From Belgium to Becoming a Billionaire in India: Journey of a Unicorn Founder

On this occasion, we had the privilege of gaining insights from Fabian, the founder, and CEO of a unicorn company. From his early beginnings in Belgium to settling in India, the journey has been a rollercoaster ride of opportunities, challenges, and tremendous growth.

Key Takeaways:

1. How strategic hiring and a persistent focus on training and development can aid in building an organization with a strong, unified team.
2. The journey of transitioning from a services company to a product-focused company and disrupting the market with an all-in-one comprehensive product suite.
3. The importance of emphasizing long-term vision and ambition over immediate material gain or personal comfort.

Early Days and the Journey to Unicorn Status

1. As a bootstrap business in his early days, Fabian's journey started with a services-oriented approach, building features for companies on-demand.
2. For eight years, they functioned as a services company, eventually growing to 100 employees and generating a revenue of 1.5 million euros.
3. A significant transition occurred when he decided to switch to selling software licenses, transitioning from offering services to providing a comprehensive, all-in-one software solution.
4. Facing difficulties in implementation, Fabian raised 3 million euros in capital, which allowed them to accelerate development but also led to a dangerous burn rate that saw all the capital burned within two years.
5. Despite the challenges, today the company proudly boasts about 4,000 employees and is valued at over 3.75 billion euros.

The Shift to India and Shaping the Company Culture

1. The decision to move operations from Belgium to India was driven by India's booming local market, projecting an annual growth rate of 8%.
2. Another attraction for settling in India was the ability to recruit a large number of developers faster compared to Europe.
3. Fabian emphasized the importance of adequate training for the middle management as the company grew. Once the company grew to a few hundred employees, the role of the CEO shits from being the 'chief executing officer' to the 'chief explanatory officer'.
4. Despite being a founder of a unicorn company, Fabian leads a modest lifestyle and advocates the idea of low expectations leading to higher levels of happiness. His primary goal remains enhancing the impact of his company by delivering effective software solutions.

The Vision of a CEO

1. Fabian's ultimate vision is not only to make a comprehensive suite of applications that companies can use to streamline their operations but also to constantly improve the product.
2. Despite having been in the business for twenty years, he considers the company to only be at the start of its journey, with a market share of only 0.1% in a sector ripe for disruption.
3. He emphasizes that difficult days in a start-up's journey are signs of growth and encourages risk-taking as part of the entrepreneurial mindset.

This was a fascinating journey, packed with valuable insights and practical advice for both budding and veteran entrepreneurs.