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Benjamin d'Hardemare
Founder of Planetic & Planetic Lab, cofounder of AlterMassage & Biota
Professional Background
Benjamin d'Hardemare is widely recognized as a pioneering entrepreneur and visionary leader in the realm of social impact business. As the Founder and CEO of Planetic, the first social startup studio in France, he is dedicated to creating innovative subsidiaries that serve various sectors, including reforestation, agro-ecology, energy access, and workplace well-being. With over a decade of experience in entrepreneurship, Benjamin has developed a unique approach to fostering sustainable business models by bringing together remarkable entrepreneurs under the Planetic umbrella.
His journey into the world of social entrepreneurship began with a personal commitment to positive change, inspired by his foundational belief in personalism—a philosophy that guides him in recognizing the dignity of every individual. Before embarking on his entrepreneurial path, Benjamin gained valuable experience working in scouting and first aid with the French Red Cross, alongside his endeavors in sustainable trade at Schneider Electric. This diverse background has equipped him with a robust skill set and an expansive network that he utilizes to navigate the complexities of social impact business.
Benjamin's expertise is not limited to the founding of innovative startups. He is a proactive Board member of Finansol, an esteemed NGO that promotes social impact finance. Through this role, he champions the integration of social responsibility into business practices, fostering partnerships with organizations dedicated to innovation.
Education and Achievements
Benjamin d'Hardemare's academic foundation is as impressive as his professional undertakings. He pursued studies at the prestigious Institut des Hautes Etudes de l'Entreprise (IHEE), where he honed his skills in business. Additionally, he earned a Master's degree in European Law from Université Panthéon Assas (Paris II), equipping him with a strong understanding of regulatory frameworks affecting businesses in Europe. This combination of legal and business acumen serves him well in advocating for transparent practices within the social finance sector and developing sound business models for Planetic and its subsidiaries.
Throughout his career, Benjamin has taken on various roles that reflect his commitment to social innovation. He founded and serves as CEO of Planetic Asset Management and Planetic Lab, further diversifying his portfolio in the social entrepreneurship landscape. His past accomplishments also include serving as a Marketing Analyst at Schneider Electric, where he contributed to the company's sustainable initiatives, and authoring articles for prominent organizations such as CAPafrique and Institut Montaigne. These avenues allowed him to share insights on sustainable practices and social entrepreneurship with a wider audience, enhancing his visibility as a thought leader in the field.
Noteworthy Initiatives
Under Benjamin's leadership, Planetic has become a nurturing ground for innovative avatars of social enterprises. Some of the key projects initiated through Planetic include:
- Reforestation Projects: Benjamin is passionate about creating sustainable solutions for environmental challenges. The reforestation initiatives undertaken by Planetic focus on rehabilitating damaged ecosystems and promoting biodiversity.
- Agro-Ecology Enterprises: Recognizing the significance of sustainable agriculture, Benjamin's startups in agro-ecology aim to create a positive impact on food security and local economies.
- Energy Access Solutions: Through partnerships and innovative business models, Benjamin promotes access to energy for underserved communities, enhancing quality of life and fostering economic growth.
- Well-Being at Work Ventures: He focuses on enhancing workplace culture and mental health through tailored solutions for organizations, emphasizing the importance of well-being in the workforce.
- Incubator Management: Planetic effectively collaborates with leading business incubation spaces, such as Palais Brongniart in Paris, to manage and foster the growth of budding entrepreneurs with socially-driven projects.
Conclusion
Through his unwavering commitment to social impact and innovation, Benjamin d'Hardemare continues to shape the future of social entrepreneurship in France and beyond. His innovative approaches and collaborations position him as an influential figure in creating sustainable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Benjamin's multifaceted experience and deep-rooted passion for social entrepreneurship not only set the foundation for Planetic's success but also inspire other aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their social impact ventures with conviction. His holistic approach exemplifies the power of combining business with purpose, making a difference in society while actively contributing to the global conversation about sustainability and social responsibility.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.