SKEMA Ventures held the Bootstrap workshop for the fall 2020 semester at the Sophia Antipolis campus from November 23 to 25 with successful outcomes for every stakeholder – students, judges, and SKEMA Ventures itself.
For the workshop, 13 entrepreneurial projects led by not only SKEMA students, but also student-entrepreneurs from ESIEA and Centrale Lille, were selected for the acceleration of their business creation process. During the three days, the SKEMA Ventures coaches supported the students to further define and structure their business model in an easy-going but professional atmosphere.
The scope of projects ranged from ecofriendly fashion, job-tech, ed-tech, organic cleaning, and co-housing, to student-to-student services, recycling, social agora, and sustainable marketplaces.
Developing resilience
Axel Hutin, a SKEMA alumnus and a co-founder of Time N’ Joy, shared his entrepreneurial journey with the participants. He spoke about his experience of being incubated and accelerated by SKEMA Ventures and emphasized the importance of a resilient mindset for an entrepreneur. His track record inspired the participants.
Online face-to-face coaching sessions and dedicated lectures by the SKEMA Ventures coaches cumulated in challenging “elevator pitches” every day. The aim was to be prepared for the final pitches on the third day in front of a panel of experts.
High on motivation
“Thanks to the coaches and the panel members, the event was great. All the projects are interesting and promising. All of us are more motivated than ever!” said Maxime Dupuy, founder of Discuss.
“Many thanks to all for your priceless advice and feedbacks,” said Anne-Lise Mainet, founder of Start Impack’t.
The closing remarks of the panel of experts highlighted the excellent quality of the participating projects in the Bootstrap workshop and the support of the SKEMA Ventures entrepreneurial program.
SKEMA Ventures’ team members will continue coaching SKEMA entrepreneurs along the way through the Venture Factory. For more information, contact SKEMA Ventures manager Franck Arnold at franck.arnold@skema.edu.
