MEET WITH THE TEAM #3. Interview with Jean-Baptiste Alliot, our Chief Strategy Officer
Welcome to the third part of our series of “MEET WITH THE TEAM”.
After having interviewed our Chief Executive Officer Samuel, let’s deep dive into the story of our last co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Jean-Baptiste Alliot.
Jb, you co-founded LaSource and you are now the CSO, what led you to create the agency?
First it is a human adventure. While returning to my home town after a decade abroad, I had the opportunity and the chance to discuss with like-minded people who shared a certain vision of the sport industry and a willingness to shape it in the best way possible.
Second, the vision and beliefs we shared were key. I believe we align ourselves on this vision and how technology and startups can help sports organizations to redefine themselves, to transform themselves and ensure they address the new demands from the fans and the new challenges that the 4th industrial revolution brings.
Finally the entrepreneurial mindset and journey. I have been to a certain extent an intrapreneur by building new products or units in an organization, but building my own company has always been on the back of my mind and it was the right time to do it, with the right people who share the same vision.
You’ve been working at UEFA for a long time before, can you explain to us what were your main missions, and how was your journey there?
I started there on the education side in a unit which is now called UEFA Academy. It is within the national associations' division which serves UEFA members, e.g., the 55 member associations.
I was especially in charge of MESGO, an executive education program made for C-levels in the sport industry; and we created other programs like football law and for former players with the MIP or FMT.
I then started to work on international relations at a time of the FIFA gate, which has allowed me to continue collaborating and discussing with Presidents and General Secretaries in Europe and other confederations. In this position, I have worked on strategic aspects, which ultimately led me to create and manage the UEFA innovation hub in 2018.
And since then until summer 2021 I have been in charge of the UEFA innovation hub strategy and projects.
When did you first meet with David & Sam? Was there any link with your job at UEFA?
First time I met Samuel was back in 2019 when we launched the first UEFA startup challenge and Sam was pitching one of the pre-selected startups to be enrolled in the program.
As Sam did well and made it happen, I met a few weeks after David who was part of the PoC and internal roadmap on the product we aimed at using.
And to be honest I had good relationships but not necessarily exclusive or extensive ones at the time of the challenge. But I appreciated the transparency and working capacity to meet our requirements, as we were quite demanding and not necessarily used to work with startups.
Today, what is your main activity at LaSource? How would you describe your typical working day to a child?
This is quite tricky since I have recently decided to take a new position within Paris&Co as Director of Sport & Health Hub. Therefore, my days have completely changed over the past two months.
But I remain fully involved within LaSource, more in my free time to be honest, but I have a true passion for it. It goes from content production, to podcast host as well as startup monitoring, support and business intelligence.
I believe our value proposition is so relevant today, and we have great discussions with many organizations to help them address their needs that I fully continue to enjoy sharing insights and recommendations. And this is only the start of the adventure - We have many projects to come!
JB moderates a panel at the World Football Summit for LaSource
You are very invested in the world of startups, new technologies and innovation. Is this a passion that you have nurtured since your studies, or did it just come to you over time?
I don’t know to be honest.
I cannot say that I have been a fan of startups and new tech since my studies. I have always had the entrepreneurial mindset that is true. But I came to this world through the strategy angle and the need to adapt and understand your ecosystem to best perform today and future-proof any organization, rather than the start-up world and the love for products.
We live in a world where nothing is set in stone, and actually you need to better understand the market and cross-industry evolutions if you want to survive. And this is mainly due to new technologies and the rise of startups in a digital age.
This is how I came to develop my interest, knowledge, and expertise on the innovation and startup side of things. They are not a purpose on their own - they exist to serve a bigger need and a bigger purpose, which is supported and backed by organizations (vision and purpose).
Your love affair with startups is far from over, as you were recently appointed Managing Director of Le Tremplin, the Paris&Co startups incubator. Why did you decide to join them?
That is an excellent question actually, which complements my previous reply.
I was mentioning the idea of the ecosystem but also of wider objectives with a purpose, and I think this is exactly what has led me to make this move.
I will be in charge of an innovation platform in sport with Le Tremplin but also of Health and disability with Tech Care and HUA. These are other industries I can learn from and which have definitely synergies to scale some projects I am familiar with in sport, and vice versa.
But the main reasons were the objectives of such innovation platforms which are to drive a better, a more active and a healthier society to shape the City of tomorrow. This is actually quite complementary to what I am doing at LaSource which is very niche, driven by purely private partners and very much centered on the business of sport and the fan engagement aspects of it.
At Paris&Co, public institutions also take part in the innovation process and the objectives are completely different - This is why it is interesting, and I can continue to do both.
Is there a dream that you often have and that you really want to make come true?
Participate in a grand slam and win one of them. But I don’t really want that dream to come true because of all the sacrifices it requires. But that’s a dream I have been doing for more than 20 years now and it is still there.
How do you want to see LaSource in the next couple of years?
Excellent question -- For which I cannot really provide an answer, as it will depend on what we want to do with it in the future with Sam and David.
From my perspective, LaSource would ideally continue helping sports organizations navigate the complexity of their industry and provide very practical solutions to address their needs.
And we would do so especially through the use of new technologies and our start-ups knowledge to help them keep up with the new demands to remain relevant.
Now I have no clue whether we should grow a lot or not - I am not necessarily keen on pushing for a high growth, but I want us to remain as excellent as we are today. I don’t want to sound too pretentious here, but I really believe we have a unique understanding and value proposition today. And my goal is to keep and extend it as the years go by without pushing for too high growth too fast.
If you would be a startup, what would it be?
Oh, man...Too difficult to answer.
More than a start-up, I can be a concept : the Metaverse.
I think not enough people realize where we are heading and to which extent this future is close. I am not saying it is the future I want or the one we need as a society, but I think that with what technologies are bringing in today and in the coming years, I would be that concept!
Finally, as you’re working a lot with startups, what are the best pieces of advice you can give them to continuously grow and improve the quality of their services?
Oh god - Tough one and hard not to be cliché here.
Listen. No actually the first thing is to surround yourself with great people you can work with and complement you in your professional life. Then, please listen. Too many entrepreneurs I have seen are too convinced or too much driven by their vision and products. Those who manage to listen and integrate some advice are usually the ones who succeed.
Other than this, I am not too sure, it would depend on the product, the maturity of the start-up, etc. But contact us and we will see if we can help :)