From marathon training to start-up: how Simon Petit turned a running problem into DataFuel
Simon Petit thought he knew exactly where his career was heading. Trained as a Business Engineer and firmly focused on a future in finance, he was building his career as a consultant and planning his next professional move. At the same time, his close friend Numa Verberne was pursuing his own successful career in management.
The friends weren’t just united by their career ambitions. They also shared a passion for endurance running.
Whether preparing for marathons, half-marathons or other events, the friends were constantly looking for ways to improve their performance and shave precious minutes off their personal bests. They tracked their training, analysed their progress and paid close attention to the data generated by their workouts. Yet one area remained surprisingly unclear – sports nutrition and supplements.
Simon says: "We were training with structure and data, but fuelling blindly."
The questions that wouldn’t go away…
The pair found themselves asking the same questions over and over again. Which supplements should they take? When should they take them? How much did they actually need? The more they researched, the more confusing it became.
A runner training for a marathon, for example, has very different nutritional requirements from someone running recreationally a few times a week. Yet traditional supplement providers don’t differentiate between them.
In their quest to find answers, Simon and Numa ended up founding a company.
The road to entrepreneurship
Simon had always planned to build a career in finance. But in 2022, he discovered Vlerick’s Advanced Master's in Business Analytics & AI – and something clicked.
"I went in expecting finance," he says. "I left obsessed with data and AI. It was the best left turn I ever made."
The programme transformed the way Simon thought about business challenges and opportunities. As he learned more about analytics, machine learning and data-driven decision-making, he found himself increasingly fascinated by the possibilities of using data to solve real-world challenges.
When he graduated in 2023, he was snapped up as a data science consultant by Orange Business. But he knew he wanted to build something of his own one day. Vlerick had lit an entrepreneurial fire within him.
So when he was trying to plan his training nutrition needs, he kept coming back to one question. If data could transform decision-making in so many industries, why couldn't it help endurance athletes make better decisions about nutrition?
Endurance athletes routinely generate huge amounts of data through wearable devices and training platforms. They monitor mileage, pace, recovery, heart rate and training load with remarkable precision. Couldn’t this data be used to create personalised supplement plans?
Taking the leap
In early 2026, Simon and Numa set up DataFuel – a data-driven company that helps endurance athletes make smarter decisions about their nutrition.
By analysing training data from wearable devices, the platform creates personalised supplement recommendations and tailored fuelling plans based on who athletes are, and how they’re training. Every month, subscribers get a box of tailored supplements – and every month the system adjusts, based on the athlete’s training load, recovery patterns and feedback.
The company is already gaining momentum. The founders have spent countless hours talking to athletes, coaches and nutrition experts, testing assumptions and refining their product. The platform is currently operating a closed beta with around 50 paying users as the team prepares for a wider launch.
DataFuel has also been selected for both the Start it @KBC and StartLab.Brussels accelerator programmes, providing access to mentoring, networks and support as the business grows.
Life as a founder
For Simon, one of the biggest surprises has been discovering how much of entrepreneurship happens away from the technology itself.
"One thing that surprised me most about entrepreneurship is how little of the week is actually the algorithm," he says.
“A typical day might involve refining recommendation logic in the morning and discussing manufacturing, packaging or delivery challenges in the afternoon. It is a constant process of learning, adapting and solving new problems.”
What’s next for DataFuel?
Today, the focus is firmly on product-market fit and continuous improvement. The founders are listening closely to athletes, refining the customer experience and preparing for the next stage of growth.
Armed with their experience – as well as the knowledge, confidence and entrepreneurial mindset Simon developed at Vlerick – the pair are now focused on taking DataFuel to the next level.
And Simon’s advice to other budding entrepreneurs? He says: “If you’re in a job that doesn’t light you up and you’re scared to move… take the leap. The perfect timing doesn’t exist. Sometimes you just have to do it.”
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