Leslie Vlerick
Helpper
Leslie Vlerick started out as CEO of Helpper in May 2022. He joined Helpper at the beginning of the year, as Head of Product. Helpper is a platform that tries to connect neighbours to help each other out with small tasks.
What is something people should know about you?
I have no patience, in any way. I’m allergic to slowness and not progressing. Sometimes that is a positive thing, but I would love to be a bit more patient and easy-going every now and then. I hoped having kids would have helped, but unfortunately it barely did… I try to cope with this by doing sports and taking enough time to decouple, which reduces stress and helps me find a better balance between going fast and making sure everyone can follow.
What gives you satisfaction as an entrepreneur?
Succeeding and achieving a milestone as a team is the ultimate boost of energy for myself and Helpper as a whole. Receiving positive feedback from customers, expressing that our solution really makes a difference for them keeps on feeling great, and that will never go away.
What gives you energy on a really dark day or when all things go wrong?
I’m not a fan of hot and sunny weather, so a dark day makes me feel rather good by design :). On a day like that, I get a lot of energy from reading and studying (business) books, newspapers and podcasts. I’m a bit addicted to that :). Next to the normal things like quality time at home with family and friends. At this moment I’m reading ‘Uber voor alles’, a book on platform economy. One of the last books that really made an impact on me was ‘50 lessen voor ondernemers’ by Jurgen Ingels, which I already read multiple times.
Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? And why?
As a rational choice, I would choose my phone/laptop/wallet, because it takes a lot of effort to get those things back. But those items can be replaced of course, so I would go for my son’s favourite stuffed animal, which is a dolphin he received when he was 2 years old. He is 5 now, and really attached to it.
When was the last time that you couldn’t stop laughing?
I laughed a lot with WeCrashed, a series on Apple TV about the rise and fall of WeWork. The way Jared Leto plays Adam Neuman is so funny and entertaining, one of the best performances I have ever seen. At the same time as an entrepreneur, you can learn a lot about the WeWork story. One of the things that I will remember and take with me is that community building and brand identity is very important to build a great product. The story is also a good example of how, as an entrepreneur or ceo, you shouldn’t be focused solely on growth, without considering both the literal and figurative costs.
What in your life are you most grateful for?
Just the ‘normal’ things, which are the most important: good health for myself and my loved ones, a great group of friends, a full social life with enough time to relax and de-connect. I think it is a moral duty to be thankful for these things, to make sure you don’t take them for granted.