A one-man show, a one-man show or simply a masterclass? It’s hard to describe what Xavier Niel offered this Wednesday evening, September 18 at the Olympia, the legendary Parisian venue between Madeleine and Opéra. One thing is certain, however: never has a major French boss performed such a performance in a concert hall.
This show, produced on the occasion of the release in a few days of his book “Une sacrée envie de foutre le bordel”, had all the makings of a “neck-breaking” exercise, but the founder of Iliad did well by offering an original and effective performance in front of a captivated audience and many guests, such as the entrepreneur Jacques-Antoine Granjon (Veepee) and the investment banker Matthieu Pigasse.
After making an entrance worthy of a rock star, crossing the pit of the Olympia, Xavier Niel was quick to set the tone for his show. “Being a billionaire inspires two things: insults and fantasies”he said, before reading hateful tweets with music in the background. Guaranteed laughs! Because the “Founding Father” of French Tech has a sense of formula and irony: “There are people who think that I eat caviar in the morning, that I elected Macron, that I am a reptile… Well, you know what? They are right!”
“I’m the biggest loser on Earth!”
This introduction allowed him to introduce the subject of an evening which was to provide information on “How to become a billionaire” in a sold-out room. “To become a billionaire, there are two options to become a billionaire: have billionaire parents or become an entrepreneur, and I know how to do that. Welcome to this training to become a billionaire in one hour! But rather than tell you, I’ll show you.”launched the creator of Free.
This was followed by the screening of an excerpt from the 8pm news on TF1, discussing the pimping case that had landed him behind bars. Ideal for giving his first piece of advice of the evening: “To become a billionaire, go to prison!” Xavier Niel then returned to this case which led to his incarceration in the Santé prison in Paris. A complicated period but which played a major role in his journey, in particular because of Judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke who gave him the following advice: “Bite the yellow line but never cross it.” A recommendation applied to the letter by Xavier Niel to boost the telecoms market with Free. “This advice changed my life”he acknowledged, not holding a grudge against this magistrate who died a few months ago.
If this advice marked the founder of Iliad, Kima Ventures and Station F, it is because it pushed him to constantly try new things. “If you don’t try, you won’t achieve much. I’m the biggest loser on Earth!”he said on the stage of the Olympia. The famous French entrepreneur notably cited his attempt to acquire the sixth frequency of TNT to replace M6 or his failed takeover of the Casino group among his most scathing failures. “I spend my time failing, that’s why I’m not doing too badly”said Xavier Niel.
“Diversity is what creates success”
After this intense first act, the eccentric 57-year-old businessman surprised his audience by appearing in a video shot with videographer Léna Situations, where the latter helps him choose the right outfit to return to the stage, leading to the sequence: “Trust Léna Situations.” This allowed Xavier Niel to emphasize the need to surround yourself with the right people to create a project and transform it into a success. “You can’t succeed alone. It’s diversity that creates success.”he said. It was also an opportunity for the French entrepreneur to highlight 42, this atypical school where the academic curriculum has no importance. “There are no teachers in this school, we learn to interact with others. When you trust people, it works.”assured Xavier Niel.
Beyond the diversity of a team, the French boss believes that it is not necessary to have a lot of people to create revolutionary products and services. “Eight people is the ideal size for a team. That’s how creativity is best expressed.”he said, before noting that Apple relied on a team of around ten people to create the iPhone. “At Free, we create very small teams to create new products”added the founder of Iliad. Without losing his sense of humor, Xavier Niel then put himself in the spotlight in a Brut video filmed in the Catacombs, one of the businessman’s great passions. The opportunity to make a joke when his “satanic friend” from the Parisian underground questions his Ouija board to find out who is the best entrepreneur in France. “I think she’s kidding, she says it’s Oussama Ammar”the latter says. Guaranteed laughter in the assembly!
“Elon Musk is completely crazy but…”
The sequence in the Catacombs provided a perfect transition to the third act: “To become a billionaire, you have to make a pact with the devil.” An obviously false statement to deconstruct the fantasies about him. Xavier Niel then mentioned his past as a computer hacker, in particular when he was led to hack François Mitterrand’s phone. An episode that highlights the great madness that one must sometimes have during one’s life. “Elon Musk is completely crazy but his company is worth 50 times more than any car manufacturer. He doesn’t use the same rules as everyone else”noted the founder of Free.
The latter was not to be outdone and took advantage of this sequence to go and get several pizzas at the doors of the room before distributing them to the audience. “It’s always better when it’s free”he said with humor. However, it was impossible to offer pizzas to the entire audience. Xavier Niel finally decided to transform all the tickets for his show into 20 euro editorial vouchers… to spend at Free, of course. He really understood everything…
“I am the most optimistic guy in the world!”
This highlighting of the operator allowed him with the sequence: “Respect your competitors.” An ironic way of denouncing the attitude of Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom when Xavier Niel expressed his desire to slash prices on the telephone market. “They said: anything but Free! In French, that means Welcome!”he said with a big smile. However, this period when he put Free into orbit was not without risk to his health and his state of mind. “From all the threats, I had become completely paranoid!”confided the entrepreneur. But the latter does not regret for a single moment having launched Free with cut prices. “We have given you back billions of euros of purchasing power”he said happily. Before adding: “As long as I’m alive, I’ll never increase our package to 2 euros.”
This passage allowed Xavier Niel to move on to the last act of his show: “Believe (believe in your dreams).” The opportunity to display his eternal optimism: “I always think that tomorrow will be better than yesterday. I’m the most optimistic guy in the world!” In this context, he paid tribute to Roxanne Varza, who supported him in the Station F project, an XXL incubator that can accommodate a thousand startups. Before adding: “I love France, it’s an incredible country. But there are two problems: the people who are entrepreneurs are white guys who come out of business schools, and we need women and diversity. I want the France of entrepreneurs to look like the France of Créteil when I was a child, like the France of people on the metro.” To remedy this situation, while he believes that social mobility “does not work”he believes the best solution is to “create a project yourself to unlock it.”
After this one-hour stand-up masterclass, it was time to conclude. “You don’t become a billionaire with a one-hour training course. Yet, that’s what they try to make you believe on Instagram or TikTok”he said. Before adding: “These are just simple little tips. All you need is an idea and to get started. And then, off you go…” Xavier Niel then left the stage to make way for Nâdiya, who set the Olympia alight with her song “Et c’est parti…” A completely improbable scene! Once again, Xavier Niel managed to surprise us. And it was probably the best possible advertisement for his book “Une sacrée envie de foutre le bordel” (with an orange cover to tackle the historic operator), which will be published on September 25. With this book and this show, Xavier Niel hopes that he will have above all given some people a real desire to undertake.
