#SummerSeries: 5 questions for Estelle Métayer—entrepreneur, trend spotter, and public speaker

03.08.2020 08:30, Isabelle Mitchell

During the summer months, we ask people who inspire the Swiss startup ecosystem to provide the Venturelab community with food for thought, inspiration, and recommendations for summer 2020—and beyond. Up next, sharing her thoughts on entrepreneurship is Estelle Métayer—an expert in competitive and strategic intelligence, renowned public speaker, facilitator of strategic workshops, and adjunct professor for McGill University.

Estelle’s research helps managers, CEOs, and board members avoid strategic blindspots by focusing on building and improving strategic planning and competitive intelligence. Estelle Métayer was the president and founder of Competia (sold in 2004), the leading training organization for executives and analysts in strategic intelligence. Estelle’s resume boasts many impressive engagements: She is an independent director for Audemars-Piguet, serves on various boards, and chairs several committees around the world. Estelle received the Arista Sunlife Award for “Entrepreneur of the Year”  in 2000 and was a finalist for the Award “Women of Merit” from the YWCA in 2001. Estelle, who is married with two children, speaks six languages and is also a painter, commercial pilot, and flight instructor.


 
Estelle, how will you spend your summer this year? 
This will be a summer of learning and reflecting. With many companies closing down to allow employees to take a well-deserved rest, and most events moving online, this is an unprecedented time to do what we have put off for lack of time. For learning, I have registered for a class by USC Berkeley on Artificial Intelligence Strategy. In these intense six-week modules, I got a chance to dive into a subject I still do not know well. I have three other themes I intend to learn about: 1) Immerse myself in TikTok culture and its stans to understand how to engage Gen Z and Gen C, 2) dive into what the longevity economy will mean and how we care for extreme age, and 3) scan for weak signals and, therefore, connect with polymaths and unusual minds about how our world will shape up in the next 10 years. In terms of reflecting, I dedicate two hours a day during the summer to sitting idle, no screen or book, to force myself to think.

Reflecting on the year so far, what do you see as the most critical challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs? 
On the first level, managing liquidities and retaining the core team in times of COVID-19 comes to mind. Most entrepreneurs I speak to have been busy securing financing, applying for government help when they qualified, and pivoting their business model to generate sales no matter what. Meanwhile, the key was to be able to retain the talent and team they needed to be able to restart. On a second level, opportunities are real, especially in the M&A sector, and many are looking into—or have pursued—acquisitions. Valuations are down, founders are looking to exit, and the strongest companies are going on a shopping spree. The challenge remaining is dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty about the future: the timing of an eventual second wave, whether health-related or economic, the strength of supply chains, the opening of borders. Forecasts are reviewed bi-monthly if not weekly, and one of the only tools at disposal at this point is scenario planning, as too many uncertainties make it difficult to put any number down. Budgets have been rebuilt from zero-base up for the first time.
 
What is the essential principle for mastering challenges as an entrepreneur? 
Keep calm. Challenges always mean opportunities too, and the capability to calmly analyze the situation from different angles, taking off the ambiguity and stress for one’s team, is an essential skill. If I could add a second one, I would add to be able to identify blindspots before anyone else sees them and react more rapidly than anyone.

What book would you recommend founders and entrepreneurs to read this summer – and why? 
The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World’s Fastest-Growing, Most Misunderstood Market by Joseph F. Coughlin was a page-turner for me. With an aging population, virtually no company today has taken time to think about what opportunities, rather than a burden,  this represents. I would also recommend Hidden in Plain Sight: How to Create Extraordinary Products for Tomorrow’s Customers by Jan Chipchase, on the art of looking at weak signals and developing strategic empathy to create extraordinary products.

What can startup founders learn from you when they follow you on social media?
From people I follow on Twitter, they will identify experts that can act as a source of inspiration. From my timeline, they will read about future trends, unusual observations leading to weak signals about the future, governance tips and frameworks, competitive intelligence sources of information, and strategic moves. On LinkedIn, they will be offered key readings, thought-provoking events. Facebook will provide them with key articles on strategy and trends, usually on weekends. From my blog, they can receive, if they subscribe, a monthly newsletter with readings that make them think and key bookmarks for research. From my Instagram account, they will see a much more personal side of me—and my love for Canada and Switzerland.

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