Crisis are too important to be wasted

Pour ceux qui préfèrent lire en fran?ais : https://flythenest.io/olivier-celui-qui-ne-voulait-pas-gacher-la-crise/

From the early days of the crisis we are currently experiencing, I was struck by the varied reactions of the French entrepreneurial ecosystem. Financial opportunism, healthcare panic, disenchantment with a fragile growth model… I heard all kinds of contradictory statements about “the world after”, sometimes from the same person in the space of a few minutes. Rather than listen to false prophets or specialists in full ego drive, I searched for an entrepreneur in the field who could offer me some hindsight and reasoning.

I immediately thought of Olivier, and what he then told me fascinated me so much that I decided to share it in the form of this interview. Olivier is clearly the man for the job: founding Eptica at the start of the century, on the eve of the dot.com crash, he had no alternative but to adapt and build an organisation which integrated the crisis as a natural, even major, element of its growth. Nearly twenty years on he sold his company to a Canadian group and continues to deploy its SaaS solution to its growing customer base.

So, what is his secret and what good advice can he give us during these troubled times? Before relaying our discussions, allow me to introduce you to our man…

In 1987, when Olivier graduated from business school, he already had a passion for technology – computing, one said at the time. Rather than join a major corporation like his friends, Olivier preferred to start his career in the emerging world of software, initially in France and then abroad. As time passed, he was increasingly attracted to entrepreneurship. From his interest in early internet software solutions, he realised that email would revolutionise Customer Relations. His boss didn’t share his beliefs and denied him the purchase of such a technology, so Olivier took the initiative to move on and focus on building the first and best email management software solution for Customer Relations services. Between 2001 to 2020, he was the witness, and one of the engineers, of a fundamental transformation in communication methods between businesses and their customers. Email would gradually become the major alternative to the telephone, before being completed by Chat, video, artificial intelligence and more besides. Even today, despite the recent sale of his business, Olivier is in direct contact with developments in the market. Passionate about innovation and product marketing, he sees this crisis as a tremendous opportunity for transformation.

Together, let’s discover his perspective… 

How have you approached the current crisis with your team?

The major challenge of this crisis has been to strengthen the bond between members of a team. We need solutions and to spend time with everyone, whether that be business meetings, moments of conviviality or sharing, Initially, we increased community rituals (daily team stand-ups and fortnightly meetups for all), then we added others (a weekly photo competition and a live, unstructured meeting to discuss topics linked to the confinement, for example). I also called each one of my 40 staff. In terms of learning about my colleagues’ personal lives, this has been an incredible experience: it strikes me that this crisis has given us so much knowledge about each other.

We shouldn’t hesitate to overuse video during this period. In-house, we use our own B2B product which is already very suitable. I believe it’s important to understand that everything can be done by video, even with customers, even signing contracts. We need to get used to it because this dynamic will last. Homeworking will be increasingly the norm, whether voluntary or obligatory. A genuine groundswell is in the making.

As a leader, my role was to reassure: I need to show that there is an after. As it happens, it comes naturally to me to consider the future calmly, to explain how I envisage 2021 and so demonstrate that we are looking forward. Anyway, crisis or not, a leader shouldn’t be part of the daily whirlwind, they should help their team find time for tactical and strategic considerations.

You’ve been an entrepreneur for a long time: what crises have you experienced?

You know, I registered my company’s Certificate of Incorporation on 30 August 2001. The next day, the dot-com crisis started. At the time, I had 3 children, including a son aged 6 months, I had left a well-paid job in a software company, I had invested my personal money and that of close friends and family who believed in me… At that moment, you don’t have a choice, you launch into a dynamic of resilience from the very beginning. Strong recovery wasn’t expected before 2003, even 2004, so I was going to have to commit myself long-term. Instead of focussing on the sale, I put everything into the product, and that gave me the opportunity to develop the best email management solution in the world.

A little under ten years later, the financial crisis didn’t stop us making 30% annual growth! We invested heavily in marketing in order to explain to the market that this crisis was an opportunity to look after their customers. The successful ones were those who offered a good experience, who knew to remain in contact and respond to queries. In this way we helped our prospects defend their budget and convinced many businesses to invest in their customers during this difficult period.

But you know, the most dangerous crises are rarely exogenous because situations always finish by turning around and rebalancing. What happens more often, and what matters the most, are internal, endogenous crises, the ones generated by your ambition or the limits of your organisation.

For example, setting up an office abroad is a very difficult break to manage. The mother house will always reject this choice, and that’s normal: you are asking those who are fine to sacrifice themselves for others who will be fine in the future. Plus, there is the big issue of a language barrier which will cause some key people to struggle.

Another crisis experience was in 2010 when we missed the emergence of Chat. This innovation crisis cost us dear: our competitors entered the market and we had the feeling of being losers, has-beens. “We were the future once”, as I frequently remarked at the time. To overcome it, we invested in artificial intelligence and waited for over four years for the bet to come good.

What have you learnt from these crises?

In almost 20 years Eptica has crossed three major societal crises and four internal crises with major team restructures. Each time we have come back stronger. So, for me, the conclusion is clear:

“A crisis is too important to waste”.

In moments of crisis, we can break down barriers in our heads: we realize what isn’t working, in terms of people, strategy, product, etc, and align on what needs to be changed. Everyone accepts it and products are speedily launched. I say, let’s hurry up and change things while we’re in it, if not we hit the glass ceiling and will have more difficulties developing the business later. You need to emerge from the crisis transformed!

Tech works in waves. A single competitor’s entrance can place you in crisis. It’s important to not feel crushed, to not get stuck; on the contrary it’s important to redouble your efforts. I find periods of euphoria more difficult to manage. Everything becomes clear in a crisis and ultimately, it’s a story of men and women. Are the right people in the right roles? It’s also important to accept certain staff may no longer be suitable for their role: team personnel changes go with crises; it shouldn’t be a problem.

Support is essential in such transformative moments. Eptica worked with external entities, such as coaches or consultants at each period of transformation; they lent us an outside perspective and accelerated change. Entrepreneurs need support and help! Now more than ever.

Indeed, what crisis were you experiencing when you met us?

After a successful round of fundraising in 2012, we decided to alternate between two years of investment at a loss and two years of profits to rebuild our reserves. That worked well until 2017, when we were emerging from a deficit period, and had serious doubts on our prospects of being profitable in 2018. We were too heavy and needed to take drastic measures to redress the balance.

What made you decide to call upon us?

I remember it well; I invited Cedric to our management seminar. He was brave enough to join us in the distant Parisian suburbs and made a strong case for your expertise. It spoke to me immediately, but it took my co-directors a moment. I was afraid that they wouldn’t entertain it. Your story is quite conceptual, so they needed a demonstration.

It was a difficult choice to invest €80,000 during a recovery period for the company, when every team was economizing, however, I wanted a methodology which would study every detail and yours was perfect. In fact, we are still using it and are currently running four Masterplans. Your team’s complementarity and its ability to execute also convinced me. However, I had told Cedric that he was the one that I wanted!

And what have we brought you?

You know, it’s always complicated when talking to our employees about profitability. It causes concern, it’s not their job, some aren’t even aware that we were losing money. With you, we made everyone aware. The key moment was being able to explain to all our staff our financial arguments, our fixed costs allocation, our variable costs, etc. A whole lesson in profitability!

That year, profits were through the roof as we closed much more than we had forecast. I would have redressed the situation without you, but not much beyond that. Instead, we surpassed our objectives and I put that directly down to you. It was a great success which enabled me to sell my company at the right moment and at the right price.

What else would you like to add in conclusion?

I would like to send a message to all those entrepreneurs who have just launched or are hesitating to do so. I would tell them that this crisis is a great opportunity to launch because when crisis enters the DNA of a company it’s a great source of resilience and success.