Meet the Roho tech BNOC with his own social network

What have you achieved lately?


Royal Holloway’s campus may be historic, but that doesn’t mean we’re behind the times. Third year Management and International Business student Louis Camillieri is one of the team behind Usmile, a social network startup aiming to change the way we share laughs with our friends.

We spoke to Louis about his start-up and life at Royal Holloway.

Beauty and brains

What is Usmile?

Usmile is a unique platform dedicated to humour. Every bit of content is based off a web link. Instead of sharing humour on Facebook, where you may have colleagues, you can share humour on Usmile with your followers who have similar interests.

Who founded Usmile?

There are three founders: Tristan Lemoîne, Antoine Bouttier, and François Biettron.

How did you get involved?

I’m friends with Antoine Bouttier. He proposed that I join as an Associate of Usmile in September 2014 during fundraising.

What do you do as an Associate?

We decided not to have proper roles in Usmile in order to stay flexible in decision making. However, I’m mostly dealing with marketing and app development.

What’s it like working internationally?

We’re based in the UK, France, Spain, and Montréal. At first it was hard to set up a proper organisation. We needed time to organise and work efficiently, but now we use a host of managerial tools to work on an international basis, such as Skype, Azendoo, and Slack. We’re now quite efficient.

When will Usmile be unveiled?

There’s no release date yet, but the app will be previewed at TechCrunch in London on 8 December.

Why did you choose to study at Royal Holloway?

I chose Royal Holloway because of the campus and because it’s an amazing opportunity to get involved with great business schools for masters.

You study Management and International Business. Has your degree been useful for your work at Usmile?

The practical side of my degree is helpful, such as group assignments, managing time, and networking. My internships at an advertising agency and at a French startup incubator, 50 Partners, also helped me a lot.”

Did you always want to work for a startup? Or did you hope for something more corporate?

I’ve always wanted to start my own business, and I was interested in the start-up industry, but I did not think that I would integrate it so early.

What’s your favourite thing about RoHo?

If I didn’t live in Founders in first year I would probably have said the castle, however, I think my favourite thing is the community atmosphere. Everyone knows each other.

Founders or Bedford Library?

Bedford. Founders is too cosy and interesting to focus on my work.

If you could give advice to a student about to start university, what would it be?

I’d probably tell them to rely more on the SU than lectures during first year. Meeting people is as important as getting good grades.

Lastly, what’s your zodiac sign? Are you single?

I’m a Leo. Some entrepreneurs say having a start up is like being married and getting a child. It can make my girlfriend jealous.