Gary Pinagot, KEDGE graduate, takes over the digital...
This Alumnus' start-up digitalises your legal services!
The world is digitalising at warp speed and Legal Tech companies will soon be essential. It is based on this observation that Pierre Colliot (PGE 2015) launched the Fabrique Juridique.
Hello, Pierre. To start with, tell us about your background.
After obtaining my Bac L, theatre option, I decided to study law. I moved to Tours, where I started college. I spent more time on Place Plumereau (for those of you who know Tours) than in class and dropped out of law school after my second year. These years weren't lost though, since I met my wife (who came up with the idea for La Fabrique Juridique)! Quitting school = you have to get a job! I got a job working in insurance... six months as an assistant answering the phone, was enough to convince me to go back to school. I decided to pass the Escem Bachelor entrance exam, and three years later I obtained my Bachelor's in Management. Over the course of those three years, I did a few internships and lived abroad. I also met Roman Verdoolaeghe, my partner today. In the meantime, I also met David Todorovic, my first neighbour in Tours, who also became my partner... Then I took the Tremplin exam for KEDGE Business School and joined the PGE programme. For the first part of the programme, I specialised in Marketing (Product Manager, etc.) and Communication. Then came the gap year, I called my best friend, Julien, who had just finished his degree in audiovisual media. "You aren't doing anything now? No? Well, I have a year in front of me, want to start a production company. Ok!" Four years later, NewPic Production is still up and running. We have had adventures in Senegal and throughout Europe and directed around one hundred films! This first project took on a little more importance than I had planned for. I managed somehow to juggle school, the company, my thesis, but mainly the birth of my first child. In the end, it worked out, a little painfully for my thesis... I was finally a KEDGE graduate!
Tell us about La Fabrique Juridique, your start-up. How did you come up with the idea?
In Mai 2017 (2 months after I graduated), my wife came back from a conference on Legal Tech companies and told me they were really taking off and that maybe we should jump on board. "Ok, let's do it." La Fabrique Juridique was born! So, what is la Fabrique Juridique? It's quite simple, it's a client-attorney referral platform, specialising in Employment Law (Social Law). We provide more than 150 laws and documents, tailor-made and upon request by qualified and specialised lawyers, who partner with la Fabrique Juridique. But we also provide advice and consultations online. Like a regular law firm, but digitalised. For example, you are an employer and you want to recruit a manager on an indefinite contract. You log on to lafabriquejuridique.fr, you choose the contract you need, answer a short questionnaire so that the attorney can gather all the information he/she needs and you receive the contract within 72 hours. If the lawyer sees a problem (non-legal executive, legal risk), he/she will call you to speak to you about it in person.
We offer all types of legal acts (really): from pre-hiring to retirement, including incapacity, protected employees, etc. The plateform isn't exclusively BTB, since we also offer a space for employees, with all the documents that relate to employees: dispute, decision, resignation, request for leave, cancelling a termination, etc... This project was a natural next step in my entrepreneurial career. For me, the creation phase is the most exciting, and the launch! As such, I didn't hesitate to start all over again with this project.
What are your objectives for the future?
The e-commerce and legal-tech sectors are evolving very quickly, so we are already starting to think about new offers and solutions, in particular using Blockchain. We are giving ourselves a year before we start to consider a fundraising operation, unless things pick up pace. We had several investors from the start of the project, which enables us to work under very good conditions, especially with regard to our communications budget! With regard to expanding internationally, first we want to establish our position in France. Then, we might look into the Anglo-Saxon market, we have the skills!
How did your time at KEDGE Business School help you carry out this projet?
Kedge, since you are able to custom design your programme, provides a great deal of flexibility to change paths. At first, I was on the way to become a "Product Manager", but after my gap year and creating my first company, I quickly needed to strengthen my skills in accounting and treasury management. It was easy to change courses, I just had to switch a few electives and that was it! Similarly, the fact that I was able to follow more classes than was required to get the degree was rather interesting. I continued to take classes in communications and marketing (Thanks M.Korchia and Mme Dessart by the way!)
If you had one piece of advice for KEDGE Alumni who want to follow in your footsteps, what would it be?
Don't hesitate. Take advantage of your free time in school to start your own business and give yourself a chance to be successful then! Also, choose your partners well! Don't pick someone like you, even if it's your friend. You will access way more opportunities and add a different perspective if you choose someone that thinks differently!
Any parting words?
For an extra boost, share our social media pages with your friends! There are 53,000 of you, just think about how many people we can reach if you all share our page on one or two of your networks... Add a little message to your publication, it'll be 70% more efficient ;) Also, tell your HR and legal departments. Tell them they can save money, without taking any risks, and maintaining a real connection with our lawyers.
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