A KEDGE Alumnus has just joined the biggest incubator in the world, created by X. Niel!

After obtaining a BAC S and a licence in economics, I joined the ESC programme at KEDGE Business School. I had always known that I  wanted to create things but I wasn't really sure how I wanted to go about it. I was passionate about computers and coding, which I had learned during my student jobs, provided me with the tool I needed to put my creative desires to use. At KEDGE, I was often the one making website or applications for our group projects. That is how I ended up doing most of my internships at web agencies before I working in a start-up. 

 

After graduation, I already had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I didn't know where to start. So, I started creating Tracks as a side project, for fun. First I worked as a developer in another start-up, where I learned how the sector works. I also had the opportunity to join my first start-up accelerator in Lisbon. In parallel, after finalising Tracks first functionalities, I was able to convince local artists to use the programme to manage their concerts. Later on, I decided I was ready to invest 100% in the project and partnered up with Jérémy, an engineer, who manages the mobile component of the project. We invested in the project completely and started to develop the ticketing service on which our business model is based. We were able to sell our first tickets thanks to the artists who were already using our platform. 

 

Today we have 20K users and are finalising the beta stage for the ticketing service we launched last October. Word of mouth really helped us work with big names, artists such as Worakls or Bon Entendeur, and organisers such as We Art or Cercle. I got the idea for the project at one of the jobs I worked at while I was a student when I was primarily working either in the music or web industries. I worked for a club (the Mistral in Aix), as a programmer, for several years and had the opportunity to invite lots of artists. I took note of several problems I wanted to help improve, and thought that an intelligent ticketing service that was directly integrated into the music world would be a great solution. The idea is to introduce people to events based on the music they listen to. 

 

 

Being able to join Station F will allow us to start working on a fundraising operation while being supported. We are looking for around 100K€ over the next couple months. There are currently four of us and our objective is to maintain our growth and to recruit two more people this year. We were one of the first start-ups invited to join the "Founders Programme" at Station F, which will be the new crossroads between the French and European Tech scenes. We are going to be moving our offices there directly and it will provide an ideal environment for us to expand and be surrounded by major actors in the sector. We also just received the French Tech grant, a 20K€ grant provided to innovative French start-ups. 

 

At KEDGE, we are taught to be competitive in our projects. The fact that we have to do a lot of group work and oral presentations prepares us for situations we are going to have to deal with in our careers. For example, it helped me become more comfortable speaking in public, which is an important skill when you have to "pitch" your project. KEDGE also provides a guarantee of seriousness and confidence for professionals that we meet. 

 

As I mentioned previously, KEDGE successfully prepares for the life of an entrepreneur, but if I had one piece of advice, it would be to learn to manage your time well. In the long term, you have to be prepared that launching your business will probably take longer than you expected and that's normal. You shouldn't worry about it, but anticipate it. I have seen several entrepreneurs leave the jobs, give themselves six months to become successful and find themselves in an uncomfortable situation. Give yourself enough leeway so that you aren't under pressure. In the short term, make "to do" lists. It may seem stupid but it will help you avoid getting overwhelmed by the number of things you have to do and prioritise your actions. 

 

If you would like to send us a message or are interested in participating in our first fundraising operation, send me a message at  seb@tracks.co