Levi Dewaegenaere,
from top athlete to top entrepreneur
Levi Dewaegenaere (1978) grew up in Schilde as the oldest son in a family of hard-working independents. As a child, Levi spent a lot of time with his grandparents, who owned a riding stables and tennis club. There, he quickly discovered his interest in tennis and could be found on the courts daily.
What started out as a passion, soon turned into a professional activity. The young Levi Dewaegenaere won one tournament after another, in Belgium and abroad. He switched from traditional high school to a school for professional athletes and as his tennis career progressed, Levi Dewaegenaere would continue to pursue academic studies in combination with pro sports. In order to further develop his professional tennis skills, at the age of 17, Levi Dewaegenaere moved from Belgium to Florida.
With his intense dedication and drive, Levi Dewaegenaere was known as someone who would go to any lengths in his sport and his training regime. He has an innate sense of fair play and his diplomatic, friendly character enabled Levi Dewaegenaere to develop close friendships with players, trainers and professionals in the tennis sector around the world.
At the age of 18, things began to change. Like many professional athletes, Levi Dewaegenaere started to experience injuries and pain issues related to his sport. It was this experience with pain that led to his dream of one day finding a real solution for the problem of pain and injuries. In the end, the physical symptoms became unbearable and he had to take the hardest decision of his young life … Levi Dewaegenaere quit tennis at the age of 21.
“Successful entrepreneurship is like professional sports. If you’ve got big dreams, strong faith in yourself and unfailing determination, then the results will follow.”
A new chapter began for Levi Dewaegenaere. He plunged into the business world with the same drive that enabled him to achieve so much in pro sports. Levi Dewaegenaere soon developed his own vision and philosophy on real estate and founded his own property development company. Many years later, this company would grow into what is now Urban Capital Group, a successful player on the Belgian property development market, where Levi Dewaegenaere and his wife Inge Caes, along with their team, successfully carry out high quality projects. The hallmark of Urban Capital Group projects is their sense of design, sustainability and customer service.
In the meantime, Levi Dewaegenaere maintained close ties with the world of professional sports. Based on his personal experience with injuries and pain as a professional tennis player, he dreamed of developing a medical application that could help patients and their doctors recover from injuries and traumas faster and pain-free.
This dream, too, became reality. With the creation of the Waegener company, Levi Dewaegenaere developed an innovative medical technology and treatment platform. With multiple worldwide patents to his name, he has been able to convince various authorities to support the research and development of his idea.
It has been a highly ambitious project with lots of ups and downs. But perseverance pays off. Today, the company has grown into the medical development and production company Waegener, based in Brecht. The applications developed by Waegener are currently successfully being used at various international hospitals and professional sports clubs, such as the Rode Duivels and Manchester United.
It’s clear that his career as a young pro tennis player taught Levi Dewaegenaere many life lessons and enabled him to develop discipline and determination. These are the life lessons that allow him to stand out as an entrepreneur today.