Thijs Kraan

Value Positioner

We turn your work and expertise into founder-led content that attracts a steady flow of high-value projects from the right clients. A partnership for design agencies that want growth without the heavy lifting.

Send me a message if you want to learn more.

Founder

Hatch Conference

Growth Partner

Soldep

Designed websites, brands, content strategies, and funnels for SMBs to turn more visitors into customers.

Designer

UMC Utrecht

UMC Utrecht is an academic hospital. Designed a mobile app for nurses to streamline internal communication, documentation, and automation, so they had more time to take care of patients. Estimated workload decrease of 2 to 10%.

Product Designer

Essense

My graduation internship at Essense focused on understanding service design, customer experience, journey mapping, and customer research. I worked on a project (which I acquired myself) for UMC Utrecht.

Ahold Delhaize

Worked for Albert Heijn, the largest Dutch supermarket chain. Designed 2 products, including all marketing materials that led to a launch with 35k+ users in one week. Both MVPs were scaled into the larger product eco-system and now saves around 4.5M kilograms in annual food waste

I help designers sell their expertise through writing content.

Before 2023, 100% of my design clients came from referrals.

→ I had zero control over when my next project arrived

Today, 88% of my clients come through LinkedIn – inbound.

Learning “how” took me 1065+ days of sharing expertise:

- Positioning & articulating the value of my expertise
- Experimenting with writing high-performing hooks
- Converting attention into inbound business leads
- Talking to 1000s of designers and design leaders
- Finetuning my profile for the highest conversion

I was a poor design student, so I self-studied:

- I consumed 1000s of posts & 100s of videos
- I read 100s of books & 100s of articles
- I wrote more than 1200+ posts

Obsessed with mastering the nitty-gritty of content.

And that meant making countless mistakes:

- I tried appealing to everyone, so I never got to stand out
- I wasted 100s of hours on meaningless content iteration
- I pivoted direction 50+ times so nothing compounded
- I got 3M+ impressions without winning a single client
- I ignored 1000s of hand-raisers right in front of me

To this day, I still learn new things every day.

Even after investing 3 years in learning:

€10k+ on courses/coaches
1000+ hours on reading
2500+ hours on writing

But now, I've turned everything into one framework to:

- Share your unique expertise more effectively
- Become the go-to expert for your audience
- Start getting inbound leads (on auto-pilot)

My LinkedIn Growth Framework. 

After 10+ iterations, I'm confident it works:

- A design founder added €100k+ in revenue (in 6 months)
- A design leader landed a new €150k+ job (in 3 weeks)
- And many designers won new 5-figure project deals

All from sharing their unique expertise (on LinkedIn)

So, if you want to learn from my biggest mistakes.

Take my free 5-day LinkedIn Growth Strategy:

growexpertise.com/linkedin-growth-strategy
(or click my LinkedIn profile buttons above)

PS. For 1:1 help, DM me or visit valuepositioner.com

Design Content Consultant

I help design leaders, founders, and freelancers do 4 things:

1. Understand & position your unique value
2. Create your design content strategy
3. Systematize content creation
4. Start creating habitually

By:

1. Analyzing your existing customers, content & data
2. Strategizing toward your ideal future positioning
3. Producing content for authority, talent & leads
4. Upgrading your content, profiles & funnels

Together, this will help you:

- Get inbound leads
- Attract new talent
- Build authority

Want to learn how? 

Send me a message.

Founder-led growth partner for design agencies

Me: “These disposable camera pics will look great…”

I've shown up here for 1261 days in a row and rarely share my journey. 
 
Well, here we go. 
 
I'm Thijs, a 27-year-old product designer turned growth partner based in Amsterdam.
 
1998-2018: Born and lived in a small Dutch village on the German border. A gamer who loved the internet, studying web design and development.
 
2018: Helped a 360k audience IG creator earning $0 with monetization. No success. Tried to figure out how to build and sell websites. Sold my first website for €800.
 
2019: Started my interaction design bachelor's to learn more about design, media, psychology, and systems. Sold my second website project for €1800, began studying how to do branding and run a business.
 
2020: Launched a business to build websites and brands for local companies but didn't sell a single project. No idea how to acquire clients, was scared to charge more, and was biased by my environment. Prioritized college, reading books (50+), and learning design.
 
2021: Moved to Zaandam, won my first 5-figure project, did my first design internship at the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Only designer for an MVP with marketing responsibilities that went from 0 to 35k users in 1 week. MVP was scaled to 30 supermarkets (planned for all 895+) and now saves 4.5M+ kg of food waste annually.
 
2022: Moved to Amsterdam, began my graduate internship at a service design agency, helped acquire a $20k design system project for a Dutch academic medical centre as a client. Began my graduation project for UMC Utrecht's nursing department (because I wanted to be a healthcare designer). Met the love of my life!
 
2023: Graduated from my bachelor's, declined a job offer to go all-in on business. Zero clarity on my ideal clients, offer, and positioning, but I continuously tested with different audiences. Pivoted 10+ times and only made €20.622 in revenue.
 
2024: First full year of business where I clarified my value proposition. Kept experimenting with different clients and iterated on my frameworks. Ran my first marathon. Crossed the 6-figure revenue milestone, invested €9.956 in courses/coaching, and sharpened my offerings.
 
2025: Went on a 1-month trip to Mexico and Egypt. Shaved my hair bald due to hair loss and had shoulder surgery with 6+ months of revalidation. Currently building a growth studio for designers running businesses. Sharing insights from myself and conversations with design founders doing between 6 to 9 figures in revenue.
 
And that's only a sliver of my journey…
 
Today, I'm a growth partner for founders in design software, education, and agencies. 
 
I help turn strategy and content into consistent, compounding growth. 
 
If you have any questions about my journey, feel free to reach out.
 
Now, it's your turn to share your story ;)
 
Go write a post about it.

I made two design founder films with two friends.
 
We wanted to share the stories behind quality, taste, and craft.
 
But I underestimated the work behind making a film: 
 
1/ From idea to first founder in only 15 minutes
 
- I got the idea mid-gym session on June 3rd
- Pitched my friends on that idea: “Let's go!”
- Messaged one cool founder at 1:33PM
 
At 1:48PM I got a message: “Yeah I’d be down.”
 
2/ From first contact to live shoot in 2 weeks
 
- Planned our first shoot day on June 16th
- Did a 1-hour interview with b-roll shots
- Little preparation, only a few outlines
 
I realized the value of all roles on a film set.
 
3/ From interview to final film in 15 weeks
 
- Getting everybody in the room was hard
- Editing took much longer than expected
- Vacation and client work got in the way
 
I realized the costs of bad preparation. 
 
But we had to learn this by just doing: 
 
We realized the invisible costs
We got to see what's valuable
We learned to work together
We figured out a process
We know what's next
 
Now, we're clear on the collaboration.
 
And the next will be much better. 
 
Excited to drop the first soon!
 
PS. Shoutout to my filmmaker friends Luc and Lars

I ran my 3rd "race" yesterday.

Celebrating 750 years of Amsterdam!

Completely unprepared, just recovered from an injury.

My 187 average heart rate (197 peak) says enough.

Most of 2025 was about recovery:

- Shoulder surgery (Bankart) and pains
- Some nerve issues in my lower back
- 50+ physical therapy sessions

But things finally start to feel good again.

Starting to climb, run, and lift new PRs.

Q4 is all about getting ready for 2026.

Let's go! What's your personal goal?

If I lose my 39k followers, I'd follow these 9 steps (to win them back):

1. Pick your favorite topic or deepest expertise
↳ Example: Product Design

2. Niche down based on your best industry work
↳ Example: Product Design for Healthcare

3. Find common goals, obstacles, and activities
↳ Example: How to design healthcare products

4. Write 3 post per week on how to tackle them
↳ Example: stories + insights + case studies

5. Study best-performing LinkedIn content
↳ Example: LinkedIn Map for Designers

6. Practice hook writing and formatting
↳ Example: Healthcare products suck.

7. Use lists, stories, and steps to write
↳ Example: X steps to achieve Y goal

8. End with a strong prompt or CTA
↳ Example: Get started now: URL

9. Repeat 3 to 8 for 90+ days

Focus on your biggest problem:

→ Not writing consistently

Then, after every 30 days:

→ Reflect & strategize

Strategy needs action.

Don't overthink.

And start.

PS. What's your go-to tip?

Positioning yourself requires holistic thinking:

What are you doing to take care of your mental health?
How actively do you take care of your physical health?
Are you up-to-date with your industry developments?
What does your past 3 month's skill growth look like?
What does the health of your relationships look like?
How well are you expanding your existing network?
How many career options do you currently have?
How many transferrable skills have you built?
How much do you enjoy your current work?
How actively are you developing yourself?
What does your financial health look like?

That's foundational to work quality. 

Poor health makes time an enemy.
Good health makes time a friend. 

Always prioritize your health.

I'm hosting my 2nd free 30-day growth challenge:

- Write for 30+ minutes every day
- Together with 20 other founders
- Publish your first (15+) posts

I've published for 1256+ days in a row. 

But most founders struggle to write consistently.

And I simply want more founders to share expertise:

→ Building a long-term writing (and publishing) habit

Because when you learn to write consistently, you'll: 

- Build an audience of peers, partners, and clients
- Become more visible with higher engagement
- Attract new business leads and opportunities

For me, it led to 39k+ followers and 88% of my clients.

And beyond opportunities, writing helps you:

- Think clearly, critically, and creatively
- Boost your learning comprehension
- Identify gaps within your thinking
- Become way more articulate
- Form new, stronger POVs

If you want to build a lifetime writing habit.

Go start with my 30-Day Growth Challenge.

Apply for free: https://tally.so/r/3q9pE5
(only 3/20 spots left for founders)

PS. Here's what Priya said about the previous one: “Thijs, you’re the real McCoy. This is the most hands-on, practical GSD [Getting Stuff Done] I’ve ever seen in a free or even paid course. Thanks again — you’re doing an incredible job”

If your old work, posts, or ideas don't make you cringe.

It's a signal you're not growing fast enough anymore. 

Go read books, do more reps, or ship new ideas.

Humans are built to grow toward infinity.

I often get asked: “How do you stay so consistent?” 

Because I've consistently published for 1263 days.

Here are 16 thoughts that have helped me:

1. Make action easy, obvious, attractive & satisfying
2. Be patient with results, but impatient with action
3. Don't be too hard on yourself, bad days happen
4. Focus on what's within your control → outputs
5. Start with tiny steps, build trust in showing up
6. Double down on moments you feel motivated
7. Expect outcomes as a result of output quality
8. Find a strong “why” you should be consistent
9. Strive for “good enough” and don't overthink
10. Reduce time between thoughts and action
11. Set short deadlines → boosts productivity
12. Look at the long-term & trust the process
13. Prioritize your opinion of you, not other's
14. Quality requires quantity → do your reps
15. Schedule time directly in your calendar
16. Assume the positive, not the negative

And remember:

The goal is not to be consistent.
The goal is to consistently get better.

Aim for 10.000 iterations, not 10.000 hours.

Don't do the wrong things consistently.

Act → reflect → prepare → repeat

And if there's a failure.

Just stand back up.

Try again.

Keep trying until you make it work.

“If your curiosity isn't sincere, then you're probably not doing the right thing.”

A few months ago, I met Jason Gillette, CEO and co-founder of NOWN.

He obsesses over quality and perfection in design.
He does the work almost nobody is willing to do.
He sweats the details with an iterative nature.

A true design founder.

Full film coming soon. 

Made by Luc, Lars, and me.

97% of your audience isn't ready to buy.

Only 3% is ready to buy from you now.

The 3/40/57 market readiness rule:

~3% actively buying solutions like yours
~40% problem-aware or considering
~57% unaware or not interested

A heuristic to guide your content strategy.

It's why your content should do one thing: 

→ Generate demand for what you do

Three content types do that best:

1/ Stories (about yourself or clients)

- Lessons from your real experiences
- Milestones, wins, or collaborations
- Told from an “On X, I did Y…” POV

2/ Cases (about your recent work)

- Show results and problem-solving ability
- Demonstrate your skills and impact
- Told from your client's POV

3/ Insights (about your industry)

- Share observations, frameworks, or predictions
- Expose the gaps or opportunities others miss
- Told from an subject-matter-expert POV

Every post should educate on problems.

“Here's one problem you have (or I had)
…here's why your problem matters now
…here's how I solve(d) your problems
…and if you'd like my help, hit me up.”

That's how you generate demand.

By offering help, not selling.

I pay $1000 for one-hour coaching sessions. 

And I used to think this was expensive.

But man, I was wrong. 

Here's what the first hour did for me: 

- Avoided wasting months on writing a book
- Went from focusing on 4 audience to one
- Got a CEO intro (paid back all sessions)
- Focused from 3 offerings to only one
- Moved more upstream in the market

Now, I had the pros and cons for each clear.

Without having to follow the paths myself.

So, if the value is clear, my new rule is:

→ Buy the damn thing, don’t overthink

Never underinvest in self-education.

The dividends will always pay off.

Growth won’t happen when you chase metrics.

Growth happens when you solve problems.

Problems that constrain your growth:

- Not being visible in your market
- Not being able to close a deal
- Not being trusted by buyers
- Not being seen as valuable
- Not being ready to deliver

Growth is always constrained by two things:

1. Demand (“I don’t have enough pipeline.”)
2. Supply (“I can’t deliver fast enough.”)

It's about problem-solving velocity. 

Or, how fast you’re able to:

- Identify a problem
- Solve the problem
- Scale the solution

Metrics only indicate your success.

They help reflect, not drive growth.

So, if you want to grow faster:

Solve the right problems. 

Build a demand generation system.
And a talent acquisition system.

That’s your growth engine.

Market yourself like Apple in 1997.

Steve rebuilt Apple on 5 principles:

1/ Marketing is about your values

- The world is noisy, you only get few chances to be remembered
- Products, strategy, and distribution change, but values don't
- People remember what you stand for, not what you sell

2/ Don’t sell “feeds and speeds”

- Stop talking about features, articulate value
- Competing on technical superiority is weak
- Customers remember meaning not specs

3/ Emotion beats information

- Information is forgotten without emotional attachment
- Nike honors great athletes and athletics, not shoes
- Apple focused on the ones who “Think Different”

4/ Values anchor relevance

- Start brands with one core driving belief about the world
- Anchor brand in timeless ideas, not what you sell now
- Association with aspirational figures shapes identity

5/ Brand must be nurtured

- Even great brands decay without care (like Apple now)
- Make sharing your story feel natural and simple
- Marketing makes you and your brand visible

Here’s how you can shape your content strategy:

1. Start with one core belief about your business
2. Shape 3 to 5 POVs that articulate your belief
3. Share 3+ weekly insights, stories, or cases
4. Double down and iterate on what works

Stay close to your beliefs, values, and customers.

That's what makes you stand out the fastest.

If you can't remember it, nobody else will.

If you don't consistently share your design work:

→ Nobody will know about it, you'll be invisible

A simple truth nearly all founders deprioritize.

But consistently sharing work leads to new: 

- Clients → Inbound client acquisition
- Investors → More access to funding
- Experts → Find synergistic partners
- Peers → Inbound talent acquisition
- Referrals → Increase # of referrals

Quality of work, content, and network defines how fast. 

I'm confident it's the best habit to win more deals:

- You'll build your (personal) brand awareness
- You'll convert (and generate) more demand
- You'll enable yourself to charge premiums
- You'll see all acquisition metrics improve
- You'll increase the number of referrals

And not to forget: the quality of your work improves.

Because you'll make your work “more shareable.”

What stops you from being more consistent?

Prioritize the simple stuff.

Eat foods that keep you healthy.
Work on problems that excite you.
Do exercise that makes you feel fitter.
Consume content that challenges you.
Sleep the hours that keep you sharpest.
Publish the idea that's been on your mind.
Ship that work even when you're not ready.
Build relationships that push your best self.
Remove everything that is holding you back.

Growth comes from the simple stuff done well.

Do what gives you energy, not what drains it. 

And you'll achieve what most can't.

There are two paths for your content strategy:

1. Brand-building → Visibility, likeability, and trust
2. Business-building → Leads and conversion

The brand-building path deposits trust:

- Share your work without making an ask
- Tell stories about you or your business
- Give away valuable insights for free

It's like investing in a fund to earn dividends. 

The business-building path withdraws trust:

- Make pitches in your content
- Build funnels to sell at scale
- Ask for something in return

It's like withdrawing from your investments. 

If you want your content to perform best:

→ Focus on brand-building in public

Keep building your business in private:

Start conversations with your audience.
Ask about their needs, pains, and goals.
Offer your help whenever you can.

Free direction. Paid execution. 

That's what winners do.

Many of my clients never liked a single post. 

I didn't know them until they reached out.

Because you never know who's reading:

Maybe it's your next business partner
Maybe it's your next hiring manager
Maybe it's your next best client
Maybe it's your next colleague

If you share expertise online:

→ Cool people come to you

For a collaboration
For a conversation
For your expertise

And then, you can build 1:1 relationships in private.

And relations provide you with new opportunities:

Maybe it's a freelancer gives away overflow gigs
Maybe it's a designer at your dream company
Maybe it's a founder who needs your skills
Maybe it's a peer turning into a friend

That's what writing online helps with:

→ Inbound opportunities of all kinds

But you need to do at least 1 of 2 things: 

1. Do cool stuff (and share your work)
2. Share insights relevant to clients

Get one right, and you'll see opportunities.

Big opportunities hide in the shadows.

Make sure they can find you.

Go show your work

Most designers don't know themselves. 

And not knowing yourself results in:

Impostor syndrome
Being undervalued
Lost opportunities
Bad relationships
Overconfidence

But how do you get to know yourself?

You have to figure out:

What you're uniquely good at (strengths)
What makes you unique (personality)
What feels like play to you (loves)

Known as specific knowledge.

And to figure this out, you need to: 

1. Know the professions of your close relatives
2. Understand your most valued relationships
3. Find activities where you lose track of time
4. Question yourself, close friends, and family
5. List strengths, loves, and personality
6. Map your career track record

By asking yourself (and others):

- What work experiences do you have? And what did you hate or love?
- What books, articles, or videos do you consume in your free time?
- Who do (or did) you love working with? Any specific audiences?
- Do you actively apply reasoning or focus on what you feel?
- What traumas did you have? And how did they shape you?
- What education did you do? And which did you finish?
- What do others struggle with and seems easy to you?
- Do you prefer to be alone or surrounded by people?
- What unique childhood experiences did you have?
- What do you see as play and others see as work?
- What occupations did your close family have?
- What (work) activities make you forget time?
- What do you find important characteristics?
- What do other people ask your help for?
- What skill did people ever pay you for?
- What do others think you're great at?
- What do you think you're great at?
- What do you do in your free time?
- What is your personality type?
- What did you do as a child?
- What beliefs do you carry?

Yes, this takes effort.

But not knowing yourself takes even more.

Because you'll never know what's right.

So, take time to figure this out, and:

1. Talk to people close to you
2. Think about your past
3. Question yourself
4. Reflect deeply
5. Find patterns
6. Synthesize

The only way to get a better understanding of oneselve.

This will help you in:

1. Making career decisions
2. Building relationships
3. Finding your niche
4. Content creation
5. your ENTIRE life

Get clarity on who you are. Truly know yourself.

And watch how your life changes.

Good luck.

Trevor Nielsen, LLC

Freelance Product Designer

Kleo

• Grew Kleo to 70k users with free Chrome extension
• Led design for pro beta with 500+ creators generating $170k in first week
• Owned product design as founding designer from MVP through launch

Founding Designer

Giddy

*43% company wide layoff 

• Designed & launched mobile app from 0 to 1
• 500k app downloads + 50k active users in 12 months
• Reached 1,200+ reviews averaging 4.7/5.0 stars
• Created crypto wallet circulating over $50M transaction volume
• Built design system from 0 to 1 with engineering
• Contributed to library of 40+ custom illustrations

Senior Product Designer

NOCD

• Helped mobile app reach 8.6k reviews averaging 4.9/5.0 stars
• Designed tools resulting in 10% increase in therapy effectiveness
• These tools allowed members to get better up to 6 weeks faster
• Lead 10+ user interviews testing product from user feedback
• Created dashboard allowing members to view their progress
• Established a design system unifying app styles & components

Lead Product Designer

Newfold Digital

• Shipped Office 365 offering to 800k HostGator users
• Audited 200+ styles & components throughout the product
• Involved from 0 to 1 creating design system for product
• Art direct the new and improved UI refresh

Product Designer - HostGator

• Provided art direction for marketing & product team
• Supported the marketing team with all advertising assets (online ads, email marketing, print collateral)
• Worked closely with devs to design and build landing pages for marketing campaigns
• Created illustrations for the website and marketing

Senior Designer - MOJO Marketplace

Canopy, Inc.

• Played significant role in the rebrand of Canopy
• Full redesign of the company website
• Booth design + sales collateral for 70+ tradeshows
• Designed 50+ custom icons & illustrations
• Created 5 ebooks in collaboration with copywriters

Visual Designer

ICON Health and Fitness

• Technical image editing: color correction, manipulation, compositing
• Retouch, manage, coordinate, and care for all of ICON's imagery - created internally and externally
• Use of tools such as: Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, Illustrator
• Maintain distinct brand image styling for multiple world class brands including: Proform, Nordictrack, Altra, iFit, Gold's Gym, FreeMotion

Senior Photo Retoucher

• Collaborate with clients to produce print/digital content including: logo, website, flyer, poster, business card, letterhead, infographic, iconography
• Assist clients in producing branding standards and guidelines

Owner / Designer

Malouf

• Product image preparation for web, packaging and catalog
• Creative image compositing
• Digital tech on site and in studio photoshoots
• Package file resizing and preparation for print
• Content creation for web and online channels

Photo Retoucher / Graphic Designer

Aggie Idol

• Raised over $3,100 in monetary donations and over $10,000 in value as a team for charity event through donations by local sponsors and time of well-known community personalities
• Co-managed event that was recorded for having the biggest crowd ever at Utah State University for a non-school sponsored event with approximately 1,200 in attendance 
• Designed posters, flyers, banners, and ground signs to be posted & distributed throughout the community and university campus. Also designed the 12 page final event program
• Marketed event to the community through print, radio, Facebook, Youtube, and movie theater commercials

Graphic Designer / Co Founder

Part of the bottom 99% of designers. Building Kleo. Serving teams with fractional product design.

I help founders validate ideas with polished MVPs.
And I help product teams move faster with fewer bottlenecks.

Trusted by startups who have raised over $350M.
I’ve partnered directly with founders, PMs, and heads of design.

Web + mobile. Fast-paced. Strategic + hands-on.
U.S.-based and async-friendly.

If you need part-time design that feels full-time reliable, reach out. ⤵

https://tidycal.com/trevordesign/chat-with-trevor

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The Battle

Thijs Kraan

Trevor Nielsen

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The Battle

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Trevor Nielsen

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