For over 20 years, Resengo, a thriving scale-up, has been helping entrepreneurs take their guest experience to the next level. What initially started as a way to make reservations more accessible has evolved into a comprehensive solution for anyone working with reservations.
We spoke with Francis Foubert, Head of Product & Development at Resengo, who has been leading both the Product and Development teams for the past 2 years. From the product's vision to its actual delivery, Francis is responsible for overseeing the entire scope with the aim of helping their customers grow and succeed.
Hi Francis, could you tell us what Resengo does exactly?
"Resengo provides a complete solution for anyone working with reservations. It starts with the reservation itself, but we also work with our customers to create an ecosystem around customer communication, guest experience, reviews, and a self-reinforcing story with effective marketing. This ensures that when a guest visits one of our customers once, they will come back again. In this way, we help our customers build and strengthen their businesses."
What are the key projects you are currently working on?
"We recently launched ResQueue, a digital waiting list, which is a completely new concept in Belgium and the Netherlands. Imagine you want to dine at a restaurant, but there are no available tables. With ResQueue, you can join the digital waiting list, and as soon as a table becomes available, you will receive a notification."
"We are also working on a new container application that will give Resengo a fresh look, with improved navigation and a focus on mobile-friendliness. This required us to modularize all our different features, allowing them to be individually turned on or off. Additionally, this enables us to offer a unique pricing strategy where our customers only pay for what they use."
Can you give us an insight into the workings behind the scenes? How large is the IT team, and what technology stack do you use?
"Our Product team consists of 3 people: 2 analysts and 1 designer. In our Development team, we have 3 backend developers (including 1 architect), 2 full-stack developers from Euricom, 2 frontend developers (1 from Euricom), and 2 testers."
"The backend of our application is built using .NET, while the frontend is developed with React. We also utilize Azure Cloud."
How do you see innovation within Resengo? And how do our Euricom colleagues contribute?
"Innovation starts with the Product team, as they optimize the existing product and keep an eye on market trends or even predict them. As Resengo, we aim to be trendsetters. The Development team, including our Euricom colleagues, has the opportunity to contribute to these ideas and assess potential pitfalls."
At Euricom, we highly value cultural fit with our clients. How would you describe the culture of Resengo?
"Resengo's mission is rooted in the belief that everyone has the ambition and talent to continue growing, including both our customers and our employees. We strive for continuous improvement, providing space for learning, growth, and experimentation. That's what Resengo stands for."
What was the challenge or project where Euricom assisted you in the past?
"Dirk, the CEO of Resengo, had ambitious plans for an innovative reservation platform. To achieve this, he needed a reliable technology partner to help revamp and transform both the platform's architecture and underlying technology. That's when Euricom came into the picture. You possessed the technical expertise we were looking for and understood the challenges facing Resengo. We wanted to take the platform to the next level and prepare it for large-scale usage as a SaaS solution."
"Years later, you are still our go-to partner for challenges and reinforcing our software development team."
Do you perceive Euricom as a software development partner that thinks along with you?
"Absolutely! We can always count on Euricom. When there's an urgent need, someone can be brought in, and whenever a challenge arises, you provide solutions. Euricom is always willing to brainstorm and think along with us."
During discussions about assigning an additional Euricom team member, someone from my team said, "Why not? Euricom has never disappointed us!" That describes our trust and bond very well."
How would you describe a Euricom consultant?
"Eager to learn, reliable, constantly seeking improvement, always willing to collaborate with colleagues, and continuously striving to deliver the best. With Euricom colleagues, you don't even notice they are "external" or consultants; they truly become part of the team."
To wrap up, what are your future plans for Resengo?
"Currently, we have 4,100 customers in Belgium and the Netherlands, resulting in 1.5 million reservations per month. We serve both business clients and consumers (reservation makers) in various industries such as restaurants, hair salons, wellness centers, dentists, and more. We aim to create greater awareness on the B2C front, positioning Resengo as an inspiration for a night out."
"As a highly ambitious company, who knows, maybe world domination? In the future, we plan to acquire more customers by expanding into other countries. With our scalable new pricing strategy, I am confident that we can achieve this."