The entrepreneur: myth and reality

From the African women living in the townships of South Africa to the graduates of the best schools I've been lucky enough to work with, I've only been able to observe the diversity without finding a real common thread, a personality, an 'X factor' that would lead individuals to be more or better entrepreneurs.

I've met successful entrepreneurs who, as far as I could tell, were no more cultured, creative, handsome or charismatic than the average person, and sometimes even more boring! Far from the clichés we see or imagine! But also so many incredible people! So we can all be entrepreneurs and succeed! Be an entrepreneur of your garden, your property project, your career, your life and also your business. Entrepreneurship is what made us set sail, reach for the stars and often bring out the best in ourselves. The recent craze in France for entrepreneurship is accompanied by a whole host of commonplaces and preconceived ideas. Many people, including coaches and other investors, express certainties about what they absolutely must do or have done to succeed. We would all like to be able to identify the combination of factors that guarantee the success of a business project! But what if the exception was the rule?

Let's compare the myths of entrepreneurship with reality. A reality that is more composite than it seems. Let's take a look at 4 preconceived ideas about entrepreneurial success by meeting some of the entrepreneurs supported by EDHEC Entrepreneurs.

#Mythe n°1 : The entrepreneur must be a man

When asked "Name an entrepreneur", who wouldn't naturally answer "Bill Gates", "Mark Zuckenberg", "Richard Brandson" or "Steve Jobs"? Admittedly, the lack of inclusive language used to ask the question and the spontaneous popularity of these personalities suggest stereotypical answers, but we must recognise that the image of entrepreneurship is very often associated with its male figures. But do these figures reflect the whole of reality? Would it be impossible for a woman, or even a mother, to be a successful entrepreneur? At EDHEC Business School, we incubate and support many female entrepreneurs. Some of them are true models of success. Béatrice de Montille, the founder of Merci Maman, set up her business in London, where she received the prestigious Queen's Award from the Queen. This mother of 4 is now developing her business internationally. Similarly, Jinli Bely had her second child during Senya International's second year, but this had no impact on the company, which was growing rapidly at the time.

Some will recognise the courage and merit of Béatrice and Jinli, and they will be right! But what if the choice to "give birth" to and manage a business project was more "natural" than they say? And what if entrepreneurship was more in line with the aspirations of younger generations of women? Some studies seem to support this view. A survey published in 2017 by OpinionWay found that 51% of women aged 25-30 said they were ready to take the plunge. And unlike their elders, these younger generations no longer hesitate to be accompanied. So, ladies, go for it!

Listen to Béatrice de Montille's testimonial, Thank you Mom

#Mythe n°2 : The entrepreneur must form a partnership

In some funding circles, you don't get an entrepreneur alone. But associations are like marriages! One in two fails in the first five years... I met two childhood friends who, on the strength of a friendship spanning more than 20 years, joined forces on the basis of a real complementarity of skills. Two years later, the company had sounded the death knell for their relationship. On the other hand, EDHEC Business School has witnessed some wonderful partnerships, such as that of Hugo Salé de Chou and Constantin Wolfrom, founders of Pumpkin. 

It's not a question of going it alone or riding together. The choice should be based on the individual's skills, his relationship with others at work, his need for individual recognition, his objectives, his motivating factors and his values.

Listen to Hugo Salé de Chou and Constantin Wolfrom's testimonial, Pumpkin

#Mythe n°3 : The entrepreneur must have some initial professional experience

"Don't start out without professional experience! This is another cliché that can easily be attributed to a culture, not to say a cult, of the French 'CV'. Let's be clear, the aim is not to exclude the development of knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills from the process by focusing exclusively on the very trendy "soft skills". It's a question of challenging prior experience as a compulsory 'rite of passage' to get through the other stages.

Nicolas Drouault and Grégoire de Scorbiac set up Canard Street immediately after graduating from their MSc in Entrepreneurship. Today, their restaurants are the delight of Lille residents wandering around the Halles de Wazemmes and Rue de Béthune.  With their EDHEC degrees in hand and no knowledge or experience of the sector, the two entrepreneurs have managed to avoid the pitfalls of beginners. They plan to open a new establishment in Paris in 2019. They won the national Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield competition, the Grand Prix des Jeunes Créateurs du Commerce.

Listen to Nicolas Drouault and Grégoire de Scorbiac's testimonial, Canard Street

#Mythe n°4 : The entrepreneur must have solid equity capital

Money is the lifeblood of any business project. But is this specific to setting up a business? Of course, a project matures over time, and during that time you have to survive and pay your bills. You can't live on entrepreneurship and fresh water! It's worth noting that the Pôle emploi scheme, which allows you to set up your own business and receive unemployment benefit for two years, is a driving force behind business start-ups in France. But it is possible to set up a business at 0 cost! 

The three co-founders of the Yuca mobile application have not invested any personal money in the company, which is nevertheless one of the top five most downloaded applications in France.

Listen to Julie Chapon's testimonial, Yuka

In the MSc in Entrepreneurship and the incubator that I run at EDHEC, we do everything we can to provide all our students and graduates who join our programmes with the tools they need to avoid the pitfalls of entrepreneurship, but I wouldn't dare play the Cassandra by predicting who will have an extraordinary destiny. Personality, social background, gender, resources and environment can all play a part in smoothing the path to success, but fortunately success is not discriminatory. And that's undoubtedly what I find so positive and, in a way, so reassuring!