Jolene Prins

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11th February 2023 • 1 Comments

Jolene Prins is a Dutch entrepreneur, philanthropist, intercultural communications specialist, writer, and a mother. Her entrepreneurial journey began at a young age when she brought together a group of photographers, writers, and designers in her high school to launch a student-run magazine, and leadership eventually became her full-time role.

Back in 2010, Jolene and her three daughters moved to India, experiencing the intricacies of the country’s culture, traditions, values, and everything in between. She was quick to realise the lack of opportunities and the high potential in the Indian workforce, poised to shape the future of the industries. That’s when she started her own fashion line in India, drawing inspiration from her family’s history in fashion, her previous ventures, and her educational background, aiming to provide tailors with a better work-life balance. This experience not only taught her a great deal about business, but also about how different the business and communication norms in India were, compared to what she was used to.

Knowing that her stories carried the depth that could help others understand India better and live what India had to offer to its fullest, she decided to share her experiences with the world in the form of write-ups, a full circle back to her high school endeavour.

Through her blogs, Beyond The Saree and Beyond Wooden Shoes, Jolene aims to help expats from the Netherlands and other countries navigate life (and business) in India, and the other way around, helping Indians find a way around the Dutch lifestyle.

“For me, the journey is always just beginning and around every corner is a new story I am eager to live and to tell”.

During this time, she crossed paths with her future business companion, a creative strategist working in the marketing communications space, and together, the two founded THEY Visualize Value, a brand-consulting and marketing agency, helping entrepreneurs and companies tell stories through messaging, images, and impactful headlines. The company later expanded its operations internationally, setting up another office in Amsterdam in 2016.

Drawing on her lustrous experiences living in India and the Netherlands, she’s been able to build an international career focusing on connecting individuals and organisations from both countries find their way through the cultural and communicational nuances. She draws insights from the historical roots of the countries to show how collective experiences have come to shape people’s preferences, and how business leaders can utilise cultural understanding to build trust and collaboration in their teams, improving efficiency and developing mutual respect.

Now, back home in the Low Countries, she divides her time managing her businesses, writing blogs, and exploring new opportunities every step of the way. She finds herself travelling back to India every couple of months, almost as if a part of her remains there, and there’s something new waiting for her every time she does.

And with her goal in place, Jolene has set out to make cross-cultural leadership and management easier, encouraging leaders to approach issues like different communication styles, attitude towards hierarchies, time management, and language barriers with a little more empathy. Having witnessed the empowerment that teams and individuals feel when approached with an open mind, she aims to help others leverage diversity as a group’s biggest strength rather than a weakness.

Jolene Prins

About the author
Jolene has always had a strong connection to writing. While her professional work includes content for annual reports, websites, internal magazines, and company films, it’s the more personal, reflective writing that resonates most with her. She writes about what she observes, questions, and learns in everyday life. As Managing Director of a leadership communication agency THEY, Jolene divides her time between the Netherlands and India. Living and working in Delhi gives her the rare opportunity to experience local life up close—an experience that continues to shape both her perspective and her writing. Her blog offers reflections born from cultural friction as well as connection. She doesn’t write to explain, but to explore—and often gives voice to things others may have felt but not yet found the words for.

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