Who are you? What’s your story?

I’m Adrien Deslous-Paoli, a young 25 year old entrepreneur from Lyon. I have Brazilian and German roots on my mother’s side and French roots on my father’s side. After my secondary education, I moved to the north to study at the EDHEC Business School. There, I studied management and became interested in entrepreneurship whilst with the ‘Total EDHEC Entreprendre’ club, and then became its president in 2009. My first work experiences were with large companies; at Unilever as an Assistant Brand Leader for Ben & Jerry’s, then as a Marketing/Advertising Head at a start-up in Sao Paulo Brazil, called Novatrade. After doing my Masters in entrepreneurship, I went back to Lyon to set up De Rigeur, whilst studying the curriculum at Lyon 2 for an Innovation and Intellectual Property masters.

 

Tell us about the idea and the development of De Rigueur?

Whilst at my grandmother’s house in the Ain in 2008, I discovered a small family treasure: a small leather overnight satchel. It belonged to my great-great grandfather in the 1940s. I fell in love with it and received lots of compliments. It was very useful for leisure activities, so I asked myself how daily objects could help us answer any problems we face on a daily basis.

 

Who works with you?

At the moment there are three people in the team: our lead project engineer
Elodie, our digital manager Walid, and I. We each come from different backgrounds so our skills complement each other.

 

Where do you manufacture your products?

We took the decision to manufacture our products in France, in the Lyon region to be precise. We think the traditional know-how with regards to leather bags and accessories is unrivalled in this area, and the teaching in electronic and mechanical engineering is well-renowned.

 

Why did you opt for a 100% Made in France process?

For the reasons outlined above, but also because the demand for Made in France products is starting to see some success. In our target export markets, such as the USA, Japan and China, where the middle class is expanding, the demand for high-quality European products is high, with a desire for innovation, culture and a backstory

When did you join LOOK FORWARD?

I had the chance to join Look Forward at the first selection! I was really intimidated when going in front of the deciding jury, composed of the co-founder of Showroomprivé, Thierry Petit, but also the director for Facebook France, Lauren Solly from Google Retail France, marketing at Comptoir des Cotonniers/Princess Tam-Tam and Matthieu Guinebault from Fashion Mag. But our project was well received, which made us think that we were on to something.

What’s your typical day?

(Laughs) There is no typical day! Each day brings its share of urgency to manage as well as ensuring our strategy is working. I meet a lot of people to try and get them to work with us on our adventure. A day can include anything from searching for finance for development, to marketing, production and sales. Our team is small and the days are too short!

 

What are you most proud of?

Having convinced amazing people to join my team, and sharing with them the passion for the project to ensure we can develop this adventure together.

 

Any anecdotes?

The name of the company was found on Facebook, where we asked our circle of friends to help, after trying two names that we didn’t like. We received 150 propositions with some bizarre suggestions, but today we are very proud of our name which precisely represents our values and vision of French Fashion Tech.

 

Any resolutions for 2016? 

Sell, sell and sell!

 

What does Look Forward offer you?

Expert skills in many areas, from e-commerce to press relations, huge support, in particular from Adèle Wistrand, the project manager, who is a fantastic person helping the start-ups on the programme. And finally, a Parisian base as we are based mainly in Lyon.

 

Finally, any advice for any young start-ups, or those who could be scared about becoming entrepreneurs in France? What are your future plans for De Rigueur?

Openly discuss the project in order to challenge and improve yourself. Also, stick together as we aren’t successful working alone.
All is dependent on your ambitions.
For us, we have the ambition that we combine with humility and team spirit, with one clear objective: become the first Smart Luxury Accessory brand in the world in 3 years. At the moment, we are in the crowdfunding process for our invention, The Connected Sleeve, the first built-in, smart and elegant charging solution. But we have lots of other surprises up our sleeves!

 

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De Rigueur is actually launching his found raising on Kickstarter. The product: ‘The Connected Sleeve’ allows you to charge your smartphone anytime and anywhere without cable, through electromagnetic induction, up to two times, and with elegance.