Nathalie Criou

Co-Founder and CEO of RidePal - Google Shuttles for the rest of us

Website: eliseblog.posterous.com
www.beatsarcoma.org
sarcomacup.org
San Francisco, California, United States
Member since April 24, 2012

Entrepreneurship is about solving very practical and real problems – and doing it with a great group of people. Quote_down

About

Education

1997 National Institute of Applied Science , BS , Electrical and Electronics Eng

1997 Leeds University , MS , CS

2004 INSEAD , MBA

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I found a problem I really care about and I didn't find an existing solution that made sense

My favorite startups:

Airbnb, Uber

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Everything feels slow around you!

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

It is important to believe in a vision – and validate assumptions as quickly as reasonably possible. all these data points from the market will give you the confidence needed to keep going full steam.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

Prioritize is everything
You need a fantastic team
Green tea has caffeine in it

Full bio

Co-founded RidePal after previously working in marketing and product management in online services and analytics at Google, AdMob and Meebo. Graduated from the National Institute of Applied Science and Leeds University with degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Computer Science and holds an MBA from INSEAD. An experienced and dedicated sailor, with both coastal and offshore racing, including the Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawai’i in 2008 double-handed, and an active member of the sailing community, co-chairing the Sarcoma Cup regatta. A boat delivery from Hawaii to San Francisco in 2006 ended with a whale sinking the boat I was on. President of the non-profit organization BeatSarcoma and helped build one of the largest online sarcoma communities, with 23andMe.