From Committee Member at Aureus to Founder of La Rêve

It is hard to imagine what to do after your studies so it is nice to see what former committee members have done. Learning about possible paths that others have taken can open your eyes roads you would not have considered. Being in a committee can help you see how many options you have and realize what your passions are.

Hi Niels! Could you introduce yourself?

I’m Niels Boekel, 27 years old and founder and managing director of event organization La Rêve. I did a bachelor Business Administration on the Vrije Universiteit and during that bachelor I was a committee member at Aureus in the External Events committee. After graduating I decided to continue with La Rêve combined with a part-time job at Apple.

What are you currently doing?

Currently, I developed myself to a Genius at Apple. Also, I’m still managing La Rêve with an amazing team. Also, I decided I still wanted to do a master. So, the past year I’ve combined La Rêve and Apple with a master Digital Business & Innovation on the VU.

I hope to finish the master by this summer (2019) and then I will continue with La Rêve, Apple and I will spend time working on a new business idea, let’s see if that’s going to work out.

Could you tell us more about La Reve? How did it come to life?

Our slogan is: La Rêve, the place where dreams and reality collide.

Currently, we organized about 60+ events and double every year with the amount of visitors. This year we do about 8 club events and an outdoor festival in Amsterdam with between 1500 – 3500 people each event. Also, we’ve hosted events in other countries like Dublin, Berlin, Shanghai, Montreal (Canada), South of France, Cologne & Marseille.

We started the company 5,5 years ago to organize our first party with the idea that parties could be so much more than an empty warehouse with a big DJ booth. We wanted to create a bizarre experience where you can dream away with good music, decorations, cool acts and become part of that experience by pairing your face, dress crazy, or by doing yoga or getting a massage.

With our events, we try to create an environment where people really connect with the melody in the music and “dream” away. We hope it creates a way to escape your stressful daily life by making friends, falling in love, get amazed and of course enjoy the music.

Fun fact: La Rêve is a French wordplay where we mingle the dream (Le Rêve) with the rave (La Rave). Dutch-french teachers love to comment on Facebook and Instagram to correct us that La Rêve should be Le Rêve.

Why did you become an Aureus member?

When I went to University I wanted to organize events like I used to do at my middle school. So I figured the best way to do that is to emerge myself with Aureus as it is the best way to connect with fellow students. Aureus also really helped me with becoming part of a motivated group of students that helped me to work harder on my study gave me so much more fun.

What committee were you in and did you organize anything memorable?

I was in the committee External Events where we organized INTENSE (Jimmy Woo / Club AIR) and Yellow Tuesday (Bitterzoet) parties on behalf of Aureus. One event was with Franky Rizardo and Gregor Salto which back then were huge DJ’s.

What did you learn at Aureus and how do you believe it helped you develop to reach your goals?

I really learned to collaborate in a team and look at organizing in a different more structured way, where everyone has their own responsibilities. But the results as a team, in the end, counts the most. Also, Aureus helped me to confirm I wanted to set up a business myself where I could completely let myself and my entrepreneurship hunger go.

Do you have any advice you would like to give to current students?

Well a wise man, Steve Jobs (Apple) once said: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!

And I’d really recommend that for life. Don’t settle, don’t give up, but stay always hungry to learn, to be creative and to develop yourself further. Also, don’t be afraid to set up a business and fail! With every mistake I made, I learned 1000 times more than my successes ever did.

Do you want to organize events at University as Niels did? Found out what it’s like to be a committee member at Aureus and apply directly! Maybe you will set up your own festival in the future as well. More information? Come to our information session on the 5th of June!