Joining an Extraordinary Community
Having lived or worked on four continents, Benoit Dupont has seen the world. He understands and respects the importance of diversity, and this appreciation was one of the reasons he was drawn to the Program for Leadership Development (PLD) at Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education—where he discovered a one-of-a-kind community of enlightened faculty and highly accomplished fellow participants. He shares some insights from his learning experience.
Why did you choose to apply to PLD, and did the program meet your expectations?
I applied to PLD looking for a transformative experience that was in line with HBS's values—an "environment of trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning." I wanted to access a best-in-class learning experience and become part of the greatest alumni community in the world. Because of my participation in this program, I met amazing people and am now running my own startup—so, it definitely met my expectations.
What inspired you to start WeMaintain?
First, it was the acknowledgment that we have entered an unprecedented time in the digital revolution. I knew that I had to either challenge myself and change the way I was working or keep working for a more traditional corporation that risks being disrupted by this revolution and eventually becomes disconnected. While machines are replacing a large number of jobs, there are still many that cannot be replaced. WeMaintain embraces the digital transformation to create a more valuable business model for the key stakeholders of professional maintenance services in the building space. We tie people who create value to people who pay for it—starting with the most common mode of transportation in the world, elevators. Our slogan is, "We rise by lifting others." With these new digital tools, entrepreneurship is the best platform for making a difference in the world.
Which parts of the program were most helpful in developing this project?
For me, the most helpful part was the capacity to explore cases with the living group. Go 6C! In that environment, among people who really cared about each other's dilemmas, everyone provided honest and direct feedback. That was extremely valuable. Two years after leaving HBS, the members of my living group still call each other regularly.
Why did you decide to submit WeMaintain to the HBS New Venture Competition?
We are a young venture, and competitions provide a channel for reaching out to our desired audience. At the same time, it's a time-consuming exercise that can become distracting if not addressed carefully. We were methodical in looking at where we could reach our customers and investors and how we could test our model on different continents. Then, we decided to participate in three startup competitions: the MIPIM in Hong Kong and Cannes, which is the biggest fair in the real estate sector; the HBS NVC, which could connect us to the HBS global community in Europe and eventually the United States; and the BFM Academy in France, which is a competition in our primary market. We won the MIPIM Hong Kong, and we are the first European company to win the HBS NVC European finals. Also, we recently made it to the final four of the BFM Academy—out of 500 startups from all over France.
Where do you see the company going as you expand?
We have a clear road map of cities to target. The beauty of the platform model is the ability to scale quickly because the core product can be deployed almost immediately to any place in the world. We plan to start with Europe and Asia, where cities with the highest building density are located, and we’ll gradually extend to some cities in the United States. We also have cross-selling opportunities in other regulated segments with the same customers, but that’s another story. For now, we’ll stay focused on elevators.
Which aspects of the program contributed most to your success?
It was the HBS community—the faculty and the alumni. We had tremendous professors bringing the best of HBS knowledge, accumulated over decades, to the classroom. This was priceless. Then, leaving campus and returning to our home countries, we still had this lifetime link to the HBS community that made it a truly unique experience. You can copy any method, case, or theory, but you can't copy the diversity of the HBS community around the world. I am a French citizen by passport, but I was born in Germany, raised in Africa, and eventually worked for eight years in China and six months in India. When you talk about Harvard anywhere in the world, it resonates. Other Ivy League universities just don’t have the same impact. HBS is truly global, and from my perspective, this is its biggest strength.