#20 Managing the mess of life, from Harvard to politics to startup
My guest in this episode is Guillaume Liégey, an entrepreneur. He co-founded eXplain, a startup to combine his passion for politics and his desire to work with great people.While at the Harvard Kennedy School, he witnessed how data-driven and field-focused Obama's campaign was. So he decided to bring back to France this best practice. He did it with the French Socialist party in 2012. He then worked closely with Emmanuel Macron to create and launch the En Marche party which won the French presidential election in 2017.
Preferring to focus on his business he made the tough decision to withdraw from the campaign and to pivot the business.In this episode Guillaume also talks about the joys and struggles of being an entrepreneur, such as the many nos entrepreneurs have to receive in fundraising, about balancing ambition and ego, about learning humility as a Parisian consultant in a factory in Marseille and much more. I think you'll enjoy this conversation!
Show notes
[00:01:29] Guillaume is an entrepreneur in the private-public sphere
[00:05:08] What he loves so much about being an entrepreneur: direct impact, control over his time and building a great community
[00:06:41] From passion for (national-level) politics to disgust
[00:07:46] His fascination with politics is the power to improve many people's lives
[00:10:34] His forray into politics: applying the data-driven approach of the Obama campaign to the French 2012 campaign
[00:11:29] That when he decided never to go into politics: too many ego-driven individuals
[00:12:15] Founding his startup as a way to work in politics with great people
[00:13:05] Desire to help fix some of the issues in the world
[00:14:04] People who focus enjoying life, those who focus on impact
[00:16:25] The moment he said no to John Hopkins after being rejected by Harvard... then getting into Harvard
[00:18:40] Being offered an business advisor job by Emmanuel Macron, then not getting it
[00:20:03] Interviewing to become the Chief of Staff of Publicis' CEO, one of the largest advertising agencies globally
[00:21:43] Saying no because he appreciated so much having control over his own time
[00:23:01] Working with Macron to plan the creation of En Marche, his new political party
[00:26:22] Organising the creation and launch of the En Marche party and refusing to join the campaign full time
[00:27:48] The difficult choice between independence and possible success and of FOMO
[00:28:40] Difficulty in accepting his choice of leaving a successful presidential campaign
[00:29:48] Moments he got tricked by his ego... and became useless for his company
[00:31:42] His most important lesson: accepting is not quitting
[00:32:45] Most rewarding in his journey: no more angst going to work
[00:33:22] Learning to accept the "no's" through fundraising
[00:34:08] Biggest challenge: fighting your ego while staying ambitious
[00:34:50] Another challenge: accepting that success is also largely due to luck
[00:36:05] Lessons of humility in a factory in Marseille as a 25-year old McKinsey consultant
[00:39:17] "You have to give love to people"
[00:40:59] Being inspired by his shrink to learn to manage the mess of life