🎙️ From Windsurfing Champion to Parisian Café Empire: Laurent Vrignaud's Journey from Action Sports to Authentic French Hospitality
In this inspiring episode, Laurent Vrignaud, founder of Moulin—a growing chain of authentic Parisian-style cafés in Orange County, California—shares his remarkable 40-year journey from landing in San Francisco as an 18-year-old competitive windsurfer to building the largest Burton Snowboards agency in the Western US, co-founding Nixon Watches (sold to Billabong in 2006), and finally opening what he called "a little café" at age 50 that has exploded into eight locations serving 2,500-3,000 customers daily with 200 employees.
✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:
18-year-old windsurfer from Paris lands in Bay Area early 1980s, career-defining moment seeing 22-year-old sales rep in Porsche 911 drives commission-based business revelation
1989 handshake with Jake Burton at Vegas trade show launches 23-year journey building largest Burton agency in Western US with 40 employees
Co-founded Nixon Watches as seed investor: $50K became $2M+ when sold to Billabong in 2006
Age 45 walked away at career peak, traveled world 2.5 years, opened "little café" at 50 (wife predicted "it won't be little")
October 2014 opened first Moulin Newport Beach, now 8 locations serving 2,500-3,000 daily with 200 employees
Strict authenticity: no American sodas, no California wine, no menu modifications, makes own Parisian ham, fills 40-foot shipping containers yearly with 1930s-70s French furniture
COVID success: massive patios plus to-go model thrived when competitors closed, now opens locations for $250K vs $1M pre-COVID in second-generation spaces
Employee retention through growth: every manager was server 7-9 years ago, promotes 100% from within, cannot hire externally
Core philosophy: "Do what's here (heart), be all in long game, better off without partners/investors—you start writing someone else's check, it's not the same"
Fear as fuel: "You don't overcome fear, you do it in spite of it—I'm scared about the Marathon, scared about the business, that's the superpower"
🌟 Laurent's Key Mentors & Influences:
Jake Burton Carpenter (Burton Snowboards Founder): Took handshake bet on 19-year-old Laurent, taught founder-level thinking and work-hard-play-hard culture
Andy Katz (Nixon Watches Co-founder): Stanford MBA roommate who pitched Nixon concept, turned Laurent's $50K into $2M+
Chad DiNenna (Nixon Watches Co-founder): Handled Nixon marketing and athlete partnerships, leveraged inner circle connections
Laurent's Grandparents (Born 1920s)
Laurent's Wife
👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about why you should never overcome fear but instead use it as fuel, how writing someone else's checks destroys your vision's purity, why the best businesses come from what's "here" in your heart not what looks good on paper, and how one French kid who never finished high school built an empire by staying obsessively true to authenticity—no compromises, no modifications, no American sodas, no California wine, just the real deal that transports you straight to Paris.
🔗 Connect with Laurent Vrignaud:
Email: [email protected]
Website: moulin.com
Instagram: @moulin
📄 Transcript Available: From Windsurfing Rep to Parisian Café Owner: Laurent Vrignaud's 40-Year Journey to Moulin
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📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line
Website: addbackbenefits.com
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