Maxime Labat (EDHEC GE, 2019) founded La Virgule with two friends. Its purpose is to offer a second life to worn out sports equipment by transforming them into bags made in the north of France by a team of disabled staff. The first collection will be made from inflatable Decathlon kayaks transformed into backpacks!
CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW YOUR COMPANY CAME ABOUT?
All three of us are crazy about sport:
- Benoît does kitesurfing, surfing and skateboarding whenever he can
- Maxime competed internationally in windsurfing throughout his childhood
- Matthias is an experienced boxer (it’s best to avoid rubbing him up the wrong way)!
Being crazy about sport also meant having the right equipment, constantly buying more stuff to stay on top of our game, and despite our attempts to repair everything to make it last longer, the day always comes when equipment can no longer be repaired.
At the same time we also became aware of the environmental impact of our pastimes. Sports equipment is made from the most technical, the lightest and the most robust materials imaginable. So producing it requires massive resources, energy and transport, but there is not yet any recycling sector for such used technical products.
The result is either they go into landfill where they remain for hundreds of years, or they’re incinerated and, as you can imagine, release harmful substances into the atmosphere.
We’re not going to remind you in detail of the environmental situation in which we find ourselves, but with the plastics crisis and climate change, optimistic perspectives for the future of our society are increasingly rare. We felt there was an urgent need to offer an alternative to the linear system initially put in place and turn towards a more circular economy in which waste is seen as a resource.
La Virgule came about a few months ago as an alternative solution to this linear economy by recycling sports equipment ready for the bin.
The idea first originated in a meeting in 2018 between Benoît (a former student at Centrale Lille) and Matthias, both of whom were working at Decathlon as a Product Engineer and Designer. I was still a student on the EDHEC MSc in Entrepreneurship programme and was developing a similar project, so I joined them in November.
WHAT IS YOUR INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF THIS ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVENTURE? WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS?
This entrepreneurial adventure is a reflection of who we are, it is the tangible outcome of many months’ work that included both successes and disappointments. As we launch our crowdfunding campaign, we realise how far we have come and we are proud of all that we have achieved. Changing an existing model requires a great deal of conviction and determination, and it can sometimes be hard, but in times of doubt we remind ourselves of our core vision, one that is simple and determines the choices we make: the need for a more circular world.
Three pieces of advice for young entrepreneurs:
- Take the first few steps even when your idea is imperfect, as it takes shape over time and through new encounters
- You need to be agile, quickly producing prototypes even if they are flawed so you can quickly establish contact with clients and quickly switch direction if they are not satisfied
- Persevere whatever happens and don’t ever give up (despite the many reasons you might have for doing so)
WHAT HAS YOUR MSC GIVEN YOU?
Studying at EDHEC has given me three key advantages:
- Legitimacy in the eyes of our partners, suppliers and contacts. EDHEC is a renowned and well respected institution, especially in northern France, its home territory.
- A solid theoretical grounding, even though working on the ground is the best training of all
- A considerable and active network
The MSc classes we took introduced us to concepts such as design thinking and lean start-ups, which we regularly apply to our project. The MSc structure is largely designed for entrepreneurial projects in their early phases, which suited us perfectly. Ultimately what I appreciated above all was the encounters with entrepreneurs throughout the year (in Paris, London and San Francisco). They told us about their career paths in plain terms and gave us invaluable advice.
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY OF EDHEC GRADUATES?
We are looking for suppliers in France and Europe capable of cproducting bags so we can build on the work of our current supplier. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask the EDHEC community: does anyone know a supplier who could meet our needs?
We are not directly looking for funds, but we would welcome interest from any business angel who shares our vision and our convictions.
what’s next for your business?
Recycle even more sports equipment, expand our range and our retail network, but also establish new partnerships with iconic sports brands!
La Virgule Online :
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