Available for conversations Rotterdam, NL

Maximiliaan
Dahmen.

IBA student at RSM and founder of Bijlesmaatje, an AI-first Dutch tutoring platform. Building things that help people learn faster.

Get in touch See what I'm building
Currently
Year 3 IBA Rotterdam School of Management · GPA 8.4
Founded
Bijlesmaatje AI-first tutoring, live at bijlesmaatje.nl
Also
Business Relations Manager @ Socrates Society · Strategic Partnerships, Stakeholder Management, Fundraising
01 / About

A short bio.

I'm a 20-year-old entrepreneur studying International Business Administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam, top 10% of my cohort, operating at the intersection of finance, strategy, and AI.

Outside the lecture hall I run Bijlesmaatje, lead external relations for the Socrates business society, and serve as a Scouts chief, setting clear expectations, structuring programs around proven practices, and developing people beyond the conventional classroom.

I build at the intersection of sustainability, non-formal learning, and technology, creating products that feel inevitable in hindsight.

Sustainability Non-formal learning AI-first products Finance Strategy Outdoors
How I Think
01
First Principles
Break assumptions to fundamental truths, then reason up from there, not from analogy.
02
80 / 20 Rule
Identify the 20% of inputs driving 80% of outcomes and ruthlessly prioritise those.
03
Second-Order Thinking
Ask not just "what happens next?" but "what happens because of what happens next?"
04
Inversion
Define failure first. Avoiding the worst outcome is often the clearest path to the best.
Currently Reading
The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking
Michael D. Watkins
Strategic thinking is a trainable skill built on pattern recognition: the ability to see what others miss, then act on it decisively.
Tools I Master
Analysis
R Panel Regression Excel Financial Modeling
AI Leverage
Claude Code Zapier AI Replit Agent
Finance
REMS AP Systems Reconciliation
Relations
HubSpot
Personal anchor

The three shapes that guide everything.

A logo is not decoration. Mine encodes the qualities I want to embody, the values I refuse to compromise, and the aspirations I am quietly working toward.

Cross
Quality
Resilience
Strength through hardship.
Value
Sacrifice
Giving for a higher purpose.
Aspiration
Transcendence
Rise beyond the mundane.
Diamond
Quality
Clarity
Clarity of thought and purpose.
Value
Integrity
Unbreakable ethical character.
Aspiration
Excellence
Pursuit of the highest form.
Circle
Quality
Wholeness
Harmony, balance, inclusiveness.
Value
Unity
Equality, community, connection.
Aspiration
Eternity
Create something enduring.
03 / What I'm building

A tutoring platform that feels like 2026.

Live · 15+ active students

An AI-first tutoring platform for Dutch university students. Intake, scheduling, progress reports and study prep all run on an automated layer, so every hour spent with a student is actually spent teaching.

AI-automated ops. Client intake, scheduling, and progress reporting run on Zapier, Typeform and Chatbase, saving ~3 hours per week.
Built from zero. Self-designed site, SEO funnel, and social playbook. Top-3 local search rankings inside six months.
Measured outcomes. 90%+ of tutored students report a one-point grade improvement after a structured cycle.
RSM-native. Coverage across 5+ RSM courses: accounting, finance, strategy, statistics, methods.
Visit bijlesmaatje.nl
bijlesmaatje / ops
Active students15+
Courses covered5+
Grade lift rate92%
Ops hrs / wk saved~3h
Local SEO rankTop 3
Sponsorship Pipeline · Socrates 6 won
Prospects
22
Outreach
18
Meetings
12
Proposals
8
Won
6
01↓
Input · The Eyes
Student uploads a photo
A photo of homework or a textbook page arrives via the Web Library or WhatsApp. No manual re-entry — the image is the trigger.
WhatsApp APIWeb Library
02↓
Analysis · Vision & OCR
The AI reads the image
A vision model processes the pixels: text is extracted via OCR and the subject and level are identified automatically.
GPT-4o VisionGemini Pro VisionOCR
03↓
Transformation Layer
Four engines run in parallel
The analyzed content fans out to four specialised engines simultaneously.
Smart Summarizer
Filters key points into a concise summary.
Quiz Generator
Creates multiple-choice questions from the text.
Flashcard Engine
Converts concepts into spaced-repetition flashcards.
AI Buddy
Loads the content as context for the Socratic chatbot.
04↓
Gamification · The Hook
Survival Mode keeps students engaged
Wrong answers cost lives; correct streaks build momentum. Practice feels earned, not forced.
❤ Lives🔥 StreaksSurvival Mode
05↓
Retention · Socratic Method
The AI Buddy guides, never just tells
When a student gets stuck, the AI Buddy asks targeted questions that lead them to the answer themselves — no spoon-feeding.
06↓
Distribution · Accessible Everywhere
The full chain lives in your pocket
A message to the WhatsApp Business number triggers the entire pipeline within milliseconds. No app to download, no account to create.
WhatsApp API<500ms responseZero friction
04 / Experience

Things I've done.

Mar 2025 — Present
Socrates NederlandBusiness Relations Manager · 200+ member society
Leads external relations strategy, sourcing and closing sponsorship packages (€500–€2,000/partner) with 3+ corporate partners. Manages a structured pipeline of 15+ RELATIONSHIPS and organises targeted networking events connecting RSM students to Dutch business leaders.
Aug 2024 — Sept 2025
Van Herk GroepAccounts Payable Administrator
Processed and validated 100+ INVOICES / MONTH with 99%+ accuracy across REMS and Excel. Conducted monthly financial reconciliations, resolved billing disputes with 20+ vendors within 48 hours, and co-engineered SOPs that streamlined onboarding for new hires.
Jan 2024 — Present
BijlesmaatjeFounder & Tutor
Founded an AI-first tutoring platform from zero, growing to 10+ STUDENT CLIENTS via self-built SEO and social media. Achieved top-3 local search rankings in 6 months. Automated intake, scheduling, and reporting (Zapier, Typeform, Moneybird), saving ~3 hrs/week. 90%+ GRADE IMPROVEMENT RATE across 5+ courses.
2025
JPMorgan Chase & Co.Investment Banking Job Simulation · Forage
Identified an M&A target based on strategic and financial criteria. Built a DCF valuation model adjusting for a competitor bid and supply chain disruption. Delivered a client-ready 2-pager with company profile and auction process summary.
Certificate issued
2025
Commodity Trading 101Masterclass · Erasmus Commodity & Trade Centre · BNR Beurs
Intensive masterclass covering commodity market structure, trading mechanics, price formation, and risk management strategies across physical and financial commodity markets.
Certificate issued
2025
Sustainable Corporate FinanceErasmus University Rotterdam
Explored ESG integration in corporate finance decision-making, sustainability-linked debt instruments, green bonds, and the impact of climate risk on valuation models.
Certificate issued
2025
Rotterdam School of ManagementExchange Ambassador
Guided and supported 8 INCOMING EXCHANGE STUDENTS through their academic and social integration at RSM — coordinating orientations, answering practical questions, and acting as a first point of contact throughout their stay.
2024
MOVESchool Volunteer
Three-month volunteer placement supporting educational activities and youth programming. Assisted in organising and delivering non-formal learning sessions for young people in a school setting.
2024
RSGFund Raiser
Raised €2,000 for the organisation through targeted fundraising activities, managing donor outreach and coordinating the campaign from planning to close.
2026
Erasmus+ · How to Talk About WarInternational Training · Kemer, Türkiye
Training course on conflict communication for youth workers and educators across 10+ NATIONAL DELEGATIONS. Applied Nonviolent Communication (NVC), trauma-sensitive dialogue frameworks, and consensus-seeking simulations. Integrated these tools into Bijlesmaatje's tutoring methodology and academic practice.
2026 · Upcoming
Erasmus+ · Economy EssentialsInternational Training · Poland
7-day fully funded training on economics, finance, and critical thinking for youth workers — equipping participants with practical financial literacy competencies to pass on to the young people they work with.
05 / Let's talk

Working on something interesting?

Happy to chat about entrepreneurship, AI in education, Dutch tutoring, or anything at the intersection of finance, strategy and non-formal learning.

maxdahmen7@gmail.com LinkedIn bijlesmaatje.nl
How it's built
DevelopmentAI-Assisted · Claude Code · Replit · VS Code InfrastructureGitHub Actions · DNS management ArchitectureHTML / CSS / JS