Two years as a Young Graduate at Twipe: Simon looks back 

Two years ago, I joined Twipe as a Young Graduate without knowing exactly where I would end up in the organisation. 

Since then, I’ve worked across three teams, helped organize an industry event, designed an app without ever having used Figma before, managed relationships with some of Europe’s leading publishers and led projects from scoping to go-live. 

But if I had to sum up my first two years at Twipe, those aren’t actually the things I’d start with. What surprised me most was how quickly you’re trusted with real responsibility—and how many people are there to help you when you need it. 

Now that my Young Graduate Program has come to an end, it’s a good moment to look back at what two years as a Young Graduate at Twipe are really like and how I’ve experienced it.  

You don’t need to know exactly where you want to end up 

When I joined Twipe, I had a broad background. I studied Business and Entrepreneurship at Thomas More, followed by Business Data and Analytics at UCLL, and finished with a master’s in Business Management at the VUB. 

I knew I wanted to work at the intersection of business and technology, but I didn’t know exactly what kind of role would suit me best. That’s one of the reasons the Young Graduate Program appealed to me. Over two years, you get the opportunity to experience different teams, build new skills and discover what kind of work gives you energy. 

For me, that meant starting in Business Development, moving into Customer Success and eventually finding my place in Project Management. 

You’re trusted with responsibility from the start 

One of the first things I heard when I arrived at Twipe was: “We’d rather have you ask for forgiveness than for permission.” 

It sounded surprising at first, but I quickly understood what it meant: take the initiative. People trust you to try. 

My first weeks were a good example. I joined during a period when Twipe was preparing the Digital Growth Summit, our yearly event for leaders in the news industry. Instead of spending my first weeks only getting to know the company from behind my laptop, I was immediately involved. Within a short time, I had met many of our publishers and most of my colleagues. 

That same trust continued during my first rotation in Business Development. 

At one point, we wanted to show a prospect what their app could look like with Twipe. I decided to design the entire concept in Figma. There was only one problem: I had never opened Figma before. So I figured it out. 

That’s something I’ve experienced again and again at Twipe. You’re not expected to arrive knowing everything. You are expected to be curious, take ownership and be willing to learn. 

Your role can change faster than you expect 

After six months in Business Development, I moved into Customer Success. 

Suddenly, it wasn’t only learning about our publishers anymore. I became responsible for customer relationships and projects. I worked as Customer Success Manager for Mediahuis and later led the onboarding of Die Rheinpfalz onto the Twipe Platform, following the project from scoping through to go-live. 

That was a big responsibility compared with where I had been just a few months earlier. 

It also meant getting out of the office. For another onboarding project, I travelled to Leeuwarden, Netherlands on my own to meet the Mediahuis Noord team. They showed me around their print facilities, which is still one of my favourite memories at Twipe. 

Experiences like that made me realize how much you can grow when people give you the space to take ownership. 

Rotations help you discover what you’re good at 

Joining a brand-new team brought another kind of opportunity: instead of stepping into processes that had existed for years, I could help shape how we work together internally as well as with customers. 

Today, our team manages publisher projects from initial scoping and sprint planning with our developers through to testing and release. We bring together colleagues and customers with the goal of delivering projects on time, on budget and within scope AND we are doing exciting things! 😉

Looking back, each rotation gave me something I now use in my role. When I started the Young Graduate Program, I didn’t know Project Management would be where I’d end up. 

You get responsibility, but you don’t have to figure it out alone 

Being trusted with responsibility doesn’t mean being left on your own. 

From the beginning, I had people around me who helped me find my way. Riccardo was my buddy during my first six months in Business Development, while Dana, part of Twipe’s Leadership Team, mentored me throughout my Young Graduate journey. Whenever I needed advice or had one of my many questions, she made time for me. 

And that support goes beyond your buddy or mentor. It’s easy to sit down with another Twipee and ask for help, while internal training helps you better understand our products, publishers and the news industry. 

Life outside the office  

Of course, my two years at Twipe haven’t only been about projects, publishers and rotations. A big part of the experience has been the people I’ve shared it with. 

There’s usually something happening outside work, from game nights and afterworks to hitting the gym together. And my personal highlight? This summer, Twipe took us to Tomorrowland. 

The Young Graduate Program promised to help me discover what I enjoy and where I could make an impact at Twipe. It did. 

I started without knowing exactly where I wanted my career to go. Two years later, I’ve experienced different sides of the company, worked directly with publishers, taken responsibility for real projects and discovered the kind of work I want to keep doing. 

One Twipe saying has stayed with me throughout that journey: every day is day one. To me, it means staying curious, striving for excellence and always putting the publisher first. 

If you’re graduating and don’t have your entire career mapped out yet, that’s okay. What matters is being curious, willing to learn and ready to take responsibility.