With the recent installations of the offices of AB Tasty, Verteego, etc., a new strong trend is taking shape beyond the 86 companies set up in 2016 by Nantes Saint-Nazaire Développement: more and more start-ups and digital companies are choosing the regions to set up their IT offices, but also and above all to experiment with new approaches in terms of R&D and Management. Here are five examples from the Nantes-Saint-Nazaire metropolitan area.
A What is the purpose of an economic and international development agency, if not to "encourage the creation of businesses in the territories", as announced by the Dutch President at the launch of the "National Agency for Economic Development in the Territories" in February 2015? Already in 2010, Dominique de Villepin had mentioned in an interview at the BondyBlog (Liberation) the creation of a A suitable solution would be a "national economic development agency for the suburbs (...) whose aim would be to create jobs and make it easier for young people to find employment", or to support local businesses.
In 2014, the General Commissariat for Equality of Territories (CGET) was created, already to bring together the activities of various agencies (Datar, General Secretariat of the Interministerial Committee of Cities, National Agency for Social Cohesion and Equal Opportunities), but also with the additional objective of restoring economic competitiveness and employment.
L’economic and international development agency Nantes Saint-Nazaire DéveloppementThe Nantes-Nazaire Business Centre, which was created on 1 January 2015 by the merger of the two territories' agencies, has four main missions to promote employment and the attractiveness of Nantes-Nazaire, thus ensuring the roadmap for the international economy: Prospecting for companies, investors and talent in France and abroad; welcoming and supporting them; coordinating and promoting the territory for professional meetings, and leading, promoting and marketing the territory in France and internationally.
Five economic flagships in the territory
Verteego An HR experience to offer other ways of working
Founded in 2008 in Paris, Verteego is a company specialized in cloud-based data analysis software solutions for operational performance and sustainable development of organizations. Acting in the digital transformation, Verteego thinks, designs and delivers analytical applications to understand today and predictive applications to know tomorrow. Originally from Lyon, its Managing Director, Clément Guillon, wanted to take advantage of a life more open to nature and the great outdoors, and decided to move to Nantes in February 2017, while at the same time making its location an HR argument : "After 9 years of existence of Verteego, we wanted to offer a renewal to our employees. The Nantes office was created to offer them a multitude of ways to work: they can choose Paris or Nantes, whatever their team. »
"For my part, I chose Nantes for its quality of life, but also for its resources and R&D infrastructures such as schools and laboratories, with which we want to establish close ties: in Paris, we are often one partner among many others. Finally, we are evolving in the digital sector at the service of environmental and societal issues and Nantes is an ambitious and particularly dynamic city in this respect: it is a think tank for the city of tomorrow. »
Verteego now has 30 people. Based in Startup PalaceThe Nantes office, a space dedicated to start-ups created in 2015, will develop by welcoming Parisians who wish to join and recruit locally.
Lucca The digital dynamism of Nantes is attracting more and more developers... and even in-house.
Created in 2002 and based in Paris, Lucca, publishes a set of online services to simplify the administrative and HR management of companies (leave management, expense reports...). In 2010, Guillaume Allain, Partner and Product Owner, moved to Nantes, first to telework, then to the Canteen in 2013. This Mecca of digital life in Nantes gives it rapid access to a network of very good developers: " Nantes is the city of meet-ups: there are them every night. They gave me access to excellent training courses that could have cost me thousands of euros. What's more, the attractiveness is stronger in Nantes, recruitment is done a lot by word of mouth and the networks open up easily".
In four years, Lucca Nantes has grown from 2 to 19 people and plans to recruit six new employees by the end of the year. Nantes is also attracting in-house. Following a mini-seminar organised in the Cité des Ducs in 2016, two Parisian developers chose to join the Nantes office, and in 2017, the marketing team will move to the metropolis with recruitment in sight. The Paris head office will retain R&D, consulting and sales staff. Today Lucca employs 74 people, including 25 from Nantes.
AB Tasty The 4th Great Place to Work 2017 chooses Nantes to test its 1st pure R&D office
Founded in 2009 and based in Paris, AB Tasty publishes solutions for optimising customer journeys (A/B Testing, Personalisation of Experiences, Commitment). In parallel with the opening of international sales offices (London, New York...), Brice Lagroy de Croutte, one of its technical leads and historical collaborators, is opening a pure research and development centre in Nantes, at the Startup Palace, in January 2017. "One of the founders of AB Tasty has always imagined creating a pure R&D, product centric entity, isolated from the rest of the technical team to make the product evolve faster. For my part, I wanted to come back to the West: Nantes appeared to be the best option because the metropolis is known for the dynamism of its web environment, ideal for developing research, sharing tools, technology watch, finding new ways to develop... When I arrived, the integration at the Startup Palace gave me quick access to this ecosystem but also and above all to build my first network. Finally, I was able to see that you really multiply your chances of finding good profiles by recruiting in Nantes. »
AB Tasty has 95 employees in Paris, already three in Nantes and plans to recruit three more by the end of the year. In 2017, the start-up was elected, for its first participation, 4th Great Place to Work.
Easy Loisirs Good IT profiles today are looking for a better quality of life".
Created in 2014 and based in Paris, Easy Loisirs digitizes tourism and leisure professionals, a booming sector, to connect them and enable them to sell online. The only French player in its market, the startup faces only two competitors in Europe. Originally from Franche-Comté, his partner in charge of the IT team lives in Nantes, where he witnessed the arrival of the La Fourchette IT team and the development of a real technopole. Kristofer Moisan-Sellez, CEO and founder of Easy Loisirs and he therefore decided to relocate the IT team and install the regional sales staff there: "The attractiveness of Nantes is obvious in terms of technology and resources. You can find profiles of the same quality as in Paris, or even better, while facing less competition, especially as good IT profiles are now looking for a better quality of life".
The team now has 15 people in Paris, 5 in Nantes - based at the Start-up Palace, 3 in Lyon, and will launch the first touch reservation kiosk on July 1st, a connected object to replace the flyer display in hotels.
Take a desk The Nantes-based start-up Take a Desk allows you to set up your office in the available space of a large company... to create a maximum of "Innovation Camps"...
In addition to the now numerous coworking spaces and incubators, Take a Desk allows startups, freelancers, researchers... to install their team (up to 8 workstations) in the available space of companies that share their strategic objectives in order to create synergies. Take A Desk takes care of coffee and many services thanks to its "Survivor Kit". New open innovation bias, the concept is also an excellent way to become part of an ecosystem and develop its network.
A new open innovation bias, the concept is also an excellent way for newcomers to integrate into an ecosystem and create their first friendly and professional network.
