Rene was born in 1960 in Friesland. He came to Norway on holiday several times, but did not decide to move until 2006. He sold his house and company in the Netherlands and arrived in Brøttum. He wanted to give his children a better future in a country outside the EU, with beautiful scenery, good educational opportunities and fewer people than in the Netherlands. His wife changed her mind and did not move with him to Norway. Rene lived alone in Brøttum in two years. After two years he moved back to the Netherlands and started up a new business. He came back to Norway in 2014 when his children were grown up. He brought his new wife and continued with his Dutch company in Norway.

Rene was interested in social media strategy, and wanted to start producing and selling Dutch waffles in Norway. His idea was to create a chain of shops in Norway, where people could buy waffles and traditional homemade refreshments. He has an extensive project, an important part of which is to promote local products, but also to employ disabled people and use a portion of his income to support local charities like the Red Cross.

He wants to collaborate with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration and local councils. He also works as a consultant, helping companies, organisations or institutions with professional development of their business.
“Grandma’s Best” is a cafe that Rene has opened in Venabygdfjellet. The cafe is not a place to make and sell waffles, but Rene organises cultural activities such as painting courses, with the help of a Dutch artist there. In this way, he wants to give the area a new dimension.

He thinks too many people live in too little space in the Netherlands and that money is much more important there than human relationships. In his home country, traditional values were disappearing and materialism dominated. Rene thinks that Norwegian and Dutch people are different. They have a different lifestyle and different values and priorities. The first time he came to Norway and needed help, he got it from people he did not really know. He greatly appreciates the fact that Norwegians are kind and not insistent and that they have clear views.