Starter Story Cas Wolters
Dreaming with your eyes open
Last spring, Nicole Pol spoke with cheerful baking artist Cas Wolters. You might know Cas from the show "Heel Holland Bakt" (The Whole of Holland Bakes). About five years ago, after mentoring Ger Smith, he launched his business "Cas Bakt." In 2025, he enlisted the help of Anita Lussenburg to answer some business questions. Read the interview below. Photos by Lonneke Maas.
Every private baking event is sold out, and the baking workshops are also doing well commercially. Cas Wolters (30), a household name and trendsetter, is a real calorie bomb. For five years now, he's been alternating between the baker's hat, the entrepreneur's hat, and the teacher's cap. What's his recipe for staying fresh and fruity? And how's his relationship with StartersCentrum Limburg going?
He considers it a huge compliment that students and companies still queue up for him. Sometimes literally, like around Christmas at the oliebollen drive-in, "a fun idea from the coronavirus era" that grew into a successful annual ritual lasting two days. He and his friends spend non-stop baking oliebollen and having fun. In five years, Cas's company has become a "Cas success." It makes sense, because baking is his true passion.
My passion for baking was born in high school, when I moved from a special education class of six children to a regular high school class of 30. I was constantly overstimulated by all the noise and the pace of the lessons, and I didn't know any of the children. Every day I came home with a splitting headache. Then I started baking with my mother; it allowed me to clear my head and relax. Baking was like meditation for me.
In 2018, Cas participated in the Heel Holland Bakt (Dutch Bake Off) competition, which he signed up for just for fun. He reached the quarterfinals and finished fourth. A year later, he was offered the opportunity to produce his own baking show for Omroep Max. He also had to register with the Chamber of Commerce. In 2020, Cas Wolters' entrepreneurial spirit truly woke up; alongside his teacher training college (PABO), he started working part-time as a freelancer. The coronavirus pandemic gave him a boost, and education came to a standstill.
Most of the former candidates resumed their old lives as if nothing had happened. Besides my thesis work, I had a lot of free time, took on assignments, and started organizing workshops, initially online. Baking kits were mailed. Everything was weighed, put in a box, with the recipe and materials included, and then we baked together online. It was a full evening activity that grew steadily. At its peak, I had 120 participants.
Cas isn't sure if he'd make it big as a contestant on "Heel Holland Onderneemt" (All of Holland Undertakes). "I don't think I'm a good role model for entrepreneurs. I'm incredibly stubborn, and when I have an idea, I go for it. I'm good at coming up with ideas, but I hate bookkeeping. Money isn't my main goal; I'm in business because I enjoy it." It helps that he teaches for three days a week; it gives him structure, stability, and security.
Yet Cas says and does sensible and good business; perhaps he's inherited his grandfather's entrepreneurial instincts, who owned a tableware shop. "For the first three years, I put everything I earned back into my business: new recipes, materials, flyers, the website, etc. That gives me financial leeway now. I can outsource more things, although I find letting go a major challenge, perhaps the biggest one as my own boss."
Cas sees the StartersCentrum as a center of expertise where he can address all kinds of entrepreneurial questions. He finds the contact pleasant and accessible. "Every (sparring) conversation yields something: sometimes a reflection and new insights, other times a practical tip or explanation of the rules. Sometimes it's the small things you learn that have a big impact. At every stage, attention is paid to what's needed: from brainstorming on structure and frameworks in the initial phase to pension planning and expansion plans five years later and your company becoming a 'Cas success.'"
Cas's mindset and spirit are telling. He's a passionate entrepreneur, not a bookkeeper. He knows who he is, where he stands, and what he wants. He's not afraid to ask for help. And the entire summer is me-time; his business is closed, and he's not available to clients and students. "In the summer of 2024, I was in Italy for inspiration. But I also love relaxing with friends and family, in the pub or at home."
He calls his creative outlook "dreaming with an open mind." "I focus more on opportunities and possibilities than limitations, which probably has something to do with the hearing impairment I've had since birth. Because of that, I have a strong need to prove myself, and I've achieved a lot. But I want to let go of that need to prove myself; I've proven myself enough by now."