During this clubWAW! & club Yaka! moment, we welcomed Pepe Villatoro, founder of FuckUp Nights, and Wim Audenaert, CEO of AM-TEAM. Wim shared how assuming double-digit growth nearly proved fatal for his company. The conversation was moderated by Paul Gérard, Editor-in-Chief at L’Echo.
Oops. Never Assume.
Pepe launched his first company solo – and waited too long to ask for help. His journey was one of pushing through, burning out, and eventually calling it quits. His key takeaway?
Surround yourself with people who’ve done it before. It sounds simple, but it’s powerful. I thought I could do anything myself.
Pepe Villatoro, founder of FuckUp Nights
Wim Audenaert opened up about what he called his “multidimensional fuck-up”: growing too fast, hiring too many, and underestimating what his team could handle. “We recruited for a future that wasn’t there yet.” Brutal transparency – especially when things got tough – is what kept his team going after scaling down from 27 people to just 7.
The speed of trust.
Pepe’s conclusion: sharing your fuck-up helps you do business at the speed of trust. Vulnerability builds connection – and accelerates momentum.
There’s no universal KPI for failure. It’s always personal or contextual. But one thing is certain: sharing failure helps. Still, that remains universally hard. In Europe, we often cling to perfectionism, reputation, and the belief that mistakes are unacceptable. Yet those who open up are believed. And those who dare to share inspire others to do the same.
Culture, Context & Pain.
Pepe, a Mexican entrepreneur who travels the world collecting failure stories, has a sharp view on cultural differences.
As Europe slowly wakes up from its “don’t lose face” mindset, it’s learning to embrace a more honest “start by starting” attitude.
Pepe Villatoro, founder of FuckUp Nights
Surprisingly, the hardest place in the world to find speakers willing to share their vulnerable stories? Silicon Valley. It’s a place of egos and endless pitching. Even failure becomes a pitch for the next venture. It makes them excellent marketers, and great at raising money, but in the end, their lives aren’t so different from ours.
Asia comes second. Pepe shared how, in contrast to the humour and lightness often found in Latin America, failure in some Asian cultures can have devastating consequences, including suicide. Context matters.
One-Stop Quotes to Boost Your Day
- Pain + reflection = progress. Add a lot of before each word – and it hits closer to reality.
- Start by starting. Perfection is a trap.
- If you don’t have time to think about product-market fit, you probably have it.
- We’re human. We’re scared. But that’s where real change begins. Maybe success is simply being okay with losing everything.
(Not-So?) Crazy Ideas for Future WAW! & Yaka! Moments
- An Elvis show in Chicago by Wim Audenaert.
- Tequila in Durbuy with Emmanuelle Ghislain.
Emmanuelle Ghislain, who brought FuckUp Nights to Belgium, summed it up perfectly: “Being in pain and still having fun with it.” That might just be the best description of this event. Thanks to all for contributing & see you next time!
Suggestions for themes, locations or speakers?
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