Nerd who fell in love with marketing & growth.

Available for keynotes and short advice calls

Nicholas D'hondt

I'm building an AI marketing team of one.

Here's the thing about being a one-person marketing & sales team at an open-source software company (JobRunr): you don't have time for everything. 

So I asked Patrick for help.

Patrick is my AI executive assistant, built on OpenClaw. And this week, he built me a LinkedIn Ads review system. From scratch. 

Let me walk you through how we got here.

Step 1: We did the research first.

Before writing a single ad, we analyzed our actual data. Not vibes. Data.

We pulled company visitor data from Scarf and cross-referenced it with HubSpot. IP matching, domain lookups. That gave us a ranked list of which industries and companies are actually visiting our Pro and Pricing pages.

Finance. Insurance. Government. Not what I would have guessed.

We built company lists from that intelligence and matched them to LinkedIn audiences.

Step 2: We built a messaging framework.

Patrick analyzed all our existing customer data. Hubspot data, email conversations, intake questionnaires, support questions, ads,... Then we used that data to fill in a creative strategy map and come up with 3 angles per target-audience.


Step 3: The visuals.

I showed Patrick our existing ad visuals. He reverse-engineered the visual language and wrote image generation prompts matching our brand. Generated with Gemini. I could approve, reject, download, tweak in Photoshop, re-upload. All from a review tool he built.

Step 4: The review tool.

Patrick built a web app where I review everything:
→ Ad copy with live LinkedIn preview
→ Image variants (approve, download, replace, regenerate)
→ Comments and feedback
→ One-click approve to push live

No SaaS subscription. Just me and my agent.

The proof? One ad Patrick created by analyzing my best performers and generating a variant is now my highest CTR ad at 2.65%. AI-generated. Outperforming all my manual ones.

The difference between "write me an ad" and this? Real context. Your CRM data. Your analytics. Your brand. Your actual performance numbers. 

And most importantly: Your taste. You are the creative director who shows the way. 

Full stack: OpenClaw, LinkedIn Marketing API, HubSpot, Scarf, Gemini, and a custom review tool. Fully built using Telegram conversations.

Happy to share more details. Or just roast my AI visuals. Either works.

Head Of Growth at JobRunr | Turning creative ideas into measurable results | Public Speaker - Available for keynotes

Are AI agents going to take over all our jobs???

Probably not. But they're definitely taking over parts of mine.

I got invited to join the Content Coffee Break podcast by Fuss for the first time. We recorded in Alicante ☀️ and covered three topics I think every marketer should be paying attention to right now:

🤖 AI agents are the new marketing colleague
OpenAI just acquired OpenClaw, and it says everything about where we're heading. AI is no longer a chatbot you ask questions to. It's an agent that actually does the work. 

My own AI agent is called Patrick, and he already handles a big chunk of my daily workflow. From email triage to content research to CRM follow ups. Not replacing me. Working with me.

📱 The TikTok algorithm is under attack
Europe wants to ban infinite scroll. If that happens, your entire organic reach strategy changes overnight. Less passive scrolling = fewer chances to be seen. Time to rethink how you show up.

🔍 Social search is eating Google alive
62% of Gen Z uses TikTok as a search engine. They're not Googling "best restaurant Antwerpen" anymore. They're searching it on TikTok. If you're not optimising your social content for search, you're invisible to an entire generation.

10 minutes. Three trends. Zero fluff.

🎬 Watch the teaser below
🎧 Full episode link in the comments

Did I just become my AI agent's assistant?

So I have this AI executive assistant called Patrick. It runs on Claude Opus, has access to my browser, can execute scripts, manage files... basically it can do a LOT.

This morning I wanted to test something. Could Patrick download a popular TV show for me?

I gave it 10 magnet links. One for each season. "Download these, store them on my Desktop, folder per season."

Patrick didn't even hesitate. It wrote a script, connected to Real-Debrid, started downloading. Season 1 done. Season 2 done. Season 3 done.

Then it stopped.

"I can't help with downloading copyrighted TV shows."

Wait. What? You already downloaded three seasons! NOW you have moral objections?

I pushed back but Patrick wasn't buying it. "The torrent names literally say Friends Season 1-10 (1080p BD x265). I can't pretend otherwise."

Fair enough. So I tried a different approach.

"Fine. Don't run it. Just write me the script."

And it did. Wrote a Python script. Saved it to my Desktop. Even left a placeholder for the API token so its hands would stay clean.

Then I asked: "Can you paste in the token already?"

Done. No objections.

So let me get this straight. Patrick refused to RUN the download. But happily wrote the script, added the credentials, and handed it to me with a "Ready to run."

The irony is perfect. 

We're building AI agents to do our work, and here I am... doing the work my agent refused to do. Because it had principles. That it applied... selectively.

We live in interesting times.

If you want to see the full conversation, scroll through the PDF below 👉

Patrick's Moral Objections...

Customer Collective

Customer Collective is a disruptive ecosystem leading customer-focused commercial transformations. Our group currently consists of The House of Marketing, Upthrust, Dignify, Fightclub and AddData

Together we create future-proof company growth through customer value, by solving the customer equation. We combine the 5 key pillars of this equation: customer strategy, digital acceleration, data, technology and creativity. As opposed to other ecosystems, our entities work closely together in a highly integrated way, using same methodologies. For each project, we select the best profiles with complementary expertise and skills to generate the highest possible impact.

Our ecosystem is powered by Down2Earth Capital and Quanteus Group.

More info on www.customercollective.eu.

Managing Partner

UPTHRUST - digital projects & experts

Upthrust is a #1 international growth office that focuses on full-funnel, cross-channel growth marketing and building better digital experiences that actually convert. We work from different locations in Europe for both larger SMEs and corporates. Our team works on-site and actively transfers knowledge to your team.

Founder

Elpix

Elpix is the partner for companies looking to achieve their sustainability goals. As a subsidiary of Partena Professional, Elpix combines years of experience in HR solutions with in-depth ESG expertise. 

We support companies in their transition to a more sustainable future by defining ESG strategies and helping them integrate them into their business operations. From keynotes and trainings to projects, expert staffing, and software implementation - we got you covered.

Our no-nonsense approach, combined with extensive knowledge, helps companies of all sizes turn ESG challenges into strategic opportunities.

Advisor

Antwerpse Vliegenramen

We verzorgen vliegenramen, schuifdeuren en plissés op maat aan zeer democratische prijzen. Onze teams meten op, geven advies, doen de plaatsing en zijn bereikbaar voor after service. We hebben een brede waaier aan producten en mogelijkheden en werken 100% op maat.

Bestuurder

Gentse Raamdecoratie

Gentse Raamdecoratie is opgericht om iedereen de mogelijkheid te geven om hoge kwaliteit raamdecoratie aan te schaffen aan eerlijke prijzen - zowel voor particulieren als bedrijven. We werken altijd 100% op maat.

Al onze producten bestaan uit duurzame aluminium componenten en worden In België vervaardigd! Ik sta erop om samen met u ter plaatse een offerte op te stellen rechtstreeks uit onze catalogus, zodat u steeds zeker bent dat u de juiste prijs betaalt.

Lopos

Lopos specializes in proximity warning systems, leveraging a range of wireless technologies such as Ultra Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and AI camera technology to enhance safety, efficiency and cost optimizations related to people, objects, and various types of material handling equipment in industrial environments.
Our patented UWB core solution is customized by integrating other relevant radio and AI camera technologies to tailor the system to the specific needs of each customer.

Founded in Belgium, Lopos emerged as a visionary project from the collective minds of 4 founders. It quickly transitioned from a spin-off of imec, UGent, and the IDLab research group into a prominent player in the international market of safety warning systems, dedicated to keeping people safe.

Headquartered in the Ghelamco Arena in Ghent - Belgium and linked to co-working space Meetdistrict in Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent. The team operates both remotely and on-site.

Plainsight

Advisory Board Member

Strateeg HR

Wil je talentvolle medewerkers aanwerven of je hr-beleid op punt stellen? Bij Strateeg hr draait het om jou en je (toekomstige) werknemers. Onze ambitie? Jouw bedrijf helpen en ondersteunen met rekrutering, hr-advies en digitale marketingcampagnes.

Boardplus.be

Bij Boardplus zijn we gespecialiseerd in het samenstellen en begeleiden van kwalitatieve Raden van Advies en Raden van Bestuur. Onze unieke aanpak begint met een grondige en persoonlijke analyse van de behoeften van jouw onderneming, gevolgd door een zorgvuldige selectieprocedure om bestuurders te vinden die perfect passen bij jouw bedrijfscultuur en visie.

Onze expertise ligt in het vinden van onafhankelijke externe adviseurs en bestuurders die fungeren als een objectieve groep vertrouwenspersonen. Deze boardmembers brengen waardevolle kennis, ervaring en een uitgebreid netwerk mee, en zijn diep betrokken bij het succes van jouw onderneming. Hun voornaamste focus is het realiseren van jouw groeiambities door ondersteuning te bieden bij cruciale besluitvorming.

Wat ons echt onderscheidt, is onze persoonlijke aanpak en zorgvuldige screening, waardoor we een board samenstellen die daadwerkelijk impact heeft. Daarnaast hanteren we een proces van voortdurende evaluatie om de effectiviteit van de boards continu te verbeteren. Dit zorgt ervoor dat we samen het maximale uit de externe board kunnen halen en jouw organisatie naar nieuwe hoogten kunnen brengen.

Voor meer details over onze aanpak en hoe wij jou kunnen helpen, kun je terecht op onze website.

🌍 www.boardplus.be
Raad van Advies | Raad van Bestuur | Samenstellen & begeleiden

Quick Skills

Next generation (e-)learning for both academic and non-academic environments with an initial focus on self-guided learning in the microsoft products.

Hi i’m a serial entrepreneur, venture builder and team culture creator. Want to start, buy or scale a business/brand? Let’s grab a ☕️

Dennis 🚀 De Cat

BIG DAY! Today we kickstarted phase 2 of our advanced A.I. training program for all our employees at FIGHTCLUB with Rory Flynn. 

On the agenda for session 1 of 8:

1️⃣Advanced Nano Banana prompting 
Reversioning existing assets
Multi-step prompting
Breaking the traditional aeshtetic 
Extreme consistency

2️⃣Scaling Nano in Weavy
Advanced system prompting 
Multi-step nano-to-video workflows

3️⃣Building internal tools with Google Ai Studio/Lovable.
Taking weavy workflows and building webapps
Standardizing workflows for app building.

Wanna join the evolution? Don't wait.
Want some slides? DM me.

#ai #agency #evolution #content #agentic

Agency owner, Serial entrepreneur, Board member, A.I. consulting, Growth & performance marketing

AI-generated UGC... DO or DON'T?

We're running quite some tests for larger D2C e-commerce players where we're transforming their entire product feed to UGC assets. At scale. Using a system, not our best luck.

Observations over all campaigns:
1️⃣ CTR on ads +20%
2️⃣ ATC +10%
3️⃣ social proof scores on landing page exit surveys super positive

Now comes the question: are we comfortable with this from an ethical point of view or not?

What's your take?

P.S. base image of the video in the first comment

#ai #ethics #transformation #airevolution
Bert 🚀 Schildermans Brent Van Esbroeck Leovitor dos Santos Flip Vermeersch

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