A story of passion
Building a customized career
Written by Place de la Cité | October 12, 2021
In this series, our contributor Julie Blondin goes out to meet the entrepreneurs who make up the soul of Place de la Cité. Between laughter and confidences, they open up to share their story and that of their business with us. We invite you to dive into their world too, one conversation at a time.
From hobby to full-time
Honest and humble, Mathieu tells us how he came up with the idea of starting his own business, even though he knew nothing about furniture at the beginning.
How did you become an entrepreneur?
“By chance!” Mathieu admits straight away. The young entrepreneur had a well-established career in the music industry and everything was going well, or almost. “I was earning a good living and was very happy, but it’s just that I wasn’t cut out for the life of an artist: having no schedule, etc.” Mathieu therefore began to wonder which professional lifestyle would suit him best. “Since I had no other particular talent in life, I decided to go into business, because I had no other solution,” he says, half jokingly, but also very seriously. Then it was entrepreneurial love at first sight with the man who is now his partner. The two friends quickly came up with the concept for L’USINE.
How was your company founded?
It was while Mathieu was shopping for his new house that he had the idea of launching his furniture business. “I realized that shopping for furniture was ultra-flat, I realized that it was a very dinosaur industry,” he admits. The objective was therefore to launch a more dynamic and more pleasant concept and also to make a difference in the industry. “If you’re going to have a project or a business, it has to make a difference somewhere,” adds the dynamic entrepreneur. But before he could revolutionize the world of furniture, he had to learn everything, because neither Mathieu nor his partner had any knowledge in the field. “My father was a cabinetmaker, but I inherited zero of his talent,” he says with a laugh. The initial goal was to design and sell some furniture online, just for fun in their spare time. To their great surprise, L’USINE was an enormous success, very quickly. “It completely exploded in the first week, we started to hire,” Mathieu recalls. He and his partner had to adapt and rethink their business vision. “We decided to dive in and learn everything. Today I can be asked any question about how the table is made, the materials, etc., I will be able to answer like a cabinetmaker.”
Experience, expertise and development
An energetic and passionate entrepreneur, Mathieu thrives on challenges and new ideas. Things have to move, and above all: they have to innovate!
What makes you stand out?
“We started out with the idea of launching a furniture company that was going to be fun,” says Mathieu. Since both partners had worked in the entertainment industry in the past, it was only natural for them to make every aspect of their business fun: from the language on social networks to the brand image and the in-store experience. “The most important thing is that the customer has an experience that is truly different and better than anywhere else, that they feel we are authentic,” explains Mathieu. Moreover, great attention is paid to details, such as the accessible language used by employees and the music in the store, which is carefully selected by Mathieu himself.
What is it that still keeps you so passionate?
Passion is something you can sense is an integral part of Mathieu. What motivates him most on a daily basis? “The fact of evolving. If I felt that I was not evolving as a person, as an entrepreneur, that I was not learning things or that I was not being challenged, I would do something else.” So you could say that the entrepreneurial lifestyle is in Mathieu’s DNA! He adds: “As long as I am fed projects, and feel that we are evolving and moving forward, I will remain passionate.” What’s more, he and his partner are constantly innovating to take the company further. New ideas are not lacking with Mathieu! “That’s what I like best: learning, then growing and evolving,” he admits.
Follow your own voice rather than that of others
Mathieu followed his instinct and forged his own path as an entrepreneur. Not always for the best, but no matter: it’s part of the story!
What advice would you give to a future entrepreneur?
Without hesitation, Mathieu has two pieces of advice for future entrepreneurs: find some money before you start, and don’t always listen to what people have to say. “There’s some advice we should have listened to, but in the end, we would never have learned everything we have learned and we wouldn’t be here today if we hadn’t made those decisions,” he says. According to the laid-back entrepreneur, following your instincts is particularly important for running a business. And we sense that having fun on a daily basis is also a very important aspect!
