On 2 June 2022, we had the pleasure of awarding our 5 winners € 4000 each at the big business start-up evening of the year: the EM Normandie Alumni Soirée des Pépites. 

Six months on, what are they up to? 

YOUNG START-UP AWARD

Amaury Boelle (class of 2014) 

"Last June, I had the honour of receiving the Young Start-Up Award at the 2022 Start-Up event organised by the School's Alumni network. 

In addition to the trophy on my desk and increased visibility for the company brought about by the event, Kickston Partner received a cheque for € 4,000. 

We used the prize money to support our marketing investments. Specifically, we have: 

• recruited Maxence as an intern 
• hired a branding agency to rebrand Kickston. 

All will be revealed in 2023 - stay tuned!"

MADE IN FRANCE AWARD 

Alice de Guyenro (Class of 2017)

"The Made in France prize, which I was awarded during the Soirée des Pépites was a big help to my small company. The prize money enabled me to make the final arrangements to participate in a major trade exhibition, the "Maison & Objet" show which was a great success! Thanks to this much appreciated gift from the EM Normandie Alumni Association, I can feel calmer as we approach the end of the year. Thank you so much!”

INNOVATIVE IDEA AWARD

Basile Laigre (Class of 2018)

"The cash prize for Réglo, our sustainable development business venture, has been a huge boost to our dog and cat food brand. It meant that we could launch the recruitment process for a graphic designer on a permanent contract, whereas we were initially thinking along the lines of a work-study programme. Since we have been a digital brand up to now, this is a key post because we need to create a lot of content. Having somebody in this permanent role will allow us to develop Réglo while improving the visual coherence of our brand, which is essential and attractive to our potential distributors. This financial support is therefore a major catalyst for our development! Thank you for helping us create jobs in France."

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD

Camille Giraud (Class of 2008)

"The € 4,000 awarded to us by the Alumni enabled us to bring to life a project that I wanted to develop:

DIY paint kits, accessible to all children from 3 years old.

The idea was to let children discover how paint is made, in the Yosho spirit, which is all about discovering and learning through being hands on. 

Essentially, this money allowed us to speed up this project. We were able to buy the stock we needed with the € 4,000, be it raw materials (including pigments) or packaging (bags and boxes).

Thanks to you, we were also able to pay for the shoot for this new product.

This help was therefore crucial, as it meant we could release a new product to add to our portfolio before Christmas. 

We are grateful to the Alumni team for this tremendous boost to our projects!"

CSR AWARD

Martin Devise (Class of 2020)

"The grant of 4000 euros has allowed us to relaunch our activity. Without it, we would not have been able to launch a new project, that of opening "La Boîte à fripes" in February 2023 in Amiens. A big thank you to the Alumni Association!"