Entrepreneurship: beyond failure

"I wouldn't see it as a failure: it didn't work", Emmanuel Macron's famous quote during the Covid crisis may make you smile, but it shows just how taboo the very word is. As far as this interview is concerned, we had agreed during the summer holidays to meet in early September… but this was not confirmed. It was a failure that made Guillaume Chatelain smile when we finally met him. He is wearing a tie with a print of… cats. He was accompanied by his sidekick Arnaud Baudet, who was running late because he was caught up in the endless traffic jams at the border. A few months ago, the two serial entrepreneurs became Luxembourg's ambassadors for "Fuckup nights". The first edition took place in July. But what is it all about?

"Fuckup nights' is a bit of a strange name, what is it?

Arnaud Baudet: The idea is that we always talk about what's going well, the successes, but never about what's not. That's how we came up with the idea of launching an evening on the theme of failure.

Guillaume Chatelain: Arnaud and I met at a start-up cocktail party, got talking and came to the conclusion that for those who are struggling, the small ones, those who aren't making the headlines with multi-million fund-raising deals, there was a blind spot to be exploited to do things together and get more visibility. So we wanted to create an event around failure, we had even come up with a name, but then we discovered that the concept already existed!

AB: At the end of May we obtained the 'Fuckup nights' licence for Luxembourg, with the first event organised this summer.

Did you find it easy to get people to talk about their problems as entrepreneurs?

GC: The first difficulty, apart from finding a venue, was actually finding speakers. It has to be said that people aren't usually keen to talk about their failures on stage. It's a bit of a confusing concept, so you have to explain it. Some were quick to jump on board, others had more questions, but in the end we managed to get a diverse panel with different profiles and stories. We had atypical profiles, some were natural, others acted out their failure. But everyone was very positive, because it did them good to have this kind of talk, which is ultimately refreshing. On the strength of this initial success, we are now looking for a venue and new speakers for our next event.

AB: There's also the question of partners, because organising an event costs money. As far as the financial sector is concerned, they're rather cautious, but I think it's mainly a generational problem. It's easier to reach young, open-minded people. There's a conservative spirit in this country, and things are sometimes difficult to move. Shaking things up can only be positive for us, but also for future generations.