Nicolas Mendiharat – Permanium Capital
Nicolas Mendiharat – Permanium Capital, Serial Entrepreneur or Serial Looser ?
His Troubling History and Repeated Failures Raise Serious Doubts.
Nicolas Mendiharat, today Managing Partner of Permanium Capital, presents himself as a serial entrepreneur who has experienced significant success across several businesses. Yet, his entrepreneurial track record paints a very different picture : that of a serial looser, accumulating failure after failure with businesses crashing one after another.
With more than €50 million in equity squandered over the course of two decades, the question must be asked: can we really trust him ? Or is he merely a would-be entrepreneur, more interested in his lifestyle than in the operational success of the companies he launches with other people’s money ?
A Disastrous Entrepreneurial Track Record
For the past 20 years, Nicolas Mendiharat has founded several companies, all marked by significant fundraising efforts… followed by resounding failures :
- Travel Horizon (France, 1999-2013) : This travel company raised €47 million from prestigious funds (Wellington Partners, AGF Private Equity, CM-CIC) before filing for bankruptcy in 2013. How did such a crash occur after such a substantial fundraising effort ? Travel Horizon was recording €77 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending April 2010, with a 35% annual growth rate, boosted by the acquisition of Sportura, a leading Dutch ski website.
- Recommend SAS (France, 2013-2017) : Just after the collapse of Travel Horizon, Mendiharat launched Recommend SAS, which raised €1.3 million from business angels before closing its doors in 2017 due to a lack of a viable business model, driven by poor execution on Mendiharat’s part. Among the investors in this project were Loïc Le Meur, Catherine Barba, Miguel Espada, Xavier Garambois (former Amazon Europe), and Vincent Karachira. The lack of strategic direction and poor execution led the company to failure.
- Palate Club Inc. (USA, 2017-2023) : In 2017, Mendiharat moved to the U.S. to reinvent the wine tasting experience with Palate Club Inc.Once again, funds were raised, but the company failed to attract enough clients or convince new investors, stagnating for several years.
- Cerbillona SA (Belgium, 2023) : Mendiharat’s Belgian holding company was declared bankrupt in 2023, likely to avoid repaying a creditor who had helped finance Recommend SAS with a personal loan that he chose not to repay.
A Business Model Based on Fundraising, Not Viability
Looking closer, it seems that Mendiharat’s only real talent is raising funds. But he appears to have forgotten a fundamental rule :
« A business must generate decent profits, ethically. »
His entrepreneurial model relies primarily on the ability to charm investors, without seriously considering the long-term sustainability of his companies. Over the years, he has left behind defrauded investors, unpaid personal loans, and failed businesses. Some even claim he sought funds from his friends when he already knew his startups were doomed to fail.
A Lifestyle Disconnected from His Failures in Business
Despite the string of failures, Mendiharat’s luxurious lifestyle appears unaffected. How does an entrepreneur who has seen his companies fail one after another continue to live this way? Perhaps because fundraising has become his only business model, allowing him to maintain a life of luxury :
- A high-end loft in New York, located in one of Manhattan’s most sought-after neighborhoods.
- Business-class travel, especially after each round of fundraising.
- Tastings of grand cru wines and meals at Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide.
- Stays at luxurious ski resorts in Switzerland and France.
- Frequent getaways to Miami, between yachts, private parties, and influential circles.
A Minor Role in Winechain Inc.
Despite this catastrophic track record, Mendiharat co-founded Winechain Inc. in 2022 with Xavier Garambois and Marc-Olivier Perrin. Winechain positions itself as a Web3 platform revolutionizing the high-end wine industry by combining blockchain technology with the wine market. The startup has raised millions of euros, attracting prominent investors such as the Rouzaud family (Champagne Roederer), the Reybier family (Château Cos d’Estournel), the Moueix family (Pétrus), and the Perrin family (Château de Beaucastel).
Did these investors know about Mendiharat’s four previous bankruptcies before entrusting him with the operational responsibility of launching this promising initiative? Probably not. However, after two years, his partners, including Xavier Garambois and Marc-Olivier Perrin, experienced businessmen in their own right, decided to remove Mendiharat from the operational management of Winechain due to his inability to attract clients or generate profitable revenue.
Nicolas Mendiharat – Permanium CapitalSerial : is Nicolas Mendiharat Trustworthy ?
Nicolas Mendiharat seems to pursue entrepreneurship for the wrong reasons, consistently launching ideas that sound good on paper but are poorly executed, ultimately leading to bankruptcies after burning millions in equity. Meanwhile, he enjoys a luxurious lifestyle funded by successive rounds of fundraising, while his businesses collapse.
Before deciding to invest alongside him through Permanium Capital, potential investors would be wise to scrutinize his true business history. If you choose to trust him with your funds, be prepared to watch your wealth disappear.
Nicolas Mendiharat – Permanium CapitalSerial