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Frédéric Mazzella

Founder & Chairman, BlaBlaCar SA (Comuto SA)

Search every verified Frédéric Mazzella interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Frédéric Mazzella has been promoting several new projects, including the AI-powered platform Fred24, which he described as an "AI co-founder" that provides entrepreneurial advice based on his past interviews, writings, and other content. He reported that the platform had generated nearly one million conversations. He also released a serialized novel, *Robot 1er*, which explores the hypothetical scenario of an AI advising a French president; he stated that the 40-chapter work was written with the assistance of generative AI and is available free online. In interviews, he discussed using AI as a collaborative tool rather than a substitute for critical thinking, noting that while AI can suggest ideas and provide factual references, it is not equipped to choose between competing visions. Mazzella also reflected on the early years of BlaBlaCar, saying he went without a salary for five years and that the company tested six business models before finding success. He attributed his persistence partly to frugality, joking that his Italian origins allowed him to "eat pasta for ten years." He emphasized the importance of time management for entrepreneurs, arguing against manual repetition of tasks that could be automated. Discussing European tech policy at the REF 2026 event, he argued that European companies have not sufficiently purchased their own solutions and advocated for increased investment in domestic innovation. He also highlighted BlaBlaCar's environmental impact, citing his company's calculations that its services save over 4 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

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Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“It's impossible, it's truly written with it. It's not a question of percentage, it's a question of writing. I write. So, generally, I can write down my intention. So for example, a paragraph, I don't know, about that, I'll type it, I'll write it, I don't know, over 20 lines, saying, here is the intention for this little passage, which should be about 300 to 400 words. And I send it to it, and I say, how would you wri”

“With BlaBlaCar, for example, we tried six business models. That means five times, quote-unquote, we failed. To build BlaBlaCar, I didn't pay myself for five years. So I didn't pay anyone else either. I'm not much of a spender. In fact, I often say the best gift God gave to entrepreneurs is pasta. I don't have expensive tastes, I don't have outsized desires. I manage to do, well, maybe quite a lot with not very much. ”

“On avait dépensé en tout 150,000 euros. Donc, j'ai essayé six modèles économiques et cinq fois tu es obligé d'aller les voir en disant on s'est trompé. Arriver à reconnaître et à mettre ton ego de côté, être à la fois persévérant mais pas entêté. J'ai pas pu me payer pendant 5 ans. Il me dit "Combien de temps vous croyez que vous allez tenir ?" J'ai des origines italiennes, je peux manger des pâtes pendant 10 ans. Do”

“I think that beyond the concrete measures that can be taken and that must be favorable to the development of companies, because it must be remembered, companies finance everything else. That is, even when we talk a lot about taxing companies, all the money that can be allocated to our social system comes initially from the value creation done by companies. So everything obviously comes from companies. For me, there i”

“Ça fait 20 30 ans que les Américains achètent Américains, ça fait 20 30 ans que les Chinois achètent chinois et ça fait 20 30 ans que les Européens achètent américains et Chinois. Je pousse le curseur très loin volontairement, mais c'est-à-dire qu'on n'a pas assez acheté nous-même nos propres solutions européennes.”

“Le monde n'a pas besoin de plus d'argent. Mais il a besoin de plus d'entraide et d'amour. Et je pense qu'il faut que les entreprises avec la chance qu'on a c'est qu'au cœur des entreprises, il y a des cœurs, il y a plein de gens. Et donc, il faut trouver la manière de faire en sorte que cette production notamment économique serve à réparer le monde qui nous entoure plutôt qu'à aller continuer à empiler de l'argent je”

Other executives at BlaBlaCar SA (Comuto SA)

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