Journey
Nothing was mapped out.
Everything was built.
From struggling at school and a stammer that made speaking impossible, to entrepreneurship, conference stages and projects that bring people together: where you start does not decide where you finish.
The starting point
Learning not to let labels decide for you.
- Age 16
- when everything changed
- 2002
- passed the national railways entrance exam
School was never easy ground for me. I stammered badly — badly enough that I could not say my own name at roll call.
My school years pointed to a path a long way from entrepreneurship and public speaking.
At 16, losing my father suddenly in a car accident accelerated everything. My mother was a homemaker at the time. I had to take my life into my own hands, understand what independence is worth, and work out early how to turn every opportunity into leverage.
I went through several vocational qualifications while running small businesses and taking odd jobs on the side.
It was not the most direct route. It became the foundation of my ability to keep moving, keep learning and keep building.
Before entrepreneurship
Job security was not enough.
After a string of very different jobs, I joined the French national railways on a civil-service style contract — the holy grail in my mother’s eyes :-). I held three roles there, including train driver. A job for life, retirement promised at 50, plenty of benefits… from the outside, an exceptionally comfortable position.
But the setting did not suit me: the unions, the strikes, a pace that was far too gentle, the endless coffee breaks, hours to account for… I wanted to build and move forward, not to wait. Being the restless type, I eventually walked away from all of it to start my own business. That was the decision that set everything in motion.
Key milestones
A path still in motion.
2002
The railways: 10 years, 3 roles
After passing the entrance exam I moved through several roles before joining the IT department. A stable career, but a growing pull towards the web.
2010
The first step into business
France’s new sole-trader status gave me the chance to launch a side business building search-optimised websites: CreaNico.
2014
Out of the shadows, onto the stage
Someone once told me: “Either write a book or start speaking at conferences.” I chose the second option — more than 100 talks, webinars and interviews within a few years.
2017
Co-founding Semjuice
With my two partners, David and Jérémy, we turned link building into a structured, effective and durable lever for business visibility. Done well, it is one of the most powerful ways to gain ground on Google.
2020
Scaling up
Self-funded with just €1,000, the company passed €5m in revenue and grew to more than 40 staff — hypergrowth largely carried by the Covid years. In 2023 we hired a managing director so we could step back from day-to-day operations.
2024
Making room for passion
Our passion project with my wife Christelle: PremDrive. We set up a travel agency specialising in premium driving experiences and developed several touring rallies across southern France.
2017 → 2026 · Nine years
A team, a strong idea and the will to bring structure to one of the most decisive levers in SEO: link building.
Growing an idea
Semjuice, a venture built on execution.
In 2017, my partners and I co-founded Semjuice around a new idea: making link-building strategies more accessible, more reliable and more relevant for companies and agencies.
Semjuice became one of the leading names in link building in France.
In August 2026, after nine years, I sold the company to my employees. The people who grew it are now the ones running it — the handover that made the most sense.
That experience taught me how to grow a business without losing what keeps it alive: a sense of service, team autonomy and an eye for detail.
On video
My path as an entrepreneur.
A short film retracing the road travelled, from the first entrepreneurial ambitions to building projects designed to last.
What drives me
Building projects with character.
My companies are very different, but they rest on the same standard: delivering something useful, well made and sincere. Growing a team, bringing a community together, creating memories on the road or making a brand visible — every project starts with attention to detail.
Today
Success only means something when it leaves room for what matters.
Today I split my time between growing CN Digital, PremDrive, investing, and the projects where ambition, trust and passion meet.
See what I am building →