Leadership as First-Time Founders: Communication, Culture, and the Art of Saying No

In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, Alexis Monville welcomes Héloïse Rozès and Nikolai Fomm, first-time founders and co-founders of Corma, a startup building the “cockpit of truth” for software access and license management — helping companies control their SaaS stack, reduce waste, and improve employee experience.From their day-to-day reality at Station F to the intensity of building a company in survival mode, Héloïse and Nikolai share what leadership really looks like when you’re learning it in real time.You’ll hear practical insights on:Adapting communication across co-founders, employees, investors, and clientsLeading with empathy while still making tough callsSaying “no” to stay focused and avoid spreading the team too thinBuilding a value-driven culture through rituals, feedback, and programs like the CormacolindorUsing frameworks like Radical Candor to avoid ruinous empathy and make feedback usefulA grounded conversation for emerging leaders, early-stage founders, and anyone building teams under uncertainty.Find the transcript and the references in the companion blog post: https://blog-alexis.monville.com/en/2024/10/13/leadership-as-first-time-founders-with-heloise-rozes-and-nikolai-fomm/