On Disruption and Innovation

  1. "You can break the codes of a sector and do what no one else has dared to do. Innovating is above all a state of mind." [1]
    • Original French: "Vous pouvez casser les codes d'un secteur et faire ce que personne d'autre n'a osé faire. Innover est avant tout un état d'esprit." [1]
  2. "We invent, the others copy." [1]
    • Original French: "On invente, les autres copient." [1]
  3. "I always follow the same idea: Start small and disrupt to create something big." [2]
  4. "If you are worried about the risk to your reputation, you don't launch a telecoms firm in an aggressive way." [2][3]
  5. "Challenging the status quo can create value for consumers and shake up complacent markets." [4] This is a key learning from Niel's strategy with Free, which entered the market with unprecedented pricing. [4]
  6. "Any country that wants to lower its mobile phone rates, all they need to do is bring in an aggressive player." [5]
  7. "France is a fantastic country. It's between the Anglo-Saxon and Latin cultures. We have some of the Anglo-Saxon rigor, and some of the Latin quirkiness." [5]
  8. "Here at my company, we do indeed wish to do things differently. We don't want to do what has been done elsewhere, but instead to imagine how tomorrow's technologies will be used." [6]
  9. "When you love competition, you don't want the market to consolidate." [7]

On Entrepreneurship and Ambition

  1. "Ambition feeds innovation: aim big, because at worst, it works!" [1]
    • Original French: "L'ambition nourrit l'innovation : visez grand, car au pire, ça marche !" [1]
  2. "We too often apologize for succeeding, for aiming high and for having ambition; move forward and remain deaf to the personal judgments of others. You will inevitably attract jealousies... but you will also attract esteem and respect, then you in your turn will be able to inspire other people to follow the same path." [1]
    • Original French: "On s'excuse trop souvent de réussir, de viser haut et d'avoir de l'ambition ; avancez et restez sourds aux jugements personnels des autres. Vous attirerez-forcément des jalousies... mais vous attirerez aussi de l'estime et du respect, puis vous pourrez à votre tour inspirer d'autres personnes à suivre le même chemin." [1]
  3. "You don't need to start a company to be an entrepreneur. Are you launching an association, a project, a social media account with a real editorial line? For me, you're an entrepreneur." [8]
  4. "Being an entrepreneur is a necessity if you're an optimist. If you launch a start-up and you begin to imagine all the problems you might have, you're going to give up very quickly." [9]
  5. "We need to create an ecosystem which will make young people want to start their own company." [2][5]
  6. "You shouldn't wait for the brilliant idea or the perfect product. Proceed by adjustments, until you provide a service you can be proud of. Don't wait for tomorrow and get started today." [1]
    • Original French: "Il ne faut pas attendre l'idée géniale ou le produit parfait. Procédez par ajustements, jusqu'à fournir un service dont vous pouvez être fier. N'attendez pas demain et lancez-vous aujourd'hui." [1]
  7. "Me, since I was little, I wanted to earn money." [8]
  8. "Believe in your dreams and don't give up. Niel often humorously references the French lottery's slogan '100% of winners tried their luck' to emphasize the importance of vision, ambition, and perseverance." [10]
    • Learning from a conference, presented with a touch of humor. [10]

On Failure and Resilience

  1. "Go to prison." [11]
    • Original French: "Allez en prison." [11] This surprising advice refers to his own experience, reminding entrepreneurs that failures and obstacles are an integral part of the journey and the important thing is to bounce back. [11][12]
  2. "I have done a lot of stupid things in my life." [2][13]
  3. "It's hard to reflect on one particular failure, I like to believe I have made lots of them and learnt a lot from each one." [14]
  4. "Don't let failures define you. Niel faced legal challenges and a tarnished reputation early in his career. He viewed it as a lesson, not a life sentence." [15]
  5. "I tend to forget bad experiences... when they don't work my brain erases them. The thing is incredible." [16]
  6. "Take risks, even failure is part of the game. The essential thing is to always bounce back." [12]
    • Learning from his career. [12]

On Mindset and Personal Philosophy

  1. "I'm not unusual; it's the others who are strange." [2][7]
  2. "I like being an outsider. It is better in France on the outside." [2][5]
  3. "It's funny how the smallest things I've done speak the loudest about me, but I like that." [2][7]
  4. "I am an inveterate optimist. Doubtless one of my secrets is telling myself that anything is possible and that we will succeed." [6]
  5. "If you are not optimistic that you can create something big and incredible, you have no chance of success. So try to dream bigger than what is humanly possible." [16]
  6. "Pact with the devil." [11]
    • Original French: "Pactisez avec le diable." [11] Under this shocking formula, he actually encourages entrepreneurs to think outside the box and not be afraid of being perceived as "weird" by those around them. [11]
  7. "The real force of Silicon Valley is the mentality, the spirit. There's no reason at all that can't be replicated in Paris." [3][7]
  8. "I have two strengths, which are based precisely on my lack of intelligence: the simplification of problems, and naivety." [8]
  9. "We are all equal... there is no superior human being... the pope or the president of a country is not superior to the man who sweeps or cleans my office every day." [16]

On Investment and Technology

  1. "If you know how to make software, then you can create big things." [2][5]
  2. "Nobody believed in the success of the Internet." [2][5]
  3. "Mark Zuckerberg did his own software for Facebook, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin made their own for Google." [5]
  4. "With Kima [Ventures], yeah, we have a method. We spread the risks. We invest small amounts – around 150,000 euros – in a hundred start-ups each year... Yes, you're wrong, and you're wrong often." [8]
  5. "The question for France and all countries is, 'Do you favour foreign Internet operators that do not pay, or do you favour national operators who pay?'" [2][5]
  6. "My one and only true profession is in telecoms. I exercise it many different places, but what I really like is doing it here in France, in my home country." [6]
  7. "Telecom. Truly. I know, I'm probably the only one who loves it." [9]
    • Original French: "Les télécoms. Sincèrement. Je sais, je suis peut-être le seul à aimer ça…" [9]

On Society and Giving Back

  1. "You can spend your money on art works and sit down and look at them. Or you can use your money to help people." [2][3]
  2. "France has the least social mobility of any developed country. The social elevator no longer works. It's broken." [5][7]
  3. "We have to help young people, because at the end of the day, we won't have an economy if we don't have them." [5]
  4. "A free, analytical and questioning press must be helped survive." [5][7]
  5. "Giving only 50% of your fortune is not enough." [5]
  6. "Once you reach a certain level of success, turn around and help the ones climbing up. Niel's initiative to open 42 was not just altruistic; it was a visionary move that added enormous value to the tech ecosystem." [15]
  7. "I am convinced that the state no longer has the means and thus the ability to make the country evolve... civil society has amazing capacities... so I think it's important for everybody to do their part in their own way." [6]

On Practicality and Focus

  1. "In life, you need a house and a car. After that, you have a choice." [3][7]
  2. "I don't like clothes. I don't especially like cars. I have a very nice house. I get sick on a boat." [5]
  3. When asked what advice he would give himself 10 years ago, his simple answer was: "Faster? ; )" [14]

Learn more:

  1. Citations de Xavier Niel - Citations Célèbres et Proverbes - Le Parisien
  2. The Best 20 Xavier Niel Quotes | by quotes and sayings - Medium
  3. QUOTES BY XAVIER NIEL
  4. Xavier Niel's Blueprint for Success: Lessons in Innovation, Resilience, and Leadership
  5. Xavier Niel Quotes - BrainyQuote
  6. Xavier Niel, the gifted prodigy | La Réserve Magazine Rethinking Luxury
  7. Top 10 Xavier Niel Quotes - Feel The Words
  8. Xavier Niel – A real desire to cause trouble | Start-Up
  9. Students and the Big Boss : Xavier Niel, Founder of Free - HEC Stories
  10. Comment devenir milliardaire (Xavier Niel) en 5 points - Beart
  11. Les 5 conseils de Xavier Niel pour devenir milliardaire (ou pas) - Clubic
  12. Les conseils du milliardaire Xavier Niel pour devenir riche ! | Goldy
  13. Xavier Niel - I have done a lot of stupid things in my... - Brainy Quote
  14. “Paris will be the most vibrant tech scene of Europe”: Fast interview with Xavier Niel, French tech billionaire | EU-Startups
  15. From Jail to the Boardroom: Xavier Niel's Shocking Rise to Power | by Baran Serhat Özer
  16. Xavier Niel: optimism is the key to success for an entrepreneur - YouTube