Alexandre Vignon (EDHEC Master 1996) is associate director of SMARTCHAIN, a consultancy firm that specialises in blockchain technologies. In anticipation of the economic impact of COVID-19, he decided to develop a quick and secure solution free of charge to help relaunch the economy, in particular the customer–trader relationship. And so BOOST was born!
Tell us about yourself
My name is Alexandre Vignon, I graduated from EDHEC (Grande École) in 1996 having majored in marketing.
I’ve worked on many international projects in the mass market and retailing. I’ve also served as a top executive in both major firms and SMEs (CAC 40, family shareholdings and cooperatives).
I accompany shareholders as they transform or boost the growth of their business; in particular I offer out-of-the-box thinking that enables them to advance their value proposal and sometimes their business model so they can meet the expectations of their future customers.
I discovered the world of blockchains a year ago, and one of my roles is to establish a bridge between that world and customers, making sure that this revolution – even more powerful than the rise of the internet – is quickly taken up by French companies.
Tell us briefly how your project came about
For a client that specialized in digital payments, we developed an electronic portfolio that can be used to pay with crypto currency in physical stores using a blockchain technology. It was the first of its kind in France and gave us a chance to meet with a wide range of stakeholders from consultancy, retailing and payment services and also contribute to the blockchain taskforce set up by the French Ministry of the Economy.
This solution is due to be launched in April and will help many already weakened businesses (such as textile firms) operate more dynamically. The lockdown has delayed the launch, and so I came up with the idea to redirect this project so the technology could be made available to all as quickly as possible to help transfer purchasing power from donors to chosen traders via consumers who receive donations in the crypto currency Boost (1 Boost = 1 Euro).
Tell us about your business
SMARTCHAIN, a blockchain research centre, was looking to restructure and develop. I suggested a more client-focused direction and so SMARTCHAIN became a consultancy firm; we also recruited staff with more of a marketing background and structured the company around markets and uses with a customer focus (B2B and B2C), which is essential to the success of blockchains, a technology that is absolutely ingenious but very abstract. We also benefited from the Station F business accelerator through EDHEC.
The product: We are creating tailored products in a wide range of industries (pharmaceuticals, fashion, agriculture, retailing, luxury, customer feedback, relationship marketing).
We are currently developing an incentive and reward platform that companies will be able to use as a BaaS (“Blockchain as a Service”). It is mainly intended for brands and will allow them to create a digital currency which their customers can receive and exchange with other customers, while brands will be able to reward their customers and run targeted geographic marketing campaigns by rendering certain behaviours automatic through connected objects, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology (smart contracts and digital assets). Gamification is amplified by this technology and makes it possible to transform a loyalty-based link that is purely transactional into a robust relationship. This is done by rewarding customers’ behaviour.
With this solution, customers are more than a reflection of how they spend, but also of what they are and what they do. They can take back control of their data and even decide to “monetize” it. Loyalty is no longer an issue that only concerns the brand and the customer: on the contrary, we are opening up links to establish communities that will benefit all of the customers and all of the brands willing to participate. A blockchain is not just a technological tool to keep doing what was already being done, only better; it is causing a paradigm shift.
The market: initially we’re targeting BtoC brands and retailers (all products and services at all levels). It goes without saying that other sectors can also be included (we have been contacted by firms in gaming, agriculture and the textile supply chain).
Staff: 6 team members with complementary backgrounds: engineering, mathematics, economics, digital marketing, strategy and research.
Originality: the SMARTCHAIN teams manage various public blockchains, which is relatively unusual. We are also mainly positioned on markets outside of banking, whereas most blockchain projects are linked to the banking sector.
What is your initial assessment of this entrepreneurial adventure?
It’s actually easier nowadays to get into entrepreneurship than to turn around an existing firm. Our entrepreneurial project has been met with great enthusiasm and we are delighted to be able to share our passion both for business and for what blockchain technologies can offer it. This passion we share is a real asset and allows us to stand out from the competition.
What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?
Don’t try to invent a product or service, everything already exists here or elsewhere, that’s something my years spent globetrotting have taught me. However, always be passionate and do things better and faster than others. Quickly test your project out on the market and get your business up and running. Don’t look for investors but customers instead! Then improve, refine and redirect the project if necessary, stay focused but don’t persevere if the market isn’t there or dries up. Know when to change direction if you’re not on the right path. That’s the difficulty a lot of entrepreneurs will face (start-ups or not) in the years to come, when a lot of things are set to change.
What’s next for your project?
Over the summer we hope to launch an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) with a retailing brand and then upscale in the autumn. We also plan to recruit; candidates from EDHEC are of course welcome!
What are your expectations from the Alumni community?
I would like to help others from EDHEC in the way they approach blockchains, and if we end up working on successful projects together, all the better! I am among those Alumni who prioritise collaboration with others from EDHEC whenever possible. So please tell other Alumni around you that there is blockchain expertise within the community ready to be shared to ensure EDHEC and its Alumni remain at the cutting edge of innovation!
Comments0
Please log in to see or add a comment
Suggested Articles
