Interview with Alice Croizié Hocquet (original version in French could be found here)

‍

How did your journey lead you to entrepreneurship?

For me, being an entrepreneur was not obvious. Coming from a very corporate background, I worked in large companies in the financial field in New York, and I quickly had the feeling of having ticked all the necessary boxes, especially since the context in which I evolved allowed me to advance quickly, with people who believed in me. Despite remarkable collaborators and stimulating - and rather glamorous - projects, in 2012 I began to feel empty, trapped in a rat race, which caused me an intense drop in energy and vision problems that I attribute today to a lack of projection. I felt a desire for freedom, exploration, and answers! This need to find meaning triggered a period of tribulations. I got into the game of entrepreneurship through an initial project related to start-ups, which gave me an in-depth vision in this area. While living and working in Chile and then in Brazil, I discovered the entrepreneurial ecosystem, where young women were underrepresented. The project began to take different forms: from outplacement missions, my team and I moved to headhunting, favouring quality and reducing volume. In reality, we were already doing coaching without realizing it while preparing our candidates. We got a taste for it! Ultimately, these successive explorations showed us that a complete, holistic approach was essential in career coaching.

How would you define your role today?

At Kaelon, the company I founded to help business leaders realize their full potential, our mission is to help people become extraordinary so they can do extraordinary things. I feel a real positive impact on the companies that my team of coaches supports. Even though it took explorations for me to understand who I was and the impact I wanted to create, this necessary and very personal process allows me today to embrace fully my role as executive coach and leadership trainer. I also teach entrepreneurship and career success in business schools, for both executive MBA and Bachelor profiles, which gives me a very fresh perspective on the ambitions and prospects of future generations.

What are the values ​​that drive you?

Impact, freedom, the reach of our footprint on the world. In this constellation of challenges and opportunities, my concept of freedom has evolved. Today, I think that true freedom is to exercise a purpose-driven profession, which transports us. I also believe a lot in interdisciplinarity, resilience, curiosity and emotional intelligence. This multiple approach is also found in the DNA of Kaelon, which establishes bridges between the world of business and those of elite sport, art, diplomacy and the army thanks to its team of multidisciplinary experts which notably includes a filmmaker, a European boxing champion, an acrobat and sports coach, an army officer and diplomatic attaché, a psychiatrist and psychologist.

Did some challenges you faced have a positive impact on your personal development?

Everything in my journey had meaning, even the difficulties. A major challenge was knowing how to ask for help, and surrounding myself with a community, a network. As a single mother a few years ago, I did not activate the levers to surround myself, to feel recognized and valued. We must recognize the crucial need to create alliances, so as not to get stuck in painful mental loops. Because I am convinced: suffering is useless. I also think that we must not forget to refocus on the present and enjoy the journey, thus cultivating joy without necessarily having the finish line in mind.

What image do you have of female entrepreneurs?

You don't have to be less of a woman to be an entrepreneur, because empathy, listening, and a taste for challenge are transversal skills. A woman in a leadership role must be aware of her priorities, and define what is non-negotiable for her. For me, it is absolutely possible to be an entrepreneur and a mother, thanks to constant arbitrage and rebalancing. I feel very close to the world of elite sport that I come into regular contact with thanks to the High Realities team which I am part and with which Kaelon has a privileged partnership. I like to approach my goals like an athlete and manage periods of acceleration like a sprint over a short period of time, as well as taking advantage of recovery periods where I preserve myself and recharge my energy. Within the circles of female executive leaders that I facilitate, we clearly perceive the loneliness of women in positions of high responsibility. These spaces allow us to find effective mechanisms to continue undertaking boldly, with a thirst for freedom, without paying attention to the lurking imposter syndrome. Consciously fighting against inner sabotage is work, but it’s worth it.

Sophie Vurpillot and her team are now committed to increasing their impact, through a strengthened digital presence. Newly launched by Kaelon, the Supernova podcast gives voice to high-performance actors with extraordinary trajectories, and offers a new forum of ideas for entrepreneurs and leaders looking for inspiration.