DomoDomo@INSEAD

Of expected unexpected opportunities

Today I had an interesting experience.
A think-tank on French Enterprise and Entrepreneurship came to School, to collect perceptions of INSEAD students who have lived abroad and worked in French companies on some key questions:
- How do we see French Companies?
- How do we define our Dream Companies?
- What would make us work or start a company in France?

Of course, answers will be compiled in the think-tank, and of course that will be used to give orientations for the French Government. Indeed, this has been a recurring message: France is losing its entrepreneurial spirit, young Frenchmen are leaving the country to grab opportunities elsewhere.

I think the interviewer found it funny it when I suggested that I would not mind launching businesses in France because of the differentiation INSEAD has brought in terms of entrepreneurial skills, that entrepreneurship was some sort of niche (a niche?! wow great French oddity)... We then discussed about the Dream company, that whilst I was speaking about High growth, audacious, entrepreneurial, people-minded, most of ESSEC B-School students he had met spoke about Social Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship... Generational gap or the Talk of Experience?

To finish, and that sums up a lot of INSEAD MBA opportunities, we exchanged on our similar experiences, and found out we could do business together... We agreed to meet in Paris and discuss further on the opportunity.

Lessons learnt: you never know what opportunity will show up. So meet as many people as you can, and go to as many events...

Cheers

Labels: INSEAD S/W, Private

posted by DomoDomo@INSEAD @ 10:21 PM