Early life in Montpelier with ‘open-minded’ science savvy parents
Ever since I was a child, I’ve traveled the limestone paths dotted with holm oaks in the Mediterranean hinterland. My family taught me to appreciate the splendor of the landscape, the sand, the rocks and the cliffs. Nature was part of our lives. We were fascinated by the traces of the earth’s history, we observed the strata, the outcrops with curiosity, we already loved the beauty of the ground. The little flame started to light and never went out!
Cambridge ‘Damascus’ moment
Alongside my parents, whose professions in a profoundly humanistic field shaped my vision of teamwork, openness. My uncle Alain Gavignet a physicist graduated from the famous engineering school of Physics and Chemistry in Paris, whom I adored and working for Schlumberger, played a decisive role in my life. He took me with him to his office at his Research Center in Cambridge when I was 9 and showed me how they were engineering the logging tools. I discovered his profession, pushing forward to limits, working in a team to dig the underground. I was fascinated.
Student studies and New Caledonia assignment
My interest, indeed, my passion, for the geosciences has grown steadily over the years. So, I decided to study geophysics at the university of Montpellier, Brest in Britanny and then Paris. These years of learning were decisive, as I met some fantastic teachers like Pierre Andrieux in Paris, associated Professor and working for CGG, with who I discovered the applied geophysics and this industry. I was also lucky enough to go to New Caledonia to prepare a Master’s thesis… using all marine geophysical data to better understand on plate tectonics in the Fiji region in the South East Pacific.
Formative experience in Nepal
My first professional assignment was in Nepal, where I went to work on an international cooperation project for the Department of Mines. It was a real shock! The culture, the customs, the environment… everything changed. I was seduced. I learned the language, immersed myself in the values of the country and discovered a fascinating world. I’m also learning the basics of the job with the Geophysics Laboratory of the French Atomic Energy Commission, to which I used to report.
Early years in O&G, and what you learned
In 2004, I was hired by Techsia, a Montpellier-based company specializing in software development for the well log analysis, later acquired by Schlumberger. I learnt the job with great intensity. As time went by, I became increasingly aware that my skills were being under-exploited. I realized that the subsurface analysis offered to customers still lacked accuracy. The diagnosis, based on a few geological maps, should be based on a much more detailed model! Wouldn’t surface interpretation gain in precision with specific software enabling multiple data to be collected prior to seismic interpretation? The idea seems obvious, innovative, and suited to the world of underground exploration.
Be an entrepreneur in the field of software applied to geosciences
After my experience at Techsia, I decided to team up with my colleague, Fabien Pauget, the best expert in image processing I have ever seen, to start a company. We first begin in the medical sector, working in neuroradiology and analyzing brain aneurysms from 3D scan and MRI.
But our shared passion soon caught up with us. We decided to concentrate our efforts on our preferred field: the geoscience. Our project aroused real interest in the energy sector, and more specifically in the oil and gas exploration. We decided to call our new company Eliis – Elite Image Software. Our software PaleoScan™ specialialized in seismic interpretation enabled to see the unseen, and reveal the geology in a sometimes complex image. This venture was fantastic !
Background to LookUp move and ambition
Today, I’m aware of the climate change emergency and I’m also convinced that geoscience is an essential discipline for the energy transition and revolution. The subsurface conceals sources of renewable energy that are still poorly understood or insufficiently exploited, such as geothermal energy and natural hydrogen. We need to be inventive and innovative to face all these environmental challenges.
Against this context, I met with a few leading industry professionals, to better identify their needs and constraints, and to gain a better understanding of the current situation. The many constructive and remarkable conversations I’ve had with each of them have inspired me to go even further.
Therefore, I decided to create a new company, to bring together open-minded people. We are all convinced that working together and sharing information remain the keys of the success to accelerate this transition.
Do you have advice for start-up beginners?
In my opinion, the pillars of entrepreneurship are based on :
- Listening and gathering needs from the industry professionals
- Finding the right product to market fit
- Collective intelligence and the ability to pool data
- Identifying and sharing common values between people
If one of these elements is forgotten, the project will remain shaky. But the most important: do not be guided by your fears, try, and believe in yourself!
What’s the deal with your beach volley ball involvement?
I’ve been playing volleyball since the age of 14 and I live by the sea: two good reasons to become president of Montpellier Beach Volley club, the biggest in France! The sport combines values that are essential to my life as an entrepreneur: the importance of teamwork, respecting and listening to one’s team-mates, a sense of effort and the joy of succeeding. This discipline has two final assets that are quite rare in the sporting world: its almost perfect gender equality, and its low CO2 emissions – all you need is a ball and a net!