My first entrepreneurial venture

I was 15.

Back then, all I was doing was acrobatics. I'd wake up in the morning, put my shoes on, and go outside hit some front flips.

It was a period of high energy.

We constantly learnt new acrobatics, the sport - Tricking - was growing and the community, enabled by YouTube and Facebook, was thriving.

We figured: "If we like the sport so much, we might as well make a living out of it."

So a friend and I created a document I haven't seen anywhere to this day: a dual CV.

We wrote the CV in a highly straightforward and rudimentary manner. The CV had a 'What We Offer' section. It explained our value proposition: we'd do flips for your establishment. And a 'What We Want' section: and you'd pay us for it.

Hence the business plan was put together: we'd bring some life to your business by doing flips inside or in front of it. It was advertising / entertainment.

All we needed, was some clients.

With the same clothes we used for training (cheap sport shoes being ill-treated every training session, sweatpants with holes and t-shirts) we decided to go look for clients.

We knocked on some doors, the most memorable of them was the Hilton in Strasbourg, my hometown.

We entered the fancy hotel and spoke to the receptionist.

(Back then, I had never had a job yet, and certainly not a job in sales, which would've taught me useful concept, such as decision-makers or BANT.)

We saw a piano in the main hall - a good sign for us: they were using music for entertainment.

"Hi, we're acrobats and we're offering to do flips for your hotel."

The receptionist was listening, however confused.

"We saw that you have a piano, you host shows to bring life to the hotel?"

The receptionist ended up telling us that, yes, they did pay people to come in and perform piano in the main hall of the hotel.

"Okay, so what about having flips in the main hall? An acrobatic performance?"

Thinking back on this moment, we always laugh at the boldness and naivety of the whole scene. Entering the hotel dressed as we were dressed was already bold enough - but asking to do something the hotel had never done and get paid for it, with no business under our name, no insurance, and not even a music speaker.

The receptionist took our dual CV.

Despite our delusion, we were surprised of the interest we received. We answered a few questions and were told that perhaps one day, they could do something of the sort. He mentioned that he'd follow up with his boss, and we left.

This was the second prospect we approached. The first one was very confused and rejected us outright. We kept going.

The next stop was a bar on Strasbourg's main square.

We entered the bar - a place none of us had ever entered, as underage and non drinkers - and spoke the the bartender.

"Hi, we're acrobats and we can do flips in your bar for entertainment."

The bartender said 'wait a minute' and called someone else. We were in front of the manager of the bar.

We explained our offer, and the manager asked if we could perform in his bar. We looked at the bar.

This definitely wasn't an ideal place for acrobatics. It was dark, the main dancing place was a tiny square, the floor was slippery tiles, and worst of all, the ceiling could be touched.

We said yes.

"How much?"

"50 euros."

Okay, see you Friday night.

This was our first sale!

In the run up to the performance, we worked with a more experienced friend of ours to put together a show adapted to the challenging environment of this bar. We burnt a CD with our music on it. We went to a cheap discount clothing shop and bought oversized and weirdly cut white shirts.

Although we had an issue with the music, the performance was a success. We did not hurt ourselves, and managed to perform advanced-enough flips for the environment.

In the years ahead, I'd join a team, or crew. Together, we'd found our city's first flip-based entertainment offer. The crew was full of life and putting together advanced shows. We ended up signing contracts in the several thousands of euros, with clients all over Europe, on mainstream TV, and a few film studios.