In 1 month, the ^first popup store of Flair, the brand specialized in ready-to-wear bodysuits 100% made in France that I created 7 months ago, will open.

Being in my shop, giving you advice, playing shopkeeper... a little girl's dream come true. The top of the big 8 in the emotional lift of entrepreneurial life!

For this occasion, and because I am so excited to meet you, I decided to tell you a little bit about myself before I get to know you!

 

In my career, nothing extraordinary. No HEC, no Centrale or Science Po, no job at L'Oréal but a lot of experience, dreams andcarefree attitude.  

It all starts with a deep appreciation for the Anglo-Saxon education system. The French system oppresses me. The rote method, which runs counter to the development of critical thinking, frustrates me.

So I left for a year of university preparation in the United States in San Francisco and New York with the aim of entering the most prestigious universities such as Berkeley or NYU. Let's be honest, I discovered a lot more of the US culture than the benches of the prep school!

One year later, I returned to France matured and enriched. It's decided, I will be an "entrepreneur" in my life. That's what they all say over there!

So I joined the American University of Paris (AUP) and studied there for 3 years. At the same time, I set up 3 companies to make sure that no time would pass!

Act I | Mobi2Rent - 2011 (22 years)
Furniture rental company for students

 

The concept: for 30€ a month, the price of an internet subscription, we rented you a sofa bed, tables, chairs and wardrobe. With my partner, whose idea it was, we launched the concept in Troyes, our home town.
Full house!

We finally spend our summer in a truck delivering our packs every weekend.

The following year, similar concepts were launched in other cities, but our development stopped there. My partner happened to be my boyfriend. Not the best idea, but this experience gave me a taste for entrepreneurship and allowed me to make a few mistakes early on that I won't make again.

Act II | SmartRent - 2013 (24 years)
Furniture rental company for landlords

B2B version of Mobi2Rent The B2B version of Mobi2Rent is an offer for landlords who do not wish to manage the furniture while benefiting from the tax advantages of the status.

But then, that same summer, the Duflot law, which calls these advantages into question, was introduced, which blocked the market a little. Nevertheless, I joined an incubator that encouraged me to join forces because it was more complicated to do it alone. They introduced me to an older girl with more experience who was looking for a business concept. We decided to do a "test" for a month and to discuss shares and other celebrations afterwards.

It was on the way out of a big meeting that she told me she wanted 70% of the shares. I told her nicely that she would have to find them elsewhere. It wasn't easy enough but this episode finished me off and I decided to stop.

Not an easy experience but I will still have won the Paris Startup Weekend in January 2013 which will earn me a article in Forbes and invitations to speak at conferences on entrepreneurship in Milan and London, all expenses paid at the age of 24. Lunar!

As if doing things, creating, always leads somewhere... Often where you would never have imagined. 

Act III | Voilà Productions - 2013 (24 years old)
Offbeat interviews with French entrepreneurs
 

"Voilà" was a concept of interview programmes with successful French entrepreneurs, with a very offbeat tone and above all focused on their personalities rather than on their business. It was with a friend that we realised that only the Americans knew how to put forward their entrepreneurs in an inspiring way to set them up as "role models".  

On the other hand, this French bashing without any basis (we have quite a few headliners and then the contractual rupture remains the best invention!) decides us to launch our show... NO we don't know how to film, NO we are not journalists nor interviewers . We know, however, that it will ONLY work if we have these famous headliners. So we have time to see what's coming before they respond...

Yes but no!

The email for Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, founder of PriceMinister, goes out on a Monday at 7pm. At 7.05pm, an appointment is given for an interview 1 week later.

So that week was one of the most intense and exciting of my life. From the next day, we were going around film schools trying to sell dreams with our unpaid "internship"... We also set up the framework of the show, the concept, did all the research on PKM. It wasn't easy but we did it!

A week later we were in his office and the interview went perfectly...

JB Rudelle , Michel et Augustin , Catherine Barba,... So much so that Maddyness decided to broadcast us!

That's when I joined Uber. So there was no time to continue, but it was a huge opportunity to meet these "greats" in such an intimate way! There is no doubt that I still get a lot out of it today.

Act IV | Uber France - 2014 (25 years)
Expansion and brand marketing

I joined Uber in August 2014. At that time there were only about 15 of us in France. Today, there are more than 100...

The 3 years that followed were intense in terms of workload and learning. I was crying at the idea of becoming an employee (I had never worked in a company other than my own before), but I would do it again without a second's hesitation!

I met brilliant, persevering, decisive people. In short, very inspiring. I took part in the development of this startup that has become a social phenomenon and I learned everything I know today. 

It gave me the keys and the confidence to make Flair a success.

Act V | Flair - 2017 (28 years old)
Ready-to-wear bodysuits 100% made in France

I took the plunge without really thinking about it. I knew, however, that my current life no longer suited me. So I went for it on instinct, hoping that I would have a flair for it... ;)

I designed my^1st collection in December 2016 and left Uber in April 2017. After 1 month of holidays, everything goes on between meetings at the workshop, learning about materials and pattern making, defining the identity of the brand, launch strategy,... The best summer of my life! 

2 October 2017: official launch of Flair! The world starts to live in a onesie :) 

So far, I'm really happy with it! Since I took the plunge, there is not a day that I regret it, but to say that there is not a day when I have doubts would be a lie.
In 24 hours the opposite emotions follow one another, sometimes accompanied by cold sweat, sometimes accompanied by a feeling of world conquest but, in any case, every morning, getting up is the foot and the Sunday night blues? Never heard of it.
Flair is already a 2nd collection and soon a 3rd... thanks to you.

M E R C I 

Looking forward to hearing more about you!

See you soon in Paris,
Clémence.