Joris van de Ven

Why this persona fits the audience

Buys and resells used camera lenses and accessories from Utrecht, mainly on eBay and a few forums. He tests items himself, photographs them against a neutral backdrop, and keeps specs and condition notes in a spreadsheet before publishing listings.

• Age: 36
• Location: Utrecht, Netherlands
• Occupation: IT consultant and hobby reseller
• Income: €47k
• Education: Master's degree
• Company size: Mid-sized (150-500 employees) as an external contractor
• Years in role: 8 years in IT consulting, 4 years running the side business

“If you can't measure the sharpness of a lens in the lab, how do you know it's worth selling? I'd rather sell nothing than mislead a buyer.”

Joris van de Ven is a 36-year-old IT consultant residing in the historic heart of Utrecht, Netherlands, who has carved out a unique dual identity blending high-level corporate strategy with hands-on optical commerce. Holding a Master's degree in Computer Science, he spends his professional days architecting secure cloud environments for mid-sized European firms, earning a steady salary of approximately €47,000. However, his true passion lies in the intricate world of vintage photography. Since 2019, he has operated a meticulous reselling business, specializing in used camera lenses and accessories sourced primarily from local pawn shops and private collectors in the Utrecht area. Unlike many casual flippers, Joris approaches reselling with the rigor of an engineer. He refuses to rely on third-party grading; instead, he personally tests every item using custom-built rigging to measure MTF charts and check for fungus or haze. He documents findings in a highly customized relational database, tracking everything from serial numbers to minute scratches that might affect the value. His workflow involves snapping dozens of photos against a neutral backdrop, manually editing metadata, and crafting detailed, honest descriptions for eBay and niche forums. This process is time-intensive, often consuming his entire Sundays, driven by a core value of absolute accuracy and transparency. His recent decisions reflect a desire to optimize this labor-intensive process without compromising quality. He has experimented with various automation scripts to parse image data but remains skeptical of black-box AI tools that might hallucinate specifications. Currently, he relies on a hybrid approach: free spreadsheet templates and manual entry, which he finds frustratingly slow but trustworthy. Joris values independence above all, preferring to control every aspect of his business rather than outsource critical steps to unreliable platforms. Despite the financial success of his side hustle, which supplements his income significantly, he views it as a labor of love and a contribution to the photography community, ensuring that buyers receive exactly what they pay for. His life is a careful equilibrium between the structured world of IT consulting and the tactile, unpredictable nature of hunting for vintage glass.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Joris wakes at 6:15 AM, immediately checking global currency rates and lens price alerts on his phone before making his morning coffee. By 7:00 AM, he is cycling through the quiet Utrecht streets to his client site, listening to a podcast on database optimization. At work, he spends the morning in a conference room configuring a migration script for a healthcare provider, then attends a status meeting where he diplomatically pushes back on unrealistic deadlines. Lunch is a quick sandwich eaten while reviewing code documentation. The afternoon is spent debugging a legacy server issue, requiring intense focus. By 17:30, he is home, changing out of his work clothes. From 18:30 to 21:00, he enters his reseller mode: unpacking a package of three vintage Nikon lenses, cleaning them with microfiber cloths, setting up his lightbox, and taking fifty test shots. He meticulously logs the results in his master spreadsheet, noting even the slightest dust spot. Dinner is simple, followed by an hour of forum engagement, answering questions about aperture rings. He sleeps by 23:00, already planning the next day's sourcing route.

Lifestyle

Joris lives in a renovated canal house near the Oudegracht in Utrecht, a location chosen for its proximity to the cycling network. His days are punctuated by long bike rides to work and local coffee shops, where he often works remotely if client meetings allow. He maintains a strict separation between his professional life and his reselling hobby, dedicating Sunday afternoons exclusively to testing and photographing inventory. Financially, he is pragmatic; he reinvests most profits from sales into better camera gear or storage solutions rather than luxury goods. Socially, he prefers small gatherings with fellow enthusiasts over large parties, often bonding over shared interests in vintage optics or cycling routes. Health is a priority, maintained through daily cycling and a diet that avoids processed foods, reflecting his general preference for clean, functional systems in all aspects of life.

Work life

As an IT consultant, Joris spends his weekdays troubleshooting legacy infrastructure and migrating cloud services for mid-sized Dutch enterprises. His role demands high precision and clear communication, though he often feels constrained by corporate bureaucracy and rigid project timelines. In the evenings and weekends, his 'real' work begins: sourcing glass from local pawn shops and private sellers in the Utrecht region. He treats this not as a gig, but as a rigorous data science project applied to physical objects. He builds his own optical testing rigs, writes Python scripts to analyze lens sharpness charts, and maintains a complex SQL-backed inventory system. The pressure comes from the need to balance billable hours with the unpredictable nature of finding unique inventory, requiring him to be constantly agile between client demands and market fluctuations.

Relationships

Joris is married to a graphic designer who manages their household finances and provides creative input for his photography backdrops. He has a close-knit circle of three friends from university, mostly engineers and photographers, with whom he meets monthly for dinner and gear swaps. He is moderately active in the Utrecht cycling club, attending weekly group rides, which serves as his primary social outlet. Online, he is a respected contributor on niche photography forums, known for his detailed technical reviews, though he rarely engages in heated arguments, preferring to let data speak for itself. His parents, retired teachers, live nearby and occasionally visit to help pack shipments, providing a grounding familial connection.

How they decide

Joris operates on a 'verify first, execute later' philosophy. He is naturally cautious and research-heavy, refusing to commit to any new tool or purchase without seeing concrete proof of its utility. He compares options side-by-side, often creating his own spreadsheets to model costs versus benefits. While he is open to innovation, he requires evidence that a solution will not introduce complexity or compromise data integrity. Peer validation from trusted forums carries significant weight, but his final decision rests on whether the logic holds up under his own scrutiny. He avoids impulsive buys and prefers to wait for a consensus on a product's reliability before adopting it.

How they sound

Joris speaks with a calm, measured cadence, typical of someone accustomed to explaining complex technical concepts clearly. His Dutch is standard, slightly formal in professional settings but relaxed with peers. He avoids hyperbole and emotional language, preferring precise adjectives like 'sharp,' 'consistent,' or 'flawed.' When discussing technology, he uses specific terminology (API, latency, schema) without condescension. He tends to pause thoughtfully before answering, ensuring accuracy over speed. He rarely uses slang or internet memes, maintaining a tone of intellectual curiosity. In conversation, he asks clarifying questions to ensure he fully understands the other person's constraints before offering an opinion.