In Memoriam – Jérôme Grandidier

It is with a heavy heart that we close this weekend. We have learned that Jérôme Grandidier, President of Luxfactory, Founder of the startup MySardines and President of the Luxembourg Federation of Startups passed away after fighting Covid for several weeks in the hospital.

Photo: Initiator of the Luxembourg pavilion at the CES in Las Vegas, Jérôme Grandidier opened the doors and eyes to many entrepreneurs (here third from the right on the middle row) / Credits © Luxfactory

Our colleagues from Paperjam shared the news on Sunday evening following the announcement by his relatives on social networks. The news shocked many who knew him.

Jérôme was one of those entrepreneurs who never ran out of ideas, always on the front lines to bring his projects to fruition, with unparalleled perseverance. His career in ICT, then telecom and finally consulting and startups has had its ups and downs but always punctuated by the same desire to succeed and to pull with him a whole community of self-made men and women.

In recent years, he had devoted his time and energy to pull the ecosystem of startups and young entrepreneurs upwards and towards America, in particular. Initiator of the Luxembourg pavilion at the CES in Las Vegas, the flagship event of the tech industry each year, he had established a strong reputation and opened the doors and eyes to many entrepreneurs.

Jérôme’s appetite for entrepreneurship led him to launch an unusual and yet serious project of cryptomoney based on the value of vintage sardine tins, MySardines, for which interest has been growing well beyond the borders of the Grand Duchy. Another milestone was the launch of the Luxembourg Federation of Startups with which he had began to move towards a political level. One of his remarkable requests: the creation of a tax shelter for startups on the same model as Belgium, which he was convinced could be the tipping point of the Luxembourg ecosystem.

Let me tell you now about this Amerindian legend: One day, there was a huge forest fire. All the terrified animals, dismayed, watched the disaster helplessly. Only the little hummingbird was active, fetching a few drops with its beak and throwing them at the fire. After a moment, the armadillo, annoyed by this agitation, said to him: “Hummingbird! Aren’t you crazy? It’s not with these drops of water that you’re going to put out the fire!” And the hummingbird said, “I know that, but I’m doing my part.”

Jérôme, you did your part, and more than what one could have expected or imagined.

Our thoughts go out to his family, close colleagues and partners. On behalf of all Luxembourg entrepreneurs, we are grateful for your efforts and admire your career, which has been a source of inspiration and a model of perseverance for many of us.

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