WHEN FRED MAZZELLA studied at Stanford, it was 1999 and startups were popping up all over Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs were dropping out of class to join the tech bubble frenzy. Or risking it to create their own companies. Fred was inspired by their strong willingness to try, fail, learn and succeed. It was here when he realised that becoming an entrepreneur could be part of his future.
In fact, Fred was brimming with ideas. He explored the possibility of installing in-office UV tanning screens, which would allow employees to tan while working. After learning that airplane tires wear out quickly after spinning from zero to hundreds of mph in a fraction of a second when a plane lands, he investigated the addition of a propeller on the tires to make them spin before landing — and thus expand their lifespan. He built a platform for customers to share their letters of complaint to brands. He spent countless hours developing a Sudoku-like game called Honeybee. He dabbled in horse bets, running algorithms to predict the result of horses. And together with friends, he started BusyParis, a platform where expats in Paris could rent apartments. For some ideas, patents were submitted. For others, they were put aside. Being pragmatic and tough on ideas helped immensely. If it doesn’t work, it’s time to move on.
But when the right idea falls, it should inspire enough passion to commit all of life’s energy to.
That’s exactly what happened when the idea of BlaBlaCar was born in 2003. Together with co-founders, Francis Nappez and Nicolas Brusson, whom Fred met a few years later on his journey, the trio built a new global people-powered travel network. Like any startup, it wasn’t easy from the get-go. It still isn’t. Whether it’s a new product feature or a marketing campaign rollout, trial and error is key. Identifying mistakes, sharing learnings from them, and moving forward without duplicating them is what progress is all about.
And that’s the premise behind one of BlaBlaCar’s core values “Fail. Learn. Succeed.”
Failure leads to invaluable learnings
Fred once asked his MBA professor at INSEAD Business School whether it was possible to avoid having a business model and to simply provide the carpooling service for free. He instantly replied:
Harsh words, but it was the motivation that was needed to start exploring other options and to begin taking risks. Looking for a sound business model that would allow the creation of a sustainable economic path while creating value for members of the community ended up taking five years. Five years in which the team opened itself up for failure, tested six various business models, and gained invaluable learnings along the way.
