Goodvest is a start-up that offers responsible investment solutions. In this Podcast, its CEO, Joseph Choueifaty, talks about his entrepreneurial adventure and ambitions for Goodvest. He also explains how he inexpensively tested the market’s interest in his idea before launching and how this allowed him to find his first clients. You can also watch Joseph’s video on our YouTube channel.
Summary
- Chapter 1: Your entrepreneurial experience in 1 figure
- Chapter 2: the genesis of the business idea
- Chapter 3: Validation of the business idea
- Chapter 4: Getting started
- Chapter 5: Take off
- Chapter 6: The future
- IntoTheMinds podcasts
The marketing idea to be retained absolutely
Creating a landing page is an approach that works well to test the “traction” on the market. It is an indirect way to do market research at a lower cost.
In the case of Goodvest, the success of the landing page helped convince Generali to become a partner and overcome 2 significant drawbacks: the lack of history of the company and the young age of the two founders.
Chapter 1: Goodvest in 1 figure
Backed by Generali, Goodvest already claims 400 customers in the first 2 months after its launch, making it Generali’s best internet partner.
Goodvest’s offer is on the market in September 2021. It offers a savings solution fully compatible with the Paris Treaty. In concrete terms, Goodvest has selected funds according to strict criteria of responsibility and ethics. Investors can thus invest their money without giving up their values. These values are not synonymous with lower returns, as scientific research from 2015 shows that companies that adopt sustainable practices can also boast above-average financial performance.
The landing page: a good idea to test your market
Those who can’t do complete market research before launching could take inspiration from Assurly. The 1,000 early adopters signed up on a dedicated landing page that tested market traction and customer interest. This landing page proved to be a valuable asset for Toufik and Mickael as it crystallized the consumers’ expectations. They confirmed the relevance of the business model.
These “early adopters” are so many benevolent beta-testers who will allow you to improve your product at a lower cost. This is phase 2 of our market research methodology.
Chapter 2: The genesis of the business idea
As is often the case, the idea for the company was born from personal observation. In the case of Joseph Choueifaty, the idea originated from the difficulty of finding responsible investments. During his time at HEC and his meeting with André Bénéteau, the idea took shape and became an entrepreneurial project.
Entrepreneurial project and tunnel effect
Business projects are often born from personal observations. Through difficulty in their private or professional life, the entrepreneur thinks he can identify an opportunity in the market.
This dynamic confirms Schumpeter’s theory of an entrepreneur who moves forward and refuses the status quo. However, what I call the “tunnel effect” is a counterbalance to this dynamic. Work experience can sometimes be a poor advisor in detecting entrepreneurial opportunities. It can increase self-confidence beyond reason and mask difficulties that would have appeared through an objective analysis. This is the tunnel effect.
Chapter 3: Confirmation of the business idea
As in the case of Assurly, the validation of the business idea was done through a landing page. This page attracted 3000 pre-registrants. Among them, 100 agreed to become beta testers, which allowed them to conduct a low-cost improvement program. Before any market launch, this improvement phase is essential. It will enable us to stick as close as possible to the customers’ needs and to rid a prototype of its youthful diseases.
Microsoft is the only company among the GAFAMs that respects the Paris Treaty.
Goodvest relied on 2 types of signals to validate the interest of the market:
- The number of pre-registrations
- The number of visitors
Determine signals to assess “traction” in the market
Whatever the business idea, it is essential to set objective criteria in advance to validate your project. These criteria must be defined in advance to avoid the temptation to modify them to validate your idea at all costs.
Generally, 2 criteria are sufficient at this stage to continue the project. There is no need to define too many criteria that could be complicated to measure anyway.
Finally, don’t forget to think beforehand about the data you will use to measure these criteria. Too often, we see entrepreneurs using biased data to validate their marketing plan.
Chapter 4: Getting started
Getting started was conditional on the successful search for a partner (in this case, Generali) to ensure the flow of money resulting from the investment decisions. This passage is an opportunity for Joseph to recall that before Generali, discussions had been initiated with another partner who preferred to withdraw because of the age of the co-founders.
Goodvest’s first partner preferred to withdraw because of the age of the co-founders.
Getting started was mainly a technical challenge since converting what was only a prototype into a commercial product was necessary. This phase lasted 6 months, and Goodvest’s offering was finally launched on the market in September 2021.
Chapter 5: Take off
In the acceleration phase, human capital is often a limiting factor. Any start-up that wants to accelerate will at some point face human resource challenges. These challenges are only more significant when it comes to IT skills (see our Podcast on the impact of Covid on the IT market).
Joseph tells us in the Podcast that Goodvest’s early successes, particularly positive customer feedback, have made it easier to find developers.
This acceleration phase is also an excellent time to invest in communication and prepare for fundraising.
Chapter 6: the future
After a strong start, Goodvest plans to expand to other countries by 2023. Joseph Choueifaty also confides in us his desire to diversify his offer. After life insurance, Goodvest should offer a solution for a retirement savings plan (PER) and a securities account solution to meet the demands of companies.
A podcast to help you develop your start-up
The “Entrepreneurship and Marketing” podcast traces the different stages in the life of a promising start-up. By identifying the critical elements of success at each phase of the start-up’s development, we help you find solutions for your company.
The podcast is divided into chapters of 4 to 6 minutes. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific theme or development phase. You can listen to the entire podcast or choose to listen to only a part of it by directly selecting the one that interests you the most. You can also find the video version of the interview on our YouTube channel.
Illustration images: shutterstock
Posted in Entrepreneurship.
