Do you speak Entrepreneurship? Our students do!
More than a business school, EDHEC is passion, people and engagement. EDHEC is one state of mind, one million opportunities, one way to lead.
Created by and for entrepreneurs, EDHEC Business School aims to pass on the keys to business success to new generations of managers and entrepreneurs.
Experience is essential in our learning-by-doing approach. Antoine and Stéphanie are here to talk about their own entrepreneurial experience. Yes, they dare!
BOX OFFICE HIT
•EDHEC International BBA 2018•
They don’t just grow palm trees on the French Riviera. They grow business ideas. For the past two years, EDHEC student Antoine Agnetti has been nurturing one such idea along with his associate Raphaël Coulmeau. A handy intuitive web service for anyone with an event to organize. Putting together a jazz festival, techno weekend, or classical concert? “Whatever the event, the basics are the same,” says Antoine. “You want to sell tickets, preferably in advance. Wilout gives you tools to promote the event and sell tickets. But we wanted to go further.” Indeed, the pair quickly learned that event organizers gather lots of data but hardly exploit any of it. Initially a ‘what’s on’ mobile app, the focus has shifted to ticketing with the power of real-time data analysis built-in. Antoine explains: “This beefed-up version of Wilout lets event organizers master market behavior, live. Like the dynamic pricing strategy used to fill hotel rooms or planes, Wilout will process data from the ticketing system to suggest corrective actions to optimize sales.” Along the way, the EDHEC Entrepreneurs incubator has been crucial in finetuning the proposition. Today the Riviera, tomorrow France nationwide.
2016: Identified the need, to optimize event communication and management
2016: First iteration of the concept, a mobile app
2017: Mentoring from EYE incubator
2017: Almost €400,000 of capital raised through
DIGITAL RECRUITER
•EDHEC Master 1997•
While others fought for jobs at Google and Facebook, Stéphanie Florentin built her own Utopian empire. “I wanted to create a company where I’d dream of working myself.” She had already tested her mettle with her own coaching business but was ready to start something new, this time in partnership. Recalls Stéphanie, “All the stars aligned. The right business partner turned up at the right time. And it all came together with the right idea.” Edgar People is the serendipitous result. It takes the classic recruitment consultancy model and reinvents it for the digital age. “We had a strong inkling,” she says, “that the market was ripe to answer new needs in web marketing jobs.” Their hunch paid off. Today Edgar People has expanded into other branches, innovating by putting job seekers and companies in direct contact via their hub. Along the way, Stéphanie has made the most of her EDHEC connections. “The EDHEC network is so rich,” she says, having used it to gain many valuable tips as well as opportunities in recruiting for the EDHEC Alumni Association. But even Utopia can start feeling small. She’s just opened a second office in Lisbon.
1997: Graduated from EDHEC
2009: Founded her own coaching business
2014: Founded Edgar People, a reinvention of the recruitment consultancy model
2018: Opened Lisbon branch
