Investor Dirkjan Vis: “Meaningful returns, that's what Lendahand represents to me.”

Dirkjan Vis is an online entrepreneur who is passionate about what's happening in the investing world. What started as a curiosity about crowdfunding grew into a long-standing relationship with Lendahand. Dirkjan enjoys sharing his experience as a crowd investor, where he is delighted by the balance between financial and social returns.

 

From building websites to investing

Dirkjan started his career building websites and web shops, but soon made the switch to an online publishing company with its own platforms such as Ondernemeneninternet.nl, Investeerders.nl, and Crowdfundmarkt.nl. Here he publishes daily news and knowledge about online entrepreneurship and investing. This focus introduced him to crowdfunding.

“My interest in crowdfunding started when I saw how some online retailers were raising capital with it. After some research, I started using several crowdfunding platforms, including Lendahand. I immediately found the platform interesting because of its social impact,” Dirkjan says.

Because of his work, he regularly gets questions from friends or acquaintances about his investment or investment choices. “When I then point out that in addition to pure financial returns I also look at how my money is used, it sometimes surprises them how easily you can combine those two things on Lendahand." 

 

How does Dirkjan explain to friends what Lendahand does?

When Dirkjan explains to friends or family what Lendahand is, the emphasis is on the social impact: “Lendahand is a platform where you invest in projects in developing countries. It is unique because every investment is valued for social values such as employment, female entrepreneurship and sustainable development in agriculture or energy. With your investment, you therefore achieve not only a financial but also a social return.” 

We couldn't sum it up better ourselves! 

 

Easy first steps into crowdfunding

“I remember finding it very easy to get started with Lendahand,” recalls Dirkjan. “The website works nicely and with a minimum investment amount of 10 euros, it is accessible to everyone. I already had experience with crowdfunding and knew about the risks of investing in SMEs. But the social added value of Lendahand attracted me, and prompted me to invest immediately with larger amounts. I haven't regretted that so far!”

Investing is different from donating. The fact that you lend your money at Lendahand is an important advantage for Dirkjan: “You get your money back, with interest. Usually, when I get emails that there is money in my account again, I reinvest it. There are always new interesting projects coming up, so by now, I have built up a nice amount.” 

 

An entrepreneur who invests in entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, Dirkjan sees daily the importance of working capital for small and medium-sized businesses. “Even in the Netherlands there is often too little access to working capital for small companies. At listed companies your investment has zero impact, but at SMEs you really give entrepreneurs more financial opportunities.”

Fortunately, the financial return at Lendahand is not disappointing for Dirkjan: “The return may be lower than that I achieve with shares, but you also have less to look after. I see it as fixed income: you invest once and then the interest and repayments come in automatically. It feels somewhere like a savings or deposit account, but with a higher return.” 

 

Dirkjan's favorite projects

“I like to invest in entrepreneurship. For example, I like the crowdfunding projects of Bailyk, which aims to improve the quality of life of people in rural areas in Kyrgyzstan.”  Furthermore, Dirkjan likes to spread his investments as much as possible. “Borrowers who are on their 32nd project I sometimes skip over to avoid overlap.”

His approach is further rather intuitive: “The beauty of Lendahand is that I don't have to assess the risks of foreign projects myself. I follow the platform's ratios and choose projects that appeal to me.”

Comparing his overall experience at Lendahand to other platforms, Dirkjan is more than satisfied: “As the owner of Investeerders.nl, I look at different investment platforms on a daily basis. Lendahand stands out for its emphasis on sustainability. In the beginning I thought this would come at the expense of the financial result, but that is not so bad. Despite a few projects with payment delays, my returns are still above what I expected, and certainly higher than on a savings account.

 

Rules of thumb for new investors

Dirkjan likes to share his rules of thumb with new investors: “Be aware that you cannot access your money during the term of a project. Make sure you are well aware of the risks. Never invest more than you can spare, and be aware that not all projects end successfully. But with sufficient diversification, you can support entrepreneurs as well as achieve financial returns yourself.”

With years of experience as an investor and entrepreneur, Dirkjan sees Lendahand as a place where you not only get financial returns, but also contribute to a better world.

 

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Would you also like to share your experience as an investor with Lendahand with your fellow investors? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected].