He Started Coding as a Teen—Now He's Teaching Leaders This

Leadership development, workplace humor, and building a global tech empire all started in one teenager's attic bedroom in the Netherlands. In this episode of Humor in the C Suite, host Kate Davis sits down with Jeroen Derwort — former CEO of Gamebasics, creator of Online Soccer Manager, and one of the most refreshingly human entrepreneurs you'll ever hear from — to talk about what it really takes to build something from nothing, lead with humor under pressure, and grow up as a leader alongside a company that exploded way beyond anything you planned for. Jeroen started coding Online Soccer Manager from his bedroom in 2001. He didn't know he was building a game that would eventually reach 200 million players worldwide. When he sold Gamebasics to Miniclip in 2021, he'd spent 16 years as CEO — navigating lawsuits, digital hooligans, corporate giants, tax authorities, and the very human challenge of learning to lead when you never really set out to be a leader at all. In This Episode, You'll Discover: ✅ Why Jeroen says perfection is the enemy of progress — and how not having huge expectations actually set him free ✅ How humor became his survival mechanism through lawsuits, lean years, and high-stakes negotiations ✅ The tax authority visit that turned into a two-hour football conversation — and why nobody asked a single scary question ✅ What happened when he accidentally renamed a million users after himself in the game database ✅ Why he was genuinely hurt every time someone left his company — and what that vulnerability taught him about leadership ✅ How he built and exited two successful tech companies in completely unrelated industries Key Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction & Jeroen's Story 06:05 Humor as a Leadership Survival Mechanism 11:54 Building Culture in a Gaming Company 17:56 Lawsuits, Lean Years and Keeping Your Wit About You 23:53 The Tax Authority Story 29:47 Jeroen's Funniest Story: Renaming a Million Users After Himself Notable Quotes: "Not taking myself too seriously, seeing the irony in things — that really helped. That was my survival mechanism." "I found it difficult when people left the company. I thought — why are you leaving the best company? And then eventually I left myself." "You cannot really fail if you don't have huge expectations. Just try it and see where it goes." About Jeroen Derwort: Jeroen Derwort is the former co-founder and CEO of Gamebasics, the company behind Online Soccer Manager — a game he began coding in his attic in 2001 that grew to over 200 million players worldwide before being acquired by Miniclip in 2021. A programmer by trade with a computer science degree from THUAS and a master's in ICT and Business from Leiden University, Jeroen also co-founded aviation app Roster Buster, which was acquired by CAE. He now serves as chairman of the Dutch Games Association and teaches game development at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. Resources & Links: 📚 Score by Jeroen Derwort [Book link] 💼 Jeroen Derwort on LinkedIn:   / jeroenderwort   Host: Kate Davis | Humor in the C Suite 📧 Want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 💬 COMMENT: What's one thing you built that turned out way bigger than you ever planned? 👍 LIKE if you believe done is better than perfect 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly episodes on leadership, humor & workplace culture 📤 SHARE with an entrepreneur who needs to hear this You'll Also Love: #leadershipdevelopment #workplacehumor #workplaceculture #authenticleadership #techleadership #HumorInTheCSuite