PJ Bouten

PJ Bouten (Pieterjan Bouten) is the central node of the Ghent SaaS mafia, having moved from early Netlog employee to co-founder of In The Pocket, co-founder of Showpad, and now GP at Entourage.

5 News mentions

Overview

PJ's career traces the arc of Ghent's tech ecosystem. He started as an early employee at Netlog, the Ghent social network co-founded by Lorenz Bogaert and Toon Coppens that seeded the city's founder community. From there, he co-founded In The Pocket, the Ghent digital product studio, alongside Louis Jonckheere and Peter Minne.

He then co-founded Showpad with the same partners, building it into one of Belgium's most recognized SaaS companies and a globally referenced sales enablement platform. Showpad raised significant venture funding and became a flagship Belgian exit story.

After Showpad, PJ launched Entourage as GP, a Ghent-based venture fund and studio that backs the next generation of founders in the ecosystem. His fund has attracted LPs including Joris Van Der Gucht, Louis Jonckheere, and Marc Coucke, among others.

Career history

  1. General PartnerNov 2023 - PresentEntourage
  2. Co-Founder & ShareholderMay 2023 - PresentWintercircus Ghent
  3. Co-Founder - Board MemberMay 2010 - PresentIn The Pocket
  4. Board MemberMar 2022 - Oct 2025Showpad
  5. Co-Founder & CEOApr 2011 - Mar 2022Showpadscaled from 0 to $100M ARR and 500+ employees
  6. Non Executive DirectorAug 2020 - Jan 2025Corilus
  7. FounderEntourage

Education

  1. Master, Communication Sciences1999 - 2004KU Leuven
  2. Erasmus Program, Communication Sciences2003 - 2004Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

LinkedIn Voice

Posting style: Supportive and portfolio-celebrating. Mix of Dutch and English. Low ego, high conviction. Lets portfolio companies shine. Posts 2-3 times per month. Key themes: Entourage portfolio companies (Aikido, SereneDB, Epiminds, Basalt, TextYess), founder journey stories, Belgian startup ecosystem (Ghent tech, Tectonic event), Entrepreneurship wisdom Avg engagement: 94 likes, 3 comments Notable post: Aikido as first Entourage investment reaching Unicorn, 238 likes -- "Former Showpad employee as co-founder."

In the news

This page shows public professional information only, each fact cited. Is this you? send a correction, or ask for removal within 24 hours, no questions asked.