"I was a slow startupper and I didn't know it (and this will enable me to overcome the crisis) ", by Arnaud Rochette (EDHEC BBA 2008)

Arnaud Rochette (EDHEC EDHEC BBA 2008), cofounder & CEO of Keepin, also administrator of the EDHEC Alumni Board, has recently posted on the EDHEC Alumni official group on LinkedIn to share his experience of entrepreneurship and what he has learnt from it to shape the future of the current health crisis.

"Before I begin, I recently found a definition that appeals to me:

“Slow entrepreneurs lead their business with a long-term strategy that respects its environment, its staff and its societal responsibility.”

One might have thought that the words “start-up” and “slow” were incompatible, and yet...

As soon as I entered the job market, I was conditioned to live through times of crisis. I found my first job just two months after the fall of Lehman Brothers. But I was too young for the previous crisis, the dot-com bubble!

So how did I discover that I was a slow entrepreneur?

Four keywords: money, agility, clients, respect.

1. The money race

• Fundraising

The race to raise funds never appealed to me. It seems that in our collective imagination, as soon as the word start-up is mentioned there is talk of fundraising. But it is not a mandatory step; everything depends on your business. If you need capital to occupy a leading place on the global market, then okay. But as long as you don’t have any exciting metrics to show business angels and investment funds, there’s no point wasting your time. There was a time when I tried but I was very quickly discouraged. The time-to-market was never right, either too soon or too late, my business plan changed from one week to the next, or it took forever to get a response, and so on.

Nowadays you will face an even less favourable financing timeframe, except those who can weather the storm and gain market shares. Now every entrepreneur must focus on long-term profitability.

• Remuneration

This slow model also requires another approach to remuneration, especially for business founders. Entrepreneurs must be willing to accept no remuneration for very long periods, which will put many off. You need to be aware of this and find an external source of revenue (unemployment, intellectual or physical services). For my part, for years I found revenue by taking on missions in events management and now by offering digital web services. And I won’t be relying on the unprecedented financial aid being rolled out by the State since I have a knack for never quite meeting the criteria!

• Debt

In a climate in which almost 9 out of 10 start-ups go bankrupt within 5 years, taking on personal debt may seem like a crazy gamble. And it is! But it’s a way to prove to my partners (banks, associates, clients, staff, suppliers) that I really believe in my ability and the company’s potential.

2. Agility

• Business model

“It is neither the strongest nor the most intelligent that survives, but the one that is most adaptable to change.” (Charles Darwin)

This crisis is revealing that it is the biggest firms who will suffer the most. Even with cash flow and financial clout way beyond those of SMEs and start-ups, it will be more difficult for them to cope.

And what about the fantasy that we are seeing globalisation collapse? We are realising that it is possible to sell locally on the French and European markets! Better to be master on one’s own doorstep before trying to conquer the rest of the world (or not).

• No employees

At the moment, my greatest strength is that I have no employees. I can hear the trade unionists gritting their teeth. My business activities have not yet given me the certainty I would need to hire full-time staff. So far my team has seen people come and go, short missions, quick turnarounds, etc. I haven’t had the choice but to work with freelancers (or interns). What’s more, my team didn’t wait for the crisis to discover teleworking and other digital tools.

• Cash burn

Flexible team, flexible office, light on furniture (one chair + one desk), one fibre optic router = easy-to-manage costs. Benefiting from such a small structure, start-ups like mine are better positioned to stand out in their response to the new rules of the future. In other words, I’m tougher than a firm that had no choice but to ease up.

For when you can get by on little, you can weather the storm with a small umbrella. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), start-ups that post strong growth gradually lose this agility.

The primary cause for the demise of a start-up is a lack of cash. So the lower your operating expenses, the harder you are to beat.

3. Know your clients

• Spend some time with them

Some analysts say that less time will be spent on prospection on the ground, that physical encounters will have to be limited. I’m not so sure. Because if you want to build up reciprocal trust and kickstart a good relationship, it is essential to share some time together in a physical context. Of course you can maximize your time with videoconferencing, videos and phone calls, but it remains vital to spend time with your clients. It’s priceless.

• Identifying needs together

Many of us have realised that we used to overlook our clients’ real needs. Or worse: that they actually had different needs altogether! You’re not the client, but you can put yourself in their shoes to try and understand them. And nothing’s stopping you from doing some tests. Nowadays it costs nothing to test - analyse - iterate - understand and it’s very easy to put in place.

• Secure their loyalty in the long term

Perhaps this notion was glossed over somewhat in lectures, but a client whose loyalty is secured in the long term offers much more than X prospective clients you decide to solicit. I’m not going to cite all the studies that have proven this (although it’s worth reading up on this topic), but it’s foolhardy to overlook this essential factor in the success of your business.

4. Respect

• For staff

Many companies have thankfully been able to maintain some of their activities by working remotely. Of course output is a different story (we’ll have to wait for Insee to publish its studies to confirm this in France). Allow me to suggest a new organizational approach: if you divide your working hours in two, one half for output – high level of concentration, no alerts/emails/phone calls – and the other for teamwork – creativity, workshops, discussions, brainstorming – you will realise that it’s possible to work efficiently without doing long hours. In the future, the guy who leaves his office at 6:30 or 7pm will be the one to lose out.

• For the environment

This one goes without saying, but oh how difficult it is to change (nasty habits)! In the future no business will have any credibility without genuine respect for the environment. Everyone’s strategy will necessarily have to be linked to this cause. And if it doesn’t come from you, then your clients will remind you.

• Post-COVID-19 society

Many of us hope to see changes. Unfortunately humans have an annoying habit of quickly forgetting. Is this collective trauma significant enough to push our society in the right direction? Is it time to put pressure (whatever the cost) on our Chinese, American, Indian (etc.) friends to produce with the lowest possible negative impact on the environment and our species?

So is the slow start-up entrepreneur the model for the future?

To sum up, a slow entrepreneur is one who doesn’t chase after investors’ money but instead that of his clients, who understands what they want, has an agile and flexible structure and profound respect for humans and the environment.

The slow entrepreneur’s objective is to last and contribute to progress without causing destruction.

I would love to read your opinions on the issues raised. Dont hesitate to contact me on LinkedIn for discussion."

Arnaud Rochette

More about Keepin : www.keepin.fr.