Eliott Fournet: Driving Innovation in UK’s tech scene

What led you to take the Cambridge MBA?

During the past 3 years, I have been growing my Software Consultancy business in London, delivering high quality software products and reaching a consistent profit. I was looking for a way to further my involvement in the UK’s cutting-edge innovation scene and change to specialise in a particular industry that I came to work with on a regular basis: Electric Vehicle charging software. 

I chose the Cambridge MBA as a stepping stone to provide me with the necessary business and entrepreneurial education to undertake new and more complex ventures, as well as getting inspired by some of the world’s most advanced software research happening in Cambridge. 

The collegiate system at Cambridge is a unique opportunity to create strong and profound connections within a world-class research and innovation scene, and the Entrepreneurship Lab at King’s College illustrates this atmosphere of interdisciplinary collaboration. Joining this community was very valuable to me and perfectly aligns with my goals. 

To me, Cambridge Judge is not a usual business school: it is deeply integrated within a wider congregation uniquely dedicated to making an impact on the world. This echoed with my own multi-disciplinary background, and I think that it is the best way to maximise my impact on the future of my industry. 

Describe the biggest accomplishment in your career so far?

Building and growing a viable software business in London as a foreigner with no funding at all has, without a doubt, been one of my proudest achievements. Nonetheless, to me there is no higher reward than witnessing thousands of users relying every day on the software products I contributed to. 

Down the line, seeing consumers elect the products I helped plan and develop to give them concrete benefits such as charging one’s vehicle effortlessly is the highest form of recognition anyone could offer me. 

How do you feel about being awarded your scholarship?

Being awarded the Cambridge Scholarship for Entrepreneurs was a very uplifting and deeply validating experience. 

More than anything, it shows that this scholarship isn’t only available to founders of large-scale or heavily funded ventures; but rather that Cambridge also recognises and encourages smaller entrepreneurs able to build profitable businesses within innovative industries through more traditional business models to empower them further in their entrepreneurial journey. 

What do you want to get out of the MBA most of all in the next year?

In the next year, I will enjoy getting inspired by and contributing to the burgeoning intellectual and scientific breakthroughs within Cambridge Judge Business School, King’s College and Cambridge as a whole. 

I would like to meet, discuss and exchange ideas with innovative individuals able to challenge and ultimately help me perfect my own preconceived business and technical views. 

In the end, I want to complete my MBA with a renewed perspective on my own industry and a clear strategy regarding the best path forward to achieve my new entrepreneurial goals. 

Where do you see your MBA journey taking you in your future career?

As a software consultant, I had the chance to be involved in the development of new Electric Vehicles Charging solutions. After my MBA, I see myself specialising in this area. 

I also see the Cambridge MBA providing me with a world class business education that will be transferable to any new challenge and widen my perspectives beyond software, as well as a lifelong supporting network of innovative spirits all around the world. 

What does Cambridge mean to you?

To me, Cambridge means progress. In every field from political philosophy to the invention of computers and the discovery of DNA, this is where some of the world’s most defining progress has originated from for the last 1000 years. 

I cherish the opportunity to be inspired by history-making names such as Sir Alan Turing and John Maynard Keynes at King’s College. Today, Cambridge’s excellence in Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence, clean energy research but also philosophical and ethical questions that these breakthroughs imply, are signs that it is here that the world’s next greatest ideas are developing. 

To me, this is what Cambridge is at its core: a community continuously driven by progress and world-defining new ideas. 

Something that few people may know about you…

Going to Cambridge, I am also very excited by the sports and athletics scene. Coming from a family counting sportsmen and former Olympians and as a rower myself, I am eager to experience the inter-collegiate rowing rivalry and show all my support to the Light Blues to – once again – beat Oxford.