Champions journey - The combative entrepreneur
Graduating from ISEG Bordeaux, Aurélien Gabdou Baroa's journey began on the basketball court. His passion for the sport never wavered, leading him to found Ball’N Connect in 2020, a startup nurtured by the EDHEC Entrepreneurs incubator network. Amidst his busy schedule, Gabdou shares his secret recipe for success, no matter the starting point.
Whether aiming for a basket or a funding round, basketball players and entrepreneurs alike seek that decisive assist. Our series “Champions journey” celebrates those who dare to dream and create with passion, discipline, resilience, and determination. Meet these champions shaping the future and forming our EDHEC Entrepreneurs community!
A life tournament
Originally from Laval in the Pays de la Loire, Aurélien Gabdou Baroa grew up in a challenging family environment but thrived on the basketball court. He saw sports as “a means of emancipation and facing [his] difficulties.” Initially a leisure activity shared with friends, basketball quickly became central to his daily life after meeting a club president who invited him to join his teams.
From Laval to Bordeaux, where Aurélien moved for his studies, he nurtured his passion while staying grounded: “I played at a very high level, reaching the French Championships, but at some point, you have to be aware of your level.” Maintaining his determination and competitive spirit, Aurélien pursued a sales career with major companies. “Sports gave me structure, rigor, and positive values that greatly helped me perform professionally.”
Despite not initially dreaming of entrepreneurship, his interest in the sport led him to co-found the “Bang On Your Chest” tournament in Bordeaux to help newcomers continue playing. “We didn't talk about entrepreneurship back then because for us, it was just a solution to the fact that there were many players but no offerings.” This tournament, however, marked the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey and the birth of Ball’N Connect.
Ball’N Connect, creating social bonds
Frequent relocations to Bordeaux and then Nantes exposed Aurélien to the problem of limited opportunities for players in a new city. Moving to Paris was the catalyst: “Leaving Nantes, I again lost my basketball community, and I thought there might be an app to unite the basketball community wherever they are.” Thus, Ball’N Connect was born!
With the ambition to become the world’s largest digital basketball club, Ball’N Connect is an app that allows users to geolocate courts and organize games with nearby players. “The idea was to create a phygital experience by providing technological and digital tools to support physical practice and extend the app into reality.”
Beyond promoting sports, Aurélien aims for Ball’N Connect to be a vector of social inclusion and integration. “Sports is an expression that puts everyone on the same level, where lying is impossible, and luxury watches don’t matter.” The mission of Ball’N Connect is to connect individuals from diverse social backgrounds.
Emphasizing the meritocratic aspect of sports, Aurélien also focuses on women’s visibility in the sport. To help “Ladies Boss” become the playground bosses, the startup organizes around fifty mixed or specific events annually, bringing together over 50,000 users in its community and reducing potential discrimination.
“Trust the process”
Whether on the playground or in entrepreneurship, Aurélien defines himself by his unwavering optimism and sharp competitive spirit, “more against oneself than others, with a desire for personal development and success.” The discipline from sports helped him develop rigor and positive values, driving him to give his all to achieve and surpass his goals.
However, he believes in self-reflection and critical assessment but warns against self-flagellation: “Self-criticism is good, but self-flagellation is not. It’s important to keep things in perspective, have a positive internal dialogue, and be kind to oneself.” Faced with obstacles and failures, Aurélien advocates for self-compassion and tolerance. “Trust the process means if it’s not today, but you keep pushing, it will be tomorrow!”
“Participating in 'Who Wants to Be My Partner?' is a great experience, but you have to prepare like for a sport! It’s a human adventure where you need a champion mindset because you meet the goats of entrepreneurship you might not meet otherwise. I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved and how I’ve grown from my initial situation. Meeting such people is a true victory and very encouraging for the future!”
Continuous learning: a path to victory
Beyond sheer effort to achieve victory, Aurélien believes that “failures are part of the process” and with self-reflection, they offer valuable lessons on how we react. “In France, we’re in a culture that doesn’t admit failure, but it’s better to embrace it to grow.”
He aims to share these lessons widely, with transmission being as fundamental as learning itself. Aurélien frequently speaks to students, emphasizing the “test & learn” notion crucial for performance.
"Whether you're an athlete or an entrepreneur, you can't perform all at once; there's this notion of 'test & learn.' To be successful, you need to be in continuous improvement."
In the end, Aurélien Gabdou is a champion in continuous learning who embraces failure to grow. If an entrepreneur is a life athlete and a daily champion, the founder of Ball’N Connect strives to keep this performance logic in mind, believing that resilience and determination will eventually lead to success. Dribbling both on the court and in business negotiations, Aurélien is well on his way to making his decisive assist.
