Back to roots
How it feels after creating a new startup in a new country, without barely speaking the language…
I’m what some people call a “Serial Entrepreneur”. I really don’t like to be called like this because it sounds more like the guy who have tried many times many things without finishing most of them. My very first startup was created in 1996. I was still a student. I did not created it at that time because I had a great idea or because I wanted to change the world. No. I created it because I was scared like hell to join a Fortune500 company and put my future into the hands of someone I didn’t know.
Since then, I’ve sold, merged or closed most of the companies I’ve been involved in... and I’m still helping and supporting daily as much I can 6 of them. I’ve never really failed so far, but I guess I have been lucky enough to always found a decent exit before the company hit the dead pool. The elegant way to do so is to pivot when things are going really bad.
3 months ago, late 2013, I moved to the United States with my family. On top of helping the companies I mentioned earlier, I wanted to develop the business of 2 startups: Appkay and Apicube.
Appkay is the US side of a French company I co-founded in 2011 called Digidust. We basically do Digital Marketing and Mobile Applications, with a highly result-driven mindset. Apicube is operating in the Big Data Analytics field, with the best technologies we have found — such as IBM Social Media Analytics — and the ones we have developed ourselves because we couldn’t find them — such as LiveCatch.
Both companies did great so far. They have nice teams, great clients, powerful business partners, decent revenues, valuable assets, a promising pipeline and an incredible traction in France. But in the US… I’m alone, starting mostly from scratch.
For the first time since I was a student back to school times, I’m like a beginner out of his comfort zone. I have no team — yet — locally and the phone stops ringing when Europe leaves the office. I don’t understand completely how things are going on here, what is important and who’s really who. I’m learning, as fast as I can.
But on the other side, I’ve validated that what we do at Apicube and Appkay can bring value to US clients (it may seem stupid, but this is the kind of questions you ask yourself when you move to another country). I’m lucky enough to have some friends I can trust here, who are trying to help me the best they can to avoid me the “usual newcomers stupid and costly decisions”.
I’m not that young anymore either. It’s a shame I’ve lost some of this kind of no-doubt attitude young startuppers have and I’m unfortunately less foolish than I use to be, but I’m more hungry than ever. I have gave up my invincibility for more wisdom and my personal intuition — the entrepreneurs best friend — is now under steroids. I think it’s far enough to play this game.
Many people often say they would like to be “young again”. Try to move to another country, far from where your roots are, and start again a company from scratch. Doing so, you may find the legendary Fountain of Youth so many people have been looking for… I’m an entrepreneur, very beginner again, twice 20 years old and, honestly, it’s awesome!
PS: This is one of the very first articles I write in English. I did it because I think that publishing this text will help me to learn faster. I know some people — hopefully — will read it. It gives me another good reason to try to improve my writing. Don’t judge me only on my spelling :-)
