It is a pretty long way to the top, especially when you have to start from the bottom again. We had the privilege to sit with Tally and hear his incredible story, with a journey starting in an underprivileged suburban area north of Paris, that would soon lead him on a dangerous path. A passionate child dreaming to go to space and loving cars from his young age, Tally was drawn early on to stealing the cars he could not afford and sell them to make a living as his family's situation was getting worse. But who said life did not give second chances ? Listen to Tally explain the transformational experience he went through at a time he could have felt hopeless and lonely, and how he instead managed to get out of a vicious circle and find his new path forward. A truly inspirational conversation bringing hope and a different vision for our society. No less !
If you are not prepared to suffer, just give up ! says Paul, who has grown La Belle Vie with zero marketing in the last 3 years. How did he go from 0 to more than 10,000 loyal customers buying their groceries and getting premium fresh products and more delivered in the next hour from La Belle Vie website ? Have a listen to Paul's incredible story, experience and tips as we caught up with him a few days before announcing a €5.5M fund raise with investors including Station F founder Xavier Niel... And feel free to try LaBelleVie.com with an exclusive promo code for Hold Tight readers shares by Paul in this episode !
Hold Tight speaks from Shankar from Jetpack Data. He tells us about his life as a global citizen and brings us up to speed on Data Visualization!
A true pioneer Jonathan Chester has been involved in the Bitcoin / Blockchain ecosystem since 2013 and has been contributing to Forbes on the subject since 2015. His company Bitwage was named a top 7 blockchain companies in the US and top 21 in the world.
It’s a very different challenge teaching entrepreneurship to immigrants that come to Mexico City than to Guerrilla fighters who grew up in the jungle, who don’t know how to read or write and only know how to count money, guns and bullets says HJ as he explains what Collective Academy sets out to achieve.
Tom is applying to join Station F with Venture Academie, his hybrid model startup helping refugees invent their future in France. An inspired surfer, traveller and entrepreneur, who left Silicon Valley for Paris more than a decade ago and never went back, Tom also shares his views on social entrepreneurship, why he thinks Paris is today the epicenter of the sharing economy, his definition of happiness and many other inspiring tips for social entrepreneurs and change makers you won't want to miss !
Hear how Jean-Marc Guesne, a highly creative, inspired and successful social entrepreneur for 7 years in Asia was spotted by global social innovation network Ashoka and ended up with a top role in the organization. In our discussion Jean-Marc not only shares the criterias Ashoka is looking at when selecting social initiatives to support, but also develops his own vision on how to effectively address some of the world's major challenges.
Back in her home town of Raqqa Syria, Rania dreamt of becoming a Doctor, but when Isis arrives she is forced to flee her home town, leaving her family and world behind. At 20 years old she decides to film her journey from Syria to Austria. She is cheated by smugglers, teargassed and beaten at the Macedonian border. She risks drowning in the Mediterranean, travelling in a boat meant to hold 15 people but stuffed with over 50. Her film has been seen over 8 million times on the Guardian. Rania tells us how she is amazed at the power the film is having on peoples opinions around the current refugees crisis and confirms that she not longer wants to be a doctor but rather a journalist.
If we have more systems and tools in place for migrant led innovation, then we should expect a boom in innovation since diversity in France is only growing.
After being kicked out of high school for selling electronic cigarettes, Martin Besson felt he had no future… But he knew that he could be useful to people if he could help them. So he decided to challenge himself to spend one week living on the Streets of Paris. Listen to find out what happens.
If you’ve ever asked yourself « what is my role » and « where is my place in the 21st century? then this episode is for you.
This school offers web-programming courses for people underrepresented in the digital field, notably women and individuals from underprivileged families.
We caught up with Shivi during the Global TechFugees Summit at Station F in the fall of 2017 for her first ever podcast experience ! Shivi shares the takeaways of a personal journey that took her from Washington DC and the Public Policy world all the way to Southern California's Social Innovation Startup movement, which today leads her to visit Paris and meet with hundreds of like-minded social change evangelists at Station F. This discussion with Shivi offers a great dive into Education Technology product development processes as well as a reflection on the different startup cultures and forces for social change in Europe and the US.
This episode is not only for those who think animals can play a great role in our lives, but also for anyone interested in the topics of coaching, mindfulness, HR, relationships and collaboration in a professional environment and heaps more ! Listen to Severine and Lou describe a different way to fight prejudices, change irgid mindsets and increase creativity, engagement and collective productivity all the way from business schools to big corporate leadership boards. We are pleased to introduce you to Scarlett, co-founder and chief guru of the Therapig movement !
A big part of food waste around the world is actually generated not by restaurants or supermarkets but by people at their homes. What if we took advantage of all what we have in our kitchens before it is expired instead of throwing it out ? After meeting during their masters program in the UK, Dorothée and Isaure decided they would come back to Paris to take on this challenge...
As she looks back on the story of her startup from her Island all the way to Station F, Shirley also shares some untold stories, traditions and beliefs tied to this yet familiar fruit and comes to the conclusion that she is also a social entrepreneur in her own way. Did you know locals were not allowed to use bananas for commercial purposes until 2011 ? Did you know banana peels are used to treat skin cancers ? Maybe it is a good time to refresh your knowledge on 'la banane' and reconsider the way we look at it and consume it !?
Hold Tight chats with the community manager from OurCompany, the French Startup that focuses on well-being at work.
Shoppers in the French Carribeans, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guyana, Reunion Island, Tahiti, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and more are having their items shipped to them from France thanks to Shopîles.
When searching for a hotel, a place to eat or a city to visit, Carole Danancher was frustrated with the long written reviews, which often were anonymous, outdated and most of the time fake. In the way she describes how she came up to create AllVibes with her 3 partners, Carole perfectly illustrates the difference between a traditional, corporate approach and an entrepreneurial approach, from identifying and addressing a market opportunity to building a user community from the ground up and improving an experience she has known herself better than anyone else.
Hold tight meets Roamin Piegay, the co-founder and CEO of Advenworks.