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SUMMARY:Jetlaggers ULTRA at Officine Bac – Paris
DESCRIPTION:“You look so much happier than last year.” Someone said this to me recently\, and it stayed with me. Because I feel it too. My ideas are clearer. My energy is coming back. I’m enjoying what I do again. And part of that has come from reconsidering what success means to me.Jetlaggers Journal #3  ·  By Marie-Anne You  ·  5 min read Apparently\, one day\, I told my dad: “The day I get to stay in luxury hotels for free\, I’ll know I’ve made it.” Very specific. Clearly\, I had my priorities sorted. 😉 Since then\, I’ve had a lot amazing hotel stays. My younger self would be delighted! What I hadn’t thought to include in her definition of success was how I wanted to feel on an ordinary Tuesday. When bigger became the goalAlmost ten years ago\, I started bringing people together. Having lived abroad\, I knew how much one good evening could change your experience of a city. You meet someone\, make plans\, and suddenly feel a little more at home.I loved creating those moments. Over time\, being called “a party organiser” started to feel too small for the brand\, community\, and relationships we had built. I wanted to be taken seriously. Between successful friends\, our ambitious community\, and a LinkedIn feed full of milestones and funding announcements\, I started comparing myself. The questions reinforced it: What’s your revenue? How big is your team? Have you raised funding? Somehow\, I began to feel that what I’d built wasn’t enough. People rarely asked how many friendships we had helped start. How many lives we had made a little better. How many memories people still talked about years later. I knew those things mattered. Yet somehow\, I started believing I was a long way from being successful. So the goal became growth. More cities\, more events\, a bigger team. I didn’t really stop to ask whether I wanted the life that came with it. A job I hadn’t meant to createOur days gradually filled with salaries\, rent\, VAT\, URSSAF contributions\, and team management. And if you’ve managed a team\, you know everything those two words contain: sick leave\, last-minute replacements\, personal difficulties\, schedules to rearrange… Each situation needed attention. Together\, they had become most of our  job. I joked that I had the rhythm of a multinational CEO with the conditions of an intern. 😅 But I missed creating. I was doing something completely different from what had made me start. I brought in help and delegated more\, hoping to find breathing room. By then\, though\, I had very little energy left. I was there\, without really being there. I watched the community change and noticed things I wanted to adjust\, but struggled to act. I cared deeply; I just couldn’t bring the same presence anymore. My sister and co-founder\, Eliz\, was the first to sound the alarm. When she told me she no longer enjoyed her role\, she made me face something I hadn’t wanted to admit: I felt it too. We had built so much together. But what happens to a house when its two main pillars are too tired to hold it up? Her honesty opened a conversation we needed to have: what did we each want now\, and what needed to change? The moment things became clear When closing became a real possibility\, it brought everything into focus. I thought about the person who had started this\, and all the people who had become part of it. There was anger\, too. At the situation\, at other people\, then at myself for things I wished I had faced earlier. But through that\, I realised how much I still wanted to build Jetlaggers’ future. I needed to change how I worked. Everyone around me was talking about scaling. I realised I wanted something else: to build slower\, and better. Today\, I’m fully present. And happy to be here.Eliz chose to step back\, and after almost ten years of building this together\, that was difficult to accept. In a way\, it felt like a divorce: we were sisters and co-founders\, and I had to learn to imagine this adventure without us both at the helm. I’m grateful for everything we built together. Today\, I run Jetlaggers on my own\, working with freelancers. It’s a different way of working\, and I’m finding my rhythm again. When I visit a venue\, ideas come. At events\, I’m curious about people’s stories\, making introductions\, noticing the atmosphere\, and getting excited about what we could do next. I’ve missed having that energy. I’m also clearer about what I bring. I’m an events and marketing specialist\, with almost ten years of experience bringing people together\, building a community\, and learning which little details make people feel welcome. Over the years\, Jetlaggers evenings have led to weddings (I even flew to Mexico for one of them)\, roommates\, business partners\, and groups of friends who still meet up years later. And\, let’s be honest\, a few shorter stories too. 😉 I’m proud to say that now. After spending years resisting the words “event  organiser\,” I’ve seen how much one evening can mean to someone. A friendship\, a sense of belonging\, a memory they’ll keep. There are still things to figure out. But I know I want a healthy business that supports me properly\, room to create\, good people to collaborate with\, and enough energy left to enjoy my own life. For years\, I wanted people to take what I had built seriously. Somewhere along the way\, I forgot to ask whether the life I was building still suited me. Maybe that’s a question worth asking\, whatever you do for a living. Especially when you’ve been so focused on the next milestone that you haven’t stopped to notice how you feel. I’m paying more attention now. And when I walk into a Jetlaggers event these days\, I’m fully there. And I’m happy to be! I think my younger self would be pleased with that too. Especially if there’s a nice hotel involved. Over to you… I’m curious. Has your definition of success changed since you were 24? And when did you last stop to ask whether the life you’re building still suits you? I’d love to hear your story. Come and share it with us on Instagram. Who knows\, it might even inspire the next edition of The Jetlaggers Journal. P.S. Have a Christmas party to organise? Here I am. Looking for a speaker on building a community? Sign me up. 🙂  Marie-Anne YouFounder of Jetlaggers Building communities for internationals across Europe since 2015.
URL:https://jetlaggersclub.com/event/jetlaggers-ultra-officine-bac-paris-12-nov/
CATEGORIES:Small Gathering
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://jetlaggersclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/image-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261113T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261114T013000
DTSTAMP:20261106T071450
CREATED:20261024T153012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261027T173650Z
UID:115659-1794594600-1794619800@jetlaggersclub.com
SUMMARY:Jetlaggers Afterwork at  Le grand Mazarin - Paris
DESCRIPTION:“You look so much happier than last year.” Someone said this to me recently\, and it stayed with me. Because I feel it too. My ideas are clearer. My energy is coming back. I’m enjoying what I do again. And part of that has come from reconsidering what success means to me.Jetlaggers Journal #3  ·  By Marie-Anne You  ·  5 min read Apparently\, one day\, I told my dad: “The day I get to stay in luxury hotels for free\, I’ll know I’ve made it.” Very specific. Clearly\, I had my priorities sorted. 😉 Since then\, I’ve had a lot amazing hotel stays. My younger self would be delighted! What I hadn’t thought to include in her definition of success was how I wanted to feel on an ordinary Tuesday. When bigger became the goalAlmost ten years ago\, I started bringing people together. Having lived abroad\, I knew how much one good evening could change your experience of a city. You meet someone\, make plans\, and suddenly feel a little more at home.I loved creating those moments. Over time\, being called “a party organiser” started to feel too small for the brand\, community\, and relationships we had built. I wanted to be taken seriously. Between successful friends\, our ambitious community\, and a LinkedIn feed full of milestones and funding announcements\, I started comparing myself. The questions reinforced it: What’s your revenue? How big is your team? Have you raised funding? Somehow\, I began to feel that what I’d built wasn’t enough. People rarely asked how many friendships we had helped start. How many lives we had made a little better. How many memories people still talked about years later. I knew those things mattered. Yet somehow\, I started believing I was a long way from being successful. So the goal became growth. More cities\, more events\, a bigger team. I didn’t really stop to ask whether I wanted the life that came with it. A job I hadn’t meant to createOur days gradually filled with salaries\, rent\, VAT\, URSSAF contributions\, and team management. And if you’ve managed a team\, you know everything those two words contain: sick leave\, last-minute replacements\, personal difficulties\, schedules to rearrange… Each situation needed attention. Together\, they had become most of our  job. I joked that I had the rhythm of a multinational CEO with the conditions of an intern. 😅 But I missed creating. I was doing something completely different from what had made me start. I brought in help and delegated more\, hoping to find breathing room. By then\, though\, I had very little energy left. I was there\, without really being there. I watched the community change and noticed things I wanted to adjust\, but struggled to act. I cared deeply; I just couldn’t bring the same presence anymore. My sister and co-founder\, Eliz\, was the first to sound the alarm. When she told me she no longer enjoyed her role\, she made me face something I hadn’t wanted to admit: I felt it too. We had built so much together. But what happens to a house when its two main pillars are too tired to hold it up? Her honesty opened a conversation we needed to have: what did we each want now\, and what needed to change? The moment things became clear When closing became a real possibility\, it brought everything into focus. I thought about the person who had started this\, and all the people who had become part of it. There was anger\, too. At the situation\, at other people\, then at myself for things I wished I had faced earlier. But through that\, I realised how much I still wanted to build Jetlaggers’ future. I needed to change how I worked. Everyone around me was talking about scaling. I realised I wanted something else: to build slower\, and better. Today\, I’m fully present. And happy to be here.Eliz chose to step back\, and after almost ten years of building this together\, that was difficult to accept. In a way\, it felt like a divorce: we were sisters and co-founders\, and I had to learn to imagine this adventure without us both at the helm. I’m grateful for everything we built together. Today\, I run Jetlaggers on my own\, working with freelancers. It’s a different way of working\, and I’m finding my rhythm again. When I visit a venue\, ideas come. At events\, I’m curious about people’s stories\, making introductions\, noticing the atmosphere\, and getting excited about what we could do next. I’ve missed having that energy. I’m also clearer about what I bring. I’m an events and marketing specialist\, with almost ten years of experience bringing people together\, building a community\, and learning which little details make people feel welcome. Over the years\, Jetlaggers evenings have led to weddings (I even flew to Mexico for one of them)\, roommates\, business partners\, and groups of friends who still meet up years later. And\, let’s be honest\, a few shorter stories too. 😉 I’m proud to say that now. After spending years resisting the words “event  organiser\,” I’ve seen how much one evening can mean to someone. A friendship\, a sense of belonging\, a memory they’ll keep. There are still things to figure out. But I know I want a healthy business that supports me properly\, room to create\, good people to collaborate with\, and enough energy left to enjoy my own life. For years\, I wanted people to take what I had built seriously. Somewhere along the way\, I forgot to ask whether the life I was building still suited me. Maybe that’s a question worth asking\, whatever you do for a living. Especially when you’ve been so focused on the next milestone that you haven’t stopped to notice how you feel. I’m paying more attention now. And when I walk into a Jetlaggers event these days\, I’m fully there. And I’m happy to be! I think my younger self would be pleased with that too. Especially if there’s a nice hotel involved. Over to you… I’m curious. Has your definition of success changed since you were 24? And when did you last stop to ask whether the life you’re building still suits you? I’d love to hear your story. Come and share it with us on Instagram. Who knows\, it might even inspire the next edition of The Jetlaggers Journal. P.S. Have a Christmas party to organise? Here I am. Looking for a speaker on building a community? Sign me up. 🙂  Marie-Anne YouFounder of Jetlaggers Building communities for internationals across Europe since 2015.
URL:https://jetlaggersclub.com/event/legrandmazarin/
LOCATION:Bar Boubalé\, 17 rue de la Verrerie\, Paris\, 75004\, France
CATEGORIES:Afterwork,party
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://jetlaggersclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cover-site-event-2.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261117T191500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261117T210000
DTSTAMP:20261106T071450
CREATED:20261103T114243Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261103T170418Z
UID:115809-1794942900-1794949200@jetlaggersclub.com
SUMMARY:Expat talk: Living in Paris\, Beyond the Dream
DESCRIPTION:“You look so much happier than last year.” Someone said this to me recently\, and it stayed with me. Because I feel it too. My ideas are clearer. My energy is coming back. I’m enjoying what I do again. And part of that has come from reconsidering what success means to me.Jetlaggers Journal #3  ·  By Marie-Anne You  ·  5 min read Apparently\, one day\, I told my dad: “The day I get to stay in luxury hotels for free\, I’ll know I’ve made it.” Very specific. Clearly\, I had my priorities sorted. 😉 Since then\, I’ve had a lot amazing hotel stays. My younger self would be delighted! What I hadn’t thought to include in her definition of success was how I wanted to feel on an ordinary Tuesday. When bigger became the goalAlmost ten years ago\, I started bringing people together. Having lived abroad\, I knew how much one good evening could change your experience of a city. You meet someone\, make plans\, and suddenly feel a little more at home.I loved creating those moments. Over time\, being called “a party organiser” started to feel too small for the brand\, community\, and relationships we had built. I wanted to be taken seriously. Between successful friends\, our ambitious community\, and a LinkedIn feed full of milestones and funding announcements\, I started comparing myself. The questions reinforced it: What’s your revenue? How big is your team? Have you raised funding? Somehow\, I began to feel that what I’d built wasn’t enough. People rarely asked how many friendships we had helped start. How many lives we had made a little better. How many memories people still talked about years later. I knew those things mattered. Yet somehow\, I started believing I was a long way from being successful. So the goal became growth. More cities\, more events\, a bigger team. I didn’t really stop to ask whether I wanted the life that came with it. A job I hadn’t meant to createOur days gradually filled with salaries\, rent\, VAT\, URSSAF contributions\, and team management. And if you’ve managed a team\, you know everything those two words contain: sick leave\, last-minute replacements\, personal difficulties\, schedules to rearrange… Each situation needed attention. Together\, they had become most of our  job. I joked that I had the rhythm of a multinational CEO with the conditions of an intern. 😅 But I missed creating. I was doing something completely different from what had made me start. I brought in help and delegated more\, hoping to find breathing room. By then\, though\, I had very little energy left. I was there\, without really being there. I watched the community change and noticed things I wanted to adjust\, but struggled to act. I cared deeply; I just couldn’t bring the same presence anymore. My sister and co-founder\, Eliz\, was the first to sound the alarm. When she told me she no longer enjoyed her role\, she made me face something I hadn’t wanted to admit: I felt it too. We had built so much together. But what happens to a house when its two main pillars are too tired to hold it up? Her honesty opened a conversation we needed to have: what did we each want now\, and what needed to change? The moment things became clear When closing became a real possibility\, it brought everything into focus. I thought about the person who had started this\, and all the people who had become part of it. There was anger\, too. At the situation\, at other people\, then at myself for things I wished I had faced earlier. But through that\, I realised how much I still wanted to build Jetlaggers’ future. I needed to change how I worked. Everyone around me was talking about scaling. I realised I wanted something else: to build slower\, and better. Today\, I’m fully present. And happy to be here.Eliz chose to step back\, and after almost ten years of building this together\, that was difficult to accept. In a way\, it felt like a divorce: we were sisters and co-founders\, and I had to learn to imagine this adventure without us both at the helm. I’m grateful for everything we built together. Today\, I run Jetlaggers on my own\, working with freelancers. It’s a different way of working\, and I’m finding my rhythm again. When I visit a venue\, ideas come. At events\, I’m curious about people’s stories\, making introductions\, noticing the atmosphere\, and getting excited about what we could do next. I’ve missed having that energy. I’m also clearer about what I bring. I’m an events and marketing specialist\, with almost ten years of experience bringing people together\, building a community\, and learning which little details make people feel welcome. Over the years\, Jetlaggers evenings have led to weddings (I even flew to Mexico for one of them)\, roommates\, business partners\, and groups of friends who still meet up years later. And\, let’s be honest\, a few shorter stories too. 😉 I’m proud to say that now. After spending years resisting the words “event  organiser\,” I’ve seen how much one evening can mean to someone. A friendship\, a sense of belonging\, a memory they’ll keep. There are still things to figure out. But I know I want a healthy business that supports me properly\, room to create\, good people to collaborate with\, and enough energy left to enjoy my own life. For years\, I wanted people to take what I had built seriously. Somewhere along the way\, I forgot to ask whether the life I was building still suited me. Maybe that’s a question worth asking\, whatever you do for a living. Especially when you’ve been so focused on the next milestone that you haven’t stopped to notice how you feel. I’m paying more attention now. And when I walk into a Jetlaggers event these days\, I’m fully there. And I’m happy to be! I think my younger self would be pleased with that too. Especially if there’s a nice hotel involved. Over to you… I’m curious. Has your definition of success changed since you were 24? And when did you last stop to ask whether the life you’re building still suits you? I’d love to hear your story. Come and share it with us on Instagram. Who knows\, it might even inspire the next edition of The Jetlaggers Journal. P.S. Have a Christmas party to organise? Here I am. Looking for a speaker on building a community? Sign me up. 🙂  Marie-Anne YouFounder of Jetlaggers Building communities for internationals across Europe since 2015.
URL:https://jetlaggersclub.com/event/workshoplivinginparis/
LOCATION:Le Shack Opéra\, 4 impasse Sandrie\, Paris\, 75009\, France
CATEGORIES:Small Gathering,workshop
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://jetlaggersclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/cover-site-event-.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261119T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261119T235900
DTSTAMP:20261106T071450
CREATED:20261102T111233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261105T144452Z
UID:115756-1795114800-1795132740@jetlaggersclub.com
SUMMARY:Jetlaggers Ultra Wine Night x Gilgamesh Paris
DESCRIPTION:“You look so much happier than last year.” Someone said this to me recently\, and it stayed with me. Because I feel it too. My ideas are clearer. My energy is coming back. I’m enjoying what I do again. And part of that has come from reconsidering what success means to me.Jetlaggers Journal #3  ·  By Marie-Anne You  ·  5 min read Apparently\, one day\, I told my dad: “The day I get to stay in luxury hotels for free\, I’ll know I’ve made it.” Very specific. Clearly\, I had my priorities sorted. 😉 Since then\, I’ve had a lot amazing hotel stays. My younger self would be delighted! What I hadn’t thought to include in her definition of success was how I wanted to feel on an ordinary Tuesday. When bigger became the goalAlmost ten years ago\, I started bringing people together. Having lived abroad\, I knew how much one good evening could change your experience of a city. You meet someone\, make plans\, and suddenly feel a little more at home.I loved creating those moments. Over time\, being called “a party organiser” started to feel too small for the brand\, community\, and relationships we had built. I wanted to be taken seriously. Between successful friends\, our ambitious community\, and a LinkedIn feed full of milestones and funding announcements\, I started comparing myself. The questions reinforced it: What’s your revenue? How big is your team? Have you raised funding? Somehow\, I began to feel that what I’d built wasn’t enough. People rarely asked how many friendships we had helped start. How many lives we had made a little better. How many memories people still talked about years later. I knew those things mattered. Yet somehow\, I started believing I was a long way from being successful. So the goal became growth. More cities\, more events\, a bigger team. I didn’t really stop to ask whether I wanted the life that came with it. A job I hadn’t meant to createOur days gradually filled with salaries\, rent\, VAT\, URSSAF contributions\, and team management. And if you’ve managed a team\, you know everything those two words contain: sick leave\, last-minute replacements\, personal difficulties\, schedules to rearrange… Each situation needed attention. Together\, they had become most of our  job. I joked that I had the rhythm of a multinational CEO with the conditions of an intern. 😅 But I missed creating. I was doing something completely different from what had made me start. I brought in help and delegated more\, hoping to find breathing room. By then\, though\, I had very little energy left. I was there\, without really being there. I watched the community change and noticed things I wanted to adjust\, but struggled to act. I cared deeply; I just couldn’t bring the same presence anymore. My sister and co-founder\, Eliz\, was the first to sound the alarm. When she told me she no longer enjoyed her role\, she made me face something I hadn’t wanted to admit: I felt it too. We had built so much together. But what happens to a house when its two main pillars are too tired to hold it up? Her honesty opened a conversation we needed to have: what did we each want now\, and what needed to change? The moment things became clear When closing became a real possibility\, it brought everything into focus. I thought about the person who had started this\, and all the people who had become part of it. There was anger\, too. At the situation\, at other people\, then at myself for things I wished I had faced earlier. But through that\, I realised how much I still wanted to build Jetlaggers’ future. I needed to change how I worked. Everyone around me was talking about scaling. I realised I wanted something else: to build slower\, and better. Today\, I’m fully present. And happy to be here.Eliz chose to step back\, and after almost ten years of building this together\, that was difficult to accept. In a way\, it felt like a divorce: we were sisters and co-founders\, and I had to learn to imagine this adventure without us both at the helm. I’m grateful for everything we built together. Today\, I run Jetlaggers on my own\, working with freelancers. It’s a different way of working\, and I’m finding my rhythm again. When I visit a venue\, ideas come. At events\, I’m curious about people’s stories\, making introductions\, noticing the atmosphere\, and getting excited about what we could do next. I’ve missed having that energy. I’m also clearer about what I bring. I’m an events and marketing specialist\, with almost ten years of experience bringing people together\, building a community\, and learning which little details make people feel welcome. Over the years\, Jetlaggers evenings have led to weddings (I even flew to Mexico for one of them)\, roommates\, business partners\, and groups of friends who still meet up years later. And\, let’s be honest\, a few shorter stories too. 😉 I’m proud to say that now. After spending years resisting the words “event  organiser\,” I’ve seen how much one evening can mean to someone. A friendship\, a sense of belonging\, a memory they’ll keep. There are still things to figure out. But I know I want a healthy business that supports me properly\, room to create\, good people to collaborate with\, and enough energy left to enjoy my own life. For years\, I wanted people to take what I had built seriously. Somewhere along the way\, I forgot to ask whether the life I was building still suited me. Maybe that’s a question worth asking\, whatever you do for a living. Especially when you’ve been so focused on the next milestone that you haven’t stopped to notice how you feel. I’m paying more attention now. And when I walk into a Jetlaggers event these days\, I’m fully there. And I’m happy to be! I think my younger self would be pleased with that too. Especially if there’s a nice hotel involved. Over to you… I’m curious. Has your definition of success changed since you were 24? And when did you last stop to ask whether the life you’re building still suits you? I’d love to hear your story. Come and share it with us on Instagram. Who knows\, it might even inspire the next edition of The Jetlaggers Journal. P.S. Have a Christmas party to organise? Here I am. Looking for a speaker on building a community? Sign me up. 🙂  Marie-Anne YouFounder of Jetlaggers Building communities for internationals across Europe since 2015.
URL:https://jetlaggersclub.com/event/jetlaggers-ultra-wine-night-x-gilgamesh-paris/
LOCATION:Gilgamesh Paris\, 3 Rue Poissonnière\,\, Paris\, 75002\, France
CATEGORIES:Small Gathering
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://jetlaggersclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cover-site-event-3.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261126T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20261127T003000
DTSTAMP:20261106T071450
CREATED:20261105T113102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261105T144102Z
UID:115671-1795719600-1795739400@jetlaggersclub.com
SUMMARY:Jetlaggers Afterwork  Sape Bar - Paris
DESCRIPTION:“You look so much happier than last year.” Someone said this to me recently\, and it stayed with me. Because I feel it too. My ideas are clearer. My energy is coming back. I’m enjoying what I do again. And part of that has come from reconsidering what success means to me.Jetlaggers Journal #3  ·  By Marie-Anne You  ·  5 min read Apparently\, one day\, I told my dad: “The day I get to stay in luxury hotels for free\, I’ll know I’ve made it.” Very specific. Clearly\, I had my priorities sorted. 😉 Since then\, I’ve had a lot amazing hotel stays. My younger self would be delighted! What I hadn’t thought to include in her definition of success was how I wanted to feel on an ordinary Tuesday. When bigger became the goalAlmost ten years ago\, I started bringing people together. Having lived abroad\, I knew how much one good evening could change your experience of a city. You meet someone\, make plans\, and suddenly feel a little more at home.I loved creating those moments. Over time\, being called “a party organiser” started to feel too small for the brand\, community\, and relationships we had built. I wanted to be taken seriously. Between successful friends\, our ambitious community\, and a LinkedIn feed full of milestones and funding announcements\, I started comparing myself. The questions reinforced it: What’s your revenue? How big is your team? Have you raised funding? Somehow\, I began to feel that what I’d built wasn’t enough. People rarely asked how many friendships we had helped start. How many lives we had made a little better. How many memories people still talked about years later. I knew those things mattered. Yet somehow\, I started believing I was a long way from being successful. So the goal became growth. More cities\, more events\, a bigger team. I didn’t really stop to ask whether I wanted the life that came with it. A job I hadn’t meant to createOur days gradually filled with salaries\, rent\, VAT\, URSSAF contributions\, and team management. And if you’ve managed a team\, you know everything those two words contain: sick leave\, last-minute replacements\, personal difficulties\, schedules to rearrange… Each situation needed attention. Together\, they had become most of our  job. I joked that I had the rhythm of a multinational CEO with the conditions of an intern. 😅 But I missed creating. I was doing something completely different from what had made me start. I brought in help and delegated more\, hoping to find breathing room. By then\, though\, I had very little energy left. I was there\, without really being there. I watched the community change and noticed things I wanted to adjust\, but struggled to act. I cared deeply; I just couldn’t bring the same presence anymore. My sister and co-founder\, Eliz\, was the first to sound the alarm. When she told me she no longer enjoyed her role\, she made me face something I hadn’t wanted to admit: I felt it too. We had built so much together. But what happens to a house when its two main pillars are too tired to hold it up? Her honesty opened a conversation we needed to have: what did we each want now\, and what needed to change? The moment things became clear When closing became a real possibility\, it brought everything into focus. I thought about the person who had started this\, and all the people who had become part of it. There was anger\, too. At the situation\, at other people\, then at myself for things I wished I had faced earlier. But through that\, I realised how much I still wanted to build Jetlaggers’ future. I needed to change how I worked. Everyone around me was talking about scaling. I realised I wanted something else: to build slower\, and better. Today\, I’m fully present. And happy to be here.Eliz chose to step back\, and after almost ten years of building this together\, that was difficult to accept. In a way\, it felt like a divorce: we were sisters and co-founders\, and I had to learn to imagine this adventure without us both at the helm. I’m grateful for everything we built together. Today\, I run Jetlaggers on my own\, working with freelancers. It’s a different way of working\, and I’m finding my rhythm again. When I visit a venue\, ideas come. At events\, I’m curious about people’s stories\, making introductions\, noticing the atmosphere\, and getting excited about what we could do next. I’ve missed having that energy. I’m also clearer about what I bring. I’m an events and marketing specialist\, with almost ten years of experience bringing people together\, building a community\, and learning which little details make people feel welcome. Over the years\, Jetlaggers evenings have led to weddings (I even flew to Mexico for one of them)\, roommates\, business partners\, and groups of friends who still meet up years later. And\, let’s be honest\, a few shorter stories too. 😉 I’m proud to say that now. After spending years resisting the words “event  organiser\,” I’ve seen how much one evening can mean to someone. A friendship\, a sense of belonging\, a memory they’ll keep. There are still things to figure out. But I know I want a healthy business that supports me properly\, room to create\, good people to collaborate with\, and enough energy left to enjoy my own life. For years\, I wanted people to take what I had built seriously. Somewhere along the way\, I forgot to ask whether the life I was building still suited me. Maybe that’s a question worth asking\, whatever you do for a living. Especially when you’ve been so focused on the next milestone that you haven’t stopped to notice how you feel. I’m paying more attention now. And when I walk into a Jetlaggers event these days\, I’m fully there. And I’m happy to be! I think my younger self would be pleased with that too. Especially if there’s a nice hotel involved. Over to you… I’m curious. Has your definition of success changed since you were 24? And when did you last stop to ask whether the life you’re building still suits you? I’d love to hear your story. Come and share it with us on Instagram. Who knows\, it might even inspire the next edition of The Jetlaggers Journal. P.S. Have a Christmas party to organise? Here I am. Looking for a speaker on building a community? Sign me up. 🙂  Marie-Anne YouFounder of Jetlaggers Building communities for internationals across Europe since 2015.
URL:https://jetlaggersclub.com/event/jetlaggers-afterwork-sape-bar-paris/
LOCATION:Sape Bar\, 12 boulevard de Denain\, Paris\, 75010
CATEGORIES:Afterwork
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