Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alexandre Ponthier, founder of Dr. Ginkgo, located in Canada & France.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Dr. Ginkgo is a platform for requesting quotes and generating leads in the VSE-SME segment. It's a kind of "B2B marketplace," if you will.
Our platform offers its customers multimedia solutions for :
- increase the efficiency of their customers and make them more productive,
- enable them to make the right decisions on a daily basis,
- increase their commercial activity by providing them with business opportunities.
Tell us about yourself
I started my higher education in Brive, where I am from. Subsequently, I joined ESSEC, where I completed a Master's degree in finance while keeping an entrepreneurial spirit. This diploma in my pocket, with a strong specialization in entrepreneurship, I turned to an American consulting firm. Then I successively created several companies, the last of them being Dr. Ginkgo.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Business services must respond to the new uses of employees in the workplace, illustrated by teleworking and semi-presential. Companies need to know how to respond to requests from their employees and adapt to their mode of consumption. We observe them, and we also listen to what companies and their employees ask of us. We then seek to develop new functionalities that benefit everyone, regardless of the size of the company or the number of employees.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It is never easy to find the right balance between optimizing costs to preserve cash (such as putting 60% of the company's employees on short-time work given the drop in inactivity) and investing in digital to prepare for the coming.
Teleworking is disrupting the activity of our sector, which was very focused on head offices and less on the home. We had to adapt. The extraordinary investment of some of our employees in this period of crisis is also an essential factor that has helped us find the best solutions. Another subject, and not the least, is the return of employees after a long period of inactivity. We will find people who are psychologically worn out; we will have to accompany them on their return.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't be afraid of failure.
- Be passionate about your project.
- Be yourself and keep your values.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://drginkgo.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandreponthier/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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