How does Ekkiden cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of its teams?

Geoffrey (CEO)  

 'In concrete terms, entrepreneurship means going to the end of yourself and reach fulfillment thanks to a project. In a more down-to-earth way, it is the ability to take risks and to be multi-tasking and creative in all circumstances.   

Ekkiden’s employees take risks and are not afraid to mess up. I make sure that every one of our hires has that DNA, because if you don't try, you don't fail, and therefore you don't learn anything. 

I want everyone at Ekkiden to have the opportunity to express themselves and get feedback on their actions. This feedback culture is our greatest asset if it is insightful, simple, regular and constructive.  

As a CEO, I am particularly involved in entrepreneurship, and this state of mind helps me to know myself better. I am convinced that life is about discovering who you are based on the situations you experience, your mistakes and your ideas, and if that is your goal, entrepreneurship is probably made for you.'

Mélina (Head of Marketing)

'For me, entrepreneurship means being responsible for your subjects, their value, their implementation, their success or failure. It means investing 100% of yourself and from A to Z in each of them, even those for which you are not entirely responsible, but also having a direct impact on a project bigger than you.  

At Ekkiden, we have this possibility without having the responsibilities of a CEO: we have the advantages without the risks. 

It's true that being an entrepreneur brings its share of challenges, frustrations, failures and setbacks. But it's so rewarding, because you create something and I like to think that whatever happens, a trace of me will always remain in the Marketing & Communication department, even when I'm no longer there.  

Thanks to Ekkiden, I had the great opportunity to create a department from scratch and to deploy a team, a vision, a strategy and an organisation on my own. In a way, I have created a mini company within the company.

What I like most is passing on my knowledge and helping my team to grow: the human touch is central to entrepreneurship, because we evolve and learn together.' 

Bastien (IT Sales Operations Director)  

'Entrepreneurship... a wide subject. My definition is probably a bit academic, but it's being able to unite complementary people around a common project that aims to respond to an identified problem.  

I am very attached to the entrepreneurial spirit, because I think it's great to be able to have the keys of your own truck! Especially within structures that allow and facilitate the development of projects like Ekkiden.   

During my last years of study, I wrote a thesis on intrapreneurship as a vector of value creation, and that's exactly what I came to Ekkiden for. Today, I have a lot of responsibility and a direct impact on the actions we take, whether at the economic, operational, human or strategic level.   

Here, freedom of action and initiative are greatly allowed and encouraged: our ideas are always heard and very often implemented. We have the freedom to change the game and go further than others! 

All this allows us to evolve quickly and to touch to everything that is central to the development of the company. Personally, it has shaped my attitude and given me certain keys to success to launch myself later.' 

Benoit (VP Finance) 

'Entrepreneurship means launching a project that is both human and economic. Less pragmatically, it also means having stars in your eyes and head and making plans!  

But it also means stumbling and having a few sleepless nights (and not just for partying). Then wrap it all up in a much-needed confidence and a strong human experience that will move forward no matter what.   

Ekkiden has the undeniable advantage of small companies: there are plenty of things to do and you can be autonomous on your projects. In large groups, each project is subject to longer decision-making processes, which sometimes does not even come to fruition. In start-ups, all ideas can be turned into opportunities. 

What do I benefit from it? It's a very satisfying human adventure, especially when you can contribute. At Ekkiden, the teams are young, and I think that brings more joy to life! And it allows more senior profiles like me to share their experience.' 

Melchior (Sales Development Manager)

'I think that entrepreneurship is mostly about creating! Taking two steps forward and one step back is part of the fun. It’s about knowing this and not being afraid of it.  

A young company like Ekkiden is an entrepreneur’s dream! Problems to solve and processes to improve. To cope, it’s essential to have an adventurous mind: questioning processes and an intellectual curiosity with a "never stop learning" attitude.  

I really think that entrepreneurship is a state of mind, wanting to learn from mistakes, getting back up and turning failures into success stories. 

My team is committed to learning from everywhere: books, podcasts, videos, articles, or conversations with experts...  What I've also learned is that there is always an answer! Even if it isn’t easy or if you can’t find any... create a self-made logical one for the time being.  

Thanks to this mindset, I have been able to learn and work on many subjects linked to a department creation such as: recruitment, onboarding, training, motivation, KPI creation & tracking alongside technical and management issues, to name a few.  

To achieve this, innovation is key as is keeping a constant eye over operations, staying informed and above all, constantly questioning yourself.'  

Nicolas (Retail Squad Leader) 

'My definition of entrepreneurship? Creating your own business, deciding and taking risks, becoming the boss. Ekkiden allows me to be an entrepreneur in the Squad I lead without the restrictive aspects (accounting, budgeting, etc.): I just manage the business, and that suits me fine.  

The entrepreneurial spirit encouraged by the role of Squad Leader has enabled me to learn very quickly about team management. Squads are a unique and unknown way of organising consultants, so it pushes me to be agile and to redefine our objectives constantly. They allow us consultants to be mini self-employed without the risks of this status. We're not bosses, but we're getting close!  

I benefit from this state of mind in many ways: I understand some Ekkiden issues better (recruitment choices, difficulty in placing consultants, etc.), I build and assert my opinions more and impose my ideas.  

Thanks to the squads, Ekkiden gives me the opportunity to be a manager, i.e. to contribute to the company as much as it contributes to me. By getting involved and being supported by the internal teams, I have created my own leadership.' 

Maxime (Industry Operations Director)

'Entrepreneurship? It means going beyond a simple idea whether innovative or not, to make it a reality and structure everything that happens around it. And to take this step, you must not ask yourself questions for too long, otherwise you'll never get started!  

In my previous job, I had developed my own business unit, and that's what really gave me a taste for entrepreneurship.  

Today, at Ekkiden, I have found a good compromise: I have the security of an employee but the unique opportunity to create a whole direction. I can propose my ideas, implement them and see their impact on the company through concrete and immediate actions, both long and short term. In other words, I make decisions that can influence the future of Ekkiden without being the CEO! 

What I find great is that anyone at Ekkiden can have their ideas heard, considered and made operational quickly. 

This environment has a lot of advantages for me: I feel much more convincing to my peers, I have more presence, I open more to others, and I catch their attention more! In short, Ekkiden allows me to challenge myself every day.' 

Louise (Sales Development Team Lead) 

'I think that entrepreneurship is above all about having the guts to put your dreams into action. You must be brave, because you choose your vocation above everything else out of passion. 

I think I've always had this entrepreneurial mindset, which is why I wanted to join a start-up like Ekkiden to learn about the business world. It allows me to be much closer to the real problems and stakes of the company.  

I arrived at Ekkiden without any real skills, so I had to find my own way of doing things by taking the initiative. Thanks to my team, I acquired managerial skills and understood the need to have them: every entrepreneur must be a good manager to execute his vision. 

Ekkiden is an environment that really nurtures my entrepreneurial spirit: I challenge myself, I don't hesitate to go for it, and I train myself on the subjects I deem relevant. Entrepreneurship is not the easiest path, but it's the most training and the one that best meets my ambitions.' 

Hélène (VP HR)  

'In my opinion, entrepreneurship is about imagining a personal or professional project and bringing it to life. This project must be driven by a lot of passion, courage, dreams and ambition. People motivated by security or cautiousness factors will not be fulfilled. If you are an entrepreneur, you are willing to take risks! 

I think I discovered my attraction to the entrepreneurial mindset when I joined Ekkiden.  

It's a young and growing company, so there are a lot of moments when you don't know how to do things, or how the coming months might exactly look like: you stand out because of your creativity in shaping the future of the company and solving problems that you've never faced before.   

Ekkiden pushes me to be spontaneous and able to create new projects and processes that will take the company to the next version of itself.   

Every day is an impulse out of my comfort zone. I'm always pushing my limits, and that makes me evolve at a crazy speed. I don't have time to get bored!  

Ekkiden is all about adrenaline, but it's also and above all an immeasurable pride to be able to look back on all that the team has achieved in such a short time: it's just crazy!'