What Are the Major Trends or Challenges Entrepreneurs Will Face this year?
One of the major challenges for startups is recruitment. The favourable environment for creating startups in France over the past two decades has led to significant sector growth and thus a high demand for recruitment. This presents a dual challenge for our entrepreneurs: recruiting and retaining talent. Moreover, we are increasingly seeing a growing awareness of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives within startups. This is a way for them to enhance their employer brand. Additionally, the rise in cyber attacks is encouraging entrepreneurs to secure their tools right from the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey. Conversely, this new constraint has created significant entrepreneurial opportunities in this field within our region.
How Is Continuing Education an Instrument for Launching and Developing Professional Projects, Starting a Business?
The entrepreneurs we support often have scientific or engineering backgrounds and decide to venture into entrepreneurship without necessarily having experience in managing a business, even an innovative one. Continuing education is a very useful lever to enable them to acquire the necessary skills for a future business leader.
How Do You Support or Guide Entrepreneurs in Their Projects? Do You Have a Methodology?
At Le Poool, we blend individual coaching, group mentoring, and networking. We heavily rely on the local ecosystem of entrepreneurs, experts, schools, universities, etc., to guide entrepreneurs towards the most effective path for the success of their projects.
What Is Your Greatest Pride as Head of Higher Education Partnerships at Le Poool?
My role often involves being the first to engage with future entrepreneurs when they are students, PhD candidates, or researchers. My greatest pride is seeing them evolve with their projects and witnessing the realization of their businesses.
Can You Share a Project That You Have Seen Come to Life and Has Left an Impression on You (In Terms of Relationships, Human Impact, or Development Success)?
We are currently enhancing our support programme for deeptech startups*. This is a significant regional project that we are working on with other technopoles in Brittany and SATT Ouest Valorisation*. This programme aims to increase the number of deeptech startups in the region and enhance their chances of success. I am convinced that entrepreneurship can be a great way to mobilize advancements in scientific research to address future challenges, and I am pleased to contribute to that.
*Deeptech startups are innovative young companies that offer products or services based on disruptive innovations, often stemming from academic or private research. *Ouest Valorisation accelerates the transfer of technologies from laboratories in Brittany and the Loire region to businesses.
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