Intro
to develop your entrepreneurial mindset, live up to your full potential and contribute to make the world a better place.
Michel Jordi Inspires you to
to develop your entrepreneurial mindset, live up to your full potential and contribute to make the world a better place.
Michel Jordi, five time entrepreneur, mentor and author, is the founder of a new movement entitled "IGNITE THAT SPARK". To break free, do what we love, and make the world a better place should be our ultimate goal. His daughter Kim is the co-founder and accompanies him to ignite that spark around the world.
Continuous education is essential to stay ahead in a world of rapid change and digital transformation. Today's new tools allow us to work and stay connected almost anywhere on the planet.
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Michel Jordi is a serial entrepreneur and disruptor of the Swiss watch industry over three decades. The inventor of the legendary Swiss Ethno watch and LE CLIP, which brought him international fame and recognition, he pioneered Swissness on the occasion of the 700-year anniversary of Switzerland in 1991.
In his career as an entrepreneur, he created 5 companies, three of which became 8-figure companies in revenue and global players. Born in Switzerland, he studied in England and pursued post-graduate studies at Harvard Business School, Boston and IMD, Lausanne.
Recognized for developing iconic products and disrupting traditional Swiss watchmaking, he was honoured with the "Leadership Award 2018" of the EU Business School Barcelona and received the "Grand Prix Triomphe de l’Excellence Européenne" in Monte Carlo for the creation of LE CLIP in 1986.
In 2017, he published his autobiography in German, and his entrepreneurial guidebook "Ignite that Spark - 10 Commandments of Entrepreneurship" was launched in November 2018.
“Let your faith be bigger than your fears.”The Start-up maniac Michel Jordi is the living proof that entrepreneurship is all about passion and never giving up.
With candor and honesty, Michel Jordi shares not only his successes but also his failures, with everything that entails and what he learned in order to move forward more effectively.
Michel Jordi is a vivid example of resilience throughout his eventful career. He shares his experience in his compelling must-read roadmap "Ignite That Spark" for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Michel Jordi knows how to always be first, different and unique.
Michel Jordi has the ability to think out of the box and come up again and again with disruptive new products and ideas. As a true leader, he knows how to empower his team to implement his vision.
Michel Jordi and his work reflect inspirational ideas of the best kind.
Started with $10,000.- in his pocket and created an affiliated company with a Japanese watch conglomerate. A joint-venture on a 50/50 basis. Annual sales exceeded 20 million Swiss Francs after 10 years.
Le CLIP: Started out with two friends who brought the starting capital. Sales of over 1 million watches in 17 countries for CHF 23 million in the first year.
Swiss Ethno Watch: Initial capital financed through bank loans partly secured by a personal mortgage on private property. More than 500,000 units sold worldwide. In its peak years, consolidated sales were close to 50 million Swiss Francs with more than 80% brand awareness in Switzerland.
Twins Heritage: Self-financed. Within 2 weeks after launch in December 2004 production was booked out for a year.
Financed by two private investors. Established 30 exclusive Points-of-Sale for the product launch. The Club 100 limited edition selling at CHF10,000 was an immediate bestseller.
Discover the highlights of my life, the magical places I travelled to and all the wonderful people who have crossed my path.
LE CLIP launch with Andy Warhol in New York, 1986.
With American record producer and musician Quincy Jones and Montreux Jazz Festival founder Claude Nobs.
With Carlos Santana at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1994.
With singer Tina Turner, 1999.
Claude Nobs, founder of Montreux Jazz Festival, wearing Le Clip, 1986.
Renowned Michelin star chef Philippe Rochat, wife Swiss athlete Franziska Moser and restaurant team wearing Swiss Ethno Shoes.
With Gilbert Petitjean, president and owner of the namesake watch production factory.
Swiss Ethno Boutique in Zurich
Michel Jordi The Spirit of Switzerland products.
Swiss Ethno Fever
First trip to Japan to build his 1st start-up, 1971.
Cover of People Magazine, 1986.
With football star Pelé
Singer Anita Baker at Montreux Jazz Festival wearing Le Clip, 1986.
Singer George Benson at Montreux Jazz Festival wearing Le Clip, 1986.
Honored with the Leadership Award 2018 from the EU Business School Barcelona for his career achievements.
EU Business School Barcelona Commencement Ceremony, June 2018.
EU Business School Barcelona Commencement Ceremony with wife Ki-Young and daughter Kim, June 2018.
I now dedicate my time to promote entrepreneurship and to encourage people of all ages to develop their entrepreneurial skills, broaden their career opportunities and to potentially take the leap into creating their own company. I also mentor and accompany entrepreneurs and start-ups to accomplish their vision.
Discover Michel Jordi’s captivating journey through his two books "Ignite That Spark" (English) and "Der Uhrschweizer" (German), in which he openly shares his real life experiences. Both books give you an insight into entrepreneurship with its Ups & Downs and a lot of take-home value.
“If a book is well written, I always find it too short.”
- Jane AustenDisrupting the traditional way we look at business through imagery and music is the purpose of this unique guidebook. This has been Michel Jordi’s inspiration to approach life, freedom, work and the making of the business plan.
The book is short and straight-to-the-point with memorable illustrations, the size of a notebook. It is an insight into the world of business where Michel Jordi shares his own "real life experiences" and gives a complete 360° view of entrepreneurship in a nutshell.
This inspiring book has already been adopted by several prestigious Universities and international Business Schools.
Michel Jordi with co-founder, and daughter, Kim at book and song launch at UCL London, November 2018.
The "Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship" puts you virtually in the driver’s seat of an exhilarating journey.
It is a condensed guide packed with take-home value, which we are certain will become your regular companion, and to which you can always refer to all along your professional journey. It is composed of 4 Parts, which are interlinked but can be read independently.
You must master parts 1, 2 and 3 to be fit for the Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship.
This book is the
RISK FILTER that every entrepreneur should read to increase the success rate of his start-up.
The "Lucky Clover" is the kick-off highlighting the first four commandments considered crucial before going any further with your start-up. Take this fun entry test to have a first personal assessment to find out whether you are fit for the Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship.
The "Rainbow Target" is a roadmap to fine-tune your Business Plan. It consists of 7 important milestones you need to tackle to give you a clear direction and take you safely along the road from product development to market. It’s also a reminder that the customer is king!
The "10 commandments" are recommendations, essential tips and "Red Flags" of dos and don’ts that Michel Jordi carefully identified and deems every entrepreneur must respect in order to be successful.
Michel Jordi speaking at EU Business School Barcelona's 2018 Commencement Ceremony, June 2018.
In his captivating autobiography, Michel Jordi talks with no restraints about his entrepreneurial career, spiced up with incredible ups and downs. Discover how he had to file for chapter 11 on two occasions to avoid bankruptcy and how, like a Phoenix rising from its ashes, he bounced back successfully every time to create his next company. Through the detailed storytelling of his life and the 5 companies he built, he shares the lessons learnt and how anyone can take the leap into freedom.
Born in the small town of Grenchen, Switzerland as the son of a watchmaker, Michel Jordi was fascinated by the art of watchmaking from a young age. He studied in England and moved to Geneva in 1969. His bold entrepreneurial career began in 1971, at age 23, when he went to Japan, with only $10’000 in his pocket, to create his first start-up, a joint venture with a Japanese watch conglomerate.
In his life, he created 5 companies, one from which he was fired, two that almost went bankrupt, and 3 which became 8-figure revenue companies, international successes and made history. He established a powerful international network with his own affiliated companies in the USA, France, Germany and Hong Kong. With LE CLIP, he ignored a devastating market study by McKinsey and went ahead with the launch against all odds. Sales reached 1 million watches in 17 countries for 23 million Swiss francs in the first year with a production of 10’000 watches a day after only six months…..before being fired from his own company.
The "Swiss Ethno Watch", launched at the occasion of the 700-year anniversary of Switzerland in 1991, brought him international fame and recognition. Under the "Spirit of Switzerland", a whole range of accessory products emerged to establish his brand globally with a successful image transfer. Sales grew exponentially year after year to reach almost CHF50 million after 10 years. But his fall was as dramatic as his rise when the markets were flooded with cheap copies of his legendary Ethno line and accelerated the end of the life cycle, which prompted him to file for chapter 11 to avoid bankruptcy. Today, he is still recognized as the initiator of Swissness.
He followed with 2 other companies in the field of the Haute Horlogerie with daring prices ranging from CHF70’000 to CHF225’000. In 2014, after a dramatic bicycle accident and two surgical procedures, he decided to withdraw from the operational side of business. Married with 2 children, he spends his summers near Geneva and the winters skiing in his beloved Swiss Alps.
Get mentored by the Maker of Bold Entrepreneurs and CEOs’.
Michel Jordi’s mentoring and consulting is composed of 4 distinctive steps and built on his extended personal experience empowering people. His disruptive approach to business inspired him to develop innovative tools such as the “Lucky Clover” and the “Rainbow Target”. He accompanies you in a close relationship to help you develop your full potential to become a successful entrepreneur and leader.
Take stock: Strengths & weaknesses. Where do you stand today? Build a climate of mutual trust, elevate your level of self-confidence and define the actions that will impact your success.
Help you to break free and set ambitious goals to realize your wildest dreams. Trust your gut. The sky is no longer the limit. Your tool: the "Lucky Clover".
Put you in the driver’s seat by applying the "Rainbow Target" and setting milestones to reach your goals.
Empower you to develop your entrepreneurial mindset and live to your full potential. Build on solid ground and help you scale up. You’ll never walk alone!
Start out with a complimentary 30 minutes’ inspirational “Confidence session” to allow Michel Jordi to get an understanding of your business, your challenges and your opportunities.
Michel changed my life by empowering me and sending me to Hong Kong at age 26 to open his Asian subsidiary. He was a great mentor who showed me the way, inspired me to think big and to never give up.
Michel taught me the art of watchmaking and ignited that spark in me to break free and start my own company. He possesses the ability to empower and inspire people. A great mentor.
Michel Jordi is a full blooded entrepreneur and a great leader. At our weekly meetings, he succeeded again and again to inspire and motivate his troops to go out there and conquer the world. He was a great mentor and I would not have wanted to miss a single day.
Michel was a great mentor and instrumental for me to break free and start my own business. He even designed and printed my first "business cards" telling me "GO! There is no turning back!" He is a great motivator and teacher. A true entrepreneur.
Working with Michel was one of the highlights of my career. He taught me event marketing and helped me understand the importance of the customer. This experience and network allowed me to become independent and build my own distribution network.
Michel knows how to empower his people and to let them do their job. An unforgettable experience with a lot of take-home value. He even offered me his van to start my own business. A true leader and a powerful mentor.
Working with Michel was a real blessing. It allowed me to learn what business and selling are all about and to understand my customer. Thanks to the experience and lessons learnt with him, I established my own business.
Book and song launch at University College of London (UCL),
November 2018.
Michel Jordi’s incredible story best comes to life through his charismatic and lively storytelling ability.
Don’t miss your chance to invite him to be your guest speaker for a truly immersive experience with real life examples from this serial entrepreneur himself. Filled with unique anecdotes and practical examples to learn from, we guarantee you will not want to get off his thrilling rollercoaster of entrepreneurship.
With Adolf Ogi, former president of Switzerland, and Dirk Craen, President of EU Business School.
Michel Jordi pioneered Event Marketing in the 1980s and 90s. He created incredible and stunning events. With three of his products becoming immediate successes, he excels at launching new products. Thinking out-of-the-box and making every single event something that people will talk about for years to come is one of his unique talents.
Today, with his daughter Kim who possesses more than 10 years of experience in event creation and production, Ignite That Spark offers you the opportunity to create and realize your most sparkling events.
Contact us for your customized offer.
Launch of Swiss Ethno Sailor leisurewear at the foot of the Matterhorn in Zermatt, 1992.
Fashion show of Swiss Leisurewear launch in Piccadilly Square London, 1990.
Launch of leisurewear collection in London, 1990.
Launch of Pharaoh watch in front of the pyramids in Egypt, 1992.
The Sphinx arrives in the harbour of Lucerne to unveil the Pharaoh collection, 1992.
Ties collection launch in front of the Savoy Hotel on Paradeplatz in Zurich, 1992.
Launch of Swiss Ethno Sailor leisurewear at the foot of the Matterhorn in Zermatt, 1992.
Ethno Diver collection launch on the Aletsch glacier Switzerland with a rock group from the Seychelles islands, 1994.
Client event on top of the Swiss Alps, Allalinhorn 4,027m, 1994.
Swiss Ethno Shoes collection with partner Rolf Ammann, Swiss ski champion Maria Walliser and Montreux Jazz Festival founder Claude Nobs,1995.
Launch of the Swiss Ethno Knife, partnership with Victorinox, on Grindelwald Glacier at 3,470m and overshadowed by the Eiger mountain, 1996.
Partnership with Visa and artist Bernard Luginbühl, 1996.
Launch of Spirit of the West collection in Gstaad, 1996.
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True to his reputation as a serial disrupter, Michel Jordi has opted to follow that path by linking the book with a pop song. However, it is not "just another song," but instead it is a strong and encouraging message for up-and-coming generations. The lyrics reflect Michel Jordi’s life and were written by Franceska Aeschlimann. She also composed the music with British singer-songwriter Chris Eaton, who performs it in a duet with Abby Eaton.
The official ‘drop’ of this captivating song took place on the occasion of Swiss Digital Day, October 25, 2018. Let yourself be inspired to break free and live your passion.
Available on all major musical platforms.
Contact us to hop on the exhilarating rollercoaster of entrepreneurship with us! We are based in Switzerland but work all around the world to help Ignite That Spark in as many people as possible.
Please use the form below for any booking purposes or send us an email at inspiration@ignitethatspark.com
Here you will find some of the key events where Michel Jordi has been giving speeches, lectures and sharing the wisdom of his new book "Ignite That Spark - 10 Commandments of Entrepreurnship", as well as media interviews and articles.
For its sixth edition, the Good Festival launched the Good Brand Summit (GBS). GBS is about discovering Good Brands, Good People, and Good Food from organizations and companies who are tackling sustainability issues and positioning their brands to mean much more than money.
Date: May 15, 2019
Location: Beau-Rivage Palace Lausanne
Details: Keynote speaker
Site link: https://www.goodfestival.ch/
It was a pleasure to host a public book signing event with our partner Payot in their bookstore in Nyon, Michel Jordi’s beloved hometown for many years.
Date: April 23, 2019
Location: Nyon, Switzerland
Details: https://evenements.payot.ch/evenement/michel-jordi/
Michel Jordi shared his life experiences as a serial entrepreneur, its ups and downs, and how he always came back successfully thanks to the three guiding principles that have impacted his life: Vision, Guts & Passion.
Date: April 23, 2019
Location: IMD Lausanne, Switzerland
Details: https://www.imd.org/
Theme: Event Marketing - How to reach your customer? Through the various examples of his rollercoaster entrepreneurial career, Michel Jordi shared with the students the tools and tactics he used in Event Marketing and Communication to reach the customer.
Date: April 10, 2019
Location: EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland
Site link: https://www.epfl.ch/en/home/
The Academia-Industry Training (AIT) is an initiative by the Leading House for the Latin American Region, Startup@HSG, and Swissnex Brazil to help 10 start-ups each from Switzerland and from Brazil innovate and develop their entrepreneurial skills.
Date: April 1-5, 2019
Location: Geneva & Zurich, Switzerland
Details: Keynote Speech & Juror
https://www.unisg.ch/
As part of their Business Innovation Week, BSL invited Michel Jordi for a riveting workshop, book presentation and signing event with their BBA and MBA students to allow them to gain valuable entrepreneurial insight.
Date: February 15, 2019
Location: Business School Lausanne, Switzerland
Details: https://www.bsl-lausanne.ch/join-bsl-and-michel-jordi-for-a-riveting-event/
Fongit is Switzerland's premier startup incubator supporting innovative tech ventures in Geneva since 1991. Michel Jordi was invited to return to present his new book Ignite That Spark for their end-of-year gathering.
Date: December 13, 2018
Location: Fongit offices Geneva, Switzerland
Details: https://fongit.ch/
IFJ is an entrepreneurial supporting platform which has accompanied over 110,000 founders and every year found 2,000 new companies. This was the perfect organization to partner with to present Michel Jordi’s new book and song to the Swiss entrepreneurial audience
Date: November 26, 2018
Location: Institut für Jungunternehmen AG startup space Schlieren, Switzerland
Details: https://www.ifj.ch/en
"Swiss Ethno Pope" Michel Jordi chose UCL to announce and launch his inspirational book & song "Ignite That Spark - 10 Commandments of Entrepreneurship." André Borschberg, entrepreneurial pioneer and pilot of Solar Impulse and who wrote the foreword to the book, honored us with his presence.
Date: November 19, 2018
Location: University College London (UCL), United Kingdom
Site link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/
Established in 1973, EU Business School (EU) is an international, professionally accredited, high-ranking business school with campuses in Barcelona, Geneva, Montreux and Munich. Michel Jordi was invited to talk about his 10 Commandments of Entrepreneurship and his new book as part of their EU talks.
Date: November 2, 2018
Location: EU Business School Montreux, Switzerland
Site link: https://montreux.euruni.edu/
Michel Jordi was invited to share inspirational insights from his career: building 5 companies, bringing innovations to market, and overcoming personal and professional challenges, as part of their speakers’ series.
Date: July 7, 2018
Location: Fongit offices Geneva, Switzerland
Site link: https://fongit.ch/
Recognized with the Leadership Award for his business career On the occasion of the Barcelona campus’ 2018 graduation, Michel Jordi was the Commencement Speaker alongside Adolf Ogi, ex-president of Switzerland, and received the Leadership Award for his entrepreneurial career in recognition of the leadership virtues he represents: teamwork, trust, integrity, transparency and commitment.
Date: June 9, 2018
Location: Palau de Congressos de Catalunya Barcelona, Spain
Site link: https://barcelona.euruni.edu/
Articles, news and interviews.
Date: May 3, 2019
View article
Date: TC
Date: February 12, 2019
Date: April 1, 2019
Play interview
Date: January 17, 2019
Play interview
Date: December 12, 2018
Play interview
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