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This Kedger wants to create an innovative educational website for personalised school tutoring
KEDGE graduate Frédéric Bachelier (Global EMBA – 2020) has had a successful career in IT and is now launching a start-up, Alecol, in the Edtech sector.
INTERVIEW 💬
To begin, tell us about your educational background. What did you study, both before and at KEDGE?
I trained as a computer engineer (INSA Rennes 94) and started my career with Capgemini in 1995. 25 years later, I’m still there! However, that wasn’t my initial plan because, at the time, I viewed IT services and engineering companies to be a good stepping stone to other things, but I didn’t see myself staying there for more than a few years. However, what attracted and captivated me in the end was the diversity and richness of the work in that sector.
I started to think about getting an MBA about 10 years later, initially with a promotion in mind. But it wasn't until 20 years after I started working that I decided to do a skills assessment. I was considering changing careers after having looked at the possibilities offered in this type of company. Next, I identified two professional activities that were close to my heart and more in line with my values: education for children and social housing. It was with those two activities in mind that I started my Global Executive MBA at KEDGE, thinking that that type of training would help me to achieve at least one of them. Naturally, I decided to do the Entrepreneurship speciality which would give me the keys to become an entrepreneur and launch a start-up.
Tell us what you did after your studies were finished. What positions have you held? What did you learn in those positions?
I got transferred back to Paris in June 2020, when I finished the MBA and got my diploma. That was the first step in my planned career change: to settle in the Paris region - the nerve centre of the economy and decisions made by most major companies. That allowed me to find my feet in a new professional environment and to prove myself to new managers. More than anything else, I was able to start tutoring at the same time (triggered by the lockdown). I then resumed my plan to do something in children's education, a plan which I revised and refocused to deal with the challenges of children in France. What I originally had in mind was to work for an NGO abroad, but the issue of children who struggled in school was made apparent during the first lockdown and I realised that there was a lot to do, even in France.
What are you doing today? What gave you the idea and the desire to do what you’re doing today?
It was only when I found myself in a position of being a tutor for almost a year that I found out how difficult it is. One of the difficulties is finding educational resources that are appropriate for each child, both as to their level and progress. You can find materials on the internet or create them yourself, but both take a lot of time, time that you’re not spending with the children.
So, I decided to combine my knowledge and skills as a computer engineer and an entrepreneur to create an educational website based on artificial intelligence algorithms to assess the child's level and progress. This project would be the starting point of a start-up in the Edtech (Education Technology) sector and, ideally, the software would be commercialised and distributed as widely as possible. The big advantage of this project is that it’s easily scalable and can be adapted to different teaching methods and other languages.
What are your development goals?
After having studied and drafted an outline of the software (specifications, mock-up, specifications and general designs), my first objective is to begin the first phase and develop a proof of concept (POC). I estimate a budget of 2,500€ for this, which is why I’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign on Ulule.
This demonstrator model would then be used to raise funds from investors for phase 2 of the project, which would be developing the first marketable version. That will require a much larger budget and I’ll certainly need to find investors. Several business models are possible: B2C or B2B. Revenues would be earned thru paid subscriptions, paid either directly by individuals or indirectly by the National Education and private educational institutions in France. Finally, the third phase of expansion would be adding functionalities (Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) specifically designed for either teachers or parents) and educational content, possibly translating the software into several languages to offer it in other countries.
If you were to give advice to any KEDGE graduate who wants to do something similar, what would it be?
Believe in yourself, in your dreams, and don't take the easy road! Everything is within you - you just have to unleash your potential.
Over and above the entrepreneurial skills I learned with the Global Executive MBA, I discovered an unexpected potential within myself. The MBA itself, as well as the people I met and the coaching sessions I had with Isabelle Weiss, freed me from the blinders and bridles that were holding me back and preventing me from really believing in myself and my projects. Now, I feel really ready to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure and start this project, which will be a "game-changer" in the Edtech sector.
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