Arnaud Collin is the CEO of Zenfolio, the leading web platform that allows photographers to host, showcase and sell their photos online.
Arnaud is a former eBay executive with a strong track record of success in product innovation, marketing, and business operations. He has over 15 years of experience in ecommerce and Consumer Internet in both startups and large organizations. Arnaud has worked in Europe and Australia before moving to California 7 years ago. Arnaud received a Master's Degree in Strategic Management from HEC School of Management, the leading business school in France.
Arnaud has traveled in more than 40 countries, is a certified scuba diver and sky diver, and enjoys spending time with his family.
Arnaud Collin
What does entrepreneurship mean to you and what underlying characteristics do you see in successful entrepreneurs?
Arnaud: Entrepreneurs come in many forms, but there is one common thread -- a drive to create something better. Whether launching a brand new product, coming up with a new disruptive approach or solving a long existing problem, the goal is always to improve the status quo. This is as true for a photographer wanting to use his or her talent to bring better photos into the lives of clients, as it is for a developer with a brilliant idea for a new search algorithm.
Running your own business is a scary and daring proposition, and it takes passion and resolve to be successful. Not only do you need to come up with a vision, but you have to keep executing against it and remain extremely focused. Finding these characteristics within yourself can only happen if you truly believe that your business will create something better. It is this belief, and the almost altruistic drive for progress, that makes for a successful entrepreneur.
What are you most proud of in your professional career?
Arnaud: Helping change people's lives. When I was at eBay, I met many customers whose lives had literally been saved by eBay. Thanks to the platform, they were able to make ends meet in a time of difficulty, and then become successful and make a living. Even more, this experience gave them their confidence back as they felt successful again. Zenfolio plays a similar role for professional photographers by helping them be successful, and this is one of the things that attracted me to the company.
If you could do something over in your life, what would it be?
Arnaud: I usually don't look back into the past and I try to have no regrets. In my experience you can never know what will come out of a situation. With hindsight, it is easy to replay situations and endlessly think of what could have happened if you did this or that differently. But in reality, you have to make the best decision you can with the data you have at the time and then work on the opportunities you created (and not the ones you closed).
Tell me about an instance where you had to go against the flow to realize your goal.
Arnaud: The most recent example comes from my new role as the General Manager of Zenfolio. For 10 years Zenfolio has been focusing on adding more and more powerful features to successfully create a very advanced and flexible platform As a result Zenfolio has the best set of features in the industry, but it came at a cost: simplicity. The platform is now overwhelming to photographers who have basic needs or are just starting out in their careers.
After months of speaking with photographers, meeting with customers, reading forums and customer support emails, I have decided to shift the direction, or "go against the flow," of product development to simplify our platform. Being a professional photographer is not easy, so we have decided to streamline Zenfolio to make it easy for any photographer to set up their business.
What trends do you see in the professional photography business?
Arnaud: Trends in the photography industry are still driven by the the digital revolution that started more than 10 years ago. Most of our photographer's clients demand that digital files are a part of their initial package. The clients are not ready to pay steep prices for print products. As a result, professional photographers are selling fewer and fewer print photo products.
At Zenfolio, we believe this trend can be reversed by making it extremely easy for photographers to sell their photo products and to market these products to their customers. Most photographers are reluctant to spend time marketing and selling to their customers, so our goal is to be their business partner and do it on their behalf. We want to put our business and marketing expertise to the service of all photographers and make them more successful.
If you were to give advice to your 22 year old self, what would it be?
Arnaud: Focus and work on your strengths, not your weaknesses.
Just like many ambitious people, I was (and am) an overachiever. As such you are always on the lookout for new opportunities to grow your business and once you find new opportunities it is very hard not to go after them. But the risk is to lose focus.
I would tell myself to not try to do too many things. Identify where you are strong, where you can bring value, and double down on that. Working on improving your weaknesses does not pay off, as they will never be real strengths, but identifying and improving on your strengths creates a base for success.
Follow Arnaud Collin at @arnocollin, and check out the other interviews in Going Against the Flow series at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-sharma/ or goagainsttheflow.com.