My Entrepreneur blood
From an entrepreneur family
Entrepreneurship is somehow in my blood: my father created his own company when he was 22 – rapidly joined by my mother –, I have several relatives driving their own activity, my brother manages the family business today. I was 24 when I launched my first business, a humble service agency dedicated to European publishers. I remembered with still a big amazement what my parents told me, when I shared with them my idea of starting a business: “Just do it. We will help you if you need”. Simple words expressing trust and peace of mind are definitively the most powerful tool to encourage you to start. This is what I did, not only once but twice. The second time was about creating, producing and marketing a creative box. But the big difference was that I was not alone, what changes everything toward more ambition.
Even though my businesses were side projects and that I decided to close them both after 2-3 years of activity, I learn a lot from these first-hand entrepreneurship experiences. The simple fact of concreting my idea was in itself very powerful to bring my “doer” mindset to the next level and secure self-confidence.
P.M.: 2 letters to expand an entrepreneur spirit
At the same time, in 2015, I moved to a Product Manager position at IONOS, a European leader in web hosting solutions, I was already working at for several years. Being a PM I was basically responsible for a product portfolio, from creating new products or features to market them and reach commercial goals. These 3 years were a great opportunity to pursue my entrepreneur mentality within a context that is priceless for me: a team of smart and very engaged colleagues.
Accompanying others
Today I am still very interested in entrepreneurship, especially in the aspects related to selling and marketing a product, including the go-to-market strategy, as Marketing specialist. But I noticed that there is something that I enjoy even more than creating businesses: guiding others by enlightening their own vision through some words, as my family used to do.
This is what I did in 2018 mentoring entrepreneur students within the “Sustainable Development Solution Network” program of the United Nations ONU. I love speaking with entrepreneurs at fairs and in my own network too. Lately I joined the expert group dedicated to innovation of the European Champions Alliance, so I make my knowledge and experience regarding commercial expansion in Europe available for other members. Providing guidance within networks is how I live and enjoy entrepreneurship now.