AT WORK

Waking up time

6 AM thanks to (or because of!) my banker husband. I check my emails and my Instagram account while drinking the first coffee of the day. I take advantage of girls sleeping to do some sport with my personal coach twice a week.

My resumé 

I graduated from a business school, and then I worked at Galliano, Dim and in the house field. After that I went back to school at the Institut Français de la mode.

The Vestiaire Collective project just follows.

The entrepreneurship adventure

It was in the corner of my mind since a while; it’s an important part of my family culture. In our family everyone has created his business: my brother, my parents.

One day it appears as evidence. My two daughters were young and I didn’t want to work as an employee anymore.

Moreover the start of everything was the moment when I point the lack of offers proposed to the “recessionnistas” in a ELLE article. My brother called me and told me a friend of him had the same idea. We met and get into – we were 6 – in October 2009.

Vestiaire Collective

I had a marketing experience when I started Vestiaire Collective – 8 years ago - but I didn’t know anything about the digital area. I had to learn by listening carefully, by absorbing, with a lot of humility, of doubts and soul searching.

We are 6 founders at the head of the company since the beginning. Each of us has a clear area of expertise. When I started, I was in charge of the marketing, the brand image and the communication part. Now I have a more “business” role.

5 years ago I moved to London in order to develop the business on the UK market.

When I look behind me I can’t stop thinking that time has fly.

Thanks to my team I have completely changed since I am here. I learnt to work with a positive culture; it was a huge change in my way to manage business and professional relations.

It really was eye-opener, a real life lesson.

My tips to go for it

You absolutely have to be passionate because when you decide to go into and start your own business you have to work, work and work again.

Thinking that you will have the time is a mistake. You have to be ready to make a lot of sacrifices and to focus on the essential. To me it’s about my work and my family. For the moment I forget about my social life.

One of the most magic things in the entrepreneurship adventure is that you meet very talented and different people. If you know how to listen properly you can learn very fast.

Being a woman in business

A substantial advantage. Women are kindly with each other, they often help one another.

Sacrifices

It more difficult to see my husband and children… but I learnt to give priority to quality not quantity. When I am with them I try to be a hundred percent in the present moment, not doing other things like checking my emails or my Instagram account.

Working mom advices

You have to anticipate and organize your stuff to keep your mind free. In other words permanent To Do list and an amazing nanny!

So that means that you have to cut with that kind of logistics which can become an unbearable routine for everyone. In order to ensure this, I like to make daily surprises to my daughters without any specific reason. An improvised activity, a one-to-one lunch, I really try to spend time and talk with each of them.

My biggest pride

When I meet clients who tell me that Vestiaire Collective change their life. I’m proud to contribute to making people’s life easier with the offer.

From my mistakes I learnt…

… to be less impulsive! Now, I always take the time to think and reflect instead of reacting immediately.

Child, I used to dream of

Being half as strong as my mother is… Who's also an entrepreneur.

Next step

I really want to continue pushing forward Vestiaire collective.

To discover the rest of my story, click here