Five years of entrepreneurship means thinking ahead, making plans and taking strategic decisions. But anyone who’s ever braved the open sea knows: the water is rarely still. Sometimes you drift along effortlessly on a calm current; sometimes the waves force you to adjust course. Success doesn't follow a straight line. It sways, shifts and takes unexpected turns. The course of One Inch Whale, too, is full of surprises, insights and moments when it all seemed to tilt. And it’s precisely those moments that shaped One Inch Whale into what it is today. This story looks back on a few unexpected turns from the past five years…
The white shirt and the red tomato sauce
Take that one time Wim and Jasper were about to visit an important client. The meeting had the potential to be a gamechanger, so everything was meticulously prepared. Right up until lunch.
“We had lunch after visiting the client’s brewery,” Wim recalls with a laugh, “and I had just been served a plate of prawns with tomatoes. The moment I put my fork in, the whole thing splashed all over my white shirt. That afternoon, we still had a meeting with the company’s board of directors. Luckily, the team quickly handed me a branded t-shirt so I could freshen up and still make a good impression.”
"One Inch Whale" might refer to the ocean’s largest creature – impressive, powerful, colossal – but the true strength lies in that 'one inch'
A white shirt covered in tomato sauce, just before a client meeting: it may sound trivial, but it’s a perfect metaphor for entrepreneurship. You can’t predict everything, but you can choose how you respond. And just like Wim showed up in a fresh shirt and good spirits, One Inch Whale has learned to stay flexible and resilient through the years. Always with a touch of humour.
No stain too big
That mindset – rethinking, letting go and spotting opportunity – turned out to be pure gold. Even when a carefully mapped-out plan got ‘stained’, the team always opted for action. Like a white shirt that
can’t be saved, but is swapped for something new and better. Just like the stain wasn’t the end of the visit, a setback isn’t the end of a project or partnership.
That’s exactly what defines One Inch Whale. The name might refer to the ocean’s largest creature – impressive, powerful, colossal – but the true strength lies in that “one inch”: a small shift that makes the whole system agile. In a crowded sea where competition and change are never far off, One Inch Whale consciously opts for flexibility and lightness. Not a heavy tanker, but a nimble diver, ready to change direction the moment it’s needed.
By continually weighing up what the right answer is - for that client, in that moment - we stay in motion. That makes all the difference in a sea of fixed formats.
“There were times we thought we were on the right course, only for new circumstances to arise that challenged us to adjust,” says Jasper. “But that’s exactly where our strength lies.”
The agile stain solution
Still, there was never any doubt about One Inch Whale’s direction. “We’ve stayed true to our vision,” says Wim. “Our strength lies in agility. We don’t cling to how things ‘should’ be. We focus on what can be.”
That agility isn’t just about dealing with setbacks; it also defines how One Inch Whale operates. There’s no fixed back-office, no standardised approach. Every project begins with the client’s specific context and needs. Whether it’s software tools, research methods or AI applications – the team consciously chooses the solution that fits best at that particular moment, with the right expertise. No one-size-fits-all, but an approach that evolves with the request.
It’s precisely that organic and flexible way of working that creates space for innovation. By continually weighing up what the right answer is (for that client, in that moment) One Inch Whale stays in motion. And that’s what makes all the difference in a sea of fixed formats. A project that initially stalled
turned out to be the start of a collaboration no one had foreseen. “It taught us to stay open to change,” Jasper adds.
From stain to spark
Whether it was tomato sauce on a white shirt, market conditions shifting with the tides or a project taking an unexpected turn – the team learned not to shy away from challenges, but to face them head-on. Even when everything seemed on track, a new wave could appear, demanding a different approach. And that’s when One Inch Whale proved its strength: not by drifting along aimlessly, but by staying sharp and navigating with a steady hand.
Five years of One Inch Whale isn’t a story of simply going with the flow. It’s a story of boldly changing course, without losing the compass. Of finding opportunity in chaos, of choosing depth where others remain on the surface. Because those who stick too rigidly to the plan sometimes miss the power of a perfectly timed detour.
