This Kedger is one of the three winners of the Salon des Entrepreneurs’ Pitch Party competition!

The Salon des Entrepreneurs was held in Marseille on 22 and 23 October. Maxime Marchand and his start-up Mão boa were chosen to participate in the Pitch Party competition - 1 minute to convince… (close to 200 start-ups applied, and 14 were selected for the competition)

After two days of exhibiting and a quality pitch, the results came out. Mão boa was one of the three start-up winners of the Salon des Entrepreneurs’ Pitch Party in Marseille organised by P.Factory.

💬 INTERVIEW 💬

1️⃣To begin, tell us about your educational background. What did you study, both before and at KEDGE?

I did my post-bac at KEDGE (EGC Méditerranée) and focused on an international career by doing marketing and communication internships in London (Superchrome UK), New York (Publicitas NY), and Paris (Fox International Channels). Then I entered into the Grande Ecole Programme via the gateway admission and continued to work internationally by doing an internship at a start-up in Sydney (Morpheas Media Group), in Financial Audits in Noumea (Pwc), and getting a double degree in Buenos Aires at the University of Palermo’s MBA Programme. I also had the chance to join the Student Board as a baskolette coach and, with pride, led the team to 3rd place in the Ecricome Competition, and 3rd place in the ESC French Cup - (bravo team!).

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2️⃣Tell us what you did after your studies were finished. What positions have you held? What did you learn in those positions?

I was very quickly faced with business issues. Interested in development, I went to work for the CMA CGM group and learned to manage commercial activities, define growth strategies, and reach development objectives on major accounts, particularly when I was working in Latin America as its Managing Director in Paraguay. In my previous position as Chief of Staff of the Chairman & CEO, I managed strategic projects and studied investment opportunities for large companies and start-ups.

Fascinated by entrepreneurial ventures, I took part in the “Dare to Become an Entrepreneur" coaching offered by KEDGE Alumni and led by Myriam Soulier. It was a very rewarding group workshop that allowed me to better understand the opportunities and the obstacles around the creation of businesses. I recommend that all future entrepreneurs interested in embarking on an entrepreneurial venture do it. You will meet some great people there, challenge your fear of taking that big step, and share your project with others who are all driven by the desire to start their own business. 

3️⃣What is it you are doing today? What gave you the idea and desire to do what are you doing today?

• at the company-wide level: employee commitment to the values of the company
• at a team-wide level: unity and team dynamics in a project

To summarise (the infamous elevator pitch): Mão boa helps companies bring their employees together to share their values through group plants and a mobile app. More specifically we:

MAOBOA.CO

4️⃣What are your business goals for the future?

We are in the crucial phase of market validation and testing of our solution. We have the first PoCs that will come out before the end of the year with major companies and businesses in the Marseille region. Our short-term objectives are to introduce our solution with prospects and to build our team. Attention applicants – we recruit in the fields of communication, digital marketing, and community management. In the medium term, our objective is to raise funds to finance our industrialisation and development throughout France (Paris, Bordeaux and Lyon being the first targets identified). 

5️⃣How did your education at KEDGE Business School help you become whom you are today, and which of its courses helped you develop your project?

KEDGE taught me to be pro-active and to take initiatives that are in-line with my values. In addition to the "theoretical" quality teaching, KEDGE encouraged me to learn through experience through internship - an approach that I developed in the framework of projects and internship at school, different professional experiences as a graduate and through the entrepreneurial adventure.

KEDGE continues to provide regular support to me. The Business Nursery, KEDGE’s incubation unit, provides us with coaches and mentors who challenge the model, and a network of investors and partners who will help us move forward. 

6️⃣Maxime, anything else to add?

Along with the Business Nursery, we are organising a co-development breakfast on 19 November at the KEDGE campus in La Joliette to test our concept. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and want to be a player in the latest HR innovations, come and take part in the adventure by sending "I’m coming" to: care@maoboa.co

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