Julie Van Hoecke is an emerging entrepreneurial talent in the digital design & project management business. A little over two years ago, she started her career as a digital designer at Digital Pulse in Kortrijk. She is now a project manager and is following an entrepreneurial path to realise her dream. Making aesthetics tangible and functional, continuously learning and growing together as a team are her most important motives.

When we ask her how she got into the tech world, she takes us back to the roots:

I am someone who attaches great importance to something visual or tangible at the end of a process. In design, that is a finished product and in project management it is the successful completion of the entire project'.

She first studied project and event management and gradually discovered her design talent. A sense of aesthetics and entrepreneurship characterise Julie in everything she does. She inherited her passion for the 'golden section' from her grandfather and great-grandfather.

My grandfather built a boat himself and my great-grandfather was a good painter.

She discovered this early on in secondary school. From there, she seamlessly combined studies in project management and graphic design. During her internship and first work experience, Julie navigated easily between both passions. She likes to work closely together with the client in a team and that is why she ended up at Digital Pulse where her graphic and project management talents, hand in hand, resolutely make their mark.

At the advertising agency where Julie used to work, she soon found out that she missed the direct contact with the client to be able to better translate the question with her creative hunger into a beautiful, tangible final product. When a friend pointed out the vacancy at Digital Pulse to her, she was immediately won over:

That was the best decision I could make, I get so many opportunities to keep learning and growing. Just before the summer, I started the entrepreneurial track with super interesting sessions that give me a lot of insights. Moreover, it's nice to have a constituency within the Cronos Group.'

She also pursues her web design hobby as a secondary occupation and, despite increasing demand, she prefers to shift her focus to Digital Pulse rather than launching herself as a self-employed person.

When we ask her why, she concludes that she prefers to surround herself with people.

Julie firmly believes in the power of working with diverse talent.

With a team of experts you can achieve much more than on your own. That's why I chose to work in a creatively driven team. I am also a group animal, so working alone is not for me. Together we achieve more.

What is her role as a digital designer?

We design websites from scratch. Initially, they sit down with the client to listen to the needs, requirements, budgets, APIs, etc. This is followed step by step by a prototype to end in beauty with the real deal. As a professional web agency, Digital Pulse builds unique websites and shops in Craft CMS that score online.

Why the switch?

That she is evolving from digital designer to project manager is obvious. After all, she was there shortly after the start-up of Digital Pulse, was close to the customers and was able to help realise the current growth. The lockdown period pushed the demand towards the sky is the limit, which led to interesting projects and nice collaborations with other Cronos companies.

Her greatest successes and future plans?

Delivering a beautiful end product on time and within budget, an enthusiastic team and a satisfied customer who likes to come back. That generates the greatest satisfaction. Julie's ambitions go further; in her new role, she wants to put Digital Pulse even more on the map and preferably also expand internationally. The company has to become the reference in the field and the place to be for new talent, preferably also more female talent.

Her challenges?

Let go and go into the world'.

In addition to constantly brushing up on her tech knowledge, Julie would like to leave her comfort zone and take a leap abroad, for example by working remotely for a few months. As a student, she took a trip to Santa Barbara where she got to see a sample of the world. That curiosity for 'the other' is waiting to be nudged. Furthermore, Julie finds it hard to say 'no', she wants to oversee everything, help in everything and keep striving for perfection. She has to learn to slow down for more balance. Fortunately, she can count on the right coaching in her entrepreneurial path. In the sessions, Saskia challenges her to think about this and managing partner Nicholas gives her the support she needs.

Oh yes, she would like to redesign the office in Kortrijk together with her colleagues, she says with a smile. Functionality and aesthetics are inextricably linked in digital design. An inspiring environment is simply more pleasant to work in,' she concludes.