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Ravacan Inc., Anne-Sophie Le Bloas
We help manufacturing companies replace the massive spreadsheets they have been using to manage their supply chain with powerful analytics and collaboration software.
I have personally experienced the pains caused by the lack of tools in sourcing: lack of real-time data, time wasted doing low-value tasks, errors, and misunderstandings. For over 10 years, I have built models in spreadsheets that were broadly used by my teams, but software is much more powerful than spreadsheets. I was waiting for someone to launch a product like Ravacan until I lost patience and I decided to do it myself.
We are building tools that directly improve the day-to-day for sourcing & supply teams. Our team is comprised of former Supply Chain and Cost Reduction managers.
It is stressful to launch a venture, especially when you are over 30 and there is so much at stake. It helped me to keep my eyes on the prize and work on my self-confidence. The lows of rejections are nothing compared to the highs of having grateful customers.
I heard about SCORE from Ryan Allis' presentation.
I needed some mentorship in marketing and sales. I did not really know where to start. Gary helped me tremendously by breaking down the process into smaller steps. He helped me with strategy, we set goals and he kept me accountable for them. I also started fundraising, and he shared his experience and opinion so that I could build my own. He invited me to workshops that have been very helpful.
Gary has been a perfect fit for us. Given his career, he understood very quickly our space, our product, and our challenges. He shared his experience and helped us focus on what's important. He kept me accountable and at the same time could encourage me. I always felt energized after our sessions. He's really good at taking a complex problem and turning it into bite-size chunks. I feel lucky I got to work with him. I also connected with Gary on a personal level. We had good laughs talking about France and our cultural differences. I am very grateful for the time he has invested in my mentoring.
I would say to go for it and pick a domain for which they have an unfair advantage over the competition. I would also suggest connecting with SCORE for mentoring!
There is so much to say, but I have learned that overnight success takes years, that the key is to trust oneself, to ask for help when we need it, and not to give up.
I have run development and marketing groups in small and large businesses as a VP of Operations and...
