As early as during his study of International Economics at the University of Amsterdam, Jacob was already active in international trade with the US. After his graduation, Jacob soon moved to New York where he worked as a trade representative for the Netherlands at the United Nations, and later on as Deputy Head of the economic section of the Consulate General of Netherlands in New York. Before starting TABS, Jacob worked as a commercial representative for several Dutch companies in the US.

In 2010, Jacob founded TABS Inc. (Trans Atlantic Business Services) to take care of the “back office” activities for European companies involved in the start-up of their US entity. This will allow the parent company to completely focus on business development activities in the US, instead of administrative and bureaucratic matters. TABS has since then assisted more than 500 European companies with financial and administrative matters for their transatlantic start-up in the US. TABS assists clients from offices in New York, Houston, Florida, and the Netherlands.

Furthermore, Jacob has taken several international trade-related board positions, among others in the International Commerce Club of New Jersey, Founder of the European Procurement Forum (EUPF), Board member of the National Export Council (NEXCO), Chair of NAFBiz New York, and Co-chair of Netherlands American Business Council.