The Journey of a Successful Entrepreneur - The Journey of a Successful Entrepreneur

Dear Readers,

I would love for this book to tell the story of an entrepreneurs incredible adventure my own onto the black screen of sleepless nights spent by those that dream of starting their own business. Id like it to give them desire and courage, direction and advice, and to also save them time by drawing on my experience to achieve their ambitions.

I also hope that reading it will inspire them, and make them think before acting.

It was on December 10, 2019, after four wonderful days spent visiting numerous galleries at the world-famous Art Basel Show in Miami with my wife, Agns, and our great Brazilian friends, that I got the idea to write this book.

Never in the course of my nearly seventeen years with a start-up/ scale-upper had I devoted so much time to an event involving art, or anything else for that matter. Everything had been devoted to my company. At most, Id have spent a few hours there, with my eyes glued to my phone while I managed my emails. In those seventeen years, Id done nothing but grow my start-up. I was addicted.

But at the end of those four days in Florida, I dont know what came over me; I started to feel a freedom and an opening up that I hadnt felt in years. As if I was allowing myself to think about something other than my company.

I felt I was ready to test new waters and really do something different. And it was at that precise moment that I started to write.

Deep down, after all of those crazy years of work and persistent growth, I felt the need to understand why and how Id pulled off the insane project of which I was (and still am) intensely proud. I also wanted to shed a bit of light on the journey of the first 48 years of my life. When youre busy experiencing things, you dont really look at them, and I was in need of a freeze-frame.

I sensed that I was gradually stepping away from the role of founder and big boss of my company to set off towards different horizons, which I hoped would be just as exciting. But before making that transition, and while still in that chapter of my story, it was crucial that I write it down so I would never forget it. The story had been so magical, and so hard at times, but so incredibly gratifying that I wanted it to be engraved for eternity.

And nothing is more eternal than a book. So, I had to write.

Because were going to be straight with each other, Ill confess that the idea of putting this part of my life to bed on paper was also probably a way for me to turn the page and mourn this first part of my life but in a nice way, by engraving a written account of this powerful and intense experience we call success in business in marble.

Lastly, writing this story was a way to convey my immense gratitude to my family, my friends and associates, and my clients and partners. Hundreds of people have contributed to this extraordinary adventure, and I hope theyll be pleased to see it immortalized on paper.

However, after that initial burst of momentum in Miami, my daily activities quickly took over. Of course, I had immediately written three or four pages in less than an hour; but as I started on the second hour, I was overcome with hesitation and all kinds of good excuses whose sole purpose was to hide what I refused to call laziness.

Unlike everything that had constituted my DNA until then, in that moment, I suddenly doubted my ability to focus long enough to write a book. This sudden free time a fairly new phenomenon for me was nice, but this new plan to write made me realize that, deep down, it was inconceivable for me to remain inactive and simply enjoy my earnings and the pleasures of life. For me, leading a project was the essential driver of an existence rich in emotions, and one that I didnt want to miss out on.

Fortunately, as soon as I got back to France in January 2020, I started taking our fabulous TGV (high-speed train). Strangely, the train has always been a place where Im able to focus my attention for more than thirty minutes. The various roundtrips on the TGV that my activities required provided me with condensed time and helped me refocus on writing. And then, like a sign, came the imposed lockdown on Monday, March 16, 2020, put me definitively in a situation of no return and allowed me to focus on writing this book. Ive always loved challenges, and am always ready to finish all of my projects as quickly as possible but I have to say that writing 250 pages in less than a year seemed a little beyond my reach! Thanks to the lockdown, I was able to finish this book in six months. I hope you enjoy it, and that it motivates you.

My name is Patrice Thiry. Im 48 years old.

In 2000, I founded ProwebCE, a software vendor offering solutions to CEs ( comits dentreprise or works councils).

In 2017, I sold it to Edenred for 300 million euros.

This is my story.