There’s so much more to this sector than you might think. Our customers export worldwide and are heavily investing to further professionalize. We provide beautiful logistics and e-commerce solutions." Florisoft is a market leader: the vast majority of exporters work with their solutions. Anyone new to the company always goes on a tour with Marcel: to the auction and a large exporter. "The director did the same with me back then, and you really get an eye-opening experience! Of course, we're also very close to the action—the auction is literally just around the corner."

In Practice

Marcel's main priority is ensuring his team can keep moving forward. That’s why he often takes a walk around the department. "When a colleague starts talking, I quickly get a feel for the situation. Some I can leave to their own devices, while others may be struggling and could use some help. By brainstorming, I try to help them come up with their own solutions to move forward. Or a colleague steps in to assist." They also hold stand-ups, where they briefly go over current matters. "It’s not just about seeing if we’re meeting our objectives, but also about building connection—creating that team spirit. Sharing experiences and making sure we don’t lose sight of each other."

After his rounds, Marcel dives into his own tasks. His motivation comes primarily from the technology, which has always fascinated him. "When I’m working with it, I can forget about everything else around me. Then, work doesn’t feel like work. It might seem boring, sitting behind my desk, but I’m happily doing my thing."

About Florisoft

"Typically, we’re in the office by eight and finish around 4:30, so you still have plenty of evening left. We try to ensure everyone starts at the same time so there’s always someone available if you get stuck. But we also allow flexibility if you want to start later, for example, due to children or travel distance. There are also opportunities for working from home, though we do prefer that people work from the office. This way, the connections are stronger, and the barriers are lower."

Florisoft operates with a flat organizational structure, which enables quick decision-making and offers many opportunities for personal growth. "You have the space to develop yourself, but also to change direction entirely if that appeals to you." Marcel mentions that over the years, he’s started to think more from the company’s perspective. "The job title isn’t important to me. What matters is that I can focus on new solutions and tapping into different customer groups. So, I’m comfortable in my current role, I’m in the right place—especially with the combination of management and technology."

Atmosphere & Growth

"What I appreciate is that here, you can take responsibility and steer your career in your own hands, as long as you find a good balance. I enjoy combining leadership and project management with technical work, that’s what makes me happy. And working in the best industry!" Marcel finds a lot of satisfaction in assembling a good team and getting people talking. "You hire someone, place them in a role, and they perform well, enjoy it, and come up with ideas I hadn’t thought of." He also enjoys staying involved with the technical side, occasionally diving into code to maintain enough technical knowledge to brainstorm with the team.

He values the great colleagues he has. "I have a friendly relationship with the executive team too—they're around my age. When you have good colleagues, you can take a hit. You don’t let each other down when things are tough."

Pride

"I’m proud of my team, which has been successful for years now. Eight years ago, I couldn’t have predicted we’d be where we are today." He also looks back with pride on the role Florisoft has played in the significant growth of the exporters in recent years. "They rely heavily on the webshops we create."

"As an employer, we’re really interesting. I’ve already mentioned the amazing industry. Of course, we look for people with certain technical skills. But I’m confident that if you have the right skills, can program well, and have the right mindset, you’ll definitely find your place within our codebase. Age is absolutely not an issue."

New Employees

“Employees I hire for my department, I want to give the space to develop themselves. What are you good at, what makes you happy, where do you want to grow? Sometimes, highly technical people tend to be more introverted. But if you give them trust and opportunities, it often leads to a long-term collaboration. Others enjoy talking to clients or taking the lead on a project. We can use all types of personalities, as long as you're willing and seriously embrace the challenge.”

“If people show a bit of ambition, I always hope we discover some untapped potential. Just like it happened for me. Someone like that might eventually build a team around them.”

“Feeling comfortable at Florisoft, that’s what we consider most important!”