Online stores for sports clubs, by Thibault Dollié (Msc 2014)

The concept behind Dagoba-Sports is to give sports clubs the chance to have an online store selling their own kit without having to handle the whole operation. This company was incubated at EDHEC and developed by four associates, 3 of whom are EDHEC graduates.
Thibault Dollié (Msc 2014), company founder, lays out his ambitions.

EDHEC Alumni: Can you explain briefly how Dagoba-Sports came about?
Thibault Dollié: In 2013, as I was doing an internship during my year out with a digital start-up in Vietnam, I met 47-year-old Franz Jourdan. I was the first intern in his start-up and I was responsible in particular for contacting and convincing his first Asian clients. Our work together was successful.
When I returned to France for my final year at EDHEC, a meeting I had with the director of Kipsta Club (a subsidiary of the Décathlon group) led to the idea of offering sports clubs their own online store without having to manage the stock. The first pilot club was put in place in September 2014 (Rugby Olympique Club, Tourcoing). And so the first zero-stock online store was born. We offer a sports equipment retail solution in partnership with Kipsta Club, targeting sports clubs. 
We decided to team up with the start-up in Vietnam to create Dagoba-Sports.
There are four associates altogether: Mathieu Renaud (Master 2013), who also founded Triber, Lauriane Renault (Master 2014), who also works full-time at the EDHEC incubator in Lille), myself, Thibault Dollié (Msc 2014) and Dagoba (Franz Jourdan & Etienne Gouesse).

EA: Have you ever benefited from the network of EDHEC graduates? 
TD: Not yet in relation to Dagoba Sports, but I have in relation to another service developed by my company more recently: www.dagoba-periscolaire.fr.

EA: What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?
TD: I don’t have much hindsight yet, but based on my experience on a daily basis, I think it is important not to say “yes” to every offer or proposal, you have to ask simple questions, like “what would this project to do for me?” and “is this the best way to use my time?”
You have to concentrate your energy on operational aspects and put in place certain processes, especially to develop innovation: you have to test and check your service constantly to make sure you’re keeping your promises.

What’s next for Dagoba-Sports?
TD: We’d like to open up the service to the whole of the Nord-Pas de Calais region (we currently only operate around Roubaix), and we also have exciting prospects to develop the business across France and then Europe at the earliest opportunity.

What are your expectations from the community of EDHEC graduates?
TD: We would like to get feedback on experiences in development, as we are in the early phases of industrialising our business. We would like to avoid the errors that others have already made in similar situations.
I’m also very interested in exchanging views with people and receiving advice to optimise the efficiency and speed of my development strategy.

Contact
Website : Dagoba
Dagoba-Sports on Facebook

Thibault Dollié : 06 68 11 72 84
Lauriane Renault : 07 86 09 59 15