Champions journey - The Entrepreneur with Unyielding Resolve
After studying at Sciences Po and beginning her career spanning Latin America and Europe, Erell Tassin settled within the EDHEC Entrepreneurs incubator network at Station F to develop My Fenix, the startup she co-founded. Balancing her life as an entrepreneur and her fight to empower women to "take their share of the pie," Erell Tassin unveils her daily life as an entrepreneur with unwavering determination.
If a high-level athlete and an entrepreneur each navigate their own 110m hurdles, both are participating in much more than a race to success. Our special series "Champions Journey" celebrates those who dare to dream and create with passion, discipline, resilience, and determination. Discover these champions who are shaping the future and are part of our EDHEC Entrepreneurs community!
All Roads Lead to Entrepreneurship
At first glance, nothing destined Erell Tassin to become an entrepreneur. From her family environment to her higher education, the startup culture was never part of her daily life. However, upon joining Sciences Po with the goal of "making an impact on the world by studying major societal issues through political, economic, and social lenses," she integrated her school's incubator.
With a small group of students, she ventured to Silicon Valley to explore the success stories of the American entrepreneurial ecosystem such as Google and Facebook. This initial experience "pushed me towards startups and innovation," yet did not immediately give her the impetus to launch her own venture. "I didn't feel legitimate to start my own company, and I don't think these studies naturally pushed me in that direction either."
Although she felt lacking in confidence and experience to start her own venture upon graduation, Erell did not stray far from this ecosystem. With her diploma in hand, she began her career in Latin America as a Venture Capital Analyst at ENGIE before moving to the startup studio where she contributed to creating startups for the group. While the startup studio presented challenging and rewarding aspects by launching multiple projects, Erell's desire to have a project of her own led her to co-found My Fenix after an initial startup project fell through. "The turning point was when I realized there was an unmet need that I wanted to solve on my own terms and with more freedom." Like a high-level athlete, an entrepreneur draws motivation and drive from an ambitious vision. They commit to realizing this vision by embracing and overcoming each challenge.
My Fenix, Empowering Women through Investment
Through My Fenix, Erell Tassin and her co-founders Caio Zeidler and Virginie Cornu aim to democratize access to the financial sector for women and support them in investing. To achieve this, they offer an educational program focused on highlighting female role models in finance. "We realized there was an issue of representation and that one of the primary barriers to women's investment was their more limited financial education compared to men."
These educational disparities appear early in life. Therefore, My Fenix aims to raise awareness among women about their biases and limiting beliefs regarding investment. However, they ensure not to add an additional burden to their already busy schedules! Erell and her team develop 2-minute daily modules to (re)learn personal finance from basics to more advanced investment topics. My Fenix's next goal is to create investment portfolios aligned with users' values and returns!
Beyond developing My Fenix, Erell Tassin is also a committed advocate for empowering women in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: "Women are just as ambitious as men in starting businesses and raising funds, but the predominantly male VC ecosystem poses a challenge where they are more scrutinized on the business model than men."
This commitment allowed My Fenix to be selected for the "100 Startups to Invest in 2024" Challenge and Erell to join the prestigious program for 101 women entrepreneurs. It was a unique opportunity to pitch My Fenix in front of Gabriel Attal and Aurore Berger, whereas "when I joined Sciences Po, I never thought I'd end up at Matignon this way."
Achieving Victory, a Team Effort
While Erell appears to wear a perpetual smile, she also admits to constantly building her self-confidence. "When we were called for the Challenge selection, I thought, they must have made a mistake, this can't be real. I always need to work on this self-confidence." To face this and maintain a champion's temperament, Erell draws inspiration from her surroundings, particularly strong men and women like Laura Lesueur on empowerment and feminine audacity.
Erell's strength also lies in her ability to identify her strengths and surround herself accordingly: "One day an investor told me: it's better to focus on your strengths and improve them rather than trying hard to work on your weaknesses." She applied this advice by building a complementary team of which she is very proud: "I would be nothing without my team."
Entrepreneurs and athletes strive to maximize their chances of success by capitalizing on their strengths and addressing their weaknesses to achieve their long-term goals. Surrounding oneself with the right people to complement skills becomes crucial.
"What I love about entrepreneurship is the opportunity to constantly step out of your comfort zone and learn every day. There's nothing worse than a job where you're not learning. I don't think there's a better school than entrepreneurship to develop skills and be hands-on. It's a great playground!"
"There Are No Failures Until You Stop Trying"
After an unsuccessful first startup attempt, this hidden surfer could have stopped there. However, her resilience would take her further. "We see champions winning in the end, but no one sees all the failures they had to endure to get there." Yes, she would have liked to start earlier, perhaps using her permanent job to start and gain time on her project. She could have given up because "entrepreneurship is not easy every day," but at the end of the tunnel, there was a project and a vision in which she firmly believed!
"We need to redefine what failure is. Failure to me is not loving what you do, being stuck in a job you don't enjoy, not knowing why you get up in the morning... I haven't failed yet because I haven't said my last word!"
Ultimately, Erell Tassin represents that champion who, faced with challenges, does not give up and surrounds herself with the best to carry her vision and projects to the summit. Capitalizing on a mindset worthy of the greatest athletes, she balances her professional and personal life through discipline and rigor, enabling her to see her ideas through and have the impact she has always dreamed of.
Like athletes training daily, regardless of conditions, to achieve their long-term goals, entrepreneurs must regularly work on their vision. Daily discipline and perseverance are the pillars of success. Each day, the entrepreneur refines their vision, develops their skills, and overcomes challenges, much like an athlete would to improve their performance. By integrating this rigor and determination into their routine, entrepreneurs can hope to not only achieve their goals but also excel and innovate in their field.
One thing is certain: Erell is not about to stop anytime soon!
