Interview
​​​​​​​with Easyfairs Founder

The idea was to reinvent the way trade shows are organised. I often describe it as the "Ryanair of trade shows". It's a formula that is low cost, highly efficient, hosted in alternative venues, and with simplicity at its core. We envisioned a trade show model that would truly meet the needs of exhibitors and visitors in the years ahead. 

That’s why we set out to disrupt, simplify the model and “standardize” exhibitions: Easyfairs builds the exhibitor stand, events run for just two days, we target ultra-specific industries, and we strategically place them in the heart of industrial regions.

By lowering costs and simplifying logistics for exhibitors, we’ve made trade fairs accessible and affordable again, especially for smaller and medium-sized companies. For the price of an advertisement, a company can walk away from a two-day event with 200 or even 300 qualified leads—something that’s simply unbeatable. As a result, SMEs that had stopped attending traditional fairs returned in large numbers, proving that a streamlined, cost-effective, and hassle-free format was exactly what the industry needed.

I believe it is Leonardo Da Vinci who said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” and that perfectly sums up our approach, because creating something simple often requires great sophistication. Identifying the right place, the right year, and even the right time of year to launch a show is a meticulous process that involves many subtleties.

Our dedicated research & development team works tirelessly, scanning markets and countries every day to identify new opportunities. They analyze industry trends and explore potential themes, not just at a national level but region by region. We also draw inspiration from the industry, keeping a close eye on market movements, but speed is essential and we need to act fast to stay ahead.

In parallel, we also adopt a “geo-cloning” strategy. When a show is successful in one market, our teams assess whether it can be replicated with the same concept and name in another region or country. This approach has enabled us to scale quickly. Today we organize 110 event titles in 12 countries, operating from 20 offices.

Maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset in a company of nearly 1,000 employees starts at the top. Values only come to life when leadership embodies them. One of the values I’ve championed is Creative Intrapreneurship. I tell our employees: Take risks. Innovate. Fail. Because if you never fail, you’re probably not taking enough risks. Each year, we even celebrate the mistake that taught us the most, recognizing those who push boundaries. This mindset keeps Easyfairs at the forefront of technology, trade shows, and new market launches. Here failure isn’t punished, it’s part of progress.

Our company culture fuels our ability to launch 20 new trade shows every year, which is an impressive feat. But without an entrepreneurial spirit, a sharp team that identifies the right concepts in the right places, and a fearless organization willing to take chances, it simply wouldn’t work.

The two CEOs now leading the company also share this philosophy. It’s in their DNA, ensuring Easyfairs keeps pushing boundaries.

For an entrepreneur, ups and downs are part of everyday life. A true entrepreneur stumbles often but always gets back up. When COVID-19 hit, we immediately shifted into crisis mode. It wasn’t necessarily complicated—we could postpone events, and since our clients commit long in advance, we had the cash flow to weather the storm. Our agility and strong digital infrastructure allowed us to act quickly, initially pushing shows back by a month or two. Fortunately, this flexibility was already built into our general terms and conditions.

In total, we had to reschedule 110 trade shows an average of four times. This kept our teams very busy. We made the deliberate choice to minimize layoffs, instead using the opportunity to discontinue events that were underperforming.

Had you asked me to imagine managing something like the COVID-19 crisis, I would have said it was impossible. But in practice it worked remarkably well.

Sustainability has been a cornerstone of Easyfairs’ strategy for years and we have worked extensively across all three pillars of ESG. The exhibition industry has traditionally had a significant environmental impact: waste generation is high and international travel is common. From the start, Easyfairs has taken a different approach. 

Our modular stands are 100% reusable, and in many cases, they are even stored directly in our exhibition halls, drastically reducing the need for transportation. As a result, trade shows held in our own venues, using stands stored on-site have a carbon footprint 50 times lower than
a traditional exhibition.

We also have equipped most of our venues with solar panels, transitioned to electric forklifts, installed renewable energy storage batteries, and implemented rainwater collection systems. Even on the catering level we removed meat from our menus to reduce our environmental impact. 

We have also set clear and ambitious targets: we have pledged to cut our CO₂ emissions by 50% by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. In just the first three years, we have already reduced our carbon footprint by 33%, demonstrating that real progress is possible.

Sustainability is not just a responsibility for us - it is a strategic advantage. It plays a key role in attracting talent. Our mission, "Visit the Future" is about shaping experiences that make a lasting impact on people’s lives and doing so in a way that is truly sustainable makes it even more consistent with our values.

Above all, we were impressed by the people we met at Cobepa. There has to be a personal fit, and you need to feel that they bring expertise that complements your own. While Cobepa is a financial company, it has strong entrepreneurial roots making it quite different from a traditional investment fund. Their shareholder base consists mainly of European and Belgian entrepreneurial families, which aligns well with our DNA.

After eight months of working together, the complementarity is striking.

Easyfairs is a highly process-driven company; we are structured, organized, with internal reporting at every level. We measure everything. As long as we’re delivering strong results and keeping our clients happy, Cobepa doesn’t need to tell us how to run our business.

But when it comes to financial strategy—M&A, external growth, financing, and corporate finance—Cobepa’s expertise is invaluable.

We see it in action every day, and in some cases, they even take the lead. Thanks to them we’re growing faster and smarter. That’s exactly why we partnered with Cobepa: it allows us to keep excelling at what we do while adding a layer of financial expertise that accelerates our growth.

At Easyfairs, we have built industry-leading best practices and this on an operational, environmental and social level. Our internal academy helps employees reach their full potential, and in terms of technology, we are among the most advanced globally. 

The platform we have developed is truly a powerhouse, capable of handling two to three times more events than we currently operate. Until now, our growth was limited by financial constraints.

With our robust platform and two new investors, we are now poised to accelerate growth. Currently ranked among the top 20 event organizers worldwide, our goal is to break into the top 10. We will optimize and expand our platform to host more trade shows and, potentially, extend beyond Europe. In the next three to four years, Easyfairs will be a larger, more geographically diverse company, ready to shape the future of the events industry.