HEC INNOVATION: two start-ups tied for the top spot !

For the third consecutive year, HEC Innovation, the Alumni community in Silicon Valley has mobilized to support our most promising start-ups in the HEC network. On Monday 24 June the Awards were presented at the HEC Incubator, at Station F.

At the initiative of Aurélia Setton (H02), a prize of $25,000 and mentoring was to be awarded to the startup meeting the following criteria: team, market potential, competitiveness, advantage/product/technology, mentoring (ability of the alumni network to improve and help).

A total of 60 projects were interested in the May call for applications, a first selection was made by IDEA Centre experts, then a pre-selection was presented to the Alumni and donators of the HEC Innovation Community.

The choice was difficult because there were so many projects with high potential! In the end, two projects with impact at the heart of their business were selected and are now sharing the prize:

• Tom&Josette, the first network of intergenerational micro-nurseries inspired by Montessori, founded by Astrid Parmentier, Pauline Faivre and Isabelle Pélissié Du Rausas (from MSc X-HEC Entrepreneurs program).
• ToutesMesAides, a platform enabling users to find all the state aid to which they are entitled and to take the necessary steps in their place, founded by Cyprien Geze and Jean-Baptiste Beuzelin (trained at the HEC Incubator).

The official award ceremony took place on Monday, June 24, in the presence of representatives of the HEC Foundation and HEC IDEA Center, the winning project leaders and some entrepreneurs from the HEC Incubator at Station F.

Aurelia Setton, creator of the prize but held back by family events, sent them this message: 
"Your two projects have been selected for their ambition, their impact on society and the ability to scale. This award was created by the Alumni to support entrepreneurship at HEC and give you access to a community to support you in your future. As such, we will send you contacts recommended by our alumni as well as a list of mentors in different fields. »

Deborah Aringoli of the HEC Foundation presented the award and reminded entrepreneurs: "This award is a vote of confidence, you have a network that believes in you and you can call on!"

Cyprien Geze, the founder of Toutes Mes Aides, was delighted and highlighted all the help provided by HEC Alumni, whether they were the experts met within the HEC Incubator or those now at the Silicon Valley Hub. The prize will enable him to accelerate the development of the platform.

Isabelle Pélissié Du Rausas, co-founder of Tom&Josette, in turn, explained how happy the team was, through the support of the Alumni and the Foundation, to be able to anchor their project in the strength of the HEC community. The prize will be used to finance the opening of their first crèche, and in particular its furniture. 

We wish both teams every success in their entrepreneurial challenge!

HEC Innovation Major Donors

Jaime Mateus Tique (H90)
Andre Haddad (H95)

Donors

Aurelia Setton (H02)
Rebecca & Joel Barbier (H93)
Ugo Catry (H11)
Marie Chalopin (H07)
Nicolas Elbaze (H83)
Renaud Laplanche (MBA 95)
Christophe Mallard (H94)
Sarah Pinto (H05)
Antoine Carrière (H00)
Florian Fischetti (MBA 14)
Arthur Menard-Calenge (Ms 15)
Clara Terrien (H14)
Takahiro Sumimoto (MBA14)
Laetitia Pingel (H 15)
Anne Puyt (H10)

The community of international HEC entrepreneurs is a unique network WW to help HEC start ups. Different initiatives are possible thanks to the strength of the HEC community; professors, experts, institutional partners, corporate partners but also the solidarity of our alumni across the world who represent a network of mentors and ambassadors to support and empower tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.

The winners of previous editions

• Backacia (ex- Batiphoenix) is specialized in reused building materials.They help actors in the construction sector to include reused materials in their operations, thanks to their B2B marketplace connecting sellers and buyers of reused materials.
• Datasoluce, A cloud-based platform which transforms buildings into predictable assets, massively reducing delays, costs and risks for all stakeholders.
• Destygo, a platform to create & deploy Smart customer Assistant (Chatbots) for travel companies
• Revele, the first sports brand developing equipment and protections for women engaged in contact sport