Created by a 24-year-old KEDGE graduate, Pixopolitan is now the world’s largest urban art photography site!

In 2012, Romain Barbet (Cesemed, 2010) and Paul-Henri Blaiset launched Pixopolitan, a site specialising in the sale of urban art photography. Their online shop currently offers over 8000 images that are sold worldwide. If you’re looking for a unique and creative way to decorate your home, Pixopolitan has the solution: snap up a photo!

After completing a Bachelor’s degree with the KEDGE Group and spending two years in China where he received a joint degree from Tongji University in Shanghai, Romain decided to complete his studies with a Master 2 degree, which is when he met Paul-Henri. After they returned from a semester abroad as part of an exchange programme, they started looking for a good picture of the city they had lived in to decorate their respective apartments… without much success! Then aged 24, they decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship, creating Pixopolitan. The concept was simple: create an online gallery where internet users can easily find and order urban art photographs.

When the site opened, it only had around ten artists, whom the two entrepreneurs wished to approach one by one. In order to raise their profile, they also opened a physical retail space in the Marais district in Paris over the Christmas period.

Encouraged by the enthusiasm for the project, the young company then joined L’Accélérateur Capital Partners, a French start-up accelerator, and raised funds to open a second store in the Vélizy 2 shopping centre on the edge of Paris. The two friends weren’t blinded by this rapid success and, despite their achievements, they decided to change strategy…

They closed their two shops in order to concentrate exclusively on B2B and e-commerce, completely redesigning their website. They also developed “MyPixopolitan”, a tool for requesting proposals from the photographers listed on the site in order to obtain a specific photo which does not yet exist (your childhood town, or the street on which your shop is located).

It was an undeniable success: between 2014 and 2015, Pixopolitan’s turnover increased by 30%, reaching €600,000 in 2016. In addition to private individuals, the start-up also works with professionals, such as law firms, solicitors and hotels (including Marriott and Best Western).

“My training at KEDGE provided me with the knowledge and confidence I needed to become an entrepreneur!” explains Romain. “Indeed I would encourage all graduates or future graduates to take the plunge, do something, create! Find the concept that best suits your skills, in your ideal industry sector, and don’t be afraid. At worst you learn, and at best you succeed!”

Alumni special offer:

“We are currently offering a 20% discount on the site with the code Noel2016. After Christmas, KEDGE graduates shouldn’t hesitate to contact us via our Facebook page for special offers!”

They are also recruiting:

Internship: Become the founders’ personal assistant

Internship: Communications Manager

For more information:

• http://www.pixopolitan.net/home  
• http://www.pixopolitan.com/blog/
• https://www.facebook.com/pixopolitan/
• https://www.instagram.com/pixopolitan_officiel/

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