A hybrid Bootstrap workshop was organized by SKEMA Ventures at SKEMA’s Suzhou campus between February 22 and 25 to help students strengthen their entrepreneurial project.
On the first day of the workshop, seven SKEMA entrepreneurs – Margaux Reale, Wenjun Li, Shannon Levy, Yining Zhao, Chunhui Xia, Floreen Ouanzin, and Xiaoyi Ding – gave the first pitch of their projects in different market domains such as tourism, online retail, online upcycled fashion, musical education, online social networking, and generic medicines.
After receiving three days of intensive lectures and coaching online by SKEMA Ventures director Philippe Chereau, SKEMA Ventures Suzhou campus manager Chali Zhou, and SKEMA Ventures Sophia campus manager Franck Arnold, the participants were able to transfer their basic business ideas into a solid pitched business plan.
“Entrepreneurs have to keep expanding their network and should feel free to talk with their competitors,” affirmed SKEMA graduate Matthieu Ventelon, founder of Hedonia, on the third day of the Bootstrap workshop. Hedonia is the first institution in China that combines professional etiquette and wine courses in the same training programme. After constant practise, these entrepreneurs pitched in front of the jury members Matthieu Dumont and Hua Lin, SKEMA Suzhou’s campus director and academic director, respectively.
The judges praised the high quality of these projects and the entrepreneurial mindset of the entrepreneurs by presenting a certificate to each participant. “Never forget what you learnt at SKEMA Business School. Perhaps, when you need to prepare for your market research, you can look for answers in your marketing courses,” concluded Philippe Chereau.
Testimonials from students
Yining Zhao, M2 student. Being an intrapreneur, she is creating a spinoff of her family business to build a resort that would offer a relaxing environment to middle-class families in Beijing.
“I learnt how to manage a business project quickly and comprehensively, and I can say that I learnt a new way of thinking. Special thanks to all the professors for their guidance.”
Wenjun Li, M1 student. Her project WE Tennis school aims to offer a high-end tennis school to Chinese kids.
“I learnt a more practical way of operation at the Bootstrap workshop than in the classroom and combined it with my project. The patient feedback of the teachers relieved my tension. It was great to participate in this workshop!”
Chunhui Xia, M2 student. He and his partner are devoted to imparting music education to children by emphasizing happiness and self-confidence.
“We thank SKEMA Ventures for giving us this valuable opportunity. After receiving training from the SKEMA Ventures team, we have created a whole picture of our business model and gained basic knowledge on how to build a startup company.”
Floreen Ouanzin, M2 student. Her project is to create a company to distribute generic medicines. Her vision is to become a leader in the distribution of generic medicines in Central Africa. “I learned a lot during this event. I learned that an entrepreneur must be realistic, cling to achievable ideas, and remain open to criticism and constructive comments.”
