Tickets are available on iabilet.ro.
„In leadership, acknowledging failure with honesty and responsibility is not a weakness, but a form of strength” – Gerke Witteveen, CEO NN Pensii. Fuckup Nights guests will share valuable and vulnerable lessons for career and life
Gerke Witteveen – CEO of NN Pensii, Radu Nemeș – co-founder of ONV Law, and Delia Necula – entrepreneur and strategic consultant, are the speakers at the 26th edition of Fuckup Nights Bucharest, organized by DiFine PR.
- The 26th edition will take place on August 21, at 6 p.m., at the BISM headquarters on 99 Dacia Boulevard.
- The three speakers will share their difficult professional experiences, which taught them to view failure as a learning tool, for two hours.
- In the last decade, failure has become a subject of academic research and public debate;
- London Business School study: 53% of adults in the UK admit that fear of failure prevents them from starting a business.
Bucharest, July 31st 2025: Gerke Witteveen – CEO of NN Pensii, Radu Nemeș – lawyer and co-founder of ONV Law, and Delia Necula – entrepreneur and sales professor, will take to the stage at the 26th edition of Fuckup Nights Bucharest (FUN) to talk about their moments of professional failure and how these contributed to their career development, as well as on a personal level.
The event will take place on August 21, at the Bucharest International School of Management (BISM), on Dacia Boulevard no. 99, starting at 6:00 p.m.
Tickets are available on iabilet.ro.
The event will be moderated by journalist Julia Nagy, known for her extensive experience in radio and television.
Over the past decade, the concept of failure has been the subject of intense academic research and public policy debates. In psychology, education, health, and business, researchers have sought to understand not only the consequences of failure, but also the deep fear associated with this concept. Today, fear of failure is increasingly recognized as a powerful force influencing individual decisions, organizational cultures, and national economic dynamics.
Recent studies in the UK offer new insights into how this fear affects professional confidence, employee engagement, and entrepreneurial ambition. For example, a 2024 study by Onward Think Tank and London Business School confirms these trends: 53% of working-age adults in the UK said that fear of failure prevents them from starting a business – a higher percentage than in Germany (39%), the US (45%), and the Netherlands (40%).
„In a world that strives for perfection, failure is the ultimate act of honesty, and the truth is that the most valuable lessons come from failure. Failure is not a final fall, but a moment of clarity, a space between what we were and what we can become. If we have the courage to look at it honestly, it becomes a brutal but sincere mentor, and sometimes that’s exactly what we need. In a culture that rewards appearances, the vulnerability of talking about mistakes truly becomes a virtue.
We have a new special edition of Fuckup Nights, with three exceptional speakers who enthusiastically accepted the invitation to reveal stories never before told in public, about their exceptional journeys, but especially about the inevitable moments of failure and how they learned to get back up, even stronger than before”, says Diana Iosu, founder of DiFine PR and organiser of Fuckup Nights Bucharest.
For approximately two hours, participants will be able to learn useful lessons from the speakers’ experiences, then ask them questions directly during interactive Q&A sessions.
Gerke Witteveen is CEO of NN Pensii S.A.F.P.A.P S.A and a board member of the Association for Privately Administered Pensions in Romania (APAPR). With over 20 years of international experience in the financial sector, Gerke is a recognized strategist for his systemic vision, analytical clarity, and focus on long-term sustainability. A promoter of financial education and responsible institutional dialogue, Gerke is an important voice in building trust in the financial market infrastructure.
„Failure is often perceived as something negative, but I believe it is an essential part of progress. If you never fail, it probably means you are not taking enough risks or challenging yourself enough. I don’t see failure as the opposite of success, but as a complement to it – there is a natural balance between the two. For me, the most important thing is how we relate to mistakes. It’s easy to externalize them and look for causes outside ourselves, but real growth begins when we ask ourselves: What could I have done differently? I believe in owning up to mistakes not as a fault, but as a tool for learning and continuous improvement. In leadership, acknowledging failure with honesty and responsibility is not a weakness – it is a form of strength”, says Gerke Witteveen.
Delia Necula is an entrepreneur at Nagomi Experience, a sales teacher, and a strategic consultant in commercial projects and M&A. Throughout the complexity of activities she is involved in, Delia has learned that failure is not a shame, but only a demanding coach.
„I have over 23 years of experience… in failure. I do enough things – which, honestly, is also an effective way to hide the fuck-ups among the successes. Right? I’m a mother, I’m no longer a wife – another failure, gracefully checked off. I play golf – probably the most frustrating sport ever invented, where patience is the main currency and control is just an illusion, and I can’t wait to talk at Fuckup Nights about all the lessons I’ve learned and I’m happy to pass on my experience”, explains Delia Necula.
Radu Nemeș is Managing Partner at ONV LAW, a business lawyer with over 25 years of experience and an investor in start-ups. He has learned that there is no such thing as a risk-free transaction, that people are more important than contracts, and that a well-digested failure takes you further than ten ready-made successes. He is a certified member of boards of directors and a member of the Aspen Institute Romania. Radu believes in the value of continuing education, being an avid reader, convinced that good ideas come not only from business or law books, but also from any field that stimulates your curiosity and critical thinking.
„For me, failure is a natural part of the growth process. I see it as a strict but fair teacher. Every failure has taught me something about myself, about people, about business, and has forced me to be more attentive, more adaptable, more resilient. I’m not afraid of failure, I’m afraid of not learning anything from it”, says Radu Nemeș.
Fuckup Nights Bucharest is part of a global series of events taking place in 215 cities in 62 countries around the world. The events are changing the paradigm on career failure and are aimed equally at small and large entrepreneurs, corporate workers, freelancers, and students.
Fuckup Nights is a nationally licensed global event, organized in Bucharest by DiFine PR communication agency.
Partners of the event were: BISM (Bucharest International School of Management), Radio Guerilla, Centrul EKA, Complice, Fonduri Structurale, Bizilive, Learning Network, Psychologies, IQAds, SMARK, IQool, Revista CARIERE, Techcelerator și ROTSA – Romanian Tech Startups Association.
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About DiFine PR
DiFine PR is a full-service communications agency that combines the team’s solid experience of over 20 years, both nationally and internationally, with the satisfaction of creating success stories. Besides full PR, communication, and business consulting services, the agency also organizes technology and business events (e.g. NASA Space Apps Challenge, TechFest, Fuckup Nights Bucharest). The agency’s client portfolio includes NN, Stefanini, TH Essers, Dulcinella, Seedblink, GapMinder VC, Seedblink, FintechOS, Techcelerator, ROTSA (Romanian Tech Startups Association), Examin.ai, Goldring, Klass Wagen, Eyerim, Bricklofts, Undelucram.ro, Restart Energy, Tema Energy, Verita International School, Bitcoin Romania. Over the six years since its launch, DiFine PR has worked with over 250 tech startups.
