The Børsen Gazelle award 2021 is just around the corner, and this year’s selections are nearly complete. At pensopay, we’re proud to have received the Gazelle award in 2021. It’s an opportunity to reflect on what this award means for both the Danish business community and pensopay.
What It Takes to Become a Gazelle Company
There are six criteria a company must meet to be awarded the Børsen Gazelle.
Revenue / Gross Profit
A company's growth is primarily measured based on revenue, which must be at least DKK 1 million in the starting year. If revenue is not provided, gross profit is used, and it must be at least DKK 500,000 in the starting year.
Financial Year
There must be at least four publicly available financial statements. These should cover four 12-month fiscal years, as any shorter or longer periods could lead to disproportionately high growth.
Business Structure
Only public limited companies (A/S) and private limited companies (ApS) can be included in the study. However, there is an exception for financial institutions, which can participate regardless of their business structure.
Comparability
It is important that the figures are comparable across the four years used to measure growth. Companies are excluded if their accounting practices change in a way that makes the result figures non-comparable.
Operating Profit
The sum of the operating profits over the four years must be positive. The result from the core operations can be negative in one year, but the total sum must still be positive.
Growth
There must be positive growth in revenue or gross profit for each of the four years measured. Furthermore, the total growth over the four years must be at least 100%, meaning it should double.
What Does the Gazelle Award Mean?
The gazelle is one of the fastest animals on the savanna, and it is therefore used to describe the fastest-growing companies in Denmark. These companies are the engine behind a strong business community, and according to Børsen, they are important because "they serve as role models for job creation, optimism, and creativity in Denmark," and should therefore be celebrated. It is an award that companies strive to achieve, and one that provides motivation to keep pushing forward.
In this way, the Børsen Gazelle inspires how companies can strive for growth. It provides concrete benchmarks that businesses can aim for, which is motivating. Both as an owner and as an employee, you want to be part of a successful company. The Gazelle is a well-known award with a strong reputation, making it clear to others just how significant your success is.
pensopay: From Start-up to Gazelle
As the new marketing manager at Pensopay, it’s been difficult for me to fully comprehend how much the company has grown since its founding in 2015. Along the way, I’ve collected some fun stories that have helped me understand, but I don’t think it really hit me until now. I’ve taken the time to sit down and map out the whole journey in celebration of our Børsen Gazelle award. Here’s the story!
We’ll start with a brief timeline to give you a glimpse of what’s happened and when:
2015: pensopay ApS is launched.- 2017: pensopay reaches 1,000 users and is represented in 7 European countries.
- 2019: pensopay is converted into a public limited company, pensopay A/S. By this point, the company has surpassed 2,000 users and is represented in 12 European countries.
- 2021: pensopay reaches 5,000 users and grows to a team of 19 colleagues.
In just 6 years, what started as a dream and an ambition has grown into a thriving company. They began with just 2 people, quickly becoming three in one room. In fact, that very room became my office when I joined three months ago. That was it – that was pensopay. Now, there are 19 people spread across two floors, with both floors exclusively occupied by pensopay.
For some, 6 years may seem like a long time to grow from 2 to 19 employees. But it’s important to remember that just 3 years ago, there were only 5 full-time employees and 1 part-time worker, and it was at that point they really began to feel like a “real” company. Back then, both Danny and Pierre worked full-time in the business, often spending late nights and even the early hours responding to support emails and setting up customers.
The Journey
There’s no doubt it has been an incredible journey to build a company and shape a dream. The milestones they chased in the beginning have now become part of the daily routine. The challenges that kept them awake at night just 3 years ago are no longer something they even need to handle themselves. There’s no question the company has gone through an extraordinary transformation since its start 6 years ago, but the mission remains the same.
The ambition for pensopay has always been to redefine the user experience in an industry that is often seen as technically complex and inaccessible, all while staying true to the values of being helpful, professional, and looking after customers and their businesses—without complicating things. It's definitely not something that can be done overnight!
How they’ve achieved this is far more exciting to hear about from those who actually made it happen, rather than something I can only guess at. So, here’s the story directly from those who have turned pensopay into the company it is today.
The Fantastic Four:
I asked the four longest-standing members of the Pensopay team about their experiences. More specifically, I asked them what it’s taken, what’s been the hardest, and what’s been the best. But first, let me introduce you to the four of them:
- Pierre Rindsig: CEO and co-founder of pensopay.
- Danny Christensen: COO and co-founder of pensopay.
- Brian Bach Lassen: the first employee and a bit of a jack-of-all-trades.
- Tine Radoor: pensopay’s go-to person for everything, and at times, the team’s mother figure.
Here’s What It Took, in Their Own Words
“There have been many sacrifices, sleepless nights, too many hours spent working, and worries that keep you from being present with your family or friends. It takes dedication and hard work,” Pierre, pensopay.
“Everything. It might sound a bit cliché to say blood, sweat, and tears, but it’s true. A lot has been sacrificed along the way, and it won’t come back, but I don’t regret a thing!” Danny, pensopay.
“It has required some sacrifices to be part of the startup; friends and family were replaced by phone calls and email support. It cost me as my future plans took a different course, and I chose a new direction,” Brian, pensopay.
“Blood, sweat, and tears,” Tina, pensopay.
There’s no doubt it’s been a tough battle at times. It has required a lot of energy, and at times, putting work before personal life. Especially in the beginning, when you stand alone in believing in the project you’ve started. You have to fight on your own and deprioritize many other things.
What Has Been the Toughest Part?
"Professionally, the hardest part was the first 18 months. You have a lot to prove, but no track record. You’re on your own – at best with your co-founder – believing you can succeed. On a personal level, it’s a tough adjustment going from a steady income, bonus, and company car to having no salary. The hardest single moment was probably when my daughter asked if they could have an ice cream and said they'd have to settle for one scoop because they knew we didn’t have any money," Pierre, pensopay.
"The hardest part has definitely been the uncertainty. All the questions that come with the territory when you put yourself in such a situation. Will we still be here tomorrow? Can I support my family? What if we make the wrong decision? And many more," Danny, pensopay.
"The hardest part has been when suppliers have had breakdowns. When everything is about to collapse, we're good at jumping in as a team, using our knowledge and skills, so the burden isn't as heavy on any individual colleague," Brian, pensopay.
"Scaling from small to bigger is a tough art. It's been hard, but I think we've nailed it quite well," Tine, pensopay.
What Has Been the Best Part?
“There have been a lot of big moments: the first 100 users, the first hire, breakeven, being mentioned in Børsen and Berlingske, and being featured on TV2. Your emotions are heightened when you’re fighting for success and survival as an entrepreneur. However, the best part has been the focused fight to build the company’s reputation and succeeding at it. I don’t think you ever really finish, and maybe that’s the best part: being able to keep shaping something you believe in,” Pierre, pensopay.
“The best part has definitely been seeing something grow. Creating something that others, and the wider world, began to take seriously. When we became a name on customers’ lips and were seen as a solid, customer-oriented company, which was always the vision.” – “We’ve taken many hits along the way, not least from our competitors who didn’t take us seriously at the start. In the end, it worked to our advantage,” Danny, pensopay.
“The best part has been the camaraderie. The leaders aren’t just stiff figures in an office. Everyone is part of the team, and you can have fun and relax, but also work seriously all the way through,” Brian, pensopay.
“The opportunity to be a part of it and have the chance to leave my mark on our work and the workplace,” Tine, pensopay.
There's no doubt that pensopay has come a long way since its start in 2015. What the future holds is always uncertain, but I’m confident that this success has only fueled their drive. It will be exciting to see what happens next.
Team pensopay
