A Talk on Entrepreneurship
Wednesday evening, February 8, 2017, Jean-Marc Nourel spoke to AUP students on the subjects of start-ups in Paris and the trails and tips for succeeding (and failing) in the business world. Nourel has worked with only 32 years of life, but he has an in-depth knowledge of the tech and start-up world in Paris, France. Working with companies such as Mangopay, LeetchiPay, and his own company Eduklab. Nourel was able to give great tips on getting into the entrepreneurial spirit and how to dive into the creative world of start-ups.
“Picking your co-founder is more important than picking your spouse.”
Spending 8 years in the tech industry before venturing off into the startup world, Nourel spent eight years in the tech industry before venturing off into the startup world by following his passion for money sharing platforms. Nourel created the website Eduklab with two friends. This online business endeavor started for French students and expanded into Belgium. After two years of working on this project, Nourel decided to adapt his idea to work with Mangopay on the student funding portion where he is today.
Jean- Marc Nourel was invited to speak at AUP by Professor Meaghan Scott to address the start-up world in Paris and to give entrepreneurial advice to students. Nourel started off the evening engaging the audience by asking everyone to state their first name and one word which describes them. The creative activity was admired by students and staff and gave everyone a voice in the event. The room was filled with people from all aspects of life, whether they were really interested in entrepreneurship or whether they had some ideas floating around in their minds. The talk was full of interesting stories, laughter, and an involved audience. Nourel was very open to questions from students which helped shape the talking points he came to.
Take Away
“(In France) The first startup investor is welfare.”
The entrepreneurial world was well explained by Nourel due to his experience and personalized stories. Confidence and being easily connected with others seemed to be the main advice Nourel gave to students. When asked about the most important aspect of entrepreneurs Nourel responded, “you don’t have to fear failure.” From experience, Jean-Marc spoke about the CEO of LeetchiPay and how she came up with an idea from a personal problem she had - now it is handling $400 billion annually through money pooling platforms. LeetchiPay is an online resource aimed to help promote money collections from many sources for one or thought. An example, a friend is having a birthday and everyone wants to pitch in some money, they all have a link and put in as much or little as they desire. The real life examples introduced with advice gave a solid platform to the validity of Nourel's ideas.
The hour session ended with each person saying one sentence on a business idea they are working on or a class project that has to do with entrepreneurship. The talk ended on a really good note as students left feeling well informed. Many student's stayed thanked Nourel for his time and advice, and stayed after to ask business advice from the established entrepreneur.
“ When you have an idea, you have to be confident in it. If you aren’t confident, become confident in finding how to adapt your project into something you are proud of.”
