Every Second in the news: This Oosterhout-based company is picking up on signs that others haven't noticed yet

The Oosterhout-based duo launched Every Second about three years ago. “Companies and governments need to act quickly,” says Roland Rutten, who previously worked as a political strategist. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw how much decision-making was based on gut instinct.”

“The approach was: ‘I’ve heard it’s true, so we’re going to do it,’” he continues. “Even when necessary data wasn’t yet available, decisions were made anyway because time was of the essence. Then someone would say, ‘My gut tells me we should push ahead with this plan.’ In hindsight, once the data came in, it sometimes turned out that the exact opposite should have been done. That really annoyed me.”

There had to be a more concrete way. So Rutten decided, together with trend researcher Laura Vermeulen, to take a different approach. That’s how their company was born, one that combines artificial intelligence (AI), trend research, and strategy.

Think of the company as a mix of tech experts, researchers, and strategists. Every Second supports organizations with issues related to policy, campaigns, strategy, and future plans.