🦥 #12 Ex-Cop is Disrupting Sponsorships with Wehave

What’s on the Menu?

• 🍦 Scoop: OldMapsOnline let you see how the world looked like centuries ago.

• 💬 Words of Wisdom: From the brain of Lionel Messi, the undisputed GOAT. (Yeah, sorry Ronaldo fans.)

• ✋ Antwerpreneur: Discover how Oliver Wolfs went from cop to tech founder, built a platform revolutionizing sponsorships, and is helping brands make smarter investments with data!

• 💎 Quiz Question: This athlete signed a deal that would changed the game. Can you guess who it is?

🍦 Scoop

OldMapsOnline, is a website that lets you explore historical maps from all over the world. You can see how countries, cities, landscapes, and borders evolved over time. Whether you're a history nerd, just curious about the world, or looking for a way to kill some time, this thing is worth checking out!

💬 Words of Wisdom

✋ Antwerpreneur: Oliver Wolfs

Most people think cops chase bad guys. Some do. But Oliver? He went from chasing criminals to chasing down investors.

After an injury in the police force, he pivoted to entrepreneurship and started Wehave, a company revolutionizing marketing with data collaboration.

Here’s his story…

A Career Cut Short

Oliver spent 10 years in the police force. He handled riots, chased drug traffickers. He was selected to join the Fast Response Unit, but just on his first week of training, an injury changed everything.

During surgery, a nerve in his arm was accidentally damaged, leaving him without feeling. For six months, he didn’t know if he’d ever fully recover.

Luckily, he did. Once some feeling returned, he re-joined the police force. This time as a self-defence and shooting instructor.

It could’ve ended there, but not for him.

The Early Beginnings

His time on the police force taught him valuable skills:

• Assertiveness: knowing when to stand his ground or back down.

• High-pressure decision-making: the mindset of “I’ve been in worse situations” kept him calm when others panicked.

Those skills translated perfectly to the startup world.

While still working as a cop, Oliver began to build his first startup.

He had always been drawn to exclusive, rare assets like cars, watches, and other collectibles. Basically, things that appreciate in value but are crazy expensive and hard to get your hands on.

His idea: What if people could invest in these assets by buying shares?

That idea became Fluid, a luxury asset investment platform built on blockchain.

But finding the right team wasn’t easy. It took him months to track down two developers willing to bring his vision to life.

Those two? They later became his co-founders, and the name changed from Fluid to Wehave.

The Breakthrough with Techstars Berlin

After getting into two accelerators in Belgium, Startit KBC and Birdhouse. Then, they tried their luck in Germany, with Techstars in Berlin.

They were rejected at first. One juror was particularly critical, and they received a “no”.

But instead of accepting it, Oliver sent a follow-up email thanking them for their feedback and asking if they could revisit their case. They felt a member of the jury was overly critical.

And it worked. They pitched again and got in!

The Big Shift

Things started moving fast at Techstars Berlin.

But there was one problem, their original idea of selling shares of luxury items like Lamborghinis and Rolexes wasn't working out.

There were significant legal challenges since it was an investment product. It required a lot of money for marketing to consumers, and the profit margins were low.

Then came a conversation with Audi about allowing fans to invest in the upcoming Formula 1 car.

Their goal was just to gain insights into their fans. But, they thought there were easier ways to achieve that.

Lightbulb moment.

"What if we could help brands understand their fan data better?" They decided to pivot.

Changing the Sponsorship Game

Sponsorships in sports are a mess.

Oliver was once invited by a sponsor to an R.S.C. Anderlecht game.

During the match, he asked a simple question: "Do you know how many fans are actually customers? And how much revenue they generate?"

The answer? Silence and unclear.

That’s when he realized the truth: Sponsorships have a measurement problem.

Brands throw money at teams but can’t track if fans are turning into customers. It’s like shooting in the dark.

Wehave changed that. 

They’ve built a data clean room that connects sponsor data with team data without sharing sensitive information.

In simpler terms, this technology allows brands to:

• Determine if sponsorship is a good fit

• See how much of a fan base is already a customer

• Decide whether to invest more or find a better team

It's a game-changer for an industry that has operated on gut feelings for decades.

In fact, teams are now pitching Wehave to their sponsors because they recognize how valuable it is.

A Niche That Scales

Wehave has found its sweet spot in sports sponsorships.

They’re currently working with Belgian football clubs like R.S.C. Anderlecht, OH Leuven, KV Mechelen and KAA Gent, but they have ambitions to expand to the Europe, US and UK.

Their model is simple: yearly subscription-based fees per sponsorship. If a brand sponsors three teams, they pay for three subscriptions.

The timing couldn't be better. With Belgium introducing new restrictions on betting sponsorships in 2025, there's an opportunity for other industries like e-commerce, travel, fintech, and crypto to enter the space.

Oliver’s Advice

Building Wehave wasn’t easy. Here’s what Oliver learned along the way:

1. Sales take time: Expect 6-12 months to close a deal.

2. Get to a NO as fast as possible: Secure clear answers early to avoid investing in dead-end prospects. The faster you know something isn’t working, the faster you can move on.

3. Leverage pilot projects: Success stories build credibility. Sunweb gave them a shot, which opened doors to additional business.

4. Build trust in your industry: Relationships drive the world. After establishing trust with OH Leuven, R.S.C. Anderlecht, and KV Mechelen, referrals became easier. Strategic networking, content creation, and events positions you as a trusted authority.

5. Validate your assumptions all the time: Make a list of assumptions that would make or break your startup. Rank them and act on them.

6. Be problem-obsessed, not solution-obsessed: If there’s no real pain point, nobody will pay for your product. Don’t assume there’s a market.

What’s Next For Wehave

• Cross-industry application: Scale to a second sector in the next 2 years

• More collaborations: Get to 40-50 data collaborations

• Funding: They are closing a round of around €1M euro

• Market expansion: Europe, US and UK

• Team growth: Hire more people

From Police Force to Market Force

Oliver's journey from the police force to tech entrepreneurship might seem unusual and he had to find out a lot by himself, but the skills that made him effective in the police force; persistence, calm under pressure, and strategic thinking are the same ones driving Wehave's success.

As long as he sees progress and growth, he knows they're on the right path.

With Wehave revolutionizing sponsorships, this former cop isn't just building a new career, he's transforming an entire industry.

And if his track record of turning setbacks into opportunities is any indication, this is just the beginning of what they will accomplish.

Oliver’s Recommendations

• People: Alex Hormozi

• Podcasts: The Joe Rogan Experience, V for Valentine, and Behaved

• Books: The Laws of Human Nature and The Jolt Effect

• Currently listening: Schism by Tool

• Favorite place in Antwerp: Mission Massala

Where can you find Oliver?

You can find him on LinkedIn. 

Antwerpreneur-to-Antwerpreneur Q&A

What’s one system or habit you’ve implemented that has significantly impacted your success, and how has it shaped your mindset or approach to challenges?

Oliver’s answer: “Every month, I sit down with my two co-founders, Chris van der Heijden and Niels Vandeweyer to have an open conversation.”

The idea is simple: Speak openly. Understand each other. Align on priorities.

They started doing this after taking the color personality test; red, yellow, blue and green. It revealed they each had different colors.

Now, these monthly check-ins help them give and receive feedback, understand each other’s needs, and stay on the same page. It keeps them from working in silos and catching problems before they become big.

💎 Quiz Question

Which athlete holds the most valuable sponsorship deal in history?

A) Roger Federer

B) Cristiano Ronaldo

C) Michael Jordan

D) LeBron James

_{You can find the answer at the end}