Student entrepreneurship: Maël and Nicolas' project supported by ICN Creactive Fund

Student entrepreneurship: Maël and Nicolas' project supported by ICN Creactive Fund

Like every year, the ICN Endowment Fund organises its big evening dedicated to student entrepreneurship. The 2024 edition highlighted four projects led by student entrepreneurs, each of whom received an endowment of €2,000 to support the development of their initiative. Among them, Maël Brocker and Nicolas Martin stood out with an innovative project that enabled them to join the Grand Nancy Innovation incubator. Their solution combines HR software with a mobile application, aimed at analysing Quality of Life and Working Conditions (QLWC), preventing psychosocial and physical risks, and improving team performance using an approach that is both scientific and secure.

💡 They talk about this key stage in their entrepreneurial journey:

"We heard about the ICN Endowment Fund at ICN Business School, particularly through internal communication media. It was also David Gegonne, professor at ICN and director of Grand Nancy Innovation, the incubator that we joined in April 2024, who told us more about it.  We seized this opportunity because, in the launch phase, every resource counts. The €2,000 prize was a real financial boost to get our project off the ground. As well as the financial aspect, it was also an excellent opportunity to test our idea against a panel of professionals from a variety of backgrounds, refine our pitch and validate our positioning. The help from the fund played a decisive role in getting our business off the ground. As students, we had little money to invest. The support we received was our start-up capital, enabling us to finance our initial expenses and kick-start our sales".

🤝 In addition to financing, the fund plays a key role in other aspects of support:

"In addition to the financial aspect, the fund also enabled us to make contact with partner companies. These exchanges were invaluable: they enabled us to gather concrete feedback on our solution and identify commercial opportunities.

When we applied, we were in the pre-incubation phase with a functional MVP and a small team of two people. Today, we have built up a multi-disciplinary team of five people, and developed the first operational version of our software dedicated to improving and managing the QWL (Quality of Life and Working Conditions) in companies. Our solution is now on the market, and we are working with a leading player at national level."

💬 A student hesitating to take the plunge? Here's what they'd tell him.

"Don't hesitate. First and foremost, becoming an entrepreneur is an incredibly rewarding human and professional adventure. Even if things don't go according to plan, the experience you gain is invaluable. And in the best of cases, it's a concrete opportunity to take your project forward thanks to resources and a network that can make all the difference."

The next awards ceremony, scheduled for 26 June 2025, will be another opportunity to honour student entrepreneurship. This project was made possible thanks to the support of the ICN Creactive Fund, made possible by the generosity of its contributors. We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to them: it is thanks to their commitment that the talents of tomorrow will be able to develop their projects.