MY STORY
Why I built E3 (10min read)
This personal story is meant to help you understand the reason behind the creation of E3.
By sharing not only my successes but also my defeats, I want to open up my life.
These 6 chapters summarize the last five years of my journey between Normandy and the wider international world.
They tell a story of trials, doubts, failures and resilience but also of encounters, hard work, and ambitions.
Enjoy the read !
Chapter 1 - Thwarted Dreams (2020–2021)
In 2020, after a degree in Economics and Management at the University of Rouen, I enrolled in a business school. It was planned to spend a semester abroad in Hanghzou, Maindland China in early 2021. Since childhood, I had been fascinated by Asia, at just eight years old, I told my cousin that one day I would work in China...
But then Covid-19 hit. The second lockdown closed the borders, and the plan collapsed. The school offered me two alternatives: take an early gap year or follow an online semester. Frustrated and determined to go abroad no matter what, I chose the gap year and began looking for an internship in East Asia.
China was closed for three years, Japan indefinitely, only South Korea remained open. I threw myself into a frantic search. For two months, I applied from 8am to 8pm, every day, nonstop. To tell the truth, looking for an internship abroad in the midst of Covid, in Asian countries known for their strict immigration rules, was almost like a suicide mission. However one company answered: MediHeroes, a South Korean start-up, interested in my profile. They offered me an interview, but asked first for a video introduction, in English...
Problem: English had always been my worst subject, one of my weaknesses. But I decided to try. I recorded the video, prepared the interview three weeks in advance, and covered my walls and screens with post-it notes. In the end, I got the internship. For the first time, I felt closer to my dream.
But the day I went to Paris to submit my visa application at the South Korean embassy, the country shut its borders. A cruel twist of fate. A friend of mine managed to get through, but for me it was too late (Bye Amandine !). I returned from Paris disoriented. After China canceled, now Korea slipped away.
Chapter 2 - The South Korean Dream (2021-2022)
After my failed attempts to go to China and then to South Korea, I started to work from home with the korean startup. We were lucky this year because the spring's weather was amazing.
And in July 2021: South Korea finally reopened its borders to foreigners. I restarted all the paperwork at full speed, and on September 18th, I am flying to Seoul.
I’ll never forget that moment: crossing one of the city’s massive bridges for the first time in my CEO's SUV. I was surprised that so many people had managed to establish a stable and prosperous civilization on the other side of my world. It was my very first time going so far, alone, in a massive city, without really speaking English.
The first months were a mix of struggles and wonders. I took Korean classes at 경희대학교 (I’ve forgotten most of it by now), discovered daily life in a local start-up, ate rice almost every day, and lived a full immersion. I even appeared in K-dramas, made music with one of the most famous topliners in the K-pop industry, and experienced a level of rigor and devotion to work that I had never seen before.
Before that, my only professional experiences had been student jobs, working on production lines in factories or stacking shelves in supermarkets. For the first time, I was touching the real corporate world.
My English, very weak at first, slowly started to improve. I managed to get by, and eventually even began to enjoy a language I had always hated.
After several unforgettable months, I returned to France, but continued working remotely for the start up as a business developer. In the meantime, I traveled a lot twice to Italy, twice to Morocco and deepened my passion for international exposure.
My time in South Korea was a turning point. 한국에 감사드립니다.
Chapter 3 - Back to France, Master's degree, and encounter with headhunting (2022-2023)
After my formative experience in South Korea, I returned to France. I enrolled in a Master’s degree in Geopolitics and International Business, a demanding but fascinating year. We worked on major global crises such as Ukraine, collaborating with former senior officers of the French army.
It was also a year of encounters: I shared my daily life with students from all over the world (Mexico, Salvador, Lebanon, USA, China, Italy). A memorable moment was earning the highest grade in theater class by reciting a Nietzsche aphorism in front of the whole amphitheater.
Meanwhile, I had to find an internship to validate my degree. But I was starting from scratch again. My entire family works in healthcare, quite interesting right but I had zero professional network in my field.
Then a memory resurfaced: a few years earlier, someone had told me about a Frenchman in Hong Kong, a headhunter who had been very successful. I decided to get in touch with him.
The first conversation was surprising. I wanted an internship in international relations but he explained he didn’t recruit in those fields. Yet, against all odds, he suggested something unexpected: joining his headhunting team. I later learned that this company had never taken on an intern before.
At first, I was hesitating. “HR” didn’t sound sexy to me, and I couldn’t picture myself in that sector. But the idea kept growing in my mind. After two weeks of reflection, I realized this profession could combine what I loved: human connections, international exposure, and business. I decided to give it a shot.
I went through three interviews, again, in English... But I succeeded. And in 2023, I secured my internship in Hong Kong, within a major international search firm.
The adventure was about to (re)begin.
Chapter 4 - Challenges, Failures, and Resilience in Hong Kong (2023-2024)
In early 2023, I landed in Hong Kong; Lei Ho ! The timing wasn't the best: just as I set out to build my future, a family crisis erupted back in France. I was thousands of kilometers away unable to support them.
I found myself alone, in a huge city, in a job I didn’t know, with my shaky English. The first months were harsh. Understanding Chinese, Indian, or specificly Vietnamese accents (even if my french one is strong) every meeting felt like a trial. I felt lost, and sometimes completely out of place.
My flat was a 7 m² room. I lived folded in on myself, with the impression that I had bet everything and was losing. The contrast with my dreams of Asia was huge.
But step by step, I held on. My ear got used to English; I even began to dream in it. Despite my hesitant start, I started getting results.
At the end of my internship, I was offered to stay.
I had to choose: Geneva or Hong Kong and for internal reasons, I stayed in Hong Kong. That’s when the real trial began.
The first six months were drier than the Gobi Desert. I worked hard, but the results didn’t come. I doubted everything: was I made for this job? Was I in the right industry? The right team?
So, I turned inward. I hiked alone in the Hong Kong mountains dozens of times, speaking out loud to myself, trying to find solutions. I couldn’t accept failure. I had gone too far to quit right now.
I restructured my work methods. I became stricter, more disciplined. First to arrive, last to leave, working weekends. I left nothing to chance.
加油！
And after five months, with placements in China, Japan, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, the breakthrough came: I exceeded my annual targets. That turning point proved to me that I could endure, that I could turn struggle into achievement.
For the first time in China, I felt proud of myself.
Chapter 5 - Promotion, success... and emptiness (late 2024 – early 2025)
After months of struggle and effort, I finally got what I wanted: I hit my targets, my performance was recognized. The promotion came. For many, it would have been the ultimate reward.
But very quickly, a void appeared.
I had achieved what I wanted… and now what? What’s next? To repeat the same grind, year after year, alone, on the other side of the world, far from family and my childhood friends?
I realized that victory was fleeting. The success I had long desired didn’t bring me the joy I expected. I kept working, but something felt off.
For three months, I went through a period of deep doubts. I talked endlessly with my Italian flatmate; Alessio, we remade the world, and we searched for meaning in life.
As often, I turned to the mountains.
I went hiking alone, again and again, speaking out loud, asking myself the same questions:
What am I fighting for? What truly drives me? I dig deep within myself to sharpen my desire and put my thoughts in order.
And little by little, it becomes clear: I have always wanted to create something personal.
Since my years in Asia, I had developed a passion for international business, people and the industrial world. But I wanted more than just to perform and bill clients. I wanted to create a project that would blend my passions.
Perhaps the most turbulent seasons produce the most fertile soil. It was in this very fracture that E3 was conceived.
Chapter 6 - The Return to France and the Birth of E3
Spring 2025. After months of reflection, doubts, and solitude in Hong Kong, I made my decision: Return to France in July. Yes, France, the most beautiful country in the world, but often populated by the most ‘difficult’ people...
I left my 7 m² room, my international colleagues, my weekends in SZ… and went back to Normandy, home. Not as a step backward, but as a new beginning.
Because, I knew exactly what I wanted to build.
A firm capable of connecting France and the world, a firm that speaks both the language of French companies and that of international players, a firm that understands local codes while embracing global ambition.
This is how E3 was born standing for Entreprise, Employee and Education.
The mission is clear:
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In Asia: support industrial and manufacturing companies; from ambitious SMEs to global MNCs, in finding and securing the right talents.
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In France: help international industrial groups build strong, reliable local teams.
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Train and coach individuals, students, leaders, to navigate the global job market, shape their careers, and create meaningful lives.
E3 is therefore much more than a headhunting firm.
It is a complete ecosystem, at the crossroads of business, recruitment, and education.
I want to make it the cross-border industrial reference between France and the rest of the world.
Not a “big globalized firm” without a soul, but a premium structure, rooted in France, open to the world, with a different level of rigor and human approach.
The goal is simple:
Help industrial businesses grow,
Help individuals achieve their potential,
And through this, contribute to a more prosperous world.
Thank you for your time,
Pierre
