Author Archives: Chloeb

Nowadays, we hear a lot about entrepreneurship but I think most people don’t really know what it is actually about. I was one of them and that’s why I decided to attend this course at KTH. It was a good opportunity for me to get some knowledge on it.

At the moment, I’m not planning on launching my business but I am glad that this course will be useful for me anyway.

First, I’ve learned a lot about how an idea becomes a business, how a company grows, and so on. I had little knowledge about fund raising for example and it was really an interesting content of the course to me.

Even if we don’t want to be an entrepreneurs, we will likely have interactions with entrepreneurs, and it is always good to know how they work. During the event STHLM TECH, a representative of H&M talked about why they are looking for entrepreneurs to stay innovative and competitive. This example shows one more time that big companies and small ones can be strongly related. Moreover, I had some work experiences in big companies which I enjoyed. Intrapreneurship is for me important for companies and it could be a nice experience, which combines work in big companies launching a new idea. I think the “entrepreneurship spirit” I discovered in this course can be similar doing new projects for companies.

Even if I wasn’t really enthusiastic about going in start-ups events, I actually enjoyed it. It was a new experience for me and listening to all these entrepreneurs was really interesting and inspiring! From now on, I might go to startups events from time to time because I realize how interesting it is and I am more curious about it thanks to this course.

The best part of the course was the simulation game according to me. I learned a lot from this game which was even more detailed and complete than I expected. Moreover, I enjoyed working as a team, thanks team Ace! : )

Making presentations in English, doing a speech for selling your idea were other good experiences of the course.

Finally, it was really interesting to listen to all your ideas!

I wish you all the best! And whether you decide to be an entrepreneur or not, don’t forget to enjoy the music!

Yesterday I was at the famous startup event organized by STHLM TECH MEETUP in Hilton Slussen. STHLM TECH MEETUP is Europe’s largest monthly event for startups. I was surprised to see how crowded the room was!

I won’t talk about what happened during this event because many people from the course were there yesterday and have already described the content of this event. It is interesting to read all your blogposts 🙂

Investors from H&M and Nordic Makers were on the stage and I thought it was really interesting to see that big and famous companies are always connected with startups. Each startup could be an opportunity for huge companies to keep innovating. I also realized that intrapreneurship is more and more common (read more about intrapreneurship in the interesting post from Mathieu here)!

STHLM TECH MEETUP is a great community for startups. This event was energetic and I’ll keep an eye on their upcoming events.

I follow your advice and I now plan to go to SUP46. Events for startups are new for me and it is really interesting to discover the “startup environment”. I think we can learn a lot from entrepreneurs even if we don’t plan to become one!

 

There is an event in Istanbul, Turkey from the 5^th to the 12^th of January 2017 where you can improve your skills, learning all the tactics relevant to start-ups.

I think it is a great opportunity for travelling, learning more about start-ups, meeting new people and having fun with new friends from all over Europe!

Read more about this event on the website page: https://www.best.eu.org/event/details.jsp?activity=g5tb3td

Who is organizing this event?

BEST, Board of European Students of Technology. It is a non-profit and non-political organization which provide exchange possibilities for students all over Europe.

BEST organizes different activities where students of technology from member universities get the chance to complement their fields of study, their international experience, set up contacts, improve their English level and have fun.

How much does it cost?

It only costs your travel expenses to go to Istanbul + 32 euros. This fee of 32 euros includes accommodation (The Hub Hostel), food and activities.

BEST is trying to get as much money as possibly by co-operating with several organizations like universities and companies. That’s why BEST’s events are a great way to travel for low cost!

How can you apply?

Apply following the link on the event page website before the 9^th of October! A motivation letter is required.

 

There are more events in other cities which are covering many different technology fields if you want to have a look at them as well: https://www.best.eu.org/courses/list.jsp

Don’t forget the deadline: 9^th of October!

I am part of BEST Stockholm so feel free to ask me more information if you are interested 🙂

Today, I would like to talk about Blablacar, the most successful startup in France. Blablacar is a ride-sharing app which is a collaborative platform connecting drivers with empty seats for people travelling the same way.

I think it is very interesting to know a bit more about the story of this startup created in 2006 who is now the leader in ride-sharing in the world. Nowadays, 30 million of members use this app in 22 countries. Blablacar creates revenues by taking 12% of each reservation.

As many start-ups, its start has a personal story. Frédéric Mazzella, Blablacar’s French creator, was used to go to Stanford’s university (California) by sharing a car with friends. In this way, they could take empty “carpool lanes” reserved to ride-sharing cars and save time because of the important traffic in the city. When he came back to Paris, he had no car and wanted to go to his family’s region for Christmas. There were no more places left in trains and he tried to find someone who was going in the same city. It was impossible to find information like that on Internet and finally, his sister came to Paris with her car to drive him. It is from this situation that Frédéric Mazzella has his idea!

In September 2015, Blablacar became an “unicorn”: a company not listed on the stock exchange which has its value estimated at more than a billion euros.

Blablacar’s development is interesting because the app changed a lot according to customer’s need. At the beginning, the app was launched for companies to develop ride-sharing between colleagues. It was not a success and it changed their target and developed the current concept of the platform.

The success of this app come from the fact that a lot of people use it: the more people use it, the more offers are available to new users. It is a market where the « winner takes all ».

At the beginning, the platform was free: it was a perfect way to get “snowball effect” and to gain market share. Blablacar knew its customers and it developed its app according to their states of mind. For example, it took off the incertitude and the fear of the society about travelling with unknown persons by permitting to write feedbacks about drivers.

Blablacar doesn’t stop growing: a new fundraising of 21 million of dollars in September would permit it to develop its international growth.