A KEDGE Alumna creates high end jewellery, using...Google Maps!

I have what you might call an "unconventional" background: I was born in a country that no longer exists (ex-URSS), in a region that is currently part of Russia, I have a Master's in foreign languages English/German from the University of Kiev. When I finished my studies, I joined a start-up in Moscow, specialised in teaching Russian to foreigners, as Sales Operations Manager. This experience allowed me to get a "taste" of the entrepreneurship world because I was part of the team that created the company from nothing! Afterwards, I travelled a great deal for professional reasons before moving to France around 10 years ago. The desire to be an entrepreneur never left me, and after learning French and spending a few years working as a Sales Manager in the wine growing industry, I eventually decided to create my own company, related to something I am passionate about...jewellery. In order to achieve this, I decided to go back to school so that I could get a global vision of the business world and a better understanding of the principals of management, the foundations of marketing, and finance. The second year continuing education Master's at the ESC at KEDGE Business School met those requirements, and I joined the school in 2013.

 

During my classes at KEDGE, I had already had the time to work on several aspects of my project, which allowed me to move faster once I obtained my degree. I developed my business plan and presented it to different banking institutions. I was therefore able to obtain the financing I needed, as well as a grant from the Bordeaux CCI, to create my company in 2016. My time at KEDGE definitely helped me in this process because I knew my file from top to bottom, which proved my credibility and reassured investors…

 

My curriculum at the school enabled me to gain the perspective necessary to judge all aspects of the project before launching it. It also helped me develop my analytical and synthesis skills, which are invaluable in order to find solutions to the problems we face everyday! 

 

 

 

Throughout my career, I was always looking for that "start-up" atmosphere I experienced during my first professional experience, and the adrenaline and sense of challenge that came with it. I have a real passion for jewellery and gemmology and always wanted to create a company related to jewellery. As luck would have it, my in-laws having been working in the jewellery industry since 1909! (Which I've always considered as fate ;)). When I finished school, I wanted to innovate in the jewellery sector, which remains pretty traditional. In fact, in such a competitive field, being able to differentiate yourself is key to your success! First of all, I had a personal experience: for our five year anniversary, my husband was looking for a unique and personalised piece of jewellery. However, he was faced with a dilemma: either he only found inexpensive personalised costume jewellery, or he had to reach out to high end expensive jewellers, which took away the element of surprise, because for such a large purchase you have to go together. I realised that there wasn't anything on the market that met this need for personalised jewellery, at a reasonable price. So, I did a market study and evaluated the needs and expectations of clients. That is how the concept of Gemografic was born. Gemografic is a 2.0 jewellery brand that enables customers to create a personalised piece of jewellery to celebrate an event, thanks to a unique personnalisation tool, using Google Maps. Gemografic revisits country maps. Clients place a diamond-cursor on the place that symbolises an important life event, which they want to celebrate. Thanks to the interface, that we imagined and built, the personalisation is done in a fun and creative way on the website www.gemografic.com. Each piece of jewellery is made to order in Bordeaux or in Paris, by artisan jewellers whose ancestral know-how is enriched with innovative techniques, such as 3D printing. Distributed exclusively online, our jewellery is made for men, women, and also children. 

 

Gemografic is supported by the Bordeaux CCI and is featured on the French Tech 2016 Christmas List. In July 2017, we had a double page in Sud Ouest Le Mag.

 

 

We have been growing consistently since our launch, because our concept is adapted to all opportunities to offer a unique gift (Christmas, Valentine's Day, Wedding Anniversary) and important life moments (births, baptisms, weddings, pacs...). We recently expanded our line of products to offer other designs, while staying true to our brand's DNA: a place, a story, a piece of jewellery. Jewellery pieces shaped like the maps of France and Belgium are available on our website, other countries are currently being developed, and will be added to the line (28 country maps have already been designed and four have already been prototyped). Our objective in the medium term is to accelerate our development in France, launch an English version of our website to test our concept internationally, because our products are "100% Made in France" which is a real added value in our sector abroad. We will need to find partners and funds for this next step.  

 

 

Create a business related to your passion and surround yourself with the right people that share your values from the beginning. Once you have the idea (even if it needs to be perfected;)), test it to see what the market response is, as soon as possible - it will help you make the right decisions from the beginning. Stay open minded in all areas in order to best select your service providers.