Episode #12: From Insurance to 200+ Events. The Maison Bertrand Story

Who Is Hadrien Bertrand? The Man Turning Corporate Networking Into an Experience

Quick answer: Hadrien is the co-founder of Maison Bertrand, a Luxembourg company that designs wine and food experiences for corporate events. He spent 15 years in finance and insurance. He built Maison Bertrand as a side project for two years. Then, at 40, he went all in. Today the company has run over 200 events, from intimate tastings to a 200-person show at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

🎙️ How does a finance and insurance professional leave a safe job at 40 to build an event business from scratch?

In this episode, we sit down with Hadrien at the Tero River House, a former brewery on the Rives de Clausen in Luxembourg. It is one of his favourite venues. He explains why.

He tells us how he spent 15 years in finance and insurance. How a passion for wine turned into a registered company with his partner Romain Tisne. Why he started it just to buy wine tax-free, and how it became something much bigger. And why he refuses to run two events that feel the same.

He also shares his views on space. Why the right venue makes or breaks an event. How he reads a room in the first ten seconds, just like buying a house. And his dream of one day anchoring his whole community inside a single hybrid place: an office by day, an event space by night.

This is a direct and honest conversation. No filter.

💡 What we cover in this episode

• His 15 years in finance and insurance, and why he left
• Why he started Maison Bertrand to buy wine 
• How meeting his partner Romain triggered the real business
• Going full time at 40, with a house to pay and kids in school
• Why loving your work is the difference between good and excellent
• The shift from selling wine to designing events
• His event philosophy: scenography, rhythm, storytelling
• The 200-person show at the Parc des Princes in Paris
• Why no two Maison Bertrand events should ever feel the same
• The rise of quality no-alcohol options, and why they matter
• How he reads a venue in the first ten seconds
• Why the Tero River House works as a turnkey space
• We Are, the collective he joined, and the missing real estate piece
• His five-year dream: one hybrid place for the whole community

📌 Chapters

0:00 Introduction at the Tero River House
1:00 Maison Bertrand: a four-year-old company
1:27 From finance and insurance to wine
2:14 Starting as a side business
2:22 The real reason: buying wine tax-free
2:56 Meeting Romain, the trigger
4:04 What Maison Bertrand actually does
5:09 Leaving a safe job at 40
6:02 Demystifying the entrepreneur life
6:37 What his family thought
7:25 Good versus excellent: you have to love it
8:58 Going back to old employers as a supplier
10:00 The growth path of Maison Bertrand
11:07 Finding the event positioning
12:04 Why every event looked the same
13:04 “Don’t make a cocktail like the others”
14:38 Four or five rounds, never the same
14:52 The Parc des Princes: 200 people
15:24 The blind test concept
18:01 The first event he was not even at
20:03 Building a network of extras and sommeliers
22:37 Why he does no-alcohol options
24:09 Inclusivity over a glass of water
26:14 What makes a venue good for his business
28:00 The Tero River House: an all-in-one space
30:27 Venues with no soul
31:13 The “wow” effect in ten seconds
32:00 Decoration, buffets, and the small details
33:30 We Are: the collective
36:12 The missing real estate vertical
37:17 What he is most proud of
38:00 Maison Bertrand in five years: one hybrid place

Watch this if you want to know

✅ How a finance and insurance professional becomes an event entrepreneur at 40
✅ Why the venue matters more than almost anything else
✅ How to turn a corporate cocktail into a real experience
✅ Why quality no-alcohol options are now a must, not a nice-to-have
✅ How to read a space in the first ten seconds
✅ Why no two events should ever feel the same
✅ What a hybrid “office by day, event space by night” could look like

Who Is Hadrien? The Story in Key Dates

Hadrien is the co-founder of Maison Bertrand. He spent 15 years in finance and insurance before going all in on events and wine.

Around 2021. Hadrien registers Maison Bertrand as a side business. At first the goal is simple: import wine and clear it through customs in Luxembourg, fully legal, to share his passion with family and friends.

The trigger. He meets Romain, a former colleague and a natural builder. Romain is the spark. Together they turn the wine project into a real company.

The first two years. Maison Bertrand runs as a side business. Hadrien keeps his job in insurance. He tests many segments and slowly finds his angle: corporate events.

The pivot. The team stops competing with classic wine merchants. They build an event positioning instead. Scenography, storytelling, and pairings become the signature.

Around 2024. Hadrien goes full time. He is 40, with a house to pay and four kids. He leaves his last job in insurance on good terms.

2025. A mixologist joins the team to develop cocktails and run the bar side of large events. Maison Bertrand stages a 200-person show at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

2026. The company has run over 100 events. Hadrien joins the We Are collective alongside three other founders. He dreams of one shared hybrid venue to anchor the whole community.

What Makes Hadrien Different?

Three things stand out.

He treats the venue like the heart of the event

For Hadrien, the space is not a detail. It is the foundation. He reads a venue the way you read a house: in the first ten seconds, you know. He hunts for places with character, like the Tero River House, and he walks away from rooms with no soul, even when they tick every box on paper.

He refuses to repeat himself

His worst nightmare is a guest saying, “It was just like last time.” So he builds every event around four or five rounds, and he never runs them the same way. Blind tests, phone quizzes, no-alcohol pairings, a journey through a wine region. The wine is just the vehicle. The goal is to surprise.

He thinks about everyone in the room

Hadrien pushes quality no-alcohol options hard. He thinks leaving non-drinkers with a glass of water is a missed chance and a bit insulting. So he serves de-alcoholised wine, plant macerations, and tea bases in proper stemware. Inclusivity, for him, is the point.

FAQ: Hadrien, Maison Bertrand and Corporate Events in Luxembourg

What is Maison Bertrand?

Maison Bertrand is a Luxembourg company that designs wine, spirits, and food experiences for corporate and private events. It also sells curated wine, with a focus on organic and biodynamic producers.

What kind of events does Maison Bertrand do?

Corporate cocktails, networking evenings, tastings, and large receptions. The company designs the full experience: venue, food and drink pairings, scenography, and animation. It has run over 100 events, including a 200-person show at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

What is the Tero River House?

The Tero River House is an event venue on the Rives de Clausen in Luxembourg. It sits in a renovated former brewery and holds up to 350 guests. It is rented only on a private basis.

What is We Are?

We Are is a media and collective founded by Clément, Florent, and Romain. It brings together four businesses that share the same client: HR coaching, recruitment, transformation, and events (Maison Bertrand). The idea is to pool communities and grow together.

How do I contact Maison Bertrand?

The simplest way is through LinkedIn or the website, maisonbertrand.lu.

His Core Belief

There is one idea that sums up his whole approach.

“I want the wow effect. When the client walks in, I want them to say: they didn’t mess around.”

Hadrien did not leave a safe career to do what everyone else does. He left to build experiences people remember. The wine matters. The food matters. But the space, the rhythm, and the small details matter just as much.

From a side project to buy wine tax-free, to over 100 events and a dream of one hybrid venue. The path was never planned. But the standard never dropped: never the same thing twice.

👉 See Also

Episode #11: 20 Years in Real Estate. Jean-Nicolas Montrieux Launches Realiven

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City: Luxembourg, Clausen | Date: May 2026 | #SSY!