Training courses that teach management in a concrete way are few and far between. In this short and easy guide for (future) entrepreneurs and managers of start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses, Xavier Pinon shares his practical tips on how to create a vision, define a strategy, and then execute it by building a team in a healthy and efficient work environment.


What if we started a company? In March 2007, late in the evening after dinner, 19-year-old Aurian, suggested to 20-year-old Xavier, his Japanese language classmate at Sciences Po, that they try their hand at an entrepreneurial venture. To have fun, to learn and to finally have the opportunity to put their studies into practice. They immediately came up with the idea of creating an energy price comparison website, having read in the press that from the 1st of July 2007, French consumers were going to be able to freely choose their energy supplier for the first time. In August 2007, the first energy supply contract was sold through Selectra. In 2011, Selectra diversified its offering, not only comparing energy but other household utility contracts (internet and mobile offers, insurance, etc.) and has now expanded internationally. At the end of 2021, Selectra had 1,600 international employees, providing its services in some 16 countries, with a turnover of €75 million. In 2021, Selectra joined the French Tech 120, a government programme designed to help selected companies become world-class technology leaders.