Antoine de Brabant on Entrepreneurship, Values, and Knowing When to Walk Away | Making Your Mark

What happens when your business is growing, the opportunity is huge, but your values are no longer aligned with the people beside you? For Antoine de Brabant, co‑founder of Wordans and later Jobbook, the turning point came when success and identity no longer matched. Walking away wasn’t failure — it was the beginning of rebuilding a career rooted in clarity, integrity, and long‑term purpose.Antoine shares how early entrepreneurial wins, partner dynamics, burnout, and a surprising health scare forced him to rethink what he wanted from work and life. Today, he’s building a recruitment agency grounded in values, while exploring a tech project that brings him back to the creativity and speed he loves. His story is a candid look at choosing the right partners, navigating stress, and reinventing yourself without losing your entrepreneurial fire.He opens up about:• Co‑founding Wordans and early lessons in product‑market fit• Why misaligned values pushed him to walk away• Building Jobbook with family and choosing the right partners• Burnout, stress, and developing an allergy to marijuana• Why 2026 should be a year of learning, not rushing• How AI and technology are reshaping the job market• Rebuilding a business grounded in clarity and long‑term purposeEpisode Chapters00:00 Introduction to Antoine de Brabant04:11 Co‑Founding Wordans and Early Entrepreneurship10:02 Pivoting Toward Strengths in the Business18:13 Leaving Wordans Over Misaligned Values24:57 Starting Jobbook with Family and Partners30:10 Lessons on Choosing Business Partners36:32 Mentorship, Advisors, and Learning from Experience41:44 Burnout, Stress, and Developing a Marijuana Allergy44:58 Balancing Speed and Strategy in Entrepreneurship48:43 Why 2026 Should Be a Year of Learning52:38 Embracing Technology and AI in the Job Market56:00 Moving On from Jobbook and Starting a Recruitment Agency59:25 Building a Values‑Based Foundation01:03:57 Keeping the Passion for Entrepreneurship01:06:31 Advice: Try, Fail, Believe, Repeat01:09:07 Gratitude and Closing01:10:31 The LinkedIn Rule: 3s, 33s, 333sDiscovery OptimizationThis episode explores entrepreneurship, values‑driven decision‑making, misaligned success, partner dynamics, burnout, and rebuilding a career with clarity and purpose. Ideal for listeners interested in startup lessons, career reinvention, and the realities of choosing values over opportunity.