An eternal intercontinental crossroads, its one of the most visited cities in the worldand as the capital of France, and the seat of many of its most important industries, Paris is equally valued on the startup scene.

Courtyard by Marriott captured some of the citys magic last month when it hosted a panel of two Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe listmakers about their paths to success. On stage at the Paris Gare de Lyon hotel, a hub for business travelers with global ambitions, the entrepreneurs shared what inspired their journeys and how their passions continue to fuel them.

Emma Smiths world has been growing. At 27, shes on an international flight every couple days, starting up Africas first international neobank, Eversend. But she was raised on tiny Orcas Island, off the far north coast of Washington State, with no internet or TV at home. You go a little crazy, she says with a laugh.

Eager to taste the outside world, she did her high-school junior year abroad in Costa Rica. It was the first time I realized that the kind of utopia I grew up in, people didnt have there. They lacked a lot of basic services.

At university in London, she studied economic development principles that would shape Eversend: I learned the capabilities approachits not about the things you give people to alleviate poverty but about the opportunities you give them to lift themselves. Its about access.

Smith established a microfinance initiative in Togo, but it was a challenge to deliver money to applicants. In Africa, 66% of the people dont have a bank account, she notes. To receive wire transfers from overseas, they usually have to pay 20% commission. But everyone has a cell phone.

There had to be a better wayand Smith found it when she met Ugandan fintech developer Stone Atwine and software engineer Ronald Kasendwa, who were working on an idea for a borderless mobile banking system to serve Africas rapidly growing population. They saw value in Smiths perspective and real-world experience, and the three joined forces to found Eversend last year.

With backing from a Swedish angel investor, a Berlin accelerator and a French government initiative, Eversend is now opening an HQ in Paris (in addition to its Kapala, Uganda, office), where all three now live, and has an international team of 14. Our competitors have raised millions, but weve been getting more traction, Smith says, because were scrappy.

Now, says Smith, the entire team needs to learn French, but theyre up for a challenge. When money was tight, Smith and her partners cadged buffet leftovers from networking events. For much of last year, she was nomading, with no fixed address. She learned she didnt need as much as she thought; Smith can fit everything she owns into a suitcase, and I stay ready to go at all times. Plans change, meetings pop up.

It takes energy to be that mobile. Smith finds it from knowing shes helping Africa unleash its full potential. People forget what an incredible opportunity Africa is. Its time the U.S. and Europe got on board.

When Julie Yan told her parents she was launching a travel startup, now part of the leading online travel agency in France, they were like, thank god we have two other children, she says with a laugh.

Yans parents, who moved from Yunan, China, to Paris before she was born, felt it was very important that I have a stable and noble job. Becoming a lawyer or doctor were my only choices.

Yan completed a law degree at the Sorbonne but never took the bar exam.

I wanted to be on the other side of the table from the lawyers, she says. I wanted them to work for me.

She took jobs in government and finance, but walking around her Paris neighborhood sparked an idea that excited her more. You see the busses full of Chinese tourists, and theyre treated like meat, shed observed. I decided Ill create cool packages for them. In 2015, she started Jolitel, a travel agency that designs European and Mediterranean tours for the Chinese market.

And eight months after launch, with Jolitels business steadily climbing, Yans mother left her own job to work for her daughters company. Today, shes director of operations for China.

In 2017, Yan merged her company with Karavel-Promovacances & Fram Group, the large French online travel agency, becoming its youngest executive director at age 28. Last year, the company brought in 600 million in sales.

Our parents worked for a paycheck, but for our generation, its not enough, she says. Young people need a purpose, and when they find one congruent to their own path and personal goals, theyll give 200%.

That notion drives her teams pay structure. Everyone is given the opportunity to become a shareholder, Yan says. To see an intern who was once too shy to speak become a manager and convince clients in meetings gives me great pride. She recently became a mentor with government-backed incubator French Tech Tremplin, which works with talent facing socioeconomic barriers.

Yan sees the travel agency as the first of many entrepreneurial pursuits. Her next will be at the intersection of wellness and environmentalism, but she wont reveal more than the name, Blue Dot, and that shes developing it with fellow Forbes 30 Under 30 listmaker Akash Mehta.

My first [goal] was to make a company that worked, she says. The next will be about impact. Ill allocate a portion of its revenue to organizations working on climate change and the environment.

Courtyard by Marriott was the first hotel built for business travelers. Since opening its doors 35 years ago, its been dedicated to helping guests pursue both personal and professional passions. Like its guests, Courtyard believes that success is not about a single achievement; its about the journeyalways moving forward and never settling.

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Passion Driving Success: In Paris, Two Of Europes Rising Entrepreneurs Share What Fuels Them - Forbes