Why Is Europe’s Youngest Billionaire Living In India? | The 1% Club Show | Ep. 16

Summary

The video features an interview with Fabien, the CEO of a Belgium-based tech company valued at $4 billion. He discusses his journey building the company over 20 years, starting with just $6,000 in savings. Key topics include the challenges of scaling from 1 to 10 employees versus 100 to 1,000, transitioning from a services model to product licensing, lessons learned from over-hiring and burning through $3 million in funding, the importance of managing expectations for happiness, and why he chooses to forego vacations and fancy cars to focus everything on growing the business and buying back company shares.

Takeaways

• 😊 Fabian is the founder and CEO of a Belgian unicorn company valued at $4 billion
• 💰 The company had $400 million in revenue last year
• 🏫 Fabian started his first business at age 13 and became a billionaire by age 35-37
• 🚀 It took 5 years to grow to 4 employees, doubling every year after that to 4000 employees now
• 💡 The idea for the business came from seeing small companies lacking proper tools and software
• 👨‍💻 The product is an integrated suite of business applications - CRM, accounting etc.
• 🌎 The business expanded internationally before addressing the Indian market
• 😣 It was very difficult growing from 1 to 10 employees compared to 100 to 1000 employees
• 💸 Fabian lives a simple life, focused on growing the business rather than material possessions
• 🔮 With only 0.1% market share, Fabian feels he's just getting started and has more to accomplish

Q & A

How much revenue did Fabian's company generate last year?

The company generated $400 million in revenue last year.

What is the current valuation of Fabian's company?

The current valuation of the company is around $4 billion.

At what age did Fabian become a billionaire?

Fabian became a billionaire around the age of 35-37 years old.

Why did Fabian move his company's operations to India?

Fabian moved part of his company's operations to India because of the fast growth, open market, and abundant tech talent there. He wanted to build products for the local Indian market.

How does Fabian explain what his company Odoo does?

Fabian explains that Odoo provides a suite of integrated business applications, like CRM, accounting, inventory etc, to help small and medium companies run efficiently, like providing tools for a mechanic.

How much did it cost Fabian to start his first company?

It cost Fabian 6000 Euros to start his first company in Belgium, which was the minimum amount required at that time.

How long did it take for Fabian's company to reach 100 employees?

It took 8 years for Fabian's company to reach 100 employees.

What mistakes did Fabian make after raising 3 million Euros in funding?

Fabian made the mistake of hiring too fast without corresponding revenue growth, burning through the 3 million Euros in funding in just 2 years.

What is Fabian's current salary?

Fabian has a gross salary of 1000 Euros per day, out of which he takes home 400 Euros after taxes.

What percent of the market does Fabian's company Odoo currently have?

Odoo has only 0.1% of the market share currently, so there is still a lot of room for growth according to Fabian.