Juliette Cremel

INSEAD

“Business development expert with international experience in tech, as well as circus performer and teacher.”

Hometown: Paris, France

Fun Fact About Yourself: I get paid to swing upside down on a 6-meter-high trapeze and catch people throwing themselves at me in mid-air!

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, BA in Social Studies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: BEGOOD, Project Manager

INSEAD is one of the most culturally and professionally diverse MBA programs in the world. How do you see these global perspectives enhancing the value of your business education over the next year? As a French person growing up in Paris and later coming back to work there, I am very familiar with the French culture as well as the broader Western European mindset. I was also exposed to the Anglo-Saxon perspective through my undergraduate studies in Boston and my experience working and living in San Francisco and London. However, I am keenly aware of my lack of exposure to many other cultures, and I believe that INSEAD will help me to bridge that gap. In the professional world, there is a ton of value in having people from different backgrounds around the decision-making table; they will challenge your perspective and bring a different point of view. As such, I am very excited to start this learning process during my time at INSEAD, especially since I aim to work for international companies in the future – and launch my own multinational business one day.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of INSEAD’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? A key element that sold me on INSEAD was the richness and density of its programming. Because the program is condensed into a year, I will be able to fully focus on my MBA experience during that time and be completely immersed with my classmates, before jumping straight into my next professional endeavor and applying the learnings in a professional setting while they’re still fresh.

What has been your first impression of the INSEAD MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best INSEAD story so far. My impression has been incredibly positive so far. Talking to alumni and current students played a major role in my choosing to attend INSEAD; everyone I spoke to had a very inspiring journey and they gave me a clear sense of the importance that their INSEAD experience had had in their professional and personal development. I’ve also been lucky enough to meet around a dozen future classmates living in Paris. Something that stood out to me was that a lot of them were very passionate about something outside of their work or social environment, be it rock climbing or skiing or learning new languages and more. It was great to witness such a wide diversity of interests with the uniting dedication to pursue them. These encounters confirmed that I would be surrounded by very smart and driven people from a very diverse background over the next year.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at INSEAD? I am very excited about the “Management of Services” class, which covers B2C businesses including a case on Cirque du Soleil. As someone looking to enter this sector after INSEAD, it will be very valuable to attend such a class. For similar reasons, I look forward to getting involved into the Sport and Business Club!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment was launching a startup accelerator and incubator in Paris at age 22, when I was hired by Founders Factory to handle the launch of the Paris office with the newly appointed CEO Albin Serviant, It was an amazing experience where I got to get my hands in all aspects of launching a business, from recruitment to administration – as well as sourcing startups. Although the venture did not survive the COVID crisis it taught me a lot about entrepreneurship and resilience.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? I left Founders Factory Paris in September 2020 to pursue a lifelong dream of obtaining a circus teaching certification, which led me to working full-time as a circus teacher in a high-end resort in Greece for 5 months. While this experience taught me a lot, it also made me realize that I wanted to bring my passion and business skills together to launch my own business and bring circus arts as a practice to a broader audience. This led me to pursuing an MBA: I want to acquire hard skills that will enable me to be better qualified to launch a successful business, while building a strong network in Europe. I also hope that my year at INSEAD will help me to hone my idea and get me on track when I do decide to launch. Immediately after graduation, I want to work in a strategic role at a large sports or fitness company such as Equinox or SoulCycle to gain professional experience in that space.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? Freakonomics is a recommended read for INSEAD students and I can definitely see why! Otherwise, I recently watched WeCrashed on Apple TV, which gives fascinating insights into what entrepreneurship can look like – a strong vision, ambition and confidence can take you far, but that’s not always enough to make a business run successfully on the long term… The Fyre Festival documentary on Netflix is also interesting for similar reasons, and it runs on a shorter time scale.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to London Business School and HEC.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into INSEAD’s MBA program? Be yourself! As my own admission shows, INSEAD is a program that is very open-minded when it comes to the background of their applicants, and it is worth showcasing what makes your application stand out and leaning into those qualities. What value will you bring to the INSEAD classroom? How will your previous work and personal experiences enrich your future classmates’ way of thinking and solving business issues?

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