# Youmie Jean Francois, Founder @ Flex n Fly | Don't Negotiate With Doubt

By: Justin Abrams
Published: 2026-07-31

She saw a man praying in an airport and thought, that looks like downward dog. That thought became a company.

In this episode of Forward to Extraordinary, Justin Abrams sits down with Youmie Jean Francois, founder and CEO of Flex-N-Fly, The Flex Bags, and The Flex-N-Fly Foundation. Former professional backup dancer. Private pilot. Speaks four languages. Haitian born and New York City raised.

She was set to launch inside JFK in April 2020. Then the world closed. She lost her investors, pivoted into physical product, and the bags kept the whole thing alive.

This one goes somewhere deeper than a business story. Youmie talks openly about building an entire successful life from inside survival mode, and what happened when she finally got to put that down.

We get into:

- The airport moment that started everything
- Why survival mode might be the best time to start a business, and the cost of staying there
- Manifesting from your full self instead of from desperation
- Losing her cat, and realizing she was grieving the last piece of her old life
- Freedom that arrives before you feel ready for it
- Being your own worst enemy, and refusing to negotiate with doubt
- Increasing your surface area for luck
- Inside the Flex-N-Fly Foundation: aviation access, free wellness in Washington Square Park, and an intergenerational program pairing elders with youth

Connect with Youmie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambitiousyf/
Website: https://hernameisyoumie.com
Flex-N-Fly: https://flexnfly.com

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