TOM CLAES
The person
behind the work
Hi, I'm Tom. Born in Antwerp, and proud to be from A-Town. There's a digital wire running through my spine and I am professionally curious, and usually working on more than one thing at the same time.
My work is mostly about digital strategy, e‑commerce, AI, technology and building or starting businesses. But I'm probably better described as a builder with a serious curiosity problem. I like taking an idea, figuring out how it could work, and turning it into something real. With success, or learning the hard way. But always learning on the way.
Sometimes that project is a Shopify store, which eventually brought me to become a Shopify Partner. Sometimes it's creating or implementing an AI tool, a brand, an automation or a completely new digital product. And occasionally it's something that has absolutely nothing to do with a client. Usually, the latter are my favourites. And one day, just one day, that idea will be the one million dollar idea. Oh yeah; I'm a dreamer too.
Antwerp roots,
Latin influence
I was born and raised in Antwerp, but a big part of who I am today was shaped somewhere else.
I spent 5 years living and working in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, where life moved to a very different rhythm. I worked in digital, but also spent years in hospitality: bars, restaurants, boutique hotels, guests, tourists, employees, suppliers and the chaos that comes with it.
It taught me a lot about business that you don't necessarily learn behind a desk: how people behave, why experience matters, how to improvise and why sometimes you simply have to solve the problem that's in front of you. It made me realize that not all problems can be solved digitally.
Latin America, and especially Colombia, stayed with me, deep inside the heart. The language, the music, the people, the food and probably also a slightly more relaxed interpretation of planning and living the good life.
Today my world stretches mainly between Antwerp and Spain, with Colombia never very far away in spirit.
I like
making things
Creating things is probably the common thread through almost everything I do.
I build websites and businesses for a living, but I also make music. Under MØDEWERNI, I produce music that lets me use a completely different part of my brain although, admittedly, it still involves a computer, too many plugins and endless tweaking and AI.
Some people switch off after work. I apparently open another piece of software.
Two wheels are
better than four
For years cycling has been one of my favourite ways to clear my head. It eventually brought me to participate in the Transcontinental and some Ironman 70.3s. But the real love for sports and cycling is a non-competitive one, one that brings me back to nature and me-time.
Road bike, long rides, unnecessarily ambitious routes and the occasional moment halfway through a ride where I question every decision that brought me there. I even launched cycling jerseys with Claudy Cycling and did some guided cycling tours in Colombia. But those are things from the past now.
There is something I like about endurance sports: the progress is incredibly simple. You put in the kilometres, suffer a little (or a lot), eat, sleep, repeat, and eventually get better.
And yes, most of it ends up on Strava. Otherwise, did the ride really happen?
→ Follow me on Strava (not so active right now, just so you know ;-))
Technology is also
a hobby. Unfortunately.
I've always been fascinated by technology. Not so much by technology for technology's sake, but by what suddenly becomes possible when something new appears.
The internet did that. E‑commerce did that. Smartphones did that. And AI is doing it again.
That's probably why I can happily spend an evening testing a new AI model, building a tiny piece of software nobody asked for or connecting three systems simply because I want to know whether it can be done.
Sometimes those experiments become client projects. Sometimes they become companies.
And sometimes they remain a file called finalversion_v7_really-final.pdf on my laptop.
Entrepreneurial people
are my kind of people
I've worked with major brands and international companies, and I enjoy complex environments. But I have a particular weakness for entrepreneurs.
People who are really good at something. People building a company, opening a shop, manufacturing a product, running a restaurant, developing a brand or trying to turn an idea into a business.
They usually don't need another 80-page strategy presentation. They need someone who understands the idea, sees the opportunities, knows the technology and is willing to actually build things with them. That's where I feel most at home.
And then there's
everything else
I'm interested in architecture, hospitality, real estate, brands, cities, food, craft beer, business concepts, sports and probably far too many other things.
I can spend suspicious amounts of time looking at property listings and floor plans, wondering how a space could be redesigned.
I can become disproportionately enthusiastic about a beautifully designed hotel, a clever piece of software, a great logo or an exceptionally well-organised local business.
And wherever I am, I'm usually observing how things work and thinking about how they could work a little better.
Maybe that's the strategist in me. Or maybe I just have trouble switching it off.
But I'm learning. Always keep on learning.
Also, a new (small) adventure is coming: the creation of custom quality merchandise, made in-house from Antwerp. → Marchandies
Also a
basketball dad
On top of everything else, I'm a father. My son Matteo is a teenager, and a genuinely good basketball player — the kind who takes it seriously, trains hard, and plays every single week.
Which, somewhat unexpectedly, pulled me straight into the world of basketball parents. Every week. Sidelines, scoreboards, car rides, and a level of commentary I never saw coming.
Turns out that's its own community, its own culture, and honestly, its own kind of endurance sport.