Question #5
How can we innovate?
Jean-Charles Samuelian
The people who joined Alan did not just want to create yet another start-up. They came aboard because we have a long-term vision of setting up a company that would have a very major impact on extremely complex sectors in which users’ needs are poorly met. And that’s what gets us up in the morning, and I have full confidence in each team member’s ability to find the best way – not necessarily the one I would have come up with – to solve this type of problem. There are many other businesses and start-ups we enjoy talking to because we feel we are both tackling the same problems in different areas.
Frédéric Lavenir
What really stood out for me is your ability to adapt. We use our experience to change direction or to investigate an area in greater depth, harnessing our tremendous ability to learn and react very rapidly indeed. That goes against the grain in a large organisation, which typically does not like to make mistakes. In today’s world, it’s important to be able to accept that things aren’t working and that changes are needed.
Alizée Lozac’hmeur
And we go about this fairly scientifically – we try out a hypothesis, we measure its success and we learn from it. One area I’m optimistic about is that new generations of entrepreneurs are seeking to embrace this highly collective, horizontal and significant dimension of their business and are ready to change not only the things they do, but also their organisation, too.