Steef Smulders in

Steef Smulders

Critic · DISC type C
Architect of Growth at The Future: Elite Academy
📍 Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands

Steef is the bootstrapped founder of Expandi, a SaaS company he grew to $10M ARR without ad spend, and is known as "The LinkedIn Guy. " Currently the Architect of Growth at The Future: Elite Academy, he is a graduate of Fontys University of Applied Sciences.

Passionate about revolutionizing youth soccer, Steef co-owns a football academy aiming to become a top brand in the Netherlands and Belgium. He is an active angel investor, driven by his own journey of overcoming failure and helping other entrepreneurs succeed.

While building his now multi-million dollar company, his personal bank account was at $0 for 15 months straight.

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Experience
3 Years
Current Role
Architect of Growth
Job Level
Junior
Location
Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands
Personality Overview

How Steef shows up

Critic
ROI Driven
Precise

They are quite likely to negotiate on pricing or other key terms. They prefer to do logical analysis and value evidence over emotions. They don’t appreciate bells and whistles unless backed by data.

Priorities

Topics Steef cares about

Bootstrapped Growth
He scaled his SaaS company, Expandi, from $0 to $10M in annual recurring revenue without spending a single dollar on advertisements.
LinkedIn Strategy
He refers to himself as "The LinkedIn Guy" and shares insights on the platform's future, believing its native intent data will fundamentally change outreach.
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Career

Work history

10-2023
Architect of Growth
The Future: Elite Academy
5-2022
Member
SaaStock Founder Membership (SFM)
6-2025
Angel Investor
Outbond
1-2025
Angel Investor
Face2Face.io
11-2024
Angel Investor
Scripe
In the press

Media appearances

Business Growth Architect Show: Founders of the Future – Podcast Episode featuring Steef Smulders, Architect of Growth at The Future: Elite Academy. Featured in Apple Podcasts
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Education
9-2004 - 5-2009
Bachelor's degree
Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

C

Calculativeness (C)

Calculativeness (C) reflects the degree to which a person is likely to be cautious, systematic and analytical. Those scoring high tend to emphasise quality and accuracy.

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