EHL 1999 alumnus: “Trusting people, I should not have trusted.”

Hello Fellows!

Today is the first time we interview an expert as a part of our series #AdviceFromExperts. Read until the end as there will be a special offer for The Extra Mile community.

Let’s begin!

First, let us introduce to you, Mr. Stéphane Fenner. Stéphane was born in Brazil, after he moved to Switzerland at the age of 6 where he spent his whole childhood and grew up. He graduated from Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in 1999. (Some of you were not even born at that time haha).

During his career, Mr. Stéphane had a chance to work for multinational companies such as Hyatt, Nestlé, UBS and Audemars Piguet as well as for the world-known Montreux Jazz Festival. His enthusiasm and adventurous attitude brought him to work in Indonesia, Israel, and Brazil. With a strong entrepreneurial vision, he is a co-creator of marketing strategy for the AP group, as well as the operations book and the franchise manual for Montreux Jazz Café.

Mr. Fenner has founded several companies in Brazil and Switzerland in different sectors:

• One Networking Environment (www.gotoone.ch) – a marketing consulting company with high expertise in sponsoring and events. The company is a link between a customer and a sponsor, or an event organizer.
• Gourmet Swiss Import - representative of Petrossian Caviar & Delicacies in Switzerland.
• CAIUS.ch - imports wines and sells them online under a unique brand.

Besides, Mr. Stéphane has a highly developed active network of contacts.

Interview:

- The Extra Mile: “Could you tell us more about CAIUS wines? How did it all start?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “Yes, my friends and I traveled to Italy to get some truffles for ourselves and some other friends. When we were dining there, we tried different wines that had a different taste comparing to the Swiss ones and also a reasonable price. We said ok, why wouldn’t we bring these wines for ourselves back home, in Switzerland.”

- The Extra Mile: “And what happened then? How did it become a business?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “The initial idea was to create a club of friends who also appreciate wines and to import a certain quantity of these Italian wines once a year. But after, more people got interested, and we decided to import more. And then we had an idea: Why don’t we sell these wines to the public? That’s how it all began.”

- The Extra Mile: “Tell us more about your club.”

- Mr. Stéphane: “We created an online community of people who are passionate about wines as we are. Members can rate the wines and leave their comments in this club. Our customers become our advisers, and this is a great way to test the market and collect feedback. We also have 2 prices for our wines, one is for the public, and the other is for the club members.”

- The Extra Mile: “So, what is unique about your brand?"

- Mr. Stéphane: “The first thing you can see on our labels is a number. This is the first impact. The number is to remember. For example, you remember 003, and it’s 003. It gives a unique identity. Also, all the labels are black, like a blackboard. We reference it to the past when Romans were producing wine, they always wrote on the boards with a sort of chalk.

- The Extra Mile: “What is your business model?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “The model is to sell our wines in Switzerland online under our own brand : CAIUS, with a unique label. We only sell in set quantities: 6 bottles minimum, but the bottles can be different. It helps to decrease the packaging costs.”

- The Extra Mile: “How do you do your marketing?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “It’s mostly word of mouth. We also organize some events where you can pare 6 different wines with 6 dishes and taste as much as you want. An evening like this can cost around 69 Swiss francs for the wines, food, and coffee, but we don’t really make money from it. It’s mostly for the promotion of our wines and the club.”

- The Extra Mile: “Why couldn’t I just go to Denner and buy the wine there?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “We position ourselves as the quality at the right price. The segment is premium economy. Our main differentiators are the rareness and exclusivity, because of the special agreements, as well as the prices are relatively lower comparing to other wines of the same quality in Switzerland. Besides, you won’t find our wines in any store. Finally, all our products are authentic and with very little chemicals added. They are produced with passion according to traditional methods. For instance, our producers select each cluster manually.”

- The Extra Mile: “Ok, now could you please give us some general advice from your broad experience. What was the biggest mistake you have done in your career?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “Hmm.. The biggest mistake I have done.. Probably it was trusting people, I should not have trusted. It can even happen when a contract is signed, and one of the parties is a renowned bank. I was as the middleman who connected a person with a bank to open an account. The account was for 1 billion US dollars. I had a contract but didn’t ask for enough guarantees, and at the end, I didn’t receive any commission. The lessons I have learned: ask for down payments, make the contract signed by 3 parties so it has more power, people are not very honest sometimes.

- The Extra Mile: “As we know that you are an expert in negotiations and networking, could you give a few pieces of advice regarding these topics?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “Building confidence is the key. Do your job well and create trust in people. Walk your talk. Also, be yourself, I usually start a conversation by talking about my family, it shows that you are the first of all humans, and it creates trust between people. I would say that networking is very important. You will need a lot of help: legal, financial, market aspects. Ask for help. People will never help you as long as they don’t know you need help. Call or contact the person, ask for advice. People like to be helpful. In addition, in order to create a network, you have to be valuable, that’s also a key. Help other people, and help the community. Answer the questions of the community. Give before asking. Also be exposed: post on your social media, participate in conferences and do the presentations. Try to become the person people want to contact on a specific topic, become a reference. It will all help. In my case, I know each of my contacts would answer my call.”

- The Extra Mile: “A few pieces of advice for negotiations?”

- Mr. Stéphane: Be prepared and know your limits of acceptance and decline of an offer. It’s also very important to study the person beforehand. Know what type of person you will talk to, his strengths and weakness, but also his tastes and passions. It will help you to take the lead in negotiation.

- The Extra Mile: “What would you wish to The Extra Mile community at the end?”

- Mr. Stéphane: “Keep dreaming and follow your dream. Dreams bring you to new limits. But also get organized and structured.”

- The Extra Mile: “Great, thank you!”

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Exclusively for The Extra Mile community, Mr. Stéphane Fenner offers a special code which allows ordering all Caius wines with 25% discount! Here is their web-site: www.caius.ch/mon-compte/. If you would like to use your discount, go to “S’ENREGISTRER” section and enter: 2626 and order all their premium wines with 25% discount. (Caius.ch operates only in Switzerland at the moment).

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