Michel Hoffmann is a prominent serial entrepreneur from Luxembourg. After working for a number of years at the creative firm GeckoGroup, he left to found Individuum, a prosperous company that was primarily active in Luxembourg and London. With the help of Individuum, which started off as a job board for students and young professionals, employers can now find, screen, and negotiate contracts with applicants from the convenience of their web browsers.
As of right now, Michel leads Giftable as CEO. Giftable, which means compassion, is a smartphone app that lets users share experiences and offer presents to others in their networks.
Below are highlights of the interview:
Tell us about your journey and what did you do before starting your entrepreneurial and professional journey?
My professional career started early; at the age of 15, while still enrolled in high school. I started working with an internet service provider. Unlike my fellow classmates, I did not only work with that company for a summer holiday; I worked with that company for every possible holiday there was. That was back when I was still completely enamored with technology and its possibilities.From there, I went ahead and co-founded a design, hosting, and development agency called Gecko.lu. This company still exists, but I left after about two years when my partner decided to focus on all things design – and I am not very good at design.I am still in close contact with David.
In 2012, I co-founded a startup in the recruitment industry that was aimed at helping students and young professionals with up to 5 years of experience find internships and/or their first professional careers. This company grew from Luxembourg to the UK, but once Brexit happened, we decided that it was time to sell off the business. This was my first exit in 2017.
From there, I moved on to work again at a different agency at a different scale, with already 25 people on payroll the moment I got in. I was hired as Project Director, I moved on to become COO, streamlined processes, and only about a year later, the company was approached to be acquired by a big media player. The CEO and owner of the company deemed this to be the right decision, which was the moment I left.
From there, I moved on to live in Berlin with my girlfriend for about a year before deciding to move back to Luxembourg and to do research into the gifting space.
What was the motivation behind founding Giftable?
It was in January of 2019 that I started researching the gifting space. A new way of bringing people back together, bringing them closer again. And what better way to do so than by using gifts? There were a lot of challenges that needed to be thought of, though. Of course, it should be something in the technology space, which makes sense; people are more glued to the screens of their smartphones than ever before. However, that’s not what life is all about. Thus, the decision to focus on gifts that are real-life experiences. On a deeper level, this makes sense also: the rush and release of dopamine once you receive a gift is nice, but during the anticipation phase and the moment itself, it’s a great emotion that will always remain connected to the gifter, thus strengthening interpersonal relationships.
Tell us more about the company’s exclusive offerings.
It’s really hard to pick any favourite experiences among a catalogue that comprises over 30.000 experiences in 32 countries currently.
However, Giftable constitutes a C2C mobile application that allows people from across the world to gift said experiences to their close networks—the people they have registered within their phone’s contact book.
What are your major roles and responsibilities at the company?
As Chief Executive Officer, my main mission is to work in the future, to refine the strategy and to make sure that the concert plays the right notes at the right time. However, we put a lot of time and thought into our hiring process—so everybody at the company knows that we are considering ourselves like a professional sports team, showing up every day for training in order to win the game!
Have you established clear work priorities that everybody can get behind? How should a company evolve to keep up with major tech changes?
Like any other business, there is an overarching roadmap for all different departments at our company. We know exactly where we want to go and everybody knows exactly why they are a key player in the subject at hand. I trust my team 100% to be able to get the job done. Done well and done on time.
What would you say are the top two attributes to the success of a business leader?
Perseverance and a grain of naivety. Nothing would ever get done if entrepreneurs did not persevere when the going gets tough. Nothing would ever change.
Oftentimes, you start questioning your way of life, your ideas, and your beliefs. You are getting challenged all the time, and there is no room for doubt. I am, however, not saying one shouldn’t listen – but one should listen, reflect, and try to avoid the pitfalls that may be ahead.
The grain of naivety is really believing that you can do it, even if the odds are all stacked against you. As a business leader, it’s your job to find the needle in the haystack before it’s too late. But the solution to a problem is always out there; you just have to keep looking.
What has been the best recognition that you have received as a professional?
It’s always great to get nominated and win an award or be selected in a list like this Top 10 Most Inspiring CEOs in Business. However, to me personally, it’s often just the recognition by fellow entrepreneurs that I’ve met years ago – still being a youngster – the ones I looked up to earlier on, call them my heroes – telling you that you’ve done a good job and that they’ll keep cheering you on, no matter what.
Where do you see yourself and the company in upcoming years?
Giftable has been going through some transitions lately, setting us up for a better future; new partnerships and new collaborations ahead, growing our B2B segment through our B2B value proposition as well as through our indirect channels. Bringing on new people to the team and growing as a team. For myself, I am looking forward to steering Giftable into the next phase of its existence and changing the way people continue gifting each other, no matter in a personal or professional setting.
Website: www.giftable.com
