Born in November 1970, entrepreneur Othello Desurmont, founder of Lecyclo.com, died on November 24; he had just turned 54.
Summer 2018. He came to take me on his Peugeot scooter (“the only one that doesn't get stolen, even without a padlock, unlike the Tmax”) at Saint Charles station on a beautiful day (“It never rains in Marseille ), the height of success for a poncho seller. Bright sky, Good Mother watching over us….We spent the morning in her offices on rue Cristofol to review the activity and the composition of the team. Then we ate fish at the Bistrot Plage. After a second session at Belle de Mai we boarded a rental sailboat, sent a spinnaker, toured Friuli, before finishing the negotiations at the Café des Arts with a beer. How can we resist such a deluge of charm and not invest in Lecyclo.com?
An entrepreneur at heart and anti-conformist like the best, he started early by launching Allo Apero in 1997, which delivers aperitifs to homes at night, which were successfully resold. Then with an online sales site for computer equipment for navigation, resold to a buyer. Then in 2008, the year of the launch of Velib, he launched Lecyclo, convinced that this opening of cities to travel by bicycle marked the beginning of velolution. It may seem obvious today when the number of bicycle stores rivals that of pharmacies and opticians, but it was very visionary at the time. Instead of presenting insipid lists of accessories and components like an average e-retailer, he organized the site by theme and user benefit: security, transport, comfort. The latest Parisian start-ups in active mobility have only copied it 15 years later.
Around his ambitious and promising project, he was able to bring together a loyal team of varied profiles who had become friends, ready to lend a hand in the warehouse or answer a customer on the phone. They created the active mobility of tomorrow, invented modern online merchandising, were precursors of bloggers and influencers with the launch of Citycle and the numerous tutorials on the site's YouTube channel.
He was able to make – a mission impossible for ordinary mortals – a profitable e-commerce site on a human scale, through exceptional flair in sourcing, strong relationships with his suppliers, the development of his own technological platform, the production of content added value, and very good cost management. While competitors were tearing themselves apart on mountain bike and road components, he was selling ponchos, floral saddlebags, sky pink saddles, rare components for vintage bikes, trailers and other nuggets still available on Lecyclo (but at margins) with comfortable margins. very lower post-COVID). A very good negotiator, very fine, very funny with a caustic humor, he gave a positive energy mixed with great demands, knew how to combine control and motivation of the teams, with rare outbursts when someone crossed the line.
For the handover and the team meeting we had a drink at La Caravelle, and ended the night at Son des Guitares. To help us with the transition and ensure the sustainability of his creation, he convinced a former employee who had left for an NGO in South America to get back on track and take charge of marketing and communications.
Well aware of his unique contribution and his qualities as a manager and strategist, I offered him to remain a partner following the sale. He preferred to indulge his passion for sailing. Between two long-distance sailings, he happily took tourists to tour Friuli via skippered boat rental apps. We could often meet him on his old racing bike at the Vieux Port, between the Nautique and the O'Malleys.
Those who knew him at Lecyclo are losing an inspiring leader, a mentor, a friend. Active mobility loses one of its most ardent promoters and Marseille one of its biggest fans. For a long time we will continue to ask ourselves, when the market turns around, when new obstacles arise: what would Othello have done in this situation?
Fair winds Othello, and the following seas!
