Ten years after being founded and two years after experiencing an unprecedented growth that even led to its expansion in Latin America, P95 received its first nomination to the Trends Gazelles. This award recognizes the fastest-growing companies in Belgium on the basis of their growth in three areas: added value, staff, and cash flow. For Tom Verstraeten, CEO of P95, this nomination “means that the growth we’ve experienced in the past year is becoming visible at the public level, which is really good.”

Indeed, visibility is one of the benefits that the Trends Gazelles nomination brings to the company. According to our CEO, “this also makes P95 more attractive for potential investors and clients that may want to do business with us. I now get emails from people saying, ‘I see you’ve been listed; do you need a board of directors? Do you need a commercial officer? I can help’. Now, more people can see that we are doing well and that we’re not just any company. P95 will feature in a long list with other successful companies.”

From the business perspective, adds Tom, getting to know some of the companies on the list of nominees brings an opportunity to learn more about what other firms outside our network are doing. “I looked up a few of the other companies on the list and some of them have developed very rapidly. Among those, you see quite a few IT companies that develop software for very specific businesses. You also find companies that create a business out of things you wouldn’t have thought of. We have limited interaction with other sectors, but this nomination gives us access to other people and allows us to learn from what they do and how they make their businesses grow.”

For those who are finding out about P95, Tom wants them to know that “this is a young and innovative company, scientifically driven, and a good place to work, because we are competitive on the job market, and this is a place where people can develop themselves and gain experience. Finally, I hope people see that we have an important role in the field of public health, that we are contributing to the improvement of public health all over the world. Yes, it’s a huge world and we are just one player, but we are doing our part, just like other players are doing theirs.”

According to Trends Gazelles, the nominated companies are not only a “source of energy to the economy” but also an “inspiration to other entrepreneurs”. For those who might need inspiration, P95’s CEO shares his advice, “if you’re willing to work hard, you’ll make it. This is what I always tell people who seek my advice on how to start work on their own. There’s work to be done everywhere, and there’s a shortage of hard-working, well-intended, qualified people. But you also need flexibility. When I started, I thought that it would be all about pharmacovigilance, but then I realized that there was a bigger need in epidemiology. Many people, like me, have an idea and think it is a critical need, but then it turns it’s not exactly what you thought it needed to be, so you need to be flexible. You have to trust yourself and know that if you do good work, there’s going to be plenty of work for you.”