Freedom as a Founder: What 20 Years Abroad Taught Me About Staying in the Game

By Wim Dijkgraaf – CEO, Quotation Factory

Over the past months, many people have sent me messages after my livestreams. Most are encouraging—telling me to keep speaking openly and honestly. Others say I’m too direct, too critical, or too sharp “on the man.” And that’s fine. Everyone is free to feel what they feel.

But that word—freedom—is exactly what I want to talk about.

Because the freedom I use to express myself didn’t just happen. I built it. And once you step outside the system you grew up in, once you step outside the boundaries of a culture, a country, or a mindset, your entire perspective changes.

Freedom of Movement: Leaving the System to See the System

I grew up partly Dutch, partly German—though the German culture never fit me. I spent my youth on the water, sailing and surfing. Nothing makes you feel freer than wind, waves, and horizon.

Later, while working in the Netherlands and Germany, I felt the walls closing in. The culture didn’t align with who I was becoming. So I left. Brazil became my home—first temporarily, then permanently. I’ve now lived here for more than twenty years.

São Paulo is chaotic, alive, imperfect—and profoundly free. Free from over-regulation. Free from micromanagement of every square meter. Free from the idea that your life must follow a predefined script.

When you step out of Europe, you see Europe differently. When you step out of a system, you begin to see its shape.

Freedom of Speech: Saying What **Must** Be Said

My freedom to speak comes from distance. Distance from Dutch political correctness. Distance from the sensitivity-culture where tone matters more than truth. Distance from the fear many people have of saying the “wrong” thing because of their employer, position, or social circle.

In Brazil, you can still debate hard. You can still differ in opinion without walking on eggshells. You see poverty daily. You see people fighting for survival, fighting hard, learning agility not from books but from necessity. That teaches you something about resilience—and about honesty.

I choose to speak plainly, even if it offends. Not because I want to hurt, but because sugar-coating never saved a company. Truth sometimes does.

Freedom of Transaction: Creating Value Without Permission

One thing I refuse to accept—professionally or personally—is the growing culture of “talking clubs.” Reports, panels, committees, discussions… but almost no action.

Business today increasingly mirrors politics: lots of noise, little doing.

At Quotation Factory, we deliberately built the opposite.

We are virtual. We are distributed. We are output-driven, not hours-driven.

Everyone on our team has freedom of location, lifestyle, and schedule. I don’t manage presence—I manage quality. And despite (or perhaps because of) this freedom, our output is world-class.

Some investors still don’t understand this. They remain selectively deaf to the evidence. But that’s the price of doing something new.

Freedom to Play the Infinite Game

James Carse’s concept of “finite games” and “infinite games” resonates with me deeply.

• Finite games have clear rules, fixed players, and a winner. Football. Chess. Elections.
• Infinite games have evolving rules, shifting players, and one goal: continue playing as long as possible.

Entrepreneurship is an infinite game. Metalworking is an infinite game. Survival as a company is an infinite game.

And right now, digitalization threatens to turn an infinite game into a finite one for many metalworking businesses—because the cost of keeping up is becoming too high.

This is where Quotation Factory steps in.

The Mission: Helping Metalworkers Stay in the Game

Our purpose is simple but urgent:

Ensure that digitalization does not become a noose around the neck of metalworking companies. Provide tools that allow them to keep playing—for years, even decades—at a fair price.

We build a platform that lets metalworking businesses remain competitive, agile, and profitable without being swallowed by the increasing complexity of digital manufacturing.

Whether you're a small workshop or a mid-sized factory, the goal is the same: Stay in the game. Keep playing. Keep winning your future.

Freedom Is Not a Luxury—It’s a Responsibility

Twenty years away from the Netherlands has changed me. Not into someone “better,” but into someone freer. I’m not nationalistic. I don’t glorify any political system—most of them frustrate me deeply.

But freedom allows me to:

• Build what I believe in
• Speak truthfully
• Act decisively
• Lead authentically
• And support an industry I care about

Not everyone has that freedom. Many are trapped by roles, expectations, or environments. That is exactly why I must use mine.

If you like my directness—thank you. If you don’t—that’s okay too.

I’m not here to please everyone. I’m here to help metalworking companies stay alive, stay strong, and stay in the infinite game.

The Future Is Not Finished

Whether in Brazil, the Netherlands, or anywhere else, one thing is clear: Freedom—of speech, of transaction, of movement—is disappearing faster than most realize. But at Quotation Factory, we will continue to build from a place of freedom, for the sake of those who need it most.

To every metalworker fighting to stay in the game: We’re building so you can keep playing.