Abel van der Wielen

I build innovative digital products — founder of ClosedLoop — Münster, Germany

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I build innovative digital products. My company, ClosedLoop, helps people and businesses adopt circularity.

I am also part of FoodTracks, where I do a bit of everything and build tools for clients and colleagues.

01 — What I build

Founder · since 2026

ClosedLoop ↗

My own software company. We build tools that enable circularity, starting with EU packaging regulation and the lifespan of the machines we already own.

Also built

PPWR check ↗ClosedLoop · liveFree pre-check of a product against the recycled-content rules in the EU Packaging Regulation.
BufferClosedLoop · in developmentRecords how a Mac is wearing out, so keeping or replacing it becomes a decision instead of a guess.
German email correctorBrowser extensionPolishes my German business emails. I use it every day.
Deep Work LockChrome extensionBlocks distractions during focus sessions.

02 — The route

01 / 05Netherlands2015 – 202151.84°N 5.86°E

Nijmegen

Bilingual VWO at Kandinsky College (Cambridge & IB). Organised youth events for Jeugd- en Jongerenwerk Mook, waited tables at Herberg ’t Zwaantje for three years, and did charity sales on the streets of Nijmegen.

Picked up there

Running events for real people
Staying calm on a full Saturday night
Asking strangers for something, and hearing no
English, from school onward

02 / 05Netherlands2021 – 202451.56°N 5.09°E

Tilburg

BSc International Business Administration at Tilburg University. Picked orders and delivered for Flink, and worked as a care assistant.

Picked up there

Business fundamentals
Care work: patience and responsibility for someone else

03 / 05Japan202335.68°N 139.69°E

Tokyo

A semester abroad at International Christian University. Classes in Mitaka, and then as much of the country as a rail pass would allow.

Picked up there

Travelling across the world by myself
Being the outsider and learning by watching
Care for details, in everything from trains to temples

04 / 05Netherlands2024 – 202551.92°N 4.48°E

Rotterdam

MSc Strategic Entrepreneurship at Rotterdam School of Management, with a thesis on how social entrepreneurs define their mission. At the same time: AP Finance at Shypple, a digital freight forwarder.

Picked up there

Owning a process end to end
How a scale-up actually runs
Why mission matters in a company

05 / 05Germany2025 – now51.96°N 7.63°E

Münster

Founded ClosedLoop, my own company, which helps people and businesses adopt circularity. I am also part of FoodTracks, where I do a bit of everything and build tools for clients and colleagues.

Picked up there

Running a German company solo: legal, tax, banking
Shipping software people actually use
Professional German

03 — Work

My journey so far

2026 – now

Founder & Geschäftsführer

ClosedLoop ↗ · Münster — My own software company, enabling circularity.

Build the products end to end, from the first market test to shipped software.
Built a six-stage AI document pipeline (Python, Supabase, OpenAI): ingestion → extraction → normalisation → aggregation → rules engine → export.
Tested three market hypotheses against real demand before building anything.
Run the company solo: legal, accounting, tax and banking.

Dec 2025 – now

Generalist & tool builder

FoodTracks · Münster — Fast-paced B2B SaaS startup.

A bit of everything: data work, customer implementations, market research.
Build tools for clients and colleagues, including the AI setup the team works with.

2024 – 2025

AP Finance

Shypple · Rotterdam — Digital freight forwarder (scale-up).

Led a team of outsourced colleagues overseas and managed the full invoice-posting process with them.
Ran process-improvement projects alongside it.

2016 – 2024

Before that

Care assistant (Acteon Thuiszorg, Hagozorg) · order picker & deliverer (Flink) · charity sales (Trust Marketing) · waiter (Herberg ’t Zwaantje) · youth event organiser (Jeugd- en Jongerenwerk Mook)

Education

2024 – 2025

MSc Strategic Entrepreneurship

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Thesis: “Mapping the Mission”, a revised typology of social entrepreneurs

2021 – 2024

BSc International Business Administration

Tilburg University

Semester abroad at International Christian University, Tokyo (2023)

2015 – 2021

VWO, bilingual (Cambridge & IB)

Kandinsky College, Nijmegen

Languages

Dutchnative

Englishfluent

Germanprofessional

04 — Skills

What I bring

Building software

I build software products, from the first prototype to something people use every day.

Python
SQL
Supabase / Postgres
pgvector
Data pipelines
Chrome extensions
Desktop apps (Electron)
Shipping end to end

Applied AI

Putting language models to work on real, messy business problems, and knowing where not to.

LLM integration (Claude, OpenAI)
AI document pipelines
Knowledge bases & retrieval
AI workflow design
Prompt engineering
Rolling AI out to a team

Business

Trained in strategy and entrepreneurship, practised by running my own company.

Market research & validation
Strategy
Running a German UG
Finance processes
Customer implementation

Building softwarePython✦SQL✦Supabase / Postgres✦pgvector✦Data pipelines✦Chrome extensions✦Desktop apps (Electron)✦Shipping end to end✦Building softwarePython✦SQL✦Supabase / Postgres✦pgvector✦Data pipelines✦Chrome extensions✦Desktop apps (Electron)✦Shipping end to end✦

Applied AILLM integration (Claude, OpenAI)✦AI document pipelines✦Knowledge bases & retrieval✦AI workflow design✦Prompt engineering✦Rolling AI out to a team✦Applied AILLM integration (Claude, OpenAI)✦AI document pipelines✦Knowledge bases & retrieval✦AI workflow design✦Prompt engineering✦Rolling AI out to a team✦

BusinessMarket research & validation✦Strategy✦Running a German UG✦Finance processes✦Customer implementation✦BusinessMarket research & validation✦Strategy✦Running a German UG✦Finance processes✦Customer implementation✦