This article comes from Figaro Magazine
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What is genius?
Larousse defines it as
a natural aptitude of someone's mind which makes them capable of conceiving, of creating things, of concepts of exceptional quality.
When we ask Xavier Niel to give his definition, the founder of the telecoms giant Iliad whom we meet in his offices in the 8 arrondissement of Paris begins by kicking in:
“I got 4 in philosophy at the baccalaureate, so you know ...It's ultimately a matter of people's perception.
I was very bad at school.
Then, when I turned 20, I was told I was a genius.
Now I'm no longer a genius.
I’m just old.”
Genius or not, old or not (he is 55 years old), the opinion of the person who receives us at the headquarters of the group he founded in 1991 is of particular interest to us.
Few people have worked so hard for entrepreneurship in France.
As evidenced by Station F, the largest start-up incubator in Europe which he opened in 2017…
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