Solène, Zéphirine and Salomé, 3 students in engineering training, international course at UniLaSalle Rouen won the regional trophy of an entrepreneurship contest. Will a new brand of natural sun cream from Normandy soon see the light of day?
What is the Les Entrep' competition?
Les Entrep' is a program led by entrepreneurs and experts from the territory to train to think and create new economic models that respect the environment and inclusion. The program is designed for young people, so that it is compatible with studies or job search.
A young person can participate with an idea in mind, with a team already formed or not, or even just with the desire to undertake and integrate a project.
Les Entrep' program arrived in Normandy in 2009. Réseau Entreprendre Normandie Ouest, the Normandy region and the CJD have been supporting Les Entrep' Normandie ever since.
Each year, about 210 young graduates or students, scattered in about sixty multi-skilled teams, participate in the program. There are also about twenty partner establishments in the region!
Solène, Zéphirine and Salomé: the winning trio
In 2022, while our trio of students was in marketing classes in their third year of international engineering, that's when it all started. They had to imagine a product or a brand and create the whole marketing strategy around it. They presented a project on a Norman and natural sun cream, which impressed their teachers and classmates!
Boosted by the support of their two teachers, Houda Chkarat and Olivier Périn, they decided to go further and make their idea a reality. In order to have a solid support, they apply to the program Les Entrep' and are selected! This is the beginning of the great adventure!
Thanks to Les Entrep', the young team benefits from 5 months of support:
- Regular meetings with Joel Brugot, their coach, and Benoit Clair, their sponsor
- Workshops every Thursday at the CCI on various topics (market research, accounting, etc.)
The young women then participated in the regional competition Les Entrep' with a 15-minute pitch and 4 written deliverables. They were successful, winning the 2023 regional trophy, which will take them to the national competition in a few months!
The team did not stop there, they also applied for the Student Entrepreneur Award by Réseau Entreprendre Normandie Estuaire, which gives them the best chance to develop their solar product.
Beyond the project and the experience itself, the students each identify specific benefits:
- For Salomé, it is the ability to supervise a project from A to Z
- For Solène, it's really the notion of entrepreneurship, totally new for her
- For Zéphirine, it's the discovery of all the sectors closely or remotely associated with the project (marketing, finance, public speaking, etc.)
We wish them good luck for the last step with the national competition on May 12 in Paris.
And for the continuation, all they hope is to :
Win investors, raise funds and get started!
