When I ask Suzet van Rossum what kind of career she imagined for herself growing up, she laughs. “Honestly? No idea,” she says. “I have always been searching.”

That probably explains why her route to Publiq was anything but straightforward. Before joining the company, Suzet studied psychology for a year, spent five years working in hospitality, travelled through Australia, and even doubted whether she should apply for the role at Publiq at all.

She is our Customer Success Officer, and the person at Publiq many administrators speak to most. She organises online customer sessions, works closely with development on new features, and acts as the first point of contact for our clients. The fact that she does not come from a traditional technical background has become one of her biggest strengths.

Growing up in a house where someone was always home

Suzet grew up in Amersfoort as the youngest of eight children. In a household that large, it was never quiet. “I basically had lots of extra fathers and mothers around me,” she says laughing. “There was always someone helping me or explaining something to me.”

Growing up in such a large family shaped her in more ways than she realised at the time. Working together, talking to people, and dealing with different personalities always came naturally to her. “I think that later in life, I actually had to learn how to do things on my own,” she says. “Travelling definitely helped me with that.”

Hospitality as a training ground

After studying psychology for a year, Suzet unexpectedly ended up working in hospitality. She worked her way up from waiting tables to floor manager and eventually restaurant manager, taking responsibility for staff, schedules, and day-to-day operations. “I always used to think I would never work in hospitality,” she says. “And in the end, I absolutely loved it.”

Looking back, that is not surprising. Hospitality combined exactly the things that energised her most: working with people, switching quickly between tasks, and constantly overseeing multiple things at once. “When the terrace filled up in summer, things could get very chaotic,” she says. “But I actually loved that kind of energy.”

There were surprising similarities with her current role. “I always compare my role at Publiq to a kitchen,” she explains. “The customers are the guests, the developers are the chefs, and I am somewhere in between, making sure everything keeps running smoothly.”

Australia, uncertainty, and an unexpected opportunity

Even though she enjoyed working in hospitality, Suzet started questioning her future. “Not because I disliked the work,” she says, “but more because I kept wondering: is this really it?”

She decided to leave her job and move to Australia, to live with her brother. For a while, she even considered staying there permanently. After nine months, however, she returned to the Netherlands without a clear plan. No permanent home, no mapped-out career, and still plenty of doubts about what she wanted to do next.

That was when she came into contact with Mark from Publiq and de BouwApp. Even then, she still hesitated. “Before those first conversations, I genuinely thought: I am not going to do this,” she admits. “But after speaking with Mark, everything immediately felt very relaxed and personal.”

The link between customers and development

At Publiq, Suzet works in Customer Success and Support, although her role has gradually grown beyond simply answering questions. In The Netherlands, she hosts kickstarts for new administrators and organises monthly online Bouwkeet sessions where customers exchange experiences. She also works closely with development on new features and improvements and gives demos to potential customers in Australia.

The position between customers and developers suits her perfectly. She is often one of the first people to hear where administrators run into problems, what features they are missing, and which processes could work better. From there, she works closely with development and translates technical changes back to customers.

One example is the ability for administrators to log into the admin portal directly through the app. “At first I thought: this is going to be far too complicated,” she says. “But administrators kept asking for it.”

Eventually, the feature was developed and quickly became one of the most popular recent additions. “That is the fun part,” she says. “You hear an idea from customers and suddenly it actually exists, and people are genuinely happy with it.”

Working from a campervan in Switzerland

Although Suzet no longer sees herself moving abroad permanently, she still enjoys the freedom her work gives her. At one point, she worked remotely from Joris and Esther’s campervan while driving it back from Italy to the Netherlands. “One administrator asked me whether I was sitting behind my desk,” she says laughing. “At that point, I had already been driving through Switzerland for five hours.”

She describes the culture at Publiq as one built on freedom and trust, without continuous control. “Nobody constantly checks where you are or what you are doing,” she says. “As long as you do your work well, a lot is possible.”

The future, and a little puppy love

For now, Suzet sees herself staying in the Netherlands, close to family, friends, and the growing number of nieces and nephews she wants to see growing up. She also sees a future for herself at Publiq.

There will soon be another addition to her life as well: an Italian Greyhound puppy she is very excited about. “I have already bought a little carrier bag,” she admits, slightly embarrassed. “For the puppy phase, of course.”