Overall, the programme really helped me launch my two start-ups because, in each case, my business partners and I were accepted into the Centrale-Audencia-Ensa business incubator – a unique start-up space in France that links Audencia’s management know-how with expertise in engineering and architecture from Centrale Nantes and Ensa Nantes respectively. Could you tell us some more about your latest venture and how it works? Millions of items are lost every year across 80,000 hotels in Europe and returning these items to their owners has traditionally been a time-consuming and frustrating experience. PeeK’in aims to convert that experience into one of enhanced customer satisfaction. Its software-as-a-service solution allows hotel customers to get their lost property back in just a few clicks, while simultaneously helping hospitality professionals to better manage their internal lost and found processes. My business partner and I brought our expertise in supply chain management and e-commerce to the development of a web application with our first hotelier customers. Together, we created a complete solution that encompasses everything from packaging and delivery to customer support services. How has PeeK’in grown since its launch and what are your plans for its further expansion in the next two to three years? After developing its minimum viable product (MVP) with three hotels towards the end of 2017, PeeK’in validated its proof of
Yves Rocher, I launched my first start-up in the wine industry with two business partners, taking on the role of co-founder and chief operating o cer. With the aim of o ering the perfect wine served by the glass, our disruptive innovation enterprise dVine was born in 2012. I spent the next five years developing a hardware invention, at first on the international B2C market and then the B2B market (specifically, the hospitality and food & beverage industries) following a pivot in strategy. I then sold part of my shares to our investors to launch a new start-up in the software-as-a-service area as CEO with another business partner as chief technology o cer. PeeK’in was born with the objective of helping hospitality professionals convert their lost and found items into customer satisfaction by providing and facilitating a process for their return. Congratulations on winning the AMBA MBA Entrepreneur of the Year award. How did it feel to win and has it made any impact on your career so far? Being an entrepreneur is a long-term a air, with ups and downs akin to an emotional and physical roller coaster. Receiving recognition from professionals and top organisations is great for keeping your motivation high and sending positive vibes to the people around you, especially your family and team members. What motivated you to do an MBA and why did you choose to do it at Audencia Business School? I always knew I would like to start my own business and, after completing my studies in engineering, I planned to undertake a complementary programme, such as an MBA, to complete my background for pursuing the path of entrepreneurship. Audencia has a good ranking and its international full-time MBA had just entered its third year with a great faculty and an integrated entrepreneurship module, as well as a class size of 15 students representing eight di erent cultures, something that suited me perfectly. The final decision to move with my family to Nantes and focus for a full year on the MBA was made after meeting with Audencia’s dean and faculty members. What was your favourite part of the programme? The intercultural management experience acquired by working with eight di erent nationalities in small groups was a clear favourite. First-class economics and marketing courses delivered by professors attached to institutions in the US and Netherlands also stood out. How has what you have learnt during your MBA helped you in your subsequent career and entrepreneurial projects? The MBA gave me a 360-degree perspective on the world and a complete set of skills that has allowed me to better analyse our complex world. It also brought me into contact with a stronger alumni network than I had from my previous studies of engineering.
40 | Ambition DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024
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