January 4, 2026
Waffles over Wall Street
Interview of Fabien Pinckaers, CEO at Odoo[video]
Belgian founder snubs Wall Street, shrugs at titles as $650M-a-year Odoo stuns viewers
TLDR: Odoo’s CEO says he won’t sell or go public despite $650M yearly subscriptions, and he downplays job titles, shocking viewers. The crowd is split between cheering a values-first, Europe-built giant and blasting the move as risky for employees and messy for teams—hence the meme storm.
The 20VC interview with Fabien Pinckaers sent comment sections into orbit. Viewers can’t believe a software company quietly built from the Belgian countryside is pulling in about $650 million a year in subscription revenue (that’s what annual recurring revenue means) with 5,000 employees and 50,000 business customers. Then Fabien dropped the bomb: he doesn’t want to sell, doesn’t want to go public (an IPO is an initial public offering), and thinks fancy job titles are overrated. Cue chaos.
One side is all-in on the founder energy—calling Fabien the “anti‑Silicon Valley boss” and hailing Odoo as proof Europe can build giants without Wall Street’s treadmill. The other side is skeptical, warning that “no IPO” can mean “no payday” for employees, and that ditching titles sounds cool until teams are lost in “who’s in charge?” limbo. A spicy thread picked apart the $650M figure—some asking if services are bundled—while loyal customers clapped back: “who cares, the product ships.”
Of course, the memes flowed. People joked Odoo is “waffle-powered ERP” (business software for everything), called it “barn-to-boardroom,” and minted titles like “Senior Vice President of Vibes” since Fabien isn’t into labels. Love it or roast it, the internet can’t stop arguing—and that’s why this 20VC interview is everywhere.
Key Points
- •Interview features Fabien Pinckaers, Founder & CEO of Odoo, on the 20VC channel.
- •Odoo reportedly generates about $650 million in ARR.
- •Odoo has over 5,000 employees and more than 50,000 company customers.
- •The company was built from the countryside of Belgium.
- •Pinckaers states he does not want to sell the company or pursue an IPO.