As early as during his study of International Economics at the University of Amsterdam, Jacob was already active in international trade with the U.S. 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 as Deputy Head of the economic section of the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. Before starting TABS, Jacob worked as a commercial representative for several Dutch companies in the U.S.

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 U.S. entity. This will allow the parent company to completely focus on business development activities in the U.S. instead of administrative and bureaucratic matters. TABS has since then assisted more than 750 European companies with financial and administrative matters for their transatlantic start-up in the US. TABS assists clients from offices in New York, Houston, Eindhoven (the Netherlands), and, as of June 2025, Valencia (Spain).

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.