Big Hitters with Larry Weidel
From Belgium to Global: Building a 22-Person Remote AI Company Without Silicon Valley
September 2, 2025
From Startup Struggles to Sustainable Success: A Journey of Global Learning and Entrepreneurship In this episode of The Big Hitters podcast, host Larry Weidel interviews Ricardo Ghekiere, co-founder of BetterPic and serial entrepreneur, who shares his remarkable journey from traveling the world at age 18 to building multiple successful businesses, including BetterPic, which he bootstrapped from $1,500 to $270,000 monthly revenue in just 18 months.
What if you could transform failure into a stepping stone to success? In this episode of The Big Hitters podcast, Larry sits down with Ricardo Ghekiere, a serial entrepreneur who bootstrapped multiple businesses to 7-figures, to explore how embracing uncertainty led to building rock star teams and scaling successful ventures. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or seeking to level up your business, this conversation unpacks valuable insights on global perspective, strategic team building, and leveraging emerging technologies like AI. Tune in to discover why asking "what's the worst that could happen?" might be the mindset shift you need to take bold action and achieve breakthrough results.

What You'll Learn:
- How to turn global experiences into entrepreneurial advantages by immersing yourself in different cultures and languages
- The "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" framework for making bold business decisions and managing risk
- Why building a "rockstar team" is crucial for scaling businesses and outperforming competitors
- How to leverage failure as preparation for future success through persistent learning and adaptation
- The principle of "talent density" - why having five exceptional team members outperforms fifty average ones
- Why customer care and 24/7 human support can be a key differentiator in AI-powered businesses
- How to identify future market trends and position yourself ahead of the curve
- The power of bootstrapping to develop comprehensive business understanding and effective leadership skills
- Why focusing on growth keeps companies innovative and teams energized
- How to turn cultural diversity and multilingual abilities into business advantages

Ricardo Ghekiere is a successful entrepreneur and business strategist, known for bootstrapping multiple seven-figure companies, including BetterPic and Saasmic. With a multicultural background and fluency in four languages, he transformed BetterPic from $1,500 to $270,000 monthly revenue in just 18 months, achieving over $3 million in annual revenue and 7,000+ monthly subscribers. Before this success, Ricardo built and sold Saasmic, a software marketing agency that grew to serve major clients in Belgium with a team of 130 people. His journey from early startup failures to successful exits demonstrates his expertise in building rockstar teams and scaling businesses through strategic growth. Ricardo's approach to entrepreneurship, emphasizing calculated risk-taking and talent density, has established him as a thought leader in bootstrapped business development and AI-driven innovation.


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