Patrick de Zeeuw proves the true meaning of Legacy.

Achievement is about doing great things – and Patrick achieved so much in his life.

Legacy is about empowering other people to do great things – and Patrick empowered so many. With his vision, his drive, his endless energy and unstoppable enthusiasm.

In my case it’s true to say that, without Patrick and the Startupbootcamp network he created, I would not have a business. This is also true of hundreds of others. That is a true legacy.

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I met Patrick in 2013, at Hanneke’s Boom café in Amsterdam. He was interviewing startups at a Pitch For Coffee event, and I pitched myself as a mentor for the Startupbootcamp program. Patrick took a look at me – with no real track record of coaching startups to pitch, yet with a book I had written called Three Minute Presentation, and a bucket of enthusiasm – and gave me a chance.

“Come and do a short workshop – if the teams like what you do, you can go ahead and coach them to pitch.’

This was the trigger for me to get started as a pitch coach. What followed was working on pitch scripts with the startups, and then sitting for hours in weekly meetings – 30 minutes per team, where the startup pitcher, Patrick and I would sit together with a Google Doc, and Patrick would go through the script. Mostly he used a flamethrower to review the storylines!

I learned so much in those meetings, of which I did over fifty. He told the teams;

You need to tell me what you do in the first 20 seconds. Get to the point fast!

Describe the pain – that’s why you created this product, not to use technology, but to solve a problem.

Make them feel the pain – stick the fork in, twist it, twist it again!

This takes too long – break it down to three big things.

Put it in human language – not just technology. Talk about, ‘People today want…’ or ‘Today, things have changed – customers don’t accept spending hours doing this…’

You need a new slide here – it takes too long on this visual, the audience have short attention spans.

You need to give me something new every 30 seconds, make me want more, and more – every 30 seconds I need to be surprised, to have my attention re-set.

I miss one big thing – why you? Why are you doing this? What makes you come to the office, 24/7, to build this company? What drives you? Why?

And so, so much more. Sitting in during run-throughs in the week before demo day could be brutal because Patrick’s standards were so high. My job was to keep the startup focused, work with Patrick’s feedback, and help them to convert it into action – and a great pitch. This combination worked, as we helped teams like Sendcloud, 24Sessions, Relayr and Signaturit, and countless others, make great pitches – which were a gateway to greater things.

Today I’ve coached more than 1600 startups. Around 60% of what I coach today – even after 9 years of learning – comes from those early working sessions. Listening to Patrick. Learning. Constantly thinking – what makes a great pitch? How do I help them make that winning pitch? How do I convert Patrick’s knowledge and teaching into action the startup can take, to grow and shine?

His knowledge and insight was only the beginning for me. Thanks to the network he created (together with Startupbootcamp co-founder Ruud Henriks) and the opportunities to connect with that network, I made amazing connections – leading to business partners, customers and constant learning.

And this is where Patrick’s legacy starts to show itself. Mine is only one of the stories of being empowered to grow and develop.

Hundreds of Startups, numerous connections, multiple programs, countless innovators have benefitted from Patrick’s co-creation of the Startupbootcamp platform. Patrick spent his time divided among hundreds of people over the years. The one unifying thing among them – they were all looking for the next big thing.

And after talking with Patrick, you were always in a better position to hunt for that next big thing, and make it happen. Even after a 10 minute talk – you would be a better person, just by having a positive conversation about opportunities, what you are working on and how you are doing as a person. Patrick had that ability to make you feel 10 metres tall, and capable of anything.

His ability to present was unparalleled too. Communication was his thing, and he was a master at it.

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Using the word ‘had’ and ‘was’ is very hard for me to process properly.

In my head, Patrick is out there, working on his own next big thing, and I’m going to bump into him at B Amsterdam, or another innovation event, any time soon. I’ll hear all about it.

Over the years, I kept in occasional contact. I’ve interviewed Patrick for a book, and only 18 months ago did an interview for my podcast with him. From afar, I have marvelled at his achievements.

But now we know – his Legacy is what matters. The web of hundreds of people he made stronger and more empowered to do something great.

Most of all, I realise what he gave me most over the years was confidence. Patrick told me I was doing a good job, that the way I coached and trained the teams was working. Then I knew I must be doing the right thing – because if Patrick said so, I knew it would be true. What a gift, to get his approval!

That gave me a basis to go and grow, and develop new customers and approaches…

But I will never forget that moment in Hanneke’s Boom where he decided to give me a chance. I will never forget those hours in his presence, soaking up his energy and knowledge. I will never forget the support he gave me in countless ways.

And neither will so many others. My story is one of hundreds, inspired and empowered by the unstoppable life force that was Patrick de Zeeuw.

That truly is Patrick’s Legacy.