{"id":11820,"date":"2025-11-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/?p=11820"},"modified":"2025-11-21T17:40:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T15:40:17","slug":"learning-to-begin-again-europes-second-chance-entrepreneurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/their-choice\/learning-to-begin-again-europes-second-chance-entrepreneurs\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning to begin again: Europe\u2019s \u2018second-chance\u2019 entrepreneurs\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When ESCP alumnus Julien Sylvain shut down his first company, Leaf Supply, he says it felt like \u201cthe sudden loss of professional identity.\u201d For someone who had defined himself entirely through entrepreneurship, the moment was shattering personally as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re a trader, a blacksmith, or a marketer, you remain that even if you change companies,\u201d he reflects. \u201cBut when you\u2019ve always been an entrepreneur, even for a handful of years, it\u2019s much harder to define yourself when the company no longer exists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leaf Supply made portable bedding for emergency and temporary housing. Sylvain would go on to experience a second failure with Lemon Curve, an e-commerce business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet from those twin disappointments ultimately emerged Tediber, the French bedding brand that has grown to \u20ac50 million in annual revenue. His story, like many of Europe\u2019s \u201csecond-chance\u201d entrepreneurs, <strong>highlights the growing recognition that early failure can be a crucible instead of a curse for founders willing to learn, rebuild and try again<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I think the relationship to failure is very important for entrepreneurial success. You need a good balance between powerful drivers and naivety.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-rounded\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"610\" src=\"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/wp-content\/uploads\/julien2-1-e1763739541252.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Julien Sylvain\" class=\"wp-image-11824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/wp-content\/uploads\/julien2-1-e1763739541252.jpg 610w, https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/wp-content\/uploads\/julien2-1-e1763739541252-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/wp-content\/uploads\/julien2-1-e1763739541252-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/wp-content\/uploads\/julien2-1-e1763739541252-96x96.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Julien Sylvain<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Learning through loss<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sylvain\u2019s early ventures, he admits, \u201cdidn\u2019t go as far as we had hoped.\u201d But it was not the financial strain that weighed heaviest; it was the identity crisis that followed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat pushed me to start again,\u201d he says. \u201cThe day you quit your job, or turn one down \u2013 which was my case \u2013 to launch [a business] yourself, that\u2019s when you accept this new part of your identity. And it\u2019s a real relief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The role of failure in entrepreneurship is hardly novel. Silicon Valley long ago turned \u201cfail fast, fail often\u201d into a badge of honour. Yet for founders like Sylvain, failure is not celebrated for its own sake, but valued for the clarity it can produce when properly examined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMore broadly, <strong>I think the relationship to failure is very important for entrepreneurial success<\/strong>,\u201d he says. \u201cYou need a good balance between powerful drivers and naivety. Someone who doesn\u2019t have a humbling experience, something to prove, an incredible energy to channel, or a strong message to carry will, I think, run out of steam fairly quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Equally, he adds, \u201cit\u2019s impossible to get into entrepreneurship without a big dose of naivety about failure. Of course, fear of failure is a driver, but if it\u2019s too big, omnipresent, and especially if it\u2019s the only driver, it paralyses you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A second act<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sylvain graduated from the ESCP Master in Management programme in 2009. By the time he launched Tediber in 2015, he was determined to learn the lessons of the past.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey say experience is a lantern that only lights up the person who carries it,\u201d he says. \u201cI believe that\u2019s true, with one condition: the only way it sheds real light is if you\u2019re able to structure your learning along the way, so it becomes more than intuition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For him, one of those lessons was the value of human capital.<strong> \u201cThe people around me \u2013 employees and partners \u2013 have become increasingly important in giving me confidence,\u201d he explains.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His co-founder, Juan Pablo, had helped him launch both Leaf Supply and Tediber, and the venture capitalist who backed Tediber also invested in Sylvain\u2019s previous company, Lemon Curve. Several of Tediber\u2019s first employees, who joined at the company\u2019s launch, have also remained with the team for nearly a decade. \u201cThat continuity creates trust,\u201d Sylvain says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CEO also learned to treat energy, not money, as an entrepreneur\u2019s scarcest resource. \u201cYou need to move fast, not because time is money, but because time is energy, and energy doesn\u2019t replenish,\u201d he says. <strong>\u201cFail fast so you can iterate and succeed.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other lessons are more philosophical. \u201cI listen a lot, but I think long and hard before acting,\u201d he notes. \u201cDo things yourself and truly understand them, get into the details. Prioritise well, and don\u2019t confuse growth with spreading yourself too thin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>You need to move fast, not because time is money, but because time is energy, and energy doesn\u2019t replenish. Fail fast so you can iterate and succeed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The stigma of failure&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Investors often argue that Europe\u2019s apparent aversion to failure stifles risk-taking when compared to Silicon Valley. Sylvain takes a more practical view. \u201cI invest in companies, and<strong> I would largely favour a second-time entrepreneur who has failed over one who has been successful<\/strong>,\u201d he says. \u201cThey usually have a much stronger drive for redemption to push things forward, compared to the comfort that comes with success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, he says, \u201cI didn\u2019t really suffer from [the stigma]. But maybe that\u2019s because I was able to carry over resources from my past experiences: the same VC, the same co-founders, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Leading after loss<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, Tediber employs around 80 people and sits comfortably in the sweet spot between a start-up\u2019s agility and a mid-sized company\u2019s stability. \u201cI still feel much more like an entrepreneur than a manager,\u201d Sylvain says. \u201cThe size of Tediber fits what I think is my ideal environment, especially since we have so many projects, which makes me feel like I\u2019m truly still building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Experience has made him pragmatic, even sceptical of overconfidence.<\/strong> \u201cWhen it comes to hiring, I\u2019ve realised you should be wary of those who &#8216;know,&#8217; and that you actually learn a lot from those who doubt what they know,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Knowing when to stop<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For first-time founders facing a business collapse, Sylvain offers measured advice: \u201cDon\u2019t miss the moment for taking stock,\u201d he says. \u201cWhy did you really fail, without hiding behind \u2018the market\u2019 or unfairness? What would you do better if you were starting over? Where were you strong? What gave you the most joy, and the most sleepless nights?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For him, <strong>reflection sits between failure and renewal.<\/strong> \u201cYou have to find the zone where you\u2019re good, where you feel the most joy, and where you have the most impact,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And for all the scars of the journey, he remains unabashedly optimistic about starting over. \u201cIsn\u2019t setting off on a new adventure the best way to truly feel alive?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After two early ventures collapsed, ESCP alumnus Julien Sylvain built a \u20ac50mn bedding brand, a case study in the power of persistence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[18,16],"class_list":["post-11820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-their-choice","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-strategy","category-12","description-off"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Learning to begin again: Europe\u2019s \u2018second-chance\u2019 entrepreneurs\u00a0 - The Choice by ESCP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After two early ventures collapsed, ESCP alumnus Julien Sylvain built a \u20ac50mn bedding brand, a case study in the power of persistence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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