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...

As expert in digital innovation and growth, I support Belgian startups and scale-ups by providing hands-on tools and guidance - always with an eye on international expansion.

I closely track and analyze the Belgian tech ecosystem to understand its dynamics and help it thrive.

At Agoria, I lead several key programs:

• Scaleup Flanders – a flagship growth program, run with Vlerick Business School and Sirris, and backed by VLAIO
• Scaleup International – an EFRO initiative to build global strategies
• Scale Brussels – boosting international ambitions of Brussels-based scale-ups, together with hub.brussels
• FIT Corporate Venturing Challenges – connecting corporates with innovative startups via open calls, with Startup Flanders (FIT) and Plug & Play

I drive open innovation and business development initiatives, bridging startups with established companies. I also organize international inspiration missions, helping to position Belgium as a global tech hub.

Previously, I was Director of International Relations at Startups.be and Scale-Ups.eu, where I promoted the #betech story worldwide and led 'Go Global' missions for startups to markets including the US, UK, China, India, Kenya, Singapore, Nigeria, Canada, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and beyond. I also coordinated European innovation projects like Horizon 2020’s MyGateway and Interreg’s SPEED.

My roots are in tech journalism - starting at De Tijd and later as coordinating editor for Data News, Belgium’s leading ICT magazine. I covered everything from IoT and AI to tech startups and digital policy, contributing regularly to Knack and Trends as well.

I’m passionate about helping startups grow, and about putting Belgian tech on the international map.

Frederik Tibau

Good to see the launch of the Belgian Tech Manifesto by Wintercircus Ghent and Voka Oost-Vlaanderen. 👌 

The document brings together many of the key elements that are needed if we want Belgium to play a stronger role in the global tech economy: better access to capital, simpler equity incentives, attracting international talent and a clearer positioning of Belgium as a technology hub.

In many ways, it’s also encouraging to see how these priorities echo discussions that have been ongoing in the ecosystem for years, including within Agoria.

For those interested, a few articles that touch on these themes:

⏩ On the need to simplify stock options and equity participation so startups can attract and retain top talent: https://lnkd.in/eQ_SPeyZ
⏩ On how Belgium still struggles to position itself internationally as a tech hub, despite the quality of its companies and research ecosystem: https://lnkd.in/epu-Au2R
⏩ On the importance of stronger capital markets and reinvesting local capital into innovation if Europe wants to scale global tech champions: https://lnkd.in/eqUnmdcS

None of these issues are new, but bringing them together in a clear and concise manifesto is a useful step. It helps align the conversation and reminds policymakers what is at stake.

Belgium has the ingredients: talent, strong universities, ambitious founders and increasingly experienced entrepreneurs reinvesting in the next generation.

What we need now is consistency, ambition and the courage to implement the reforms that can turn that potential into globally competitive tech companies.

Full support from Agoria for initiatives that help move the conversation forward. 🚀

Hilde Schuddinck Louis Jonckheere Bart De Wever Matthias Diependaele Bart Steukers Jolyce Demely Bruno Vandegehuchte Dorien Van Steenberge Geert Moerman Constantijn Van Oranje-Nassau Jan Gatz Brieuc Janssens de Varebeke Clarisse Ramakers Christophe Lebrun Jean-Marc Timmermans Jeroen Lemaire Laurent Hellebaut

https://lnkd.in/e2WMi2Mg

Frederik Tibau 

Driving growth for scaleups @Agoria | Lead Scaleup Programs | Intrapreneur | Startup advocate | #BeTech

Open article: The Belgian tech strategy by wintercircus.be

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Nicholas D'hondt's LinkedIn Performance

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