Growing Through Challenge: The Journey of Timothé Bonnel at Ekkiden

Discovering Ekkiden Through Curiosity and Energy

Timothé’s story begins with curiosity. Before even joining the company, he discovered Ekkiden through Innovation Leaders, Geoffrey’s podcast. What first caught his attention was the energy of a fast-growing environment and the culture reflected online.

“I understood it was a growing company, and what I saw on social media felt really attractive.”

Once inside, the reality exceeded his expectations.

“I wasn’t disappointed. It was even higher than what I imagined. I really enjoyed the ebullition, that constant energy you feel when a company is scaling.”

A Rapid Evolution: From Intern to Growth & Sales Development Manager

Starting as a Growth Engineer, Timothé soon stepped into a role that would challenge him far beyond his initial academic background. He became Growth & Sales Development Manager, leading Sales Ops initiatives and taking ownership of HubSpot, the company’s CRM.

For Timothé, the CRM quickly became much more than a tool.

He describes HubSpot as the “gold mine” of a company but only if it’s properly organized and adopted. “It was such a challenge to make sure the CRM was well structured and used the right way by sales.”

Coming from an engineering background, stepping into the world of business was a steep learning curve. “I knew nothing about sales before arriving. It was easier for me to solve a differential equation than understand how to sign a contract.”

But instead of seeing that gap as a limitation, Timothé embraced it as a growth opportunity.

“I saw it as an attractive challenge: a possibility to grow a lot in a subject I knew nothing about.”

Behind the Role: Structuring Sales Operations at Scale

What made his daily work especially exciting was its constant variety. No two days were the same: managing a growing SDR team across Europe, refining commercial strategy, improving processes, and ensuring that the right tools were adopted throughout the company.

“I had to keep learning about sales, think about strategy, continuously improve our tools, especially HubSpot, and make sure everyone was aligned.”

His role was deeply connected to supporting the early stages of Ekkiden’s sales pipeline. Timothé’s priority was to ensure his team was driving performance where it matters most: at the beginning of the funnel.

“I had to make sure the team was boosting the early stages of our sales pipeline, through meetings booked, but also through analysis and client mapping.”

This work fed directly into the broader commercial strategy across different markets and perimeters.

Collaboration, Communication, and Commercial Impact

Timothé’s mission required strong communication across all levels of the organization.

“Communication was key. I had to adapt myself depending on who I was speaking with: C-level, commercial directors, interns…”

Working closely with experienced commercial leaders pushed him outside his comfort zone. Convincing stakeholders without having a traditional sales background was challenging, but Timothé relied on what he knew best: analytical thinking.

“To convince a commercial director without previous sales experience was really challenging. I had to convince with numbers instead of words.”

Through this, he gained credibility, developed new skills, and grew into a role that blended technical structure with business impact.