CollecOnline's Loïc Schappacher on the good, the bad and the ugly of the entrepreneurship journey

What motivates you to keep moving your startup forward even when it's not always easy?

I find motivation through my associates, my team, our users, and all the people who believe in our project: I took them along for this dream (or crazy) ride, so I can't afford to fail (them) after we had gone through so much! 

Where and when do you find inspiration?

I often find inspiration by talking to other entrepreneurs. I describe my project, they pitch theirs, and ideas end up developing and becoming more accurate. I also find a lot of inspiration in tech, especially in the crypto ecosystem which is not limited to cryptos-currencies. Metaverse, NFT, Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), asset tokenization, web3...  

What failure or disappointment became an opportunity to improve?

We experienced the departure of one of our original co-founders last summer. Those who have been through that know how difficult it can be... The cash flow was not at the top at the time, neither was the growth dynamic... We decided, however, to open a permanent position to fill his place. 

We had applications of excellent quality, so much so that we could not choose between 2 experienced professionals: Laurent, the serial entrepreneur passionate about African art, and Christine, the event expert passionate about contemporary art... We finally took both, which has contributed so much to the company protectory and growth: Their skills in bizdev and marketing helped give life to our virtual gallery offer in the metaverse, making CollecOnline one of the very first companies to build a bridge between web2 and web3. 

What is the best piece of advice you received that you try to apply daily?

An idea has little value, only its realization counts, so don't be afraid to explain your project to as many people as possible, including strangers and competitors. The world is vast, your real competitor will not be in your region or even in your country. And behind a competitor can hide a partner, even an associate. 

If you were a leader (director, captain of a sports team, leader of a music group…), who would you be and why?

Straw Hat Luffy, one of the most famous pirate ship captains, a persevering fighter that believes in his dreams and knows how to surround himself with the right people! He recruits a best-in-class crew, who beyond being skilled, are faithful partners who will always be there for him whatever storms and obstacles come their way. 

Our own One Piece, our ultimate goal is, to become the gateway to the metaverses of the world of art and collecting, building the largest gallery in the world!  

And for the pirate side? I think you should never hesitate to "borrow" a good idea! :)