For PhDs, researchers and anyone with deep expertise who suspects it could become something of their own.
@thealignedacademicMAYBE THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR
You’ve worked hard.
And still you wonder.
“Is this really what I worked so hard for?”
“I could spend a year on something hardly anyone reads.”
“What could I build if I stopped following someone else’s timeline?”
HI, I’M JENNIFER
At 15:15, I thought:
“Is this it?”
I came home from teaching exhausted, with a stack of marking still waiting. That was when I realised: I want to create something of my own, in a way that fits me.
I hoped a PhD would give me the autonomy and intellectual challenge I was looking for. After two years working on my research proposal, the first day finally came: four introductory calls from home. By 3:15 p.m., I was on the sofa watching Grey’s Anatomy, thinking: “Is this it?”
It felt flat. And flat, I found out, isn’t rest for someone like me. It’s where I drain without anything happening. Neither teaching nor the PhD had given me the way of working I was looking for. So I started building something of my own.
Crimication began with talks and grew into training and advisory work, drawing on my experience in schools and research. It’s now a research and advisory organisation working with municipalities and schools across the Netherlands. I’m still doing my PhD externally, and I share how I build alongside it.
I’m a few steps in, with plenty still to figure out. You’re welcome to come along.
Read my writing on SubstackFOLLOW THE YEAR ON SUBSTACK
The decisions.
What I try.
What I learn as I build.
What do I turn into an offer? What do I outsource? And how do I make room for the life I’m building this for? I share the choices while I’m making them.
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WHAT I BELIEVE
Freedom isn’t the reward.
It’s the strategy.
You don’t have to trade your ambition for your freedom, or postpone your freedom until your ambition is done.
WHERE I AM NOW · OCTOBER 2026
Building an organisation
that can grow beyond me.
I could have stayed a freelancer. I’ve chosen to build an organisation: something durable, with people who can carry the work with me.
Right now, I’m in an investment phase. I’m outsourcing, growing the team and learning what to hand over. It’s a longer road, and I often wish I were further along.
That’s the part I’m documenting: what it takes to build beyond my own hours, while making room for freedom along the way.
THE COURSE · COMING SOON
Build your business
from your expertise.
The story is free to follow.
I’m developing the practical system into a paid course: Discover, Believe, Build.
Discover
What could you build with what you know?
Find the overlap between your expertise, the people you want to help and how you want to work.
Believe
What is stopping you from starting?
Practical mindset work and the neuroscience behind it. Examine the patterns that keep you hesitating, and practise taking action before everything feels certain.
Build
How will you turn it into an offer?
Shape what you offer, find the people who need it and start putting your work into the world.
ALSO DOING A PHD? A FREE EXTRA
The guide I wish I’d had when I started my PhD.
Ten ideas for building an ambitious academic life on your own terms. A short, personal guide from an earlier chapter of my journey.
PDF · 2 pages · Free
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THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO DO THIS
One year of building.
Shared as I go.
If you’re looking for the one right path, I won’t have it.
If you’re curious about building your own, come along.