Éric Devaulx, Partner at VISCONTI, welcomes today Yosra Jarraya, co-founder and CEO of Astran, a company specialized in the cyber resilience of organizations, at the microphone of Visconti Talks.

A graduate of HEC Paris and Panthéon-Sorbonne University in business and law, Yosra began her career in the M&A field at Davis Polk & Wardwell before moving on to management positions as Group General Counsel at Lov Financial.

Passionate about innovation, she enriched her expertise by following the MIT Blockchain Technology program in 2020.

In 2021, she co-founded Astran, providing a strategic response to the security and resilience challenges of businesses.

Who is Yosra Jarraya?

What characterizes her above all: a determined optimist.

Some of her favorite quotes are: “They didn't know it was impossible, so they did it.”

With her team, she works to transform the world and to make it progress. In recognition of her commitment, in 2023 she was named Young Leader by the French-American Foundation.

What were the drivers of Yosra's entrepreneurship?

The desire to be an entrepreneur inhabited her for many years, fuelled by several striking impulses.

The real tipping point took place during the Covid period. Isolated at home, she worked hard, like many others, but also lost the illusion that life “went by itself.”

This period prompted her to ask herself: what are we really looking to protect ourselves from?

Driven by this reflection, she made a radical decision: to stop realizing the dreams of others in order to pursue her own.

That's how she co-founded Astran, an adventure she shares with her husband and brother.

From the creation of Astran, there was an ambition to think big and to think internationally. For what reason?

Since its creation, Astran has chosen English as the working language, even if its current customers are mostly French.

This decision is based on a strong conviction: it is impossible to become a world leader by limiting yourself to the French market.

This is especially true in sectors such as IT, cybersecurity and resilience, where American players dominate. Conquering this market is therefore essential.

A second, more personal reason lies in Yosra's journey.

With a family that has lived in the United States and the American dream has always been rooted in her, she did not imagine her project other than internationally.

At the head of Astran, three co-founders, how do they work together?

The connection between them was natural. However, after a few years, they understood the importance of knowing each other professionally as well.

They undertook in-depth analyses of their personalities and ways of working, in order to better align and respect the particularities of each. This work had a direct and positive impact on their team.

This is how they were able to define a clear vision, establish common values and make them fully adhere to the entire team.

What were the key steps in learning to become a leader for Yosra?

At each stage of her journey, Yosra has enriched her knowledge and developed new skills.

During her first job, she discovered the importance of commitment and hard work to achieve her goals.

In her next position, she learned to master the art of synthesis and to communicate in the language of leaders: concise, powerful, and without superfluous.

With Astran, she understood that the role of a manager is above all to serve his team, and not the other way around. She also developed her resilience there, by learning to let time do its work.

Creating a business means knowing how to manage expectations, building patiently, step by step, while accepting not to control everything. It also requires the ability to adapt and the flexibility to readjust if necessary.

What has changed in Yosra since the creation of Astran?

Yosra is much more patient, more caring and empathetic. She learned to listen and to put herself in the place of her interlocutor.

The ten-year-old dream for Yosra and Astran?

Yosra says she wants to “ring the Nasdaq bell.”

What is Yosra's leadership style?

Caring and demanding.

What are some tips for being a great leader?

• Not having an ego
• Be determined and persistent

If there were to be an education as a leader, what would it be?

“They didn't know it was impossible so they did it” (which is actually a quote from Marcel Pagnol and not Mark Twain).

The coach's advice

- Dream big, which allows you to have a long-term vision and to involve the team;

- From the start, think internationally;

- Work on the posture of Servant leadership : create conditions for the team to succeed.