--- title: "Blog" description: "Read about the background of our monitoring solution, new features and case studies" canonical: "https://www.rumvision.com/blog/meet-karlijn-lowik-the-one-who-makes-it-make-sense/" --- Breadcrumbs: [Home](https://www.rumvision.com/?format=md) > Blog # Meet Karlijn Löwik, the one who makes it make sense Karlijn is the person who translates web performance into something everyone can understand. She's CEO and co-founder of RUMvision, co-chair of the W3C RUM Community Group, board member of Mage-OS NL, and the one who coined SUX (Sitespeed User Experience). Because good SUX sells. She speaks at conferences across the world, sits at the table with Google and other browser vendors, and runs a company with her husband. She also spent this morning vacuuming the office before this interview. > This interview was conducted by Lars Meijer ([Lurz](https://www.lurz.nl/)). The other owners of RUMvision have also been interviewed, and articles will be dedicated to them as well, so you can get to know us a little better. ### Karlijn, how did you end up in tech? I studied law and IT. Mostly because I hated statistics. Ironic, given I now work with numbers all day. After graduating, I realised law wasn't for me. Too much conflict. I'm a positive person. Erwin, my partner, was already a freelance web developer. A colleague of his needed a project manager for the summer. I had nothing to do, so I said yes. Turns out, I was good at understanding the technical side and translating it back to people who just wanted to know what was going on. That summer job became a career. ### And then RUMvision happened? Not immediately. Erwin and I ran a web agency together for years. He gradually moved into web performance consulting. Then he and Roderik started talking about building a RUM tool. I was nine months pregnant at the time. Nobody asked me to join, they were just figuring it out. But it was badly scoped, so I showed up with my belly and helped them realise they didn't have the budget to build what they actually wanted. We pulled the plug on version 0.0. But look at it now! ### Your RUMvision life started with motherhood. They're basically twins. My daughter and the company grew up together. It's always easy to remember how old RUMvision is. I just check how old she is. ### So you're the connector? I think so. I'm good at hearing all the different perspectives and keeping everyone pointed in the same direction. I'm not some super-CEO making calls from above. We make decisions together. But I am the one who makes sure we actually make decisions. We're a bullet train. A decision gets made in an hour because we all have things to do. If we hit a wall, we just go around it and keep moving. ### You speak at conferences around the world about web performance. What's the most common excuse you hear for not taking it seriously? "It's too technical." Or: "It's not a priority right now." Or my favourite: "Our Lighthouse score is green, so we're fine." Everyone agrees performance matters. But then it sits on the backlog with sixty other things. And I get it, there's always something else to do. > But here's the problem: if the foundation of your website is broken, you can spend all the money you want on ads, design, and content. If someone can't get through the door because the page won't load, or they click something and nothing happens. Every investment you made is wasted. That's precisely where 2.0 steps in. The health check does what Jordy used to do in calls and onboarding sessions. It scans your site, finds the issues, tells you how to fix them in plain language, and concrete steps. You don't need us to explain it anymore. The product does. ### You invented the term SUX. Where did that come from? "Performance" is a terrible word. It could mean anything. F1 probably thinks they're in performance too. What we actually mean is sitespeed and user experience combined. Sitespeed User Experience. SUX. It's accurate, and it invites an endless supply of bad jokes. I've done "SUX on the beach" in Gran Canaria, and "SUX and the city" in New York. People love it. And if you can make them laugh, you can make them listen. ### You're also co-chair of the W3C RUM Community Group. What does that mean? It's like the UN of RUM. Vendors, browsers, CDNs - most of them direct competitors - all at the same table, identifying gaps, sharing what's coming, and aligning on what good should actually look like. We can't write specs ourselves, but we do the research, build the consensus, and make sure the browser teams and spec writers actually hear it. The funny thing is, you'd think we'd be fighting over market share. But web performance is such a niche that we're all just trying to get the world to care in the first place. There's no point fighting each other when the real challenge is getting performance on the agenda at all. ### You work closely with Google, but you're also proudly European. How does that fit together? The web performance team at Google is different from the advertising machine. They genuinely care about improving the web. We collaborate, we share anonymised data, but nothing leaves the EU. That's always been part of our DNA. But yes, since Trump took over, the conversation has shifted. There's more awareness that being self-sufficient in Europe matters. We're a small piece of that puzzle. ### You're one of four founders, three of whom are men. You advocate for more women in tech. Why? Balance. I see how often the men go in circles on something, and I think: can we just look at this from a different angle? It doesn't have to be this complicated. Women bring different perspectives to the table in creativity, communication, and problem-solving. ### How do you try to change things? By being visible, showing up and being competent. And most of all, by not pretending it’s all glamorous. My niece wanted to do a school presentation about me because I have "such a cool job" and travel the world. And I think, yes, but also I was just standing here with a vacuum cleaner trying to clean the office. It's like lab data versus real data. My LinkedIn looks impressive. The reality is messier. I try to show both. ### Where does RUMvision go from here? We have so many more things we want to build. Business metrics, AI and MCP integrations, and better third-party insights. The ambition is never the problem. Time is. Ironic for people who work in web performance. But with 2.0 launching, we can finally stop explaining what's coming and start showing what's here. That feels good. ### And where does Karlijn go? Keep travelling, keep being part of communities, keep sharing what I know about RUM through content and talks. And slowly, a little more strategy and a little less admin. But that's future Karlijn's problem — right now, RUMvision 2.0 launches today, and I'm incredibly proud of what our team has built. Full steam ahead! **Karlijn is happy to talk about web performance, building a company, or navigating tech as a woman. Catch her at a conference, [follow her on Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlijn-lowik/) or [just send a message](# "karlijn op blue2blond punt nl"). She'll probably respond between meetings and school pickups.**