Discover BoatOn Pro, the app that manages your boat and was created by a KEDGE Alumnus

I am from the South-West of France, near Biarritz. I joined KEDGE in 2009 after attending the Sainte Geneviève prep school in Paris (also known as "Ginette"). I followed the "Grande École" programme and specialised in entrepreneurship and purchasing. I really liked the atmosphere in Bordeaux, took full advantage of student associations and the opportunity to discover new things, which the school offered. I had the opportunity to go to Southern Brazil in 2010 to give classes in entrepreneurship for example, and I did a gap year in marketing in Switzerland, and then in purchasing in Holland, then I finished my studies in Hong Kong in 2012. I moved a lot, but learned so much!  

 

Once I finished my degree, I moved to Geneva to work for Procter&Gamble. After finishing a gap internship as Product Manager for  Duracell, I was very surprised to be offered the opportunity to replace a colleague on the Dolce&Gabbana makeup account! At the time, I wasn't really an expert in lipstick or nail polish, but I really enjoyed the experience. I particularly appreciated the responsibilities P&G gave me from day one: we manage our range of products from A to Z (creation of concept, packaging, launch tools, etc.), we interact with a wide variety of different professionals, and we are in contact with senior management. Additionally, De plus, Dolce&Gabbana Make Up was in the middle of its worldwide launch, and we had to constantly adapt in order to innovate and offer relevant products.  

In 2015, I took over one of the biggest collections of Lacoste perfums Lacoste – Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 – and learned how to manage a multi-million dollar launch with very significant marketing budgets (TV, visual, digital, offline, etc). 

At the end of 2017, I decided to change directors and left the banks of Lac Léman to embark on a new entrepreneurial adventure! 

 

 

Everything started in 2014, when I bought a small 4m boat, which was ideal for short outings. Maintenance should have cost me very little money; however, it took me two years to find a quality repair person, and an affordable on-land parking space. After looking into the problem, I realised that the majority of boaters encountered similar difficulties. Maintenance professionals are spread out and offer rates that are way too expensive for many people, harbour spots are difficult to find - 1 spot for every 5 boats in France!- or onboard equipment that is increasingly difficult and complex to monitor...these are the main difficulties facing boaters. Some even feel frustrated that they even own a boat, whereas it was often a dream that it took years for them to accomplish. That is why I created BoatOn Pro, the first free application that allows to you control all of a boats equipment in the wink of an eye, request quotes from professionals, or find a parking space in just one click! No need to make dozens of phone calls, BoatOn will do it for you. In addition to saving time and money, you are sure to be dealing with the best actors in your region, since we contact the five professionals with the highest scores first. BoatOn emphasises local know-how all the while improving the quality of services rendered to boaters.

 

We are a young start-up but we have already signed partnerships with some of the biggest names in the business, such as the Fédération Française des Ports de Plaisance, VogAvecMoi (number one co-navigation service, with more than 50,000 members, inventor of the concept) or most recently Course Croisière Edhec (CCE). We have a lot of contacts in the nautical industry and we use these contacts to improve our services in order to better meet the needs of boaters.

 

 

After many months of hard work, the first version of the app was released at the end of September 2017. It became instantly popular, and following the feedback of the first users, we are already working on the second version with new functionalities (to be released in March 2018)! Our goal is to provide a concrete and transparent solution for everything a boater needs to do: stock, maintenance, repairs or planning, insurance, or a general concierge service. There are 24 million boats in the world and we want to serve (almost) all of them! ☺

 

In addition to the classes on entrepreneurship and finance that I took at Kedge, my experience in student associations, on a BDS list, and then as president of the AOC, the KEDGE Bordeaux oenology association, is definitely an asset today. Managing an association of 18 people, where everything needs to be built but everything is possible is probably the closest you can get to building a startup. You have very few skills in the beginning, but what counts is the motivation to learn and move forward. 

 

Get involved in associations, be curious about everything, and don't spend too much time torturing yourself about when to create: when you have an idea you care about and favorable circumstances, it will be the right time to go for it!

 

We are currently participating in the national Startup Nautique contest organised by the CCI du Morbihan and sponsored byThomas Coville. You can vote until February 4, 2018 and we think it would be great to see a Kedge startup on the first step of the podium! So, vote for us at the following link: