12 Years of Panenco: quiet growth, high standards, and what's next

Twelve years ago, we started Panenco. Twelve years of organic, step by step growth. Today, we are a team of 40 people with over €5M in consolidated revenue. Looking back over the past timespan, I wanted to share how we built this company, where we stand today, and how we are positioning Panenco for the future.

We've always chosen to grow organically without outside funding. Initially this slowed us down. In the early years, every step forward had to be earned directly through client work and operational discipline.

Today, we are feeling the full upside of that choice. We maintain 100% autonomy in our decision-making. We don't have investor timelines dictating our strategy. More importantly, this independence has created a deep sense of ownership across our entire team. When everyone knows the health of the company depends on the quality of our work - not the next round - the culture changes for the better.

We run on a simple premise: getting more done with smaller teams. Achieving better outcomes for our clients. We want to do more with less - constantly refining, optimizing, and ensuring our clients get the most effective delivery possible. AI is an obvious accelerator - with agents handling a lot of the workload - but always keeping people in control.

This mindset extends to our operations. It might not sound like the most exciting topic, but the deeper nature of running a business is dealing with reality: invoices out, invoices in, and staying true to your word. Over 12 years we have never had a disputed invoice, we have never had a formal disagreement with a client, we have never been late paying a vendor or supplier invoice. Being correct at all times, finding your moral compass, and strictly following it isn't a marketing tactic - it's how business should be done.

We set up a mixed business model:

1. Team as a service: high-impact engineering, product, and delivery execution for clients. 2. Product portfolio: building and backing products where we have direct skin in the game.

We currently have a vested interest in 5 portfolio ventures. This dual structure gives us long-term financial stability and shows to our clients that we practice what we preach. When we consult on product development, strategy, and execution, we are drawing from real experience building and scaling our own software products.

December of last year marked a major turning point for Panenco. Multiple key moves came together at once:

- We acquired Inect, a Leuven-based AI specialist company. - We streamlined the administrative setup for our team in Ukraine. - We acquired 100% of the shares in QIT, one of our core portfolio products. - We acquired Seaters, an enterprise SaaS platform for loyalty management.

Becoming acquisitive brought years of operational maturity together. To support this next chapter, we moved into a new office right by the Leuven train station. It marks a fresh era for the team. If you're ever in the neighborhood, you're always welcome to drop in for a coffee.

If you ask our clients, our greatest execution strength lies in our engineering and delivery methodology. We are equally strong on the strategic front, though candidly, we are still refining how we frame and communicate our strategic advisory services to the outside world.

Looking ahead, we are expanding our playbook:

- Product acquisitions: we are actively looking to acquire product companies where we can bring a clear tech or operational edge - software that needs to be refactored, modernized, or fundamentally retooled using our engineering capacity. - Hiring elite talent: we keep the bar to join Panenco intentionally high. Working alongside exceptional peers is what keeps the standard up. We are always looking for standout product managers, engineering managers, and software engineers.

The past year was also a personal turning point for me as the founder of the company. In January, I formally installed a management team for Panenco. My goal was clear: take a small step back from the daily operational trenches, bring balance back into my life, and give the company room to grow beyond my every move.

It was, without a doubt, the best decision I've ever made.

I remain 100% full-time at Panenco, but my role has evolved. Instead of fighting fires every day, I get to coach, support, and enable the talent around me. Watching the team thrive with that autonomy has been immensely rewarding.

In his book Build, Tony Fadell wrote a line that summarizes our entire philosophy:

"In the end, there's two things that matter: what you build and who you build it with."

We are grateful for the clients who trust us, the team members who raise the bar every day, and the opportunities ahead. Here's to the next chapter.

If you are an engineer or product manager looking for a high-bar team, or if you run a product company looking for an acquisition partner, feel free to reach out directly or drop by our Leuven office.

Cheers to the future! Egwin