Julien de Waal — AI systems builder, entrepreneur and creator based in Málaga, Spain
Hello. I've spent my life turning ideas into scalable companies, led marketing and growth teams in unicorns, engineered AI systems into products, and feelings into music. If you're building something that matters — let's connect.
Multidisciplinary. Multicultural. Full-stack entrepreneur. I create things that didn't exist before I needed them — companies, systems, music — all born from the same restless belief that if it's broken, build something better.
I've led growth at a crypto unicorn, consulted hundreds of clients on Google Ads, led a startup incubator, founded and scaled multiple startups, and launched AI products from scratch — all while producing and releasing music independently. The thread running through all of it: creativity meeting systems.
The most important thing is to have the courage to do things differently. Mikel Arteta — Manager, Arsenal FC
He's the kind of person who can step into almost any role the company needs and still deliver great results. To maintain that level of quality in such a fast-paced environment, where even a single role is demanding, is honestly impressive. But what sets him apart in my eyes is his emotional intelligence; he's a genuinely caring person who has a natural knack for understanding and connecting with the people he works with.
Julien did a solid job managing the website team at SwissBorg. He played a key role in overseeing SEO efforts and ensuring the web platform remained stable and optimized. He is a reliable lead who understands the technical demands of a high-growth fintech site.
Julien proved an exceptional product and growth manager. He has an exceptional ability to bring clarity and relatability to complex and technical products. I witnessed Julien bring impactful change to our web app — from UI improvements to technical SEO which saw a big uplift in inbound traffic, to delivering a fully polished desktop version of our mobile investment app in a matter of months.
Julien is clearly one of the best talent I met in the innovation/startup/disruption sphere. He is deeply multi-skilled, straight to the point, results driven, speaks several languages as if he was native. He is also driven by strong human values and a capacity to think out of the box.
Julien was instrumental in helping to re-align HIPs in 8 mostly autonomous offices around a central vision and operational methodology. Julien is thoughtful, well-reasoned, and highly capable. I strongly recommend Julien and know any project he works on is better off for his involvement.
Music has always been where the things that don't fit anywhere else finally find a home. Poems at 15. Lyrics through challenging times at 16. Years of making music in private — fear of judgment keeping the drawer closed. Then one conversation changed everything. The week after — first release. The flood gates opened. Two albums. Twenty songs. Globally distributed.
Open to collaborations, senior marketing and growth roles, AI product conversations, and anything that sits at the intersection of creativity and systems thinking.