After 8 years at Apple, this Alumnus launched his startup: take a look at sTiles!

I am Franco-German and I was born in Hamburg. I went to a French school in Hamburg, then when I was 13 I transferred to the Lycée International de Paris (in St. Germain-en-Laye). I joined the Franco-German EBP programme at KEDGE in Bordeaux and Münster. After graduating, I moved to Madrid to learn Spanish and got a job in an advertising agency. Then, in 2007, I moved to London to work for Apple and stayed there eight years. I held different marketing positions (for Apple's online store, the App Store, and Apple Music). The main thing I learned at Apple was the importance of paying attention to details in all aspects of the business! By that, I mean that being detail oriented is importance from communication all the way down to the product. And that is what results in quality products, which is what I wanted for my current project: a product that stands out because of its final quality. 

Currently, I am running a Kickstarter campaign to launch sTiles: adhesive photos, that are reusable and water resistant. The idea came to me because I was thinking about photo-magnets and how their use is very limited - only on refrigerators... So I wanted to find an easy solution to decorate my home with pictures, without needing tools or leaving a trace. Additionally, it needed to work in the bathroom because in my opinion, it's too sterile of an environment. We use it every day, why not decorate it? 

 

 

 

Currently, the goal is to raise money to launch the product and enable everyone to access it. Once we pass that step, we will focus on creating a community of creative minds around the product, to inspire the consumer to use the product in an original way. For example, by printing other things besides photos: designs, informative signs, etc. 

The EBP had a major programme focused on business. This allowed me to learn a variety of things in different fields (finance, HR, analysis, marketing...). As an entrepreneur, all of these fields are very useful and help me every day.  

 

This may sound contradictory, given my obsession with details, but my main advice for those who wish to launch a project or a business is to not wait until it is perfect to start! It is important to just start, otherwise, you will never do it. You have to identify which elements need to be perfect and which ones don't. Perfection always has to be the goal, but a company is a living structure. It will always continue to evolve. So just go for it.