Maarten Michielssens

The through-line

Everything Maarten Michielssens says circles back to one pattern: a very long, unglamorous build-up followed by acceleration that looks sudden only to people who were not watching. He is explicit that "ze heeft ons 10 jaar gekost om 20.000 klanten te overtuigen en nu zijn we echt klaar om op te schamelen" [5], and equally explicit that the impatience is permanent rather than resolved: "elk jaar zeggen wij dat eh nu echt begint. Dat hebben we dit jaar ook gezegd" [5]. The same posture shows up in how he handles doubt from outside, whether from newspapers writing that the EnergyVision IPO was too expensive and that growth had stalled, or from a minister accusing energy suppliers of gimmick discounts [2][4]. The answer is never argument for its own sake, it is a dated appointment with the numbers: "afspraak binnen een jaar" [2].

The second constant is that he sees himself as an operator first. "Most of the time, I'm focused on scaling Belgium's energy transition. But every once in a while, I get to talk about it too" [3]. The talking is framed as the exception, and even then the subject is the journey, the lessons learned, and what the future could bring for Europe's energy landscape [3].

On owning the assets instead of selling them

The core of EnergyVision is that the company keeps the hardware. Solar panels, batteries and charging stations are placed at customer sites for free, EnergyVision retains ownership, and the return comes from selling the electricity produced there more cheaply than competitors can, because it carries no distribution costs [5]. That single design decision drives everything else he talks about: it turns a supplier into a balance-sheet business, it makes the customer relationship long rather than transactional, and it makes financing the central strategic problem rather than a back-office one.

On the long runway before the hockey stick

He is careful to describe the ten years to 20,000 customers as preparation rather than stagnation. The jump from 20,000 to 50,000 in a single year was possible because people and teams had been deliberately readied for growth in advance, so the hockey stick arrived after the groundwork rather than instead of it [5]. That framing matters for how he reads his own current numbers: organic growth keeps accelerating, with more than 10,000 new connection points onboarded in a single day [1], which he treats as the continuation of a curve rather than a surprise.

On financing with a bank-fluent CFO

The most concrete advice in his material is about the gap between founder language and bank language. EnergyVision was founded with €6,200 and then went looking for a €100 million credit line: "heb wij opgericht met €6200 om dan een lijn van €100 miljoen bij een bank te vragen. Dan zeggen wat jonge gasten daar" [5]. His conclusion is that hiring an experienced, reputable CFO was not a luxury for a capital-intensive model where the company finances the customer's assets, it was the condition for the money arriving [5]. He puts the difference plainly and without defensiveness: "die spreekt ook de taal van bankiers. Ik niet, ik spreek de taal van een ondernemer. Mijn Excel is duidelijk, maar die van haar is echt wat de bankier wil zien" [5]. The entrepreneur's model can be correct and still be unfundable if it is not presented in the form the lender needs.

On scale, acquisition and Belgian anchoring

Growth now comes from two directions at once. Organically, the onboarding volumes keep rising [1]. Inorganically, EnergyVision took over the energy supply activities of DATS 24 from 1 September, adding roughly 33,000 connection points, and he frames that as DATS 24 choosing EnergyVision as the new home for its customers, with a promise of a warm welcome for them [1]. The result is a climb from around 20th place in 2024 to 9th in 2025 and then to sixth largest residential energy supplier in the country [1]. He attaches a specific meaning to that ranking beyond size: EnergyVision is the largest supplier anchored in Belgium, since all five suppliers still above it are in foreign hands [1]. His summary of where this goes is short: "the best is yet to come" [1].

On discounts, comparison sites and customer friendliness

When Minister Rob Beenders said energy suppliers are cheats with gimmick discounts, his response was to distinguish EnergyVision's structure rather than defend the industry: the company's discounts run much longer than the first year and increase every year, which he calls "de wereld van klantvriendelijkheid" [4]. The proof he offers is that the behaviour is not incentive-driven, because the price comparison sites do not even display EnergyVision's loyalty discounts, so there is no ranking advantage to be gained from them [4]. The implicit critique is of a market where discount design is optimised for comparison engines rather than for the customer who stays.

On answering public-market scepticism

He keeps a running ledger of what was written against what happened. The press said the IPO was too expensive, he thought it was a correct entry price. The press said everything was still to be proven, and his answer was that they would prove it. The press said growth had stopped, and his answer was that they had only just begun [2]. After one year on Euronext Brussels his method for settling all three is to let the figures speak, paired with unhedged enthusiasm for what comes next [2].

Takeaways

• Design the business around asset ownership: place solar panels, batteries and charging stations for free, keep ownership, and earn the margin by selling the electricity without distribution costs [5].
• Expect the hockey stick to arrive late. Ten years to reach 20,000 customers, then 20,000 to 50,000 in one year, because teams and people were prepared for growth in advance [5].
• If your model finances customers' assets, hire a CFO who speaks the language of bankers. A founder's Excel can be clear and still not be what the bank needs to see [5].
• A company founded with €6,200 can credibly ask for a €100 million bank line, provided the request is presented in the lender's own terms [5].
• Structure discounts that lengthen and grow year over year even when the comparison sites do not display them, and treat that as the difference between customer friendliness and gimmick pricing [4].
• Answer public scepticism with a dated appointment rather than a rebuttal: "afspraak binnen een jaar" [2].
• Combine organic onboarding at scale with portfolio acquisitions such as DATS 24's roughly 33,000 connection points to move from around 20th in 2024 to sixth largest residential supplier, and the largest anchored in Belgium [1].