Episode #3
Olivier Goy: Invincible Hope
In December 2020, a neurologist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière told Olivier Goy he had ALS, Charcot's disease. No cure. Three to five years. He spent four months on the floor. Then a sentence came to him, so simple it almost made him laugh: if I stay depressed, I punish myself twice. Olivier founded 123Venture in 2000, with nine months of professional experience, to open private equity to ordinary savers, then co-founded October to finance small and medium businesses. Since his diagnosis he has become an ambassador of the Paris Brain Institute and has raised more than €4.5 million for research through a film, Invincible été, a book, Invincible, written with Anne Fulda, a concert at the Olympia, La Fresque Généreuse and now Invincible Hope. In this episode he speaks through Invincible Voice, a tool built with the researchers of Kyutai that rebuilt his voice from recordings made before the disease took it, and that he made open source for every patient. Last year I took part in a campaign where leaders spoke publicly about the things we are trained to hide, and I shared my own story. It was one of the most liberating things I have done. Olivier has taken this further than anyone I know. I came to this conversation expecting to talk about courage. Olivier gave us something rarer: a method for loving life. In our conversation, we explore: → From Annemasse to Paris: building two companies as an outsider, and why legitimacy comes from being useful → The diagnosis, the four months on the floor, and the decision that turned him into a fighter → Leading without a voice or a stride: how ALS rewrote his definition of leadership → Why people do not follow the invulnerable: leadership as a mission, visible cracks and generosity → AI that gives back: Invincible Voice, patient data at the Paris Brain Institute, and the Invincible Hope mural at Mount Sinai in New York "The door that looks locked is usually just heavy. Push it. Legitimacy is not granted to you, you take it by being useful." Olivier Goy If you have ever waited for permission to start something, or to tell someone what they mean to you, this conversation is for you. Olivier's initiatives: Invincible Hope: https://www.invincible-hope.com/ Invincible été, the film: https://www.invincible-ete.com/ Invincible, the book: https://www.invincible-ete.com/livre The Invincible été research fund: https://institutducerveau.org/actualites/linstitut-cerveau-associe-au-lancement-fonds-philanthropique-invincible-ete-pour-recherche-sur-sla Give to AI research at the Paris Brain Institute: https://don.institutducerveau.org/invincible_hope/~mon-don RELATED EPISODES Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer of Google X (2021), engineering happiness through expectation management: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/8944613 Gianpiero Petriglieri, INSEAD professor (2025), leadership, love, intention and freedom: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/17854175 Dr Donna Hicks, Harvard (2026), dignity as the foundation of positive leadership: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1798971/episodes/19240650 New here? Subscribe to Positive Leadership & You for one edition a month, written for leaders who want to build companies and communities people thrive in. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/positive-leadership-you-6970390170017669121/ Want to go deeper? Listen to the Positive Leadership Podcast on your favourite platform. 130+ conversations with the leaders, founders and thinkers shaping a more human future of work. Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/positive-leadership/id1574911588 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1EdnJcYgh9nXPTFJ5euOBf
