GAME CHANGERS OF THE FUTURE
While most students spend their free time partying, drinking and doing other casual stuff,
there are also students who are working hard to get their business started and making their
future dreams a reality. We spoke to IMEM student Rutger-Jan and IGAD student Lex about
starting their own business, their entrepreneurial drive, and their future in the industry.
Text Claudia Urrutia Cortez Design FANNIE SCHELLINGERHOUT
‘I HAVE THE TIME NOW
TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT’
NAME: RUTGER-JAN CLEIREN
AGE: 23
COURSE: IMEM
WEBSITE: WWW.cln-studios.com
WHEN DID YOU START YOUR COMPANY?
I started my first company, CLN studios, when
I was 16 years old. Recently I started a new
company called XRXS. It is a company that my
parents had but they were not really doing
anything with it. I wanted to bring my passion
for cars and my passion for filmmaking
together, so I decided to do that under my
parents’ company XRXS. I am currently mainly
focusing on filming cars and selling them. I also
create documentaries about cars in the hope
of attracting potential buyers. It does not pay
the bills yet, but I am trying to figure out what
it is I want to do. At school I get the chance to
learn how to adapt my strategy.
Where dID you begin when starting your own
company?
My parents bought my first camera when I was
16, so I started making videos with my friends.
Then I started making videos for schools, local
businesses, musicians, family and friends. I
was always busy working on projects and
40 THE CONTRIBUTOR
combining that with high school. Luckily my
mom took care of the financial part, which
helped the feasibility of the scope.
Do you find it difficult to combine work with
school?
Sometimes. At this point I am working on a big
project with CLN studios. It is hard to schedule
my time well because they work from Monday
till Friday while I have to go to school. Besides,
it is located in Belgium so I have to travel a lot
and always prepare myself well before arriving
on set. Even though it is difficult right now to
catch up with my work, I always find a way to
figure it out.
What are your plans after youR graduatION?
I definitely want to continue with my company.
I already have some ideas for documentaries
and maybe a show that I want to do, so I have
the time now to figure that out. If I get a good
job offer I might do that for a couple of years,
but I enjoy working for myself because I can
make my own rules.
THE CONTRIBUTOR 41