(العربية)

Born on May 11, 1995 in French-speaking Switzerland, Naomé Schenk spent her childhood in a small village bordering Lake Geneva. Although she suffers from a genetic disease, his wheelchair does not prevent her from discovering with curiosity the world around her. She is passionate about new technologies, fashion and art.

Her creative spirit and determination are the essential assets that characterize her. With a spirit of initiative, Naomé has, in addition to her studies, already used her skills to carry out various ambitious projects including: “I Am Naomé”, a marketing agency specializing in luxury, the creation of NGOLD Gstaad, a lifestyle brand, BY NAOME, a high-end fashion brand for charitable purposes.

“Luxury has always been a passion for me, which was evident since childhood. I have always been fascinated by the prestigious houses that give us magical experiences. These make me dream again now, and I, myself, would like to continue this dream. "

Swiss Arab Entrepreneurs: an you write us a summary on you? Your personal history, professional story? Can you describe to us your journey: main activities, how do you manage your project, what do you read? events you attend?...etc.

Naomé Schenk: Of course, thank you! I'm Naomé, I'm a 24-year-old woman entrepreneur focused within the luxury sector. Parallel to my professional activities, I am finishing my Master’s Degree in Luxury Marketing in Geneva, and I am very much involved in environmental causes through my own association and with By Naomé.

I am really passionate about what I do, I have so many ideas, desires and ambitions. My dream is to have a real positive impact, while living my dream life. I’m also obsessed with becoming a better person every day. I spend a great deal of my time reading personal and business development books, often drawing inspiration from great entrepreneurs who have succeeded on the path I am setting out on.

I'm constantly inspired by the success stories of ambitious people who’ve made a lasting positive social impact. I am a big believer in networking, and the development of my personal network has had a huge influence on helping me get to where I am today.

I invest a lot of my earnings back into conferences, courses, mastermind groups, and online training. These products and events give me access to valuable communities of entrepreneurs. Finally, my main networking tool is Instagram, where I am very active with my @iamnaome profile!


SAE: What is your project(s); can you give us a description? You also have a foundation: can you tell us about it? You succeeded to create different new products can you tell us more?

Naomé Schenk: passionate about luxury brands, fashion, and marketing. When I look my life’s endeavors objectively, all my professional and academic activities are also my passions. That's why I've been able to accomplish so much, because I'm so passionate about what I do. I’ve never counted my working hours or my ROI, I just do everything out of a burning desire to do so.

Concerning NGOLD Gstaad (my lastest brand), it's great because I have a very fond attachment to crystals, right from my childhood. I truly believe in the benefits of these stones. As a child (and to this day!) I’ve always had Amethysts on my bedside table. For those of you that don’t know, Amethyst is reputed to help both sleep and harmony. I'm over the moon to have created a brand that suits me down to the ground. Having my own bottle of water to take everywhere with me (preventing plastic waste) and having the energy benefits of the stone form part of my daily life.

Concerning By Naomé, it's simply my childhood dream to create a brand that’s proudly 100% Swiss-made, ethical, ecological, and that gives 100% of its profits to charities. We collaborate with contemporary artists, conceptualizing and designing each collection. This is a project I am extremely proud of. We launched our first collection in mid-2019, and subsequently held a Charity Gala in November.

Yes, we are recognized as a public body, which means that we have a cause that is recognized by the state as tax-exempt (meaning donations are also tax-exempt). This is a worthy recognition, but it’s not been easy to get there. Earning this status required a lot of paperwork, and a long list of appointments. As they say, it’s the administrative work that takes the most time!

SAE: What is your business model?

Naomé Schenk: Whether it’s my my businesses or my personal projects, I invest myself to the maximum, both personally and financially, doing everything I can to make them work. Then, once the business model starts to gain traction, I review it; evaluating what went well, and more importantly, assessing what I can learn from what didn’t. Then I try to look for ways to simplify and automate the business or project as much as possible! I'm increasingly interested in crypto currency and real estate, the logical next step for me now is to start to invest intelligently.

SAE: When you started your project?

Naomé Schenk: I left home at the age of 16 to start at an art & communication school. It was at this point that I started to undertake my first projects. I had a blog where I wrote about the luxury lifestyle, and that led to several experiences in the business press, I also spent a lot of time on community management. I then decided to specialize further within luxury. I experimented a lot too. I'm very curious – so many businesses pique my interest! With the advent of the internet, we are so lucky, we have so many opportunities that are just one Google search away. The online world has completely dismantled social and economic barriers affording anyone the opportunity to rise out of their current socioeconomic situation.

SAE: How you find the idea to start your project?

Naomé Schenk: I paired my passions with current growth trends.

SAE: What countries are you operating in / geographical coverage?

Naomé Schenk: I both work in, and have the majority of my clients located within Switzerland. I also have business locations in Paris, London, and Monaco. As far as NGOLD Gstaad is concerned, we are looking to go global!

SAE: How did you finance your project in the first stage? how you deal with the competition?

Naomé Schenk: I’ve self-financed all of projects! I’ve sometimes had the support of partners and sponsors, which was the case for By Naomé, for example. From 2020 onwards, I'm going to increasingly seek external funding sources because I sometimes put myself in difficult situations at the beginning of a project.

Competition is only a mere matter of marketing and positioning, which is good, because it allows us to demonstrate how we are better.

SAE: In which stage are you now in your projects?

Naomé Schenk: I'm currently in a phase where I'd like to simplify and automate my projects. We've achieved some early success, and now is the time to surround ourselves with some expert help. We're in a strategically interesting period, and past the initial difficulty of the startup phase.

SAE: What is your future objectives?

Naomé Schenk: To grow and to have a greater positive impact. I would like to grow my business to as big as it can possibly be, and I’m not afraid to display such ambitions.

SAE: What are the major obstacles you faced/you are facing? Can you tell us about the most fascinating moment in your professional life / in this project? I got that you got an offer from a very rich businessman, can you tell us about this offer?

Naomé Schenk: My greatest difficulty was, first and foremost, my illness. Being in a wheelchair and having significant breathing difficulties, I had to learn how to adapt to my illness in order to succeed while retaining the integrity of my health. But no matter the difficulties I face, we all have potential excuses for not moving forward, right? We just have to do it! I'm sure that my passion and determination to succeed will actually help to improve my health when all is said and done! It’s all about your state of mind. Sometimes the pressure can be intense, but it still often boils down to a question of mindset. The greatest difficulty is to persevere in the absolute worst moments.

The most fascinating thing about my journey has been the emotional ups and downs. You can go from a state of despair to immense joy in just a few minutes. While I do have a lot of pressure and responsibility on my shoulders, I love the challenge of continuing to carry this challenging and exciting dream forward.

Yes, having an increasing number of billionaire friends must be a good sign for my business, right? As I start to meet more and more incredible people, everything falls into place and grows. I'm finally starting to see my efforts pay off. I know that the future will be even more beautiful, because I know that all it takes is just unlocking one contact, or one opportunity, and suddenly your life can literally become forever changed! I personally put a lot of value in networking, which I’m certain to continue!

SAE: What is your next step?
Naomé Schenk: Goal number one is to grow, to have a greater positive impact, and to start investing. Developing NGOLD Gstaad internationally, especially in Dubai, is among one of the next steps. By Naomé will launch its second collection in September and I will personally dedicate a lot more time to learning about investment. I have lots of ideas and projects, and I still feel like I’m just at the beginning of my journey!