How I lost everything in France to start over in Bangkok

October 2025. I close the door to my apartment in the French Alps for the last time. Destination: Bangkok. One-way ticket. 44 years old. Two bankruptcies behind me. Zero plan B.

The fall

A few years ago, I was your typical ambitious French startup founder. I built two SaaS companies in the last 6 years, one in SEO, one in AI. Found partners, convinced VCs, raised €300k, hired a team, pitched to dozens of investors. Yep, I did all that.

On paper, everything looked solid: good products, perfect teams, clear market, working tech.

Except it didn't work. Both times.

Partner conflicts. Slow teams. Overpriced contractors. Not enough customers. Burn rate too high. Cash running out. Tense calls with investors. Then the verdict: liquidation…

I lost everything. The companies, the money, the confidence. And worst of all, my credibility as an entrepreneur.

The wake-up call

After months of going around in circles in my Alpine appartement, something clicked: I'd been playing the wrong game.

The VC-funded model wasn't for me. The pressure to grow at all costs, the burn rate forcing you to scale before you're profitable, the chaotic management of teams and contractors, the compromises on product vision... That wasn't ME.

Then I discovered the indie hacker movement: solo entrepreneurs building small, profitable, bootstrapped SaaS products without raising a dime. People like Pieter Levels, Marc Louvion, Tibo Louis-Lucas, Danny Postma, Tony Dinh, Jon Yongfook, Nico Jeannen and the creators on IndieHackers.

That's when I knew: this is what I want to do.

Why Bangkok?

Cost of living means I can survive 4 years on my savings while I build. It's a radical change, getting out of my European comfort zone. There's a thriving digital ecosystem of nomads, bootstrappers, and remote workers. And honestly? It's my first time in Asia. I know NOTHING. That's the point.

I'm giving myself 4 years. Four years to launch my SaaS projects, generate recurring revenue, and prove I can actually live off what I create online.

What you'll find here

This blog is my public diary. I'm documenting my SaaS projects (ideas, development, launches), my struggles as an expat in Bangkok, what I'm learning about indie hacking and bootstrapping, my mistakes (plenty of those), and my numbers: MRR, users, failures, all of it.

No bullshit. No success porn. Just the reality of a 44-year-old entrepreneur starting from scratch!