.nl in the spotlight: cosigned.nl

How did you come up with the idea of setting up a marketing agency?

"I've got considerable experience in marketing," explains Max. "It's what I studied before entering the jobs market, and I've been working in the industry as a freelancer for some time. I've worked on the marketing of festivals in Amsterdam and elsewhere, and I've done promo-videos for performing artists. That's enabled me to build up a network that includes a lot of performers I've worked with, including 4SHOBANGERS. Because of the coronavirus crisis, he's now mainly focused on creating online content, such as podcasts and interviews. And I'm helping him with the marketing and so forth. After working on my own for several years, I decided it was time to get together with some other people and start a business. So I approached three people I knew through my work, and suggested setting up a creative marketing agency with me. They were all just as keen as I was, so we started Cosigned together a few months back."

Who are your services aimed at?

"Mainly small businesses and performers in the creative sector and the Amsterdam hip hop scene. Artists and content producers who are just starting out, for example. We want to be the go-to people for clients like that, the people they turn to to sort everything out for them and help them bring their creative ideas to life. We want to deliver the services that artists want. Our mission is to help other people realise their creative dreams."

What do your team members specialise in?

"There are four of us, all creative and enthusiastic people. Each of us has a different background and our own specialisms. So we can share the work on a flexible basis and act quickly when we're needed. That's important, because last-minute assignments are not so much the exception as the rule in the creative sector. Aaron's very experienced in video production. Daan's a talented photographer and marketer, and Maas specialises in social media, from content strategies to time lines. He builds websites as well. My strengths are graphic design, video production and marketing."

How did you come up with your domain name?

"We thought about it for ages. We wanted something that suited us. Something that expressed who we are and what we do. Cosigned is derived from 'co-sign', a common term in hip hop culture. Co-signing is when, say, a prominent artist shows their approval for an upcoming artist in whatever way. It's a sort of endorsement, a way of helping the newcomer develop their career. Ultimately, a few years from now, we hope we'll be able to use the reputation we've built up to help others get started. We'll then be giving expression to the meaning of our name."

What about building and hosting your website?

"We were thrilled to find that the domain name cosigned.nl was still available. A .nl domain name seemed best because our main audience is creatives in and around Amsterdam. But we're happy to work with people and businesses from other countries too." "I built the website entirely myself using WordPress. It's recently gone live. Maas will handle the site's further development and optimisation. Hosting is by Strato. I wanted a simple package and, after looking around for a while, decided Strato fitted the bill."

Finally, any advice for fellow start-ups?

"I'd say, just do it. Your never know where an idea may take you, but you'll almost certainly enjoy the ride. So, even if you don't succeed in doing what you started out to do, the experience will be worth the trouble."