About me

Samuel
van Deth

decentralized web
by Samuel van Deth

My vision for marketing

Short bio
I am a passionate and experienced web native, thriving in this space for the past three decades.Starting as an e-commerce founder in 1996, I earned an MSc in Communication Sciences and accumulated experience across traditional media, a social media startup, a performance marketing agency, and enterprise SaaS. I have held various sales, business development, and leadership roles, covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, while collaborating with global product teams in the US and India.My work centers on leveraging customer data to enhance business outcomes. I've witnessed both successes and failures and believe I understand future trends.

Recent talks & writing

- Web3 een vaag begrip? Helemaal niet, bewijst Tomorrowland
@Adformatie
- Dodo or Data: mastering customer data evolution
@ Finnish Marketing Association
- The Long and Short of MarTech: next gen CX martech
@ Marketing Week UK
- Customer Foresight: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
@ MarketingReview St.Gallen, Switzerland
- Building Loyalty Strategy: brick by byte
@ Adformatie Business Connect, The Netherlands

Extended bio

Hi, I am Samuel.I live in the Netherlands, right beneath a Dutch windmill, with my entrepreneurial better half and four beautiful daughters. They fill my heart every day—and make me lose all my hair.Media & Marketing Web Enthusiast
In the mid-90s, my dad introduced me to an Apple computer. I still remember the magic of connecting to the World Wide Web. Ever since, I’ve been a passionate enthusiast first, scholar later, and now, a professional. For the last two decades, I’ve worked in media, marketing, and tech on the web, in an international context.The web’s impact has been overwhelmingly positive, spurring huge economic growth, new businesses, and diverse forms of communication. Many lives have improved.Critique on Current State
But I am also a critic of what’s happened to the web over the last decade: monopolies formed, data privacy compromised, innovation stifled, and democracy endangered.It’s time for the web to level up.Returning to the web's origins, we must ensure decentralization as its key value. Web3, crypto, and blockchain give us a chance to make it better, returning network value to its users. We now have the potential to enforce digital property rights and create a transparent historical log of transactions. But, as always, it depends on how we choose to use this technology. While I see its potential to reinforce central authority, I remain optimistic about what’s possible.My Experience
Some of the milestones that defined me professionally:1996: Built my first webshop to sell Belgian Trappist beers abroad.
2004: Organized election parties for the University of Amsterdam student councils, attracting thousands of students and headline DJs.
2005: Started vodcasting my professors when Apple launched the video iPod.
2006: Ran widgets and mashups projects during an internship at Talpa, including a cross-reality concert in Second Life.
2007: Graduated in Communication Science with a master’s thesis on a TV algorithm business model, five years before Netflix arrived in Europe.
2008: Co-founded a social media data startup focused on decentralized content. Expanded to 20 employees with six-figure revenue within a year, serving all major Dutch brands.
2011: Managed sales teams at Awin (then Zanox), establishing market leadership in the Finance vertical after acquiring M4N.
2012: Engaged with policymakers on Dutch cookie legislation, contributing to a favorable differentiation for conversion tracking versus behavioral tracking.
2013: Ran the original Athens marathon in just over four hours.
2014-2019: Held business development and sales roles at Adobe and Oracle, helping brands like Nike, Unilever, and Uber enhance their global data management.
2017: Went all-in on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
2019: As Oracle’s CX Strategy Director in EMEA, introduced the Customer Data Platform (CDP), securing its success across Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
2021: Completed a Stanford Machine Learning course online.
2022: Completed a Blockchain course at INSEAD.
2022: Launched Web3 and NFT projects for clients and personal initiatives.
Raising my four daughters with my partner is my greatest achievement by far.My Background
Born and raised in Hilversum, the “Dutch media town.” My father flew to major global events for TV news and introduced me to the first Apple computer and the World Wide Web in the early ’90s. Hearing his stories from places like El Salvador, Cambodia, and Liberia taught me to think beyond borders to solve humanity’s challenges.My family roots are Dutch, with some German and French influences. I feel connected to humanity more than to any particular region, state, or political affiliation.My experience in startups, scale-ups, and large corporations has given me insights into centralization and decentralization across business sizes. While central decisions are sometimes necessary, decentralized freedom to accept them is essential. This holds true across business, politics, and society.It’s also true for the web. Network effects shouldn’t create monopolies; value should flow back to users. With Web3 and blockchain, we now have the chance to enforce digital property rights for users. That’s my mission.Let’s use the web’s potential to empower individuals so everyone can benefit from its value.Current Projects- winwinwin.agency(w3x): Advising retail, media, and brand companies on marketing and web3. Also did informational and educational content for Emerce, Adformatie, Broadcast Magazine. Majority is also shared via the Martech Rebel Alliance newsletter/community
- Homestory: Building a decentralized, persistent view of small history, one house at a time.
- Twinstory: Twinstory creates digital twins of physical items like collectibles and product certificates. We make it easy for your customers to own them. Safe. Simple. Secure.