The commuting entrepreneur has spent the past four years carving out a slice of the Australian start-up market. He has put cash behind a consulting and guide firm which has helped some 2,000 expats find their feet.
He is well known in certain circles (his company was the feature of a French television show: “we got 2,000 emails after that”), but is bashful when it comes to talking about his achievements. Australia, he says, is a dynamic environment for entrepreneurs.
“France has a conservative mentality. When someone says: ‘I want to change this’ the first reaction is: ‘This isn’t going to work’,” he says, disappointed and serious. “In Australia they say: ‘Hey buddy, good luck, good on you’. The mentality is more open to entrepreneurs.”
To ensure Sydney has enough upstarts and career-hungry students, Léo has built up a community for his countrymen – and other expatriates hoping to mint their fortunes on Australia’s sunny shores. He runs Pacific media and Consulting Group, a firm he set up to consult companies, and Australiance.com, an online guide designed for those who want to discover Australia. Through his website, internationals can find networking, recruitment and coaching.
“I arrived [in Australia] with a job and therefore a visa. I was very lucky,” he says. “After two years I saw a lot of Frenchies and Europeans coming to Australia and not having this luck.” “Helping expats to succeed in Australia – that’s why I launched my first website,” he adds.
Last year, his firm was celebrating their first million webpage hits. “We are helping people with everything from finding health insurance, bank accounts, accommodation, everything that touches relocation to Australia.”
Léo is talking about the coaching aspect of his business; they offer resume reviews, job search and other recruitment solutions. “When a candidate is good we connect [them] to some of the companies we advise,” he says.
Léo, who graduated from a Master's program at EMLYON Business School, and an MBA exchange program at Melbourne University, is also the co-founder of the French Business School Alumni in Australia network, and is an official representative for EMLYON’s alumni network Down Under.
In 2007, he landed a secondment with PwC, the consultancy, to spend two years relocated in Sydney. Before that he had climbed the ranks at PwC Lyon to senior accountant, in charge of various audit teams. He moved into a senior consultancy role with Portland Group in 2010, before joining Commonwealth Bank of Australia a year later.
“Either you’re an entrepreneur or you’re not, irrespective of the job,” Léo asserts when I ask why he switched paths. “I’ve always considered myself as an entrepreneur – even when I was 14.”
The Master’s graduate managed to fit in Le Grand Raid, a 170 km run which includes crossing the rim of a volcano on France's Réunion Island, while running his fledgling firm, and last year completed Winner Wildendurance, a 100 km hike across Australia’s Blue Mountains.
It was after completing a Master of Management at the leading French business school that Léo set-up his first company. “It was not profitable, but it was good experience,” he laughs.
After relocating to PwC Sydney, his management role quickly began to lose its lustre. “I was fed up with the traditional corporate life, and I realized I really wanted to stay in Australia,” he says.
But that background was part of the motivation for launching Pacific media and Consulting Group. “I worked with over 50 companies around the world, so I wanted a line [of work] around consulting, targeted for not-for-profit and small and medium sized businesses.”
It wasn’t long before he started to secure consultancy contracts. They part-funded the businesses launch. The rest of the investment came from Léo’s own pockets. “That’s why it was difficult; when you’re working for other companies, you’re not spending the time building your own website,” he says.
The company is a three-way-split: consulting, marketing (adverts) and coaching. The revenue streams are quite balanced, Léo says, but for the first three years they were unable to turn a profit.
“It was cash burning for almost two years. Last year was balanced, and this year we’ve got a small profit,” he says. “This cash flow will help us take the company to the next level.” But he has no regrets: “From a human perspective it’s amazingly rewarding, so I’ll never regret all the hard work.”
He wants to secure a series A funding round, which he reckons will multiply the company’s size by five in a year. The company has three official employees but he hires interns from engineering and business schools.
Léo grew up in eastern France and began his business school program in 1999, graduating in 2003. Before that the former EMLYON football captain spent two years at Lycée Henri Poincaré, a French high school, in a prep class for exams to the leading French business schools.
His background makes for an unlikely entrepreneurial talent. “That’s something you have or you don’t have,” he deadpans.
Léo is redefining his online strategy in a bid to improve growth. A million website hits are seemingly not enough. “We also found a great partner, another start-up that is really booming in Australia. Watch this space,” he says, but refuses to reveal more.
So was a Master’s really worth it? “What French business schools do well is getting practical experience, and some kind of entrepreneurial program,” Léo says proudly. “So it gave me good people management skills – and obviously the network.”
But what does he say to other entrepreneurs? “Once you’ve been in business for a while and you really want to set-up a business, setting up with friends is the best way to learn.” And an MBA program? “I’m starting to be a bit too old to do an MBA now.”
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