Escape 9 to 5
Crazy or Genius? The ChangeNOW Story | Santiago Lefebvre
About this episode
Three months before the first ChangeNOW, speakers and exhibitors from 80 countries were preparing to come to Paris. The programme was almost ready, but the team still had no funding.
Before building ChangeNOW, Santiago Lefebvre pursued banking and launched a first startup that didn't succeed as he hoped. He nearly returned to a conventional career, raising the question of when stopping a business matters as much as starting one.
During a job search, Santiago shared an ambitious idea with a business angel who told him he might be crazy or a genius, but needed to do it. Lydia and Santiago explore starting before proof and how finding first supporters creates momentum.
That idea became ChangeNOW, a global summit and ecosystem connecting entrepreneurs, businesses, investors and policymakers around solutions for the planet. Their conversation looks at meaningful gatherings that bring problems, solutions and decision-makers together.
They also explore the shift from climate as a moral argument to a strategic priority for energy, industry and resilience, and what it means to work in uncertainty before the path is visible.
Beyond building a business, Lydia and Santiago consider how a definition of success can move beyond money and achievement, and how a meaningful life can come back to simple daily rituals.
Key takeaways
- Money can be an important first measure of success, but that definition can change.
- Knowing when to stop a business can be as important as courage to start.
- Working in uncertainty means starting before the path is visible.
- Finding first believers creates momentum.
- Meaningful gatherings connect problems, solutions and decision-makers.
- Climate solutions increasingly matter to energy, industry and resilience strategies.
- A meaningful life can come back to very simple daily rituals.
Guest
Santiago Lefebvre
Founder & CEO, ChangeNOW