Specialist in The Spotlight: Ruben Runneboom

Introducing our latest interview in the “Specialist in the Spotlight” series, where we highlight Europe’s leading PPC professionals. This series aims to promote knowledge-sharing and inspire both seasoned experts and newcomers in the dynamic field of PPC. Today, we’re thrilled to feature Ruben Runneboom, Co-founder of TaskForce and an accomplished E-commerce Google Ads specialist with over a decade of experience. In this interview, he shares how his entrepreneurial journey shaped his approach to PPC, the strategies that set him apart, and the importance of fostering collaboration and continuous learning among specialists.

Ruben, it’s great to have you here today! You’ve built quite a reputation as a leading PPC specialist, and your work is clearly making a strong impact in the industry. To start, let’s rewind a bit—did you always know you wanted to pursue a career as a PPC specialist?

Thank you for the kind words, Zosia! It’s an honor to be seen this way. I’ve consciously worked toward this over the past few years. 

It goes back quite a ways! During my studies, I did an internship at a webshop chain in Groningen. They ran several webshops focused on very niche products, like binoculars, mailboxes, and coat hooks. That’s where I first learned how Google worked, especially in SEO—back when link-building and old-school directories were the norm. That experience inspired me to pursue a career in online marketing. While studying, I worked a lot with conversion optimization and building webshops. After graduating, I joined an online marketing agency where I learned the basics of SEO and SEA. I quickly gravitated toward SEA because I enjoyed seeing immediate results and being able to measure the impact of my efforts.

On the side, I ran my own webshop. Being an avid hockey player since I was seven, I thought, why not combine my passion and work? I started a webshop with some teammates, importing hockey sticks from Australia. Although the business wasn’t sustainable, I learned a ton from it. What I learned in the agency, I applied directly to my own shop, which gave me real-world experience in e-commerce—everything from suppliers and customer service to cash flow. I still use those insights in my work as a freelancer.

That’s a great story! How did it help shape you as a PPC specialist? 

It gave me a deeper understanding of e-commerce. Many PPC specialists focus solely on campaigns, but because of my webshop experience, I can take it a step further. I understand the challenges my clients face, like inventory management, website optimization, and customer service. It makes me more than just a specialist—I’m often like a business partner for my clients. Combining that experience with my focus on knowledge-sharing has helped me stand out in the industry. My webshop may have been a side project, but it had a huge impact on how I approach my freelance work.

I can see how that experience is valuable when working with clients. By connecting with the challenges on a deeper level and offering more than just PPC solutions, you’re able to stand out and really make a difference in your work, right?

Exactly. I’ve found that it really helps when I’m in sales pitches. When I tell potential clients, “I’m an entrepreneur, and I’ve faced these challenges and solved them this way,” it often resonates. I put myself in the shoes of the business owner, and most of the time, I can convince them right away. It works very well.

It sounds like your entrepreneurial mindset really shaped your approach—did that drive play a big role in co-founding TaskForce with Bernt Muurling and Guy Schepers?

Absolutely! Bernt has been an entrepreneur since he was thirteen, running webshops and comparison websites, so we share a lot of experience in thinking like business owners. Guy, on the other hand, is known in the field for his expertise as an award-winning online marketing expert. While Bernt and I didn’t have much experience in managing large teams or handling the commercial side of things, Guy had led a team of 50 people at a top agency, which made him the perfect fit for our team. That’s how TaskForce came to be.

Did your experiences as freelancers shape the way TaskForce was built? How did creating a collective help address the challenges freelancers and senior specialists were facing, and continue to face today?

Throughout my freelance career and by observing other PPC specialists, I came to realize that depending on just one or two major clients can leave you vulnerable to significant revenue loss if anything goes wrong. At the same time, I saw an increasing demand from larger clients seeking to collaborate with freelancers. This led us to form a collective, focused on serving those clients by working exclusively with top-tier specialists.

We also saw that many senior specialists at agencies couldn’t grow further without taking on management roles, which didn’t appeal to those who wanted to stay in the trenches. Many of them left to work in-house or started freelancing for more flexibility and higher pay. That’s when we decided to start TaskForce. We wanted to provide freelancers with everything they needed—work on their own terms, but still be available for clients during business hours.

We’ve grown quickly since then, and now we work with fifteen people serving about 75 clients. Most of our clients are based in the Netherlands, with about 10% operating internationally.

Wow, such an inspiring concept—a community of specialists coming together to work on projects. How do your clients perceive this approach? Are they drawn to you because of your collaboration with other specialists?

Absolutely. We exclusively work with senior specialists, and clients truly value that. Many agencies claim to offer senior-level expertise, but often, the work is handled by juniors or interns—yet clients still pay the full price. We do it differently. We work with freelancers, and that has its pros and cons. The advantage is that freelancers are often more dedicated because their income depends directly on the quality of their work. They tend to go the extra mile compared to someone on a salary. Of course, there are exceptions, but that’s the general trend.

That’s an interesting insight, but you mentioned some drawbacks. Could you elaborate?

The main drawback is that freelancers can get sick or go on vacation. Since they work alone, they might not always be up-to-date with the latest market trends. To address this, within TaskForce we created a system where freelancers can share knowledge and support each other. Each month, we audit each other’s accounts to promote continuous learning and quality control. If someone needs time off, another freelancer can step in to cover. The freelancer can still send half of their invoices while a colleague picks up the rest of the work. This way, we ensure our people aren’t left without income while maintaining quality for the client.

That sounds like a very well-thought-out approach! How do your clients react to this?

They really appreciate it. They see that we work with the best specialists and that we’re genuinely invested in their success. If there’s a problem, we can quickly solve it thanks to the flexibility within our team.

It seems like your growth is very strategic. Do you plan to keep expanding, or are you happy with the current size?

We’re focused on quality over quantity. We don’t want to be the biggest, just the best. We’ve said that when we reach a comfortable revenue level, we’ll stop expanding. More clients mean we need more specialists, which could affect quality and communication. Our goal is to maintain a sustainable, enjoyable workload. We want to create an exclusive environment where our services are tailored and top-tier. And sometimes, when a freelancer leaves, we search for a new one, but we don’t aim for constant growth.

Such a solid vision! How do you approach building new skills and capabilities, especially considering how dynamic the marketing field is? 

We support this by offering our team members access to courses and organizing knowledge-sharing sessions, both internally and externally. For instance, we hold sessions where two specialists present a case study, which is a great way to learn from each other’s experiences. We also invite external speakers, such as experts in areas like CDPs or feed building, to help us stay up-to-date. These sessions are valuable for continuous learning and ensuring we’re always at the forefront of industry trends.

It’s also one of the reasons people enjoy working with us. Everyone helps each other grow, and that keeps us learning as a team. I also learn something new every day from my colleagues, which is fantastic.

That sounds really great! Looking at the industry today, how do you see the future for yourself and TaskForce? With everything constantly changing, how do you prepare for that?

It’s definitely a challenge. We always have to stay on top of the latest developments and trends. That’s why I stay actively involved in accounts, testing new things. Sometimes we come together to brainstorm ideas, especially for clients with specific issues. If we come up with a strong hypothesis, we test it right away. 

As specialists, we need to constantly pick up signals from the market, especially with the rise of AI. The online landscape could look completely different in a few years, and the services we offer now may not be as relevant. That’s why we have to anticipate changes and continually adjust our strategies to stay viable.

It’s a challenge, but it also makes the work exciting.

You’re definitely not the type to sit back and wait for things to happen, haha! Speaking of which, your new project, the Dutch Agency Event—the first one took place in June in Utrecht, in partnership with Producthero. Was the event designed to bring specialists and agencies together to collaborate on solutions in the PPC world?

Absolutely! The event was created to bring together agency owners and directors—people who face the same struggles and challenges that we do. Many companies see each other as competitors, but luckily, there are lots of agencies in The Netherlands that want to help each other out. We’ve built great relationships with about ten other agencies, we don’t see each other as competitors but as “co-colleagues” who can help each other. The client pool is large enough, so why compete when we can collaborate?

That’s how the event started—focusing on identifying problems and figuring out how to solve them together.

Sounds great. And the next edition will be in the spring, right?

Yes, that’s right! The second edition will be another great opportunity to brainstorm and look ahead to the future. We’ll definitely make the event an annual one. Right now, it’s mainly focused on agency owners, but we’re still considering whether we should also organize something for specialists—the ones who are actually working on the campaigns.

Ruben, thank you so much for taking the time to chat today. It’s been a pleasure learning more about your path and all the exciting projects you’re working on. I really appreciate your insights and the valuable perspectives you’ve shared!

It was a pleasure! Thanks for having me!