Cyril Dhenaut scaled fast, built companies and lived inside high-pressure startup environments.

Then life changed and his definition of success evolved with it.

In this episode of Asian Business Owners, I sit down with Cyril Dhenaut, an entrepreneur shaped by Southeast Asia’s intense startup ecosystem, who experienced hypergrowth, agency building, exits and executive roles before making intentional career and life shifts after becoming a father.

We talk about:

• the real cost of hypergrowth
• how success evolves as founders evolve
• startup exits and identity
• balancing ambition, health and family
• choosing alignment over constant acceleration

Listen to the story of an entrepreneur entering a new chapter, moving away from a successful path to find alignment in another successful one.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to Asian Business Owners Podcast

(00:31) Meet Cyril Dhenaut: A Journey Through High-Intensity Careers

(01:37) Misconceptions About Success

(04:16) Early Career Ambitions in France

(07:06) First Steps in Malaysia: A New Beginning

(08:40) The Fast-Paced Startup Environment

(11:22) Unexpected Layoff and New Opportunities

(14:00) Founding the First Agency

(16:43) Scaling the Agency Quickly

(22:40) Acquisition and Transition to CMO

(24:44) This or That Questions

(26:08) Reflecting on Career Choices

(26:29) Embracing Transitions: Career and Country Changes

(27:46) A New Opportunity: Joining a MarTech Company

(28:52) A Short Stint and a New Agency Idea

(31:22) Founding A Second Agency

(32:56) Balancing Entrepreneurship and Personal Life

(34:29) Scaling the Agency and Facing Challenges

(43:02) Exiting the Agency and Choosing Family

(48:14) A New Chapter: Interim Executive and Advisor

(53:31) Defining Success and Lessons Learned

👉 To find out more:

Cyril on LinkedIn

To follow my journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

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