ESCP London Campus is hosting the UK edition of the 2026 Jean-Baptiste Say Entrepreneurship Festival from 17th to 19th November.


The Festival is part of a multi-campus initiative led by the Blue Factory, running across five ESCP campuses to spotlight the real challenges behind launching and scaling ventures.

This year's theme is Walk the Talk asks one question: what does it really take to start up, scale up and grow? The London edition of the Festival focuses on practical sessions with people who have done it.
 

Entrepreneurship Festival Startup Confessions: A Fireside Chat with Perlego's founder

Thursday 19 November
18:00 - 21:00 GMT

Most founder stories are polished: the pitch, the raise, the exit. This one isn't. ​

Join us for a candid fireside chat with Gauthier Van Malderen, founder of Perlego, the "Spotify for textbooks" that scaled internationally. He is also the author of Startup Confessions: A Founder's Guide to Getting It Wrong (and Sometimes Right), and we're hosting this conversation just ahead of the book launch. ​

​We'll talk about what building a company actually looks like: ​

  • Starting and scaling in a tough, incumbent-heavy industry ​
  • Staying alive when the economic climate shifts ​
  • Keeping investors happy without losing the plot ​
  • Convincing users to change a habit they've had for decades ​
  • The hiring mistakes, pointless projects and rejections nobody puts on LinkedIn

Expect honest answers, a few laughs and practical lessons, whether you're one week or ten years into your venture. There will be time for audience questions, then drinks and networking afterwards. ​

Who it's for: founders, aspiring founders, operators, students, alumni, and anyone curious about the reality behind the startup headlines. ​

About the speaker:

Gauthier Van Malderen is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Perlego, the global digital learning platform that has raised over $90M. He is an active angel investor, and a mentor and adviser to founders across Europe. His book Startup Confessions draws on eight years of scaling Perlego, with no clichés and no sugarcoating.

About the host:

​Alice Ivanoff is Head of Blue Factory London, ESCP's European startup incubator. A former founder (she co-founded and led Kokoon AI, a B2B SaaS startup) with operations, product and strategy experience at Amazon and WeWork, she will be interviewing Gauthier on stage.


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About Blue Factory London

Blue Factory is ESCP's European startup incubator, supporting founders and SME leaders across London. ​Find out more

Location

Organiser: Blue Factory

ESCP London Campus - United Kingdom

Map

Date

Start date: 19/11/2026

Start time: 6:00 PM

End time: 9:00 PM