Founder story
About Jurjen and his mission
Jurjen Wagemaker studied Civil Engineering at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), graduating in 2001. During his internship, he spent five months in Bangladesh working on flood control and drainage projects for the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED). Bangladesh, a densely populated and extremely poor country, faces severe and recurring floods. Living in Dhaka city, traveling by rickshaw past slums each day to work, and conducting field work in the countryside, Jurjen witnessed deep poverty and social inequality firsthand. Through his interactions with flood victims, he observed the devastating impact of floods on people’s lives. As a colleague aptly described it, “floods are really pounding the poor.” This experience profoundly affected Jurjen, providing lifelong motivation to help others.
“Floods are really pounding the poor”
For his Master’s thesis, Jurjen spent five months in China at the Yellow River Conservancy Commission in Zhengzhou, focusing on Integrated Water Resources Management. After completing his studies, he worked internationally: in Uganda as a borehole drilling consultant, in Mozambique on integrated water management, in India managing groundwater projects, and in Bolivia designing and supervising small-scale water supplies in remote areas of Potosí. After two years in Bolivia, Jurjen decided to gain experience in The Netherlands and joined HKV, a specialized water management company. Though he initially worked on Dutch projects, he soon returned to international assignments, working in Hungary, USA, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. In 2010, he relocated to Indonesia to establish HKV’s local branch, building it to a team of five staff members handling flood projects within four years.
Throughout his career abroad, Jurjen encountered challenging living conditions that taught him two crucial lessons:
- Making a difference requires deep understanding of local situations and appreciation for all stakeholders’ perspectives — a principle that cannot be overstated.
- Sustainable impact demands both a sound business model and considerable perseverance. His project-based work often limited long-term impact, highlighting the need for sustainable business approaches.
Convinced he needed to act on these insights, Jurjen left his job in 2014 to found FloodTags as a sole proprietorship. The venture embodied his two life lessons: creating a tool to “listen to the people” while operating on a sustainable, non-project-based business model.
“Clear need to appreciate all stakeholders’ perspectives”
Over the next decade, Jurjen developed the FloodTags platform alongside his team of engineers and programmers. Initial funding came from subsidies, prizes, and early customers. The platform earned recognition through prestigious awards, including the World Bank GFDRR’s “Challenge Fund” in 2016. By 2018, the platform had matured sufficiently to attract direct end-user clients. Today, FloodTags serves prominent organizations including the UK Met Office, Met Éireann, World Bank, Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency, ICEYE, and Microrisk. In June 2024, the business transitioned from a sole proprietorship to FloodTags B.V., reflecting its growing responsibilities.
The journey wasn’t without challenges. The global COVID-19 pandemic impacted several contracts, creating difficult years for the company, though they persevered. In May 2023, Jurjen survived a serious car accident – a head-on collision with a truck. After months of rehabilitation, he gradually resumed work from September 2023, returning with renewed motivation to drive change through FloodTags.
Jurjen is married and has three children.
