Employee Spotlight: Joris Fonteijn

Meet Crobox's Chief Product Officer!

*Mr. Stockpain (French pronunciation): On ski trip in Val Thorens, Joris requested ten "stock pain". Stokbrood is baguette in Dutch and therefore a direct translation.

He hasn't outlived the nickname just yet.

Q. If you could sum up your job in one word, what would you say?

I started out as a behavioral change specialist, setting up designs for different experiments. But slowly, I began to have my own ideas. My former manager gave me freedom, trust, and responsibility, which really had me believing in myself.

And then I moved into more multidisciplinary roles. So one word to sum up my job? I thought you said these were easy questions!

I wear different hats: Experience in UX design, knowledge of psychology, and management. What I really like about this position is the process - having a gut-feeling or epiphany, creating a design from this, and then seeing how our resources in-house make these visions a reality. It gives me a kick to see something I’ve ideated on a clients’ website, and in our own dashboard.

So I guess you could say my job is: Multi-layered.

Q. What’s your favorite weekend activity?

Pre-COVID or during COVID? Before, I would go for drinks on a Friday, and there’s nothing better than going to festivals in the summer over a weekend. But, to be honest, my favorite activity on a weekend is going for breakfast.

I have a bit of a split personality - sometimes I like to go for drinks and party, but other times I like to chill and watch Netflix. There’s nothing better than a good sci-fi or action film to recharge my batteries.

Q. What do you do to procrastinate?

Ok - prepare for another self-analytical answer. You’re interviewing a behavioral psychologist after all!

For me, there’s a difference between subconscious and conscious procrastinating. If I’m subconsciously procrastinating, I’ll open LinkedIn or go back and forth between tabs. LinkedIn is so boring, but I’ve gotten rid of Facebook and Instagram, so my only semi-dopamine hit is LinkedIn.

Consciously, if I’m procrastinating at work I pick up jobs that I like over jobs that I like less. This is semi-procrastination, of course, because the outcome is that I’m still one I’m proud of for carrying out. That’s just my personality.

Q. What time do you go to bed on weekdays?

This one’s easy - ten pm!

Q. What’s your most hated food?

I don’t like endives - it’s a green plant similar to kale. Also foie gras - it sounds fancy and I’ll order it in a restaurant, but when it’s put in front of me I realize it’s horrible.

Q. What’s the closest to fame you’ve ever gotten?

When I was working for an ad agency, they were looking for a model for The Telegraph (a Dutch newspaper). KLM was a client of ours at the time, but we had a very small budget for their Valentines campaign, so they asked me to be their model.

Yep, I’m the guy holding about thirty balloons...in a harness.

From a professional perspective, I once gave a presentation to around 160 people, plus a bunch of cameras in my face (which I wasn’t exactly looking forward to) for Crobox. Although this isn’t my preferred way, I know it’s good for professional education. But it’s not something I would necessarily seek out.

Q. What’s an object that would describe who you are, and why?

I like these conceptual questions, but I have so many different ways of approaching them. At first I thought: A stone. Like the thinking man stone statue. But then I thought: Stones can’t think, so maybe I’m not a stone.

I guess, in the end, because I’m so analytical and always reflecting (as you probably have guessed already with these questions) - then, I’m a mirror. But I’m also a mirror to other people, because I’m trained to constantly put myself in their shoes.

Q. What’s your favorite app?

I don’t have many apps on my phone - but the ones I do have are a combination of pleasure and utilitarian. The app I use most is my journal app: It’s basically a five-minute entry every morning. Like today, I answered three things I’m grateful for:

Buying a house, getting to know Crobox over the years, and the bed I was lying in (it was early morning). And then the next entry prompt is, “What will I do to make today great?” which I use as a task-list. Basically, it’s a great app because I can build micro-blocks for a daily routine. I don’t use it on the weekend, though.

If the journal app is my most used, I’d have to say that Headspace or any meditation apps are my favorite. This is less on a tangible level, but provides me with some mental freedom I think we could all use.

Q. Mountains, beach, or forest?

I’d say mountains - they’re just so overwhelming and majestic. But I also enjoy skiing, and the whole experience around skiing (apres-ski!). I get the most out of mountains.

Q. Who would you swap lives with in the office for a day?

My first instinct would be with Sjoerd. It depends on what the question entails, I guess, but if I can have his brain and read the matrix like he can - that would be cool. I think it’s impressive to see how he can explain his technical knowledge so easily to others, and I’d want a peek of that.

Our Employee Spotlights features interviews with Crobox's in-house experts. From data scientists to psychologists, learn what makes us tick professionally (and privately).