idinvest partners’ “entreprendre” indicator...idinvest partners’ “entreprendre”...

IDINVEST PARTNERS’“ENTREPRENDRE” INDICATOR

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SURVEY OVERVIEW AND DESIGN 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 6

ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION 10

DOMESTIC ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND FINANCING CAPACITY OF BANKS 11

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND EU POLICIES 12

INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES AND SOCIETAL OPPORTUNITIES 13

SOURCES OF FINANCING 14

TARGETED INDUSTRY SECTOR 15

PERSONAL VALUES 16

REASONS BEHIND THE DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS 17

MAKING THE DECISION TO START A BUSINESS 18

IDINVEST PARTNERS’ “ENTREPRENDRE” INDICATOR 20

FROM DESIRE TO REALITY: A SCHEMATIC OVERVIEW 21

EXISTENCE OF A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS 22

TYPE OF BUSINESS CONSIDERED 23

LACK OF A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS 25

DISSUASIVE FACTORS 26

STARTING A BUSINESS: PERSONAL NARRATIVES 28

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SURVEY OVERVIEW AND DESIGN

OVERVIEW

Idinvest Partners and Le Figaro are pleased to present the results of the third

edition of their exclusive survey focused on entrepreneurial motivation.

This biannual survey of public opinion is conducted online with a representative

sample of French adults (5,000 respondents).

For this third edition, two additional surveys were carried out by Viavoice in the

United Kingdom and German, in order to compare the desire to start a business

as expressed by respondents in France with the views of their British and Ger-

man counterparts.

DESIGN

Survey conducted online by Viavoice on behalf of Idinvest Partners and Le Figa-

ro from October 16 to 29, 2015.

The survey was administered to three nationally representative samples. A nu-

mber of specific questions intended for persons having “a definite plan to start

a business” were only asked of respondents in France.

• France: 5,000 persons 18 years of age and over, representative of the

French population,

• United Kingdom: 1,000 persons 18 years of age and over, representative of

the UK population,

• Germany: 1,003 persons 18 years of age and over, representative of the

German population.

Representativeness was determined through the use of quota sampling and

applied the following criteria: gender, age, profession and region.

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Entrepreneurial motivation is much more widespread in Germany and the United Kingdom than in France

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Entrepreneurship and freedom-promoting ecosystems

Entrepreneurial motivation often has an aura of mystery about it, as does

the decision to start a business. You don’t learn about it at school and it is

often misunderstood; yet at the same time, entrepreneurial motivation is

fundamental not just for a country’s economic vitality, but for the life of its

citizens. Idinvest Partners, in partnership with Viavoice and Le Figaro, put

together its “Entreprendre” survey with the aim of getting a better grasp

of this reality. The survey has now broken new ground by comparing en-

trepreneurial motivation in France, the United Kingdom and Germany. The

findings, which highlight major differences between the three countries, are

revealing indeed.

²

E N T R E P R E N D R EI N D I C A T O R

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5

300

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A clear-cut “entrepreneurial motivation” hierarchy between Germany, the United Kingdom and France

The differences are undeniable: 56% of Germans say that if they had the

option they would be “entrepreneurially motivated – i.e. motivated to start

their own business”, whereas 44% of British respondents express the

same opinion, and… only 30% of French respondents.

Two results have particular resonance:

• France’s score, lagging well behind its two main European partners,

and

• Germany’s pre-eminence over the United Kingdom, by no means

a forgone conclusion: with its ingrained culture of commerce, the

United Kingdom might have hoped to lead the rankings.

Sources of entrepreneurial motivation (1): the web of economic and po-litical circumstances, whether favorable or adverse

These differences between the three countries are mainly explained by a

combination of specific national factors that encourage, or hamper, en-

trepreneurial motivation. Among the leading factors are the following:

• The “economic climate” in each country, considered an “asset” by

57% of German respondents, 29% of British respondents and only

13% of French respondents;

• “Current government policy” in each country, considered an “asset”

by 28% of German respondents, 27% of British respondents and only

14% of French respondents.

It thus appears that when it comes to promoting motivation, France is pe-

nalized by its restrictive fiscal and regulatory framework, which not only

directly hamper entrepreneurial motivation but also, more indirectly, act

as obstacles to an economic climate that would itself be more favorable.

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Sources of entrepreneurial motivation (2): a desire for freedom outweighing financial ambitions

Combined with these factors is an essential value: a powerful drive for

freedom, which is more decisive than financial success. In all three coun-

tries, the desire to “be free and independent” is cited as the number

one reason that “currently motivates me to be an entrepreneur”: 51% of

German, 52% of British and 49% of French respondents rank this factor

ahead of the drive to make money (47%, 52% and 32% respectively) and

achieve personal fulfilment (41%, 36% and 41% respectively). And, very

revealingly… Germany is the country where the values of “freedom” and

“independence” are the most highly prized (51%), ahead of the United

Kingdom (43%) and France (38%). And this desire for freedom is trigge-

red by “a period of great self-confidence” (cited by 45% of German, 37%

of British and 31% of French respondents).

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Entrepreneurial motivation: cultivating freedom-promoting ecosystems

All the key findings of this survey converge on one key idea: entrepre-

neurial motivation is underpinned by a personal desire for freedom, and

comes to fruition under conducive circumstances:

• the existence of economic momentum (economic climate),

• a non-restrictive fiscal and regulatory framework, and

• where freedom is promotion as one of a country’s key values.

What is unique about these circumstances is that they feed off each other,

together forming an ecosystem that is more or less favorable to freedom

being enshrined as a fundamental value. Entrepreneurs questioned in indi-

vidual interviews confirm the importance of this desire for freedom, which

itself fuels ambition; in the words of Alex Saint, co-founder and CEO of

Secret Escapes, “entrepreneurs are masters of their own fate”. This free-

dom, the desire it stokes and the circumstances on which it depends are es-

sential, not only in entrepreneurial and economic terms but also because

they are the matrix for the world of the future: the freedom that spurs en-

trepreneurial motivation carries with it the promise of a reinvented future.

François Miquet-Marty, President, Viavoice

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ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION

TODAY, IF YOU HAD THE POSSIBILITY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, WOULD YOU BE MOTIVATED TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

30%

44%

56%

62%

50%

38%

8%

6%

6%

YES

YES

YES

NO

NO

NO

NO ANSWER

NO ANSWER

NO ANSWER

NOVEMBER 2014:

37%

APRIL 2015:

34 %

QUESTION ASKED OF ALL RESPONDENTS ACROSS THE THREE NATIONAL SAMPLES

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11 QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS

DOMESTIC ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

AND FINANCING CAPACITY OF BANKS

WOULD YOU SAY THAT EACH OF THE FOL-LOWING ITEMS IS CURRENTLY MORE OF AN ADVANTAGE OR MORE OF AN IMPEDIMENT TO STARTING A BUSINESS?

57%

28%

34%

29%

27%

14%

22%

13%

18%

78%

73%

72%

9%

13%

10%

51%

45%

51%

20%

28%

27%

32%

58%

49%

11%

14%

17%

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN YOUR COUNTRY

CURRENT POLICIES OF

YOUR COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT

CURRENT CAPACITY OF BANKS

TO FINANCE STARTUP BUSINESSES

ADVANTAGE IMPEDIMENT NOANSWER

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INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC

CONDITIONS AND EU POLICIES

WOULD YOU SAY THAT EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IS CURRENTLY MORE OF AN ADVANTAGE OR MORE OF AN IMPEDIMENT TO STARTING A BUSINESS?

WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

CURRENT EU POLICIES

31%

32%

19%

20%

16%

17%

18%

15%

14%

52%

70%

51%

30%

15%

35%

65%

53%

63%

15%

31%

20%

54%

55%

65%

15%

13%

16%


QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS

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13 QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS

INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES AND

SOCIETAL OPPORTUNITIES

WOULD YOU SAY THAT EACH OF THE FOL-LOWING ITEMS IS CURRENTLY MORE OF AN ADVANTAGE OR MORE OF AN IMPEDIMENT TO STARTING A BUSINESS?

63%

45%

40% 43% 17%

31% 24%

28% 9%

ACTIVITY OF THE INDUSTRY SECTOR IN

WHICH YOU WISH TO START A BUSINESS

CHANGING LIFESTYLES AND

CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

60%

54%

40% 35% 25%

31% 15%

26% 14%


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SOURCES OF FINANCING

WHAT SOURCES OF FINANCING WOULD YOU HOPE TO ACCESS IN ORDER TO START YOUR BUSINESS?

YOUR PERSONAL SAVINGS

ONE OR MORE BANK LOANS

PUBLIC SECTOR ASSISTANCE

CONTRIBUTIONS OR ASSISTANCE FROM

YOUR RELATIVES

PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS

OTHERS

NOT SURE AT THIS TIME

NO ANSWER

45% 50% 48%

38% 20% 38%

33% 18% 31%

17% 17% 19%

11% 11% 11%

2% 1% 1%

21% 23% 21%

2% 3% 1%

45%

41%

35%

15%

10%

2%

21%

46%

39%

33%

14%

11%

2%

22%

FRANCE

APRIL 2015

FRANCE

NOVEMBER 2014

FRANCE UK GERMANY


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27% 22% 21%

20% 18% 21%

18% 18% 17%

15% 21% 21%

13% 15% 14%

13% 11% 17%

6% 8% 10%

6% 7% 7%

6% 4% 6%

5% 6% 6%

6% 5% 5%

5% 5% 5%

7% 12% 6%


TARGETED INDUSTRY SECTOR

IN WHICH INDUSTRY SECTOR WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN STARTING YOUR BUSINESS?

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE

EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ACTION

HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS

ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION

MANUFACTURING, ENERGY, WATER, MINING

FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES

FARMING, FISHING, FORESTRY AND LOGGING

TRANSPORTATION

NO ANSWER

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES / ADMINISTRATIVE

AND SUPPORT SERVICES

FRANCE UK GERMANY

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FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE

MORALITY AND ETHICS

TOLERANCE AND KINDNESS

HARD WORK AND COURAGE

PERSONAL SUCCESS

SOLIDARITY AND SHARING

DETERMINATION

MODESTY AND HUMILITY

TEAM SPIRIT

ORDERLINESS

RISK TAKING

NO ANSWER

SELF-CONFIDENCE

PERSONAL VALUES

WHICH MAIN VALUES ARE YOU MOST ATTACHED TO PERSONALLY?

FRANCE UK GERMANY

38% 43% 51%

34% 36% 33%

26% 36% 31%

35% 14% 20%

18% 34% 33%

19% 26% 28%

27% 5% 21%

21% 32% 4%

19% 20% 10%

13% 17% 20%

12% 7% 26%

8% 3% 3%

2% 2% 1%


AS THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE TOTAL IS GREATER THAN 100%.

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REASONS BEHIND THE DESIRE

TO START A BUSINESS

WHAT REASONS ARE BEHIND YOUR DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS?

FRANCEFRANCE UK GERMANY

BE FREE AND INDEPENDENT

GROW PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY

MAKE MONEY

MAKE BETTER USE OF YOUR SKILLS AND CREATIVITY

LIVE AN ADVENTURE / FACE CHALLENGES

FEEL USEFUL TO SOCIETY

PASS SOMETHING ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS

CHANGE YOUR WORKPLACE OR WORK SITUATION

GO AGAINST THE GRAIN / CHANGE THINGS

WORK IN A TEAM WITH CLOSE ASSOCIATES

INNOVATE IN YOUR SECTOR

LEAD PEOPLE OR TEAMS

NO ANSWER

BRING A HEARTFELT IDEA OR VISION TO FRUITION

49% 52% 51%

41% 36% 41%

32% 52% 47%

24% 22% 27%

21% 15% 22%

19% 19% 12%

15% 10% 12%

12% 12% 13%

13% 11% 5%

7% 7% 8%

8% 2% 9%

7% 7% 6%

7% 6% 8%

1% 2% 1%



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MAKING THE DECISION

TO START A BUSINESS

ULTIMATELY, WHAT WOULD PROMPT YOU TO MAKE THE DECISION TO START YOUR BUSINESS?

FRANCEFRANCE UK GERMANY

THE CONVICTION, FROM A PERSONAL STANDPOINT, THAT

THE TIME IS RIGHT

CERTAINTY OF SUCCESS DRIVEN BY A HIGH STATE OF

SELF-CONFIDENCE

THE FEASIBILITY OF YOUR PROJECT, HAVING THOUGHT EVERY-

THING THROUGH CAREFULLY

A NEW IDEA, A PARTICULARLY INNOVATIVE CONCEPT

OR PRODUCT

THE CONVICTION, GIVEN THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND

ACTIVITY IN YOUR SECTOR, THAT THE TIME IS RIGHT

THE CONVICTION THAT YOU ARE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RELATIVES AND

FRIENDS IN PURSUING YOUR PLAN

A NEED FOR MONEY

FINDING AN ASSOCIATE WHO COULD START THE

BUSINESS WITH YOU

NO ANSWER

OTHER REASONS

42% 34% 42%

31% 37% 45%

29% 36% 15%

26% 27% 33%

25% 20% 25%

25% 30% 24%

22% 24% 31%

20% 23% 27%

3% 5% 3%

2% 3% 2%



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IDINVEST PARTNERS’

“ENTREPRENDRE” INDICATOR

RECENT CHANGES IN THE INDICATOR

30% X 10%

370 340300

The indicator is calculated as follows at each wave of the survey, in order to measure changes over time:

PERCENTAGE OF THE FRENCH POPULATION WITH A DESIRE TO

START A BUSINESS

PERCENTAGE OF THE FRENCH POPULATION WITH A DEFINITE

PLAN TO START A BUSINESS

²

E N T R E P R E N D R EI N D I C A T O R

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5

300

NOVEMBER 2014 NOVEMBER 2015APRIL 2015

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FROM DESIRE TO REALITY:

A SCHEMATIC OVERVIEW

30% ↘4%

↘2%↗4%

↗10% ↗3%

↗7%

32%

32% 19%

31%

58%

RESPONDENTS WITHA “DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS”

AMONG THE PEOPLE WITH A “DESIRE TO START A BUSINESS”:

RESPONDENTS WITH A“DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS”

WITH AN IDEA FOR A PRODUCT OR BUSINESS THAT SEEMS TO HAVE

POTENTIAL

WHO HAVE TRIED TO SET A PLAN IN MOTION, BUT GAVE UP

WHO THINK THAT THEIR TARGET MARKET SHOWS HIGH PROMISE

RESPONDENTS LACKING A“DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS”

FRENCH POPULATION

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EXISTENCE OF A DEFINITE

PLAN TO START A BUSINESS

DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE A DEFINITE PLAN TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS THAT YOU INTEND TO CARRY OUT NO LATER THAN A YEAR FROM NOW?

CORRESPONDS TO 10%OF THE TOTAL SAMPLE

32% 58%

YES NO

10%

NO ANSWER

APRIL 2015 :

28%

APRIL 2015 :

65%

NOVEMBER 2014 :

28%

NOVEMBER 2014 :

66%


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TYPE OF BUSINESS CONSIDERED

FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, WOULD YOU PREFER TO . . .

START AN INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS

ACQUIRE “AUTO-ENTREPRENEUR” STATUS

START A COMPANY WITH ONE OR MORE ASSOCIATES

NO ANSWER

37%

34%

27%

39%

32%

25%

36%

32%

26%

4%


NOVEMBER

2014

APRIL

2015

(a French status offering simplified procedures and tax benefits for starting a small business)

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YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR A PRODUCT OR BUSINESS THAT YOU FEEL HAS POTENTIAL

YOUR TARGET MARKET SHOWS HIGH PROMISE

YOU HAVE THE REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

YOU WANT TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR TIME AND WORK VERY HARD

YOU ARE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING TOO MANY SACRIFICES IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE

YOU KNOW PEOPLE YOU TRUST AND WITH WHOM YOU CAN WORK

YOU ARE CONVINCED THAT YOUR INCOME WILL INCREASE

YOU HAVE A NETWORK OF PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS

YOU ARE WELL INFORMED

YOU HAVE THE NECESSARY CAPITAL

YOU ANTICIPATE A GOOD RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT

YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED

YOU DECIDED TO ABANDON YOUR PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

YOU HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED YOU TO PURSUE YOUR PLAN TO START A BUSINESS

OVERALL, THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE SEEMS FAVORABLE TO YOU

YOU HAD TO LEAVE YOUR PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

THE NECESSARY ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES SEEM SIMPLE TO YOU

YOU ARE BEING ASSISTED BY A SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATION

YOU HAVE ALREADY OBTAINED A BANK LOAN ON FAVORABLE TERMS

NO ANSWER

26%

29%

22%

14%

13%

15%

13%

15%

12%

14%

10%

9%

9%

7%

9%

6%

6%

3%

2%

22%

24%

25%

13%

15%

15%

13%

10%

12%

9%

8%

12%

10%

8%

7%

7%

6%

5%

3%

MOTIVATING FACTORS BEHIND

THE DEFINITE PLAN

WHAT ARE THE REASONS THAT LED YOU TO DRAFT THIS DEFINITE PLAN TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?AS THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE ANSWERS, THE TOTAL IS GREATER THAN 100%.

QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS WITH A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS

NOVEMBER

2014

APRIL

2015

32%

31%

28%

21%

19%

18%

18%

18%

17%

13%

12%

12%

10%

9%

9%

8%

8%

5%

4%

3%

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LACK OF A DEFINITE PLAN

TO START A BUSINESS

TRUTHFULLY, IS IT THAT YOU . . .

65% 19% 12%

HAVEN’T TRIED TO SET A PLAN TO START A BUSINESS IN MOTION

HAVE TRIED TO SET A PLAN TO START A BUSINESS IN MOTION,

BUT GAVE UP

NO ANSWER

QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS LACKING A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS

NOVEMBER 2014 :

17%

NOVEMBER 2014 :

71%

APRIL 2015 :

72%

APRIL 2015 :

16%

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DISSUASIVE FACTORS

WHAT OBSTACLES ARE KEEPING YOU FROM CARRYING OUT A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS?

YOU DON’T HAVE THE NECESSARY CAPITAL

OVERALL, THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE SEEMS UNFAVORABLE TO YOU

THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES SEEM TOO COMPLICATED TO YOU

YOU LACK THE REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

YOU ARE CONCERNED THAT YOUR INCOME WILL DECREASE

YOU LACK NECESSARY INFORMATION

YOU DON’T HAVE AN ADEQUATE NETWORK OF PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS

CONCERNS ABOUT NEEDING TO MAKE TOO MANY SACRIFICES IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE

YOU DON’T HAVE AN IDEA FOR A PRODUCT OR BUSINESS THAT YOU FEEL HAS POTENTIAL

YOU DON’T KNOW PEOPLE YOU TRUST AND WITH WHOM YOU CAN WORK

YOU DON’T HAVE A SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATION WILLING TO HELP YOU

YOUR TARGET MARKET DOESN’T SHOW ENOUGH PROMISE

YOU PREFER TO MAINTAIN YOUR PREVIOUS ACTIVITY, OR PURSUE A DIFFERENT ONE

YOU ARE CONCERNED THAT YOUR WORKLOAD WILL BE TOO HEAVY

YOU HAVE BEEN DISCOURAGED FROM PURSUING A PLAN TO START A BUSINESS

YOU HAVEN’T OBTAINED A BANK LOAN ON FAVORABLE TERMS

YOU DON’T ANTICIPATE A GOOD RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT

NO ANSWER

33%

37%

21%

18%

14%

14%

14%

15%

12%

9%

10%

8%

6%

5%

6%

5%

3%

37%

36%

22%

20%

16%

14%

13%

15%

14%

12%

6%

4%

8%

10%

6%

5%

4%

QUESTION ASKED ONLY OF RESPONDENTS LACKING A DEFINITE PLAN TO START A BUSINESS


NOVEMBER

2014

APRIL

2015

44%

38%

29%

24%

22%

22%

21%

18%

16%

14%

13%

12%

9%

9%

8%

7%

6%

6%

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“I’M MOTIVATED BY THE WORLD OF TOMORROW AND HOW THAT WORLD WILL TAKE SHAPE.”

DIDIER RAPPAPORT, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF HAPPN

Didier Rappaport has always been

an entrepreneur – or not far from it.

After earning a degree in economics

and gaining some sales experience

at the family business in Bordeaux,

he quickly threw himself into cap-

turing new markets, with one gui-

ding principal: be among the first to

ferret out the markets of the future

economy.

After a trip to Asia in the early 1980s,

his yearning for the distant and the

new drew him to the booming textile

industry, which soon became one

of the spearheads of Asian growth.

“That’s when I decided to become a

commodities trader for the textile

industry, which I did until the age of

40,” he says.

In the mid-1990s, Didier recognized

early on the new opportunities offe-

red by the emerging Web. “I discove-

red the Web with a sort of fascina-

tion. While I was working in textiles,

I gradually decided to give it up for

the digital world – although it wasn’t

even called the ‘digital world’ at that

point.”

Carefully surrounding himself with

employees who had extensive expe-

rience in new technologies, Didier

created several businesses speciali-

zing in new technologies and social

networks. He co-founded Dailymo-

tion in 2005, joined Nomao in 2008,

a location-based social network that

he and his partners turned into a

search engine, then set up Happn in

May 2013.

According to this entrepreneur – a

role he insists on distinguishing from

company managers who take over

an existing and established enter-

prise – the key to growing a fledgling

business is its innovative, forward-

looking and visionary nature. “I’m

motivated by the world of tomorrow

and how that world will take shape”,

he says. “I’m very future-oriented.

Digital tools are an amazing tool for

the work world, business organiza-

tion and daily life. And Happn is an

STARTING A BUSINESS:

PERSONAL NARRATIVES

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incredible tool for bringing people

together.”

But the key to success does not

only lie in having an idea, as good

as it may be. “A lot of people have

ideas. The hardest part is actual-

ly doing it”, he says. And this re-

quires surrounding yourself with

multi-skilled, high-performing

employees as well as working hard

to grasp future challenges, needs

and opportunities. “You know, ha-

ving a flair for business actually

takes a lot of work. We plan and

develop benchmarks. The hard

part is that you need both business

and technology skills, and there

are all sorts of skills that contri-

bute to the success of a project.

After laying the foundations of a

business, you need someone with

experience, and by experience I

mean the sum of mistakes you’ve

made and will not repeat.”

The impetus that drives Didier is

a desire to take part in innovative

and even disruptive projects. “I like

new things, providing people with

something that’s currently unavai-

lable. That’s why I’ve never been

bored.” But he’s also motivated by

a strong desire for independence

and leadership. “I was basically a

leader and didn’t want anyone tel-

ling me what to do.”

If Didier were to give one piece of

advice to budding young entre-

preneurs, those who have not yet

started a business, he would re-

commend building up strong skills

and also surrounding themselves

with highly skilled staff. And he

would encourage them not to shy

away from opportunities offered

by the economy of the future, des-

pite any crises or doubts. “There

are different generations as well

as different sociocultural and

economic conditions. Each gene-

ration has its own difficulties and

opportunities. In any case, life is

a struggle for every generation. If

we create a business today, it’s be-

cause we have a vision, an idea for

a product or service that we find

fascinating and we want to see how

other people are going to use it.”

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PERSONAL NARRATIVES

“IN 2013, I HAD A SHOP THAT WAS DOING WELL, WITH ABOUT 10 EMPLOYEES AND 20 HOURS OF CLASSES A WEEK.”

DAMIEN MORIN, FOUNDER AND CEO OF SAVE

When asked about his experience, Da-

mien Morin jokingly says, “You know,

at 24, I don’t have that much job ex-

perience.” Though making light of his

situation, reality is another matter.

While Damien graduated from the

European Business School (EBS) less

than a year ago, he already has exten-

sive entrepreneurial experience and

a strong vision for the future of his

company. His 400-employee company

recently raised €15 million in capital.

Yet, when recalling his past, Damien

feels that he’s still doing what he’s

always done – just on a larger, more

ambitious scale. “I’ve always been a

real geek”, he says. “My father was a

computer scientist and I got my first

computer at the age of three. I soon

began doing programming and then

my friends and family sometimes as-

ked me to fix their computer or solve

a problem. So while my friends were

babysitting, I was posting adverts to

fix PCs.”

As president of the Student Union in

his second year, Damien gained real

entrepreneurial experience, which

motivated him to continue down this

path. “It was really like managing

a small business, with a sizeable

budget, project launches, branding,

marketing and the like. When I left

the organization, I created Save My

Computer two weeks later. I did exac-

tly what I was doing before but much

more professionally, with technicians

who could step in for me.”

In February 2013, taking advantage

of the booming smart phone market

while still at business school, Damien

refocused on what he considered a

more promising market. “The smart

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phone market was exploding and

that’s still true today, not to mention

tablets, watches and more. We may

not realize it, but in the future billions

of connected objects will be part of

daily life. We’ve only reached 2% of

potential growth.” And this growth

has already been meteoric. First

doing business in the BtoB sector

(with Altran, PSA Peugeot Citroën and

Total, among others), then exclusively

in BtoC with the creation of retail out-

lets and corners in shopping malls,

Save now boasts more than a hun-

dred points of sale in Europe and is

growing at a rate of over 20% a month.

When asked what drives him, Damien

is not shy about mentioning money

even though he also acknowledges

that “it’s not a good reason to be an

entrepreneur, especially for start-

ups. It’s a risky endeavor that rarely

succeeds”, he says. Instead, he mainly

attributes his entrepreneurial spirit

to a “desire to create”. “My greatest

pride is going to a mall and seeing a

corner that I’ve created. Not having a

boss isn’t really my major motivation.

I could’ve joined Save as an employee

because I would’ve been attracted by

an innovative and stimulating project.”

So is Damien the new Mark Zucker-

berg with a French twist? The com-

parison might not be appropriate for

a young entrepreneur operating in the

“real economy”. “We aren’t like Face-

book, with a million new users joining

every week with just a few clicks. For

us, growth is in the physical world:

we open retail outlets, sign leases,

train employees, deal with logistical,

purchasing issues and so forth.” But

his ambitions rank up there with any

young strivers in Silicon Valley. “We’re

in the process of creating an empire”,

he says without batting an eyelash

when asked about his ambitions. And

he’s convincing enough, so watch this

space in a few years’ time!

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“CREATING A ROLE FOR YOURSELF AND CHANNELING YOUR AMBITION INTO AN ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE ARE WORTH THE WEIGHT OF ALL THE TRAINING AND EX-PERIENCE YOU CAN GET.”

PAULINE GOUZENNE, CO-FOUNDER OF LES FILLES SUR LE PONT


PERSONAL NARRATIVES

After co-managing a roster of cultural

organizations since the early 2000s

– in film production (SMG), maga-

zine publishing (Zurban) and event

planning (Spectaculaire) – Pauline

Gouzenne co-founded Les Filles sur

le Pont in 2013 with Claire Ruszniews-

ki. The business, a limited liability

company (SARL), organizes cultural

activities and events with public and

private players and helps companies

and institutions promote their cultu-

ral projects. “We created Culture au

Quai, a festival that offers 100,000

visitors every year in late September

the full spectrum of cultural attrac-

tions in the Paris region, including

plays, museums, exhibitions, music

and concerts. So as you can see it’s

an event with a really broad reach”,

she says. “We also do programmi-

ng for cultural venues, in particular

Recyclerie, an eco-friendly site that

opened in Porte de Clignancourt in

June. We really try to turn individuals

into responsible and curious citizens,

through cultural and environmental

experiences.”

For Pauline, the first thing on the

agenda when she started a company

to “create my own job”. She wanted to

focus on a career path that she her-

self had chosen based on her prior

experience. “The company I was wor-

king for went bankrupt so I and ano-

ther former employee decided to start

a business to keep the same opera-

tions going. The idea was to maintain

professional continuity and create our

own jobs without having to report to

anyone. Lastly, we wanted to develop

our own business plan; rather than

going to an organization that already

had a plan, we decided to create a one

along with the necessary structure.”

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But she was also driven by the free-

dom of running a business, both in

terms of organizing its activities and

defining responsibilities. “I wanted to

be a manager so I could do my work

as I saw fit and to have the type of

role, profession and team that suited

me best.”

If all goes well, she would eventually

like to expand her business by hiring a

stable employee to help the two foun-

ders and let them further develop the

company’s activities. “The next three

steps will be hiring, hiring and hiring.

Having survived the stage of two foun-

ders and managing to pay our own sa-

laries, we need to grow the business

with someone who can help us with

some of our work and free us up to

work on development.”

She would particularly advise new

entrepreneurs to jump at the oppor-

tunity without waiting too long. “Take

the plunge very early even if it ends in

failure. I myself went through three

bankruptcies, but it’s important to un-

derstand that each so-called failure is

a learning experience. It’s not a failure

to go bust, it’s a risk you took. Crea-

ting a role for yourself and channeling

your ambition into an entrepreneurial

venture are worth the weight of all the

training and experience you can get.”

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NICOLAS BISCHOFF, FINANCIAL ADVISER

IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING A BUSINESS

²


PERSONAL NARRATIVES

In some ways, Nicolas Bischoff’s

career has been unusual, even though

it is similar in certain ways to the

careers of many entrepreneurs. Nico-

las is highly skilled in a specific disci-

pline, mathematics, he specializes in

a certain field, and he discovered bu-

siness as a financial manager, which

instilled the desire for a new start. “I

taught math for 12 or 13 years then

went back to university to study for

another degree, one that would allow

me to specialize in probability. After

graduating, I decided to use my new

skills in finance instead of going back

to teaching, which is why I went to

London. That was in 2005. I worked in

various financial sectors for 10 years,

especially banking and hedge funds.

After spending seven months in Aus-

tralia, I decided to change careers

because I had pretty much learned

everything there was to know about

the financial sector. I wanted to get

involved with something that I could

do on my own, so I thought long and

hard about what I could do. I’m now at

a new stage in my career.”

Nicolas has yet to launch his business

even though he is working hard toward

that goal, while operating as an inde-

pendent financial adviser at the same

time. “I’m about to create the com-

pany, but it doesn’t have a name yet.

It will be based in France and will aim

to offer a full range of services for re-

cycling old petrol- and diesel-fueled

vehicles that are 10-25 years old and

convert them into electric vehicles.

It’s a huge project.”

His goal is to bring innovation to a fast-

growing sector – the green economy –

while offering new ideas and changing

our methods of consumption and our

relationship with sustainable deve-

lopment. “I’m driven by independence

and especially the ability to do so-

mething I believe in. The original idea

“STARTING A BUSINESS IS LIKE SETTING OFF ON A BUS TRIP AND DECIDING YOU’RE GOING TO DRIVE THE BUS.”

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was to use what we have instead of

making new things because the goal

is to be sustainable. But we cannot be

sustainable while we’re polluting and

not protecting the environment. That’s

what it’s all about – approaching the

concept of sustainable development

from a practical perspective. I think

that if this plan sparks enough inte-

rest in France and later in the rest of

Europe, we’ll be able to say that we’ve

shaken up the future of mobility for

good.”

This environmental commitment lies

squarely at the heart of his economic

model, but he also sees it as an obli-

gation toward the people with whom

he hopes to work. “People who agree

to get involved in this bold adventure

will be open to a different way of doing

things and will gain a fresh perspec-

tive. And they will also be more open

to the concept of sustainable develop-

ment.”

To achieve his goal, Nicolas is moving

ahead step by step to bring his ambi-

tion to life – the network and financial

requirements first, not to mention the

practical aspects he considers essen-

tial. “I’m trying to set up a network.

I’m spending a lot of time briefing ac-

quaintances because it will be a huge

project and I’ll need a lot of help. So at

this point, I’m working on sponsorship

and financing. But profitability won’t

be the major challenge. What will

really be important will be the ope-

rating risk, that will be the biggest

challenge by far because it involves

technology.”

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PERSONAL NARRATIVES

“THE REAL TRIGGER WAS FINDING TWO PARTNERS WITH PERFECTLY COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS.”

ALEX SAINT, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF SECRET ESCAPES

Founded in 2010 by Alex Saint, Tom

Valentine and Troy Collins, Secret Es-

capes is an exclusive members-only

travel club based in the United King-

dom. It already operates in over ten

countries and specializes in luxury

travel at highly discounted prices.

The platform has received millions of

dollars in investments and is already

attracting the interest of Web giants

like Google, which this year invested

$60 million in the company.

When asked about the factors that

drove him to entrepreneurship, Alex

answers that it was a desire that

came from deep inside, as if he had an

“entrepreneurship gene”. “Even when

I was little, I knew that I was going to

do something different on my own. I

never dreamed of being a pilot or any

other profession. I just always felt it

and I also saw how my father worked

as an independent professional.”

This background gave Alex the tools

he needed to forge, almost without

trying, a notion of freedom and au-

tonomy that only entrepreneurship

could provide. “I become a little frus-

trated working for other people and

how fast they get things done. En-

trepreneurs tend to be energetic and

much more focused. They tend not to

beat around the bush. There’s also a

very competitive side to it, because

they’re masters of their own fate.”

To his mind, a good idea is not enough

to create a business. It’s especially

important to develop a sales strate-

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gy and have a solid team. “Some

entrepreneurs want to solve a major

problem but that wasn’t really our si-

tuation. We felt that we could create

something very promising, so we

developed a very detailed business

plan and determined all the variables

involved to persuade ourselves that

it would work. The real trigger was

finding two excellent partners who I

had the opportunity to work with, one

specialized in sales and the other in

technology. So we complemented

each other perfectly. To me, that’s as

important as coming up with a good

idea.”

While the team represents a decisive

factor, however, the co-founder of Se-

cret Escapes believes that providing

a real solution to his customers and

suppliers was the key to his success.

“In my opinion, Secret Escapes has

succeeded by doing something truly

valuable for our two target markets:

first, consumers, who save up to 70%

in luxury hotels and second, the ho-

tels themselves, which have learned

that in the end our site is bringing

them more customers.”

Alex views success as a virtuous cir-

cle in which every step of the way is

imbued with a professional mindset,

from idea to execution. “We take an

extremely analytical approach to our

business. We measure, optimize and

test everything… and this ability to

digitally measure all our activities is

critical to Secret Escapes’ success.

We’re trying lots of new services and

improvements and sometimes we

fail, but as they say, if you haven’t

failed, it means you haven’t tried hard

enough.”

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PERSONAL NARRATIVES

“THE IDEA WAS TO MAKE MONEY, OF COURSE.”IYA*, FOUNDER OF AN ONLINE STORE SELLING SCUBA DIVING EQUIPMENT

Nothing in Iya’s background could

have predicted her embrace of entre-

preneurship – far from it. A psycho-

logist by training and profession, she

first worked for an airline in Australia,

only going into online sales of scuba

diving equipment out of passion for

the sport. “My education had nothing

to do with business,” she says. “I’m

basically a psychologist and as soon

as I had a chance to study abroad,

I moved to Australia. In addition to

studying there, I worked for Air Emi-

rates. I liked working there, but I also

practiced scuba diving, a sport I love.

It was a real hobby.”

She experienced a turning point in

her life when she had to leave Aus-

tralia for the United Kingdom to finish

her thesis. In the UK, she met many

scuba diving enthusiasts who told her

how difficult it was to find quality and

highly specialized diving equipment.

“I realized that many divers in the UK

had a hard time finding certain small

accessories, which are easy to find

in Australia. I helped a scuba diving

friend find the equipment he needed

because I knew people in Australia

who sold it. I helped once, then twice,

then three times and after a while,

one of my friends came straight out

and told me I should start my own bu-

siness. So that’s how I got started!”

Iya’s online store, launched while she

was writing her thesis, first developed

by word-of-mouth, which was not

really a problem, because she could

tap into a large network of diving en-

thusiasts interested in her products.

“I didn’t have a business plan or any

well-defined objective. I thought it

was easy to do because I knew where

to find scuba accessories and I also

knew scuba diving fanatics.”

What drove Iya to start a business?

The first priority was paying for her

studies and thesis, but she also

wanted to maintain a connection to

scuba diving, her passion. “The idea

was to make money, of course. I had

just moved to the UK and I was used

to a certain standard of living. When

I worked for Air Emirates in Austra-

lia, I was earning a good salary and I

enjoyed the challenge of starting this

business. It also provided an oppor-

tunity to stay in touch with Australia,

scuba diving and the people I knew

there, while earning money at the

same time.”

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She now has a good job at a univer-

sity and has set aside her business

for the time being but has not aban-

doned it. “After receiving my docto-

rate, I got a great job and my work is

very time-consuming. But my website

still exists. It’s a small site and it’s

been a long time since I’ve been able

to update it, but I still have customers.

Maybe an avid scuba diver will want to

buy it someday. If that doesn’t happen,

I’m just going to put it aside for the fo-

reseeable future because I have a lot

of work right now, much more than I

had a few years ago.”

For Iya, this entrepreneurial venture

has been both a meaningful expe-

rience and an opportunity with future

potential if she ever decides to change

careers and try something new. “This

experience made me realize that

there’s nothing horrible or scary

about doing business, as I tended to

think beforehand. In Australia, I was

focused on my studies, and business

and psychology have nothing in com-

mon. My work as a psychologist for

Air Emirates had nothing to do with

business. This experience showed me

that working for yourself and going

into business could be one option if I

ever want to change careers or I find

myself unemployed.”

(*) The person interviewed wishes to

remain anonymous so she asked us

not to publish her surname.

“I WOULD ADVISE PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONCRETE BUSINESS IDEAS TO START STRAIGHTAWAY BECAUSE WE SOMETIMES CREATE OUR OWN LIMITATIONS.”

LUDMILA STANGL, POWER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES

Before starting a business, Ludmila

first carved out her own niche as a

manager by encouraging her supe-

riors to give her more autonomy and

greater responsibility when carrying

out her assignments. Seeing such

motivation as critical, she believes it

distinguishes the most highly driven

people from others and provides

them with more career opportunities.

“When I graduated from engineering

school, I took a job with a technology

company in Eshborn that has opera-

tions worldwide. I did a lot of training

for this company and often talked to

my colleagues about my experience

and knowledge. I then realized that I

had more to offer this company. I re-

quested a meeting with my boss and

explained to him that I would also

like to develop my own projects. He

showed confidence in me by starting

to give me assignments. Asking ques-

tions and having good ideas is a great

way to advance your career, but if you

never ask questions, you’ll remain

where you are and never get ahead.”

These ambitious goals and desire

for responsibility led Ludmila to qui-

ckly start her own company just a

few years after graduation. “I began

working for myself as a consultant. I

worked alone without a partner. As an

engineer, I had seen the many attrac-

tive opportunities available in Europe.

So I decided to go into technology de-

velopment in Russia. My ideas were

very appealing because 20 years ago

in Russia, research and the develop-

ment of new ideas were at low ebb,

with needs especially acute in the

field of aerodynamics.”

Like many entrepreneurs, she em-

phasizes the key role played by her

network and trusted people like the

partners, employees and customers

she relied on when launching her bu-

siness. “I was fortunate to meet very

open-minded people who I explained

my project to and they were ready to

support and work with me. You need

to have someone who believes in you,

in both your work and private life. If


PERSONAL NARRATIVES

you don’t have confidence in your-

self, your plan will never succeed.

It’s impossible to be completely inde-

pendent because in one way or ano-

ther, we always depend on something

or someone.”

Ludmila believes that strong confi-

dence in yourself and your plan along-

side methodical organization are the

necessary ingredients for a success-

ful start-up. “The important thing is

your plan and your ideas. If you real-

ly throw yourself into your project,

things easily fall into place and there’s

no reason for it not to work. You sim-

ply have to follow certain steps. If you

decide to start a business, you can’t

focus on the difficulties. If you do that,

you’ll fail. If you have a plan in mind,

find the resources you need and put

all your energy into making it work.”

While she acknowledges that women

seeking to become entrepreneurs

face greater difficulty due to family

constraints, she stresses the vital

role they play in the success of orga-

nizations that are less ambitious but

just as important to the economy and

jobs, if not more so. “I’ve noticed that

women behave differently from men.

They can start with a very small bu-

siness that begins slowly until finally

increasing in size, while men imme-

diately borrow €15,000 from the bank.

They think that without borrowing this

money they won’t be able to do any-

thing. I also read an article that said

women create 60% of jobs. Women

create jobs in social and other ser-

vices while big companies don’t ge-

nerate a large number of jobs even

though they make a lot of profit. No

one would be unemployed if big com-

panies created the same number of

jobs as the small businesses run by

women. And a major motivator for

people starting a company is creating

a job for themselves and another per-

son – and that’s already quite an ac-

complishment. It’s important to take

control of your life. We shouldn’t wait

until someone else does it for us.”

“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ENTREPRENEUR AND AN EMPLOYEE IS THAT THE BUCK STOPS WITH YOU.”

PETER*, GOURMET RESTAURANT OWNER

There are a sectors where coming up

with your own plan and setting up the

business come more naturally than

elsewhere. Often, it’s your vocation.

For Peter, it’s always been that way

from the time he began studying hos-

pitality and catering after working in

several administrative jobs. Feeling

this experience was a waste of time,

he wanted to create something more

concrete. “I wanted to work with my

hands and be recognized for what I

was doing my own way on the job”, he

says. “I didn’t want to spend my time

in front of a computer doing work that

everyone else could do.”

After graduating from the program,

he worked at a number of jobs to gain

skills and develop his ideas. “I worked

as an apprentice chef, hotel manager

and twice as a restaurant manager. It

was clear to me each time that the job

was temporary. My goal was to even-

tually open my own restaurant after

getting enough experience to offer

something of high quality without ma-

king too many beginner mistakes.”

His restaurant project finally got off

the ground in 2007. Plans called for

a gourmet-oriented restaurant with

traditional roots with a broad reach.

“My restaurant is pretty conventio-

nal. I make no claim to reinventing

cuisine. I lean toward traditional, very

well prepared dishes and enjoy rein-

troducing people to recipes from their

youth and region, which are not always

well made in other restaurants.”

He began hiring a year later – first

one, then two employees, first in the

dining room, then in the kitchen, but

that wasn’t a goal in itself. “I have no

plans to grow into a large restaurant.

My customers value the simple and

cozy atmosphere, which makes them

feel at home.”


PERSONAL NARRATIVES

What about the risks? “There are

always risks. From the moment you

create your own business, you have

to accept the risks.” But Peter has

always been self-confident, he knows

his profession and he understands

people’s expectations.

What frightens him more than the fu-

ture is being the last recourse if any-

thing goes wrong – a real change from

his previous jobs in the profession.

“The difference between an entre-

preneur and an employee is that the

buck stops with you. There’s no one

to tell you, that it’s better to do it like

that or do it that way. So you manage

the best you can at the beginning and

then when you have problems that oc-

cur on a daily basis once the business

is up to speed, you know how to deal

with them.”

(*) The person interviewed wishes to

remain anonymous so he asked us not

to publish his surname.

“YOU HAVE TO CONSTANTLY KEEP MOVING FORWARD”

HELENA GUSTIN, SELF-EMPLOYED ENTREPRENEUR IN

TRANSLATION, SUBTITLING AND WEBSITE CONTENT WRITING

While Helena Gustin acknowledges

that she had always considered set-

ting up her own business, the begin-

ning of her career did not necessarily

point in that direction. “After getting a

degree in linguistics, translation and

interpretation, I applied for a job as a

communications specialist in the hu-

man resources department of a com-

pany located in Luxembourg”, she

says. “I served as an administrative

assistant to the HR director and wrote

his reports in German. I worked as a

communications specialist for one

year, then took on-the-job training to

specialize in human resources. Over

the following three years, I gradually

worked my way up to a pure HR job.

That was the only experience I’ve ever

had as an employee.”

After having her third child in Ger-

many, a country often criticized for

its dearth of child care options, she

sought a more flexible line of work

that would allow her to organize her

time the way she saw fit and also re-

duce her travel time. So deciding to

work for herself seemed the obvious

choice. “I have very good memories

of the four years I spent working in

the HR department of the company in

Luxembourg. I really felt appreciated

by the company, I loved working on

a team, they had a lot of confidence

in me and to tell you the truth, they

were a bit upset the day I told them

I was leaving. I didn’t quit because I

didn’t like the work but because I had

to commute really far every day and

with a third child, it was no longer fea-

sible. That’s what led to my decision to

create my own business.”


PERSONAL NARRATIVES

With few legal hurdles, a growing

market and customers on tap, it was

relatively simple at first to launch her

business. “In Germany, it’s very easy

to work for yourself, all it takes is five

minutes to set it up. I was enormously

lucky in fact. The same day I sub-

mitted my resignation, I went online,

landed on a French-German transla-

tion portal, applied for an assignment

and immediately got it. On the day I

left the company, I already had two

customers under my belt.”

This success, coupled with a desire

for novelty, encouraged her to offer

new services, including subtitling and

Web content writing, and to seek new

customers, especially abroad. “Over

time I’ve diversified my business, in-

cluding writing content for websites

– when, for example, an e-commerce

company needs to describe each pro-

duct. It’s pretty specific. You have to

use key words that will appear in the

company’s Google listing. And then a

few months ago, I did a subtitling pro-

ject for the TV channel Arte. My ser-

vices are now diversified enough that

I’ve become quite versatile. And I have

as many clients in Dubai as I do in my

own town!”

Gustin finds that while being her own

boss gives her considerable flexi-

bility and the ability to do the things

she likes, it also means daily time

constraints and the need to keep mo-

ving forward. “You have to be very de-

dicated and persistent, you can’t sit

around and daydream, and you have

to constantly keep moving forward. I

feel very comfortable with what I’m

doing, I have assignments in the pipe-

line, I love challenges and I hate rou-

tine – it’s part of my personality and

I’ve always been like that. I feel for-

tunate that I don’t only do translation,

otherwise, I’d get bored. I enjoy diver-

sifying my services.”

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