About us

Founder's Story

Famous lyricist and novelist Paulo Coelho’s saying “If you only walk on sunny days you will never reach your destination” became synonymous for my business life. I started my career working for Hartman, a medium sized outdoor furniture company in the Netherlands. Nearly 10 years of intense work. I was one of two Board members. At a young age. Hardly any experience but lots of drive and goodwill. We turned Hartman from a resin manufacturer into a trading company. With a strong brand name. Had the majority of products made in China. My first Asia experience. Traveled to Asia nearly every month. Invited customers to visit the factories and shortened the supply chain. We had severe problems as well. Unsuccessful acquisitions and a declining market for own made products. More meetings with banks than customers and it all ended in 2005. The company had to file bankruptcy.

This bankruptcy became a turning point in my career. First of all, as I experienced the fine line between business and personal life. Secondly as I had to make a decision about the next step in my business life. And I didn’t have any doubts. I decided to go my own way. ‘Bellagio’ was born, a newcomer in the same industry. With the spirit of ambitious young men, fighting against the frustration of others. Even nowadays I am being confronted with an article out of those days in which I was accused of criminal behavior. The judge decided otherwise, the journalist apologized but the damage was done. No sunny days ………… Bellagio grew quickly and took it’s position on the market. We expanded to Germany and to the UK. ‘Growth’ became the theme of our business. Sales however is only one discipline within business life. Something I have underestimated. I did not have enough attention for quality issues and other operational concerns. With a negative impact on financial and organizational performance. A dispute on shareholder level (within another company in the same industry where I participated) took its toll and I had to reorganize Bellagio. All of a sudden I had to focus on ‘all those other’ business aspects. We stabilized Bellagio and moved on. With less confidence but learning from our mistakes. I consider my curiosity for new business opportunities a strength. It does open doors and Bridging Cultures was born. A company focusing on connecting people and companies. And creating a business case out of this connection. I was asked to advise a large Chinese manufacturer of food supplements on their European business strategy. And I enjoyed it. Business development and corporate strategy. All in an international context.

I decided to focus on my new challenge. Bridging Cultures replaced Bellagio fully. A new turning point. I took a few lessons with me to my new environment:

⁃ be transparent about your intentions and activities

⁃ don’t underestimate and undersell the value you could create

⁃ don’t force customers; a cooperation should grow naturally

Bridging Cultures is about creating value for everyone involved. In order to do so aforementioned lessons are important. International projects take time. Lots of time. As interests of different stakeholders need to be aligned. But the potential is large. By sharing technology and knowledge and applying this locally, people, companies and even countries will progress significantly. After a few years of exploring ‘the undefined industry of connecting’ I feel that we have found our reason for existence. We combine lots of experience with a large international network. I am pleased to introduce our philosophy, partners and projects. Welcome in the world of Bridging Cultures, welcome in my world!

Arne Schouwink

Founder