A college lecturer becomes an entrepreneur and achieves a meteoric ascent. The URGO story, from its inception as an SME in 1987 to the international mid-sized company it is today, can be described as nothing less than a categorical success.
Far from being another management guide, Hervé Le Lous’ book reveals the rigorous methods that will help leaders bring their entrepreneurial project to fruition. How do you manage your journey? What attitudes work best in the business world? How should you react when faced with a strategic or operational setback? From both methodological and behavioural perspectives, this book will offer guidance to entrepreneurs, managers and young employees in their projects and their career.
Based on a series of personal accounts, accomplishments and beliefs, “Hitch your plough to a star” deciphers an all-encompassing vision of the job of entrepreneur. These revolutionary methods are rarely reproduced in France, but they can change the destinies of businesses!
A graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (physics, Paris), and the holder of a PhD from Stanford Business School (California) and an MBA from Wharton School of Finance (Philadelphia), Hervé Le Lous’ background is both academic and entrepreneurial. Initially a lecturer in decision analysis and negotiation at the ESSEC business school then at the Collège des Ingénieurs, he founded the laboratories Juva Santé (Juvamine, Mercurochrome) in 1987. This was the starting point for his career in business. By 2022, the URGO group had grown to employ 3,600 people, with 21 subsidiaries worldwide, and generated 750 million euros in turnover.
A graduate of HEC, Stéphanie Merveilleux worked in the URGO group from 2002 to 2012 as executive assistant to Hervé Le Lous, then as head of marketing in the group’s phytotherapy subsidiary. She then decided to put her skills to use in aid of the charity Emmaüs, then of a vocational integration business from the social and solidarity economy. Today a certified professional coach, she supports managers and teams towards achieving impact-conscious performance.
