Yoga Room is a network of 8 yoga studios across Europe, including 4 located in Brussels, with additional branches in Waterloo, Paris, Lyon, and Lisbon. After two years of lockdown and many months of closure, Yoga Room has regained its momentum and continues to offer a wide range of classes throughout the day, with a team of 80 teachers from all over the world.
Pierre, where did the idea of launching Yoga Room come from? And how is the Yoga Room brand different from others?
After my studies, I spent 10 years in China, in Shanghai, where I discovered yoga and quickly became completely addicted. What immediately appealed to me in China was a very sporty approach, where spirituality is the endpoint rather than the starting point, but which is extremely beneficial for both body and mind. And since I was quickly won over, I became a teacher and then opened two studios there.
After 10 years, I wanted to return and share my passion in my city, Brussels, and I wanted to open a studio worthy of the capital of Europe. In China, the reference point is very different from the image of yoga we may have here, and that is what I wanted to offer to people in Brussels: modern studios, all types of classes, an all-day schedule, with teachers from all over the world. I wanted to bring that richness, that life experience that allows these teachers to have the ability to change people’s lives.
That is the Yoga Room formula: an unmatched range of classes, welcoming studios, teachers who have travelled the world, experienced different cultures, and gained perspective on the meaning of life. Here, yoga is still very new.
At what point in your company’s development did you turn to investors, and in particular to finance&invest.brussels? What were your objectives?
Initially, I was looking for investors to continue growing and opening new studios. But finance&invest.brussels entered the capital of Yoga Room in March 2020, just 7 days after the lockdown. The lockdown was an extremely difficult period for the sports sector. Overnight, we had to close the studios, going from 25,000 people per month to zero.
In this difficult context, the teams at finance&invest.brussels were always very supportive. For me, they are very good financial partners who trust and are trustworthy. They have resources that they are willing to mobilise to support a project they believe in.
What I find particularly interesting is that their KPIs are not purely financial. There are other dimensions, such as job creation and the overall well-being offered to the city, which is meaningful for people like me for whom money is not the number one objective but a consequence of what I do.
My goal is to change many people’s lives; money is the consequence of doing good work.
What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur in Brussels?
What resonates most for me is simply entrepreneurship itself. I need to live my passion, to do things, to see that I create an impact on people’s lives, to take risks. It is above all a story of passion and freedom; I need to love and believe in my project.
Then, Brussels remains the city where I grew up, the capital of Europe, and I am a true patriot, I love Belgium. I want to make Brussels the European capital of yoga, and I have also built my company in the image of Brussels: we have 27 nationalities among our teachers, 80 teachers, and I am very proud of that. I think, in my own way, I help make Brussels shine.
3 keywords for success as an entrepreneur?
“Never give up”, “It’s impossible until it’s done”, “Forget what you do, just do it!”
A piece of advice?
My advice is not to follow a business opportunity, but to follow what your heart tells you to do. When you listen to your heart, you are not afraid, and even when things get difficult, you find the resources within yourself to keep going and the words to sell your project. When you are attached to a business opportunity, the day revenues decrease or disappear, you stop.
But if you live your passion in your heart, you stay motivated and you manage to find the words and means to continue. That is always the first question I ask project leaders: are you driven by passion or by your wallet?
Final word?
Thank you to finance&invest.brussels, they have always been supportive; there is truly a relationship of trust with them. I can only recommend that anyone with a business in Brussels goes to see them—they are a great organisation in Brussels. If Yoga Room is what it is today, it is thanks to finance&invest.brussels!
