Why call upon a Junior-Enterprise when you are a start-up?

More and more start-ups call upon Junior-Enterprises to carry out certain missions in order to survey their market or to confront their ideas with this market. Whether it is to reach ambitious goals, to optimize limited financial resources or to save time in the development of their project by relying on proven processes, start-ups are flocking to request the services of JEEs. Indeed, JEs have many advantages: as a professional association under the French law of 1901, they are able to deploy a diversified panel of strategic services in all sectors of activity while guaranteeing quality services and expertise.   

But how can we understand this craze around Junior-Enterprises? How do they work with start-ups? What are the advantages of working with a Junior-Enterprise for a start-up?   

A Junior Entreprise can carry out a wide range of missions for start-ups. Here are a few that are particularly attractive to start-ups and that highlight the expertise that a Junior Entreprise can provide.   

 Quantitative and qualitative research is a methodology that appeals to start-ups because of its simplicity and the turnkey solutions it provides. The objective of a quantitative study is to quantify a market, opinions, reactions by administering questionnaires and interviewing a given number of people, corresponding to a previously identified profile. Quantitative studies can be carried out to segment a market, to obtain information on the market that is not available online or to measure customer satisfaction, the interest aroused by a new product, the image of a brand... They are therefore extremely effective in collecting quantitative and reliable data on all of the use cases previously mentioned.

Qualitative studies are used where quantitative studies do not provide more complete data. The idea is to let the respondent express himself to know what he feels, in his own words, through one-on-one interviews or focus groups. These interviews allow us to obtain information that is otherwise inaccessible in order to get an overview of the competition and best practices in a market.

Market research is one of the most requested services by start-ups wishing to confront the market with their ideas. Market research allows us to obtain an overall vision of the market by determining its size, the typology of the different players, the structure of the market (interactions between players, competitive environment, value chain...) and its evolution perspectives through the analysis of its determinants and drivers. This work of collecting and analyzing information on the characteristics of a market makes it possible to determine its potential and to optimize the launch of a product.  

Through the study and the analysis of the management techniques, the organization modes and the development strategy of the most successful competitors, the Benchmark allows to have a critical look on its start-up and to present numerous improvement tracks for its activity. The Benchmark allows you to position yourself in relation to your competitors, to know their offer, their needs, to collect precise data on the purchases, the production, the sales, the logistics or the after-sales service of your competitors. It allows a better positioning on different strategic aspects on a competitive market.

The Business Plan is also a service that mainly attracts start-ups. The Business Plan is really the strategic heart of a start-up. Its objective is to determine a strategic line of conduct to be conducted for the next 3 to 5 years. It is generally separated into two parts: the Business plan and the financial Business plan. A business plan requires information about the market, the level of demand and the state of the competition.

It also requires a lot of work to be able to serve as a guideline for the next years. It is often one of the first steps for entrepreneurs who have to formalize all their research and documentation and is useful for the start-up as well as for future investors. Junior-Enterprises are experienced in the realization of each step of the elaboration of a Business Plan. So their services can concern a particular phase of the business plan as well as the complete realization of the latter.  

In the last few years, what some people call "the new generation business plan" has appeared, more commonly known as the Pitch Deck or "pont de lancement" in French. The first objective of the Pitch Deck is to maximize the chances of convincing potential investors to invest in the company. It is more synthetic than the Business Plan and includes only what is essential to present the project in a few minutes. The Pitch Deck is often based on the Business Plan. It corresponds to a synthesis and formatting of the business plan.   

Read also: " Why have your business plan and pitch deck done by a Junior-Enterprise ". 

Calling on HEC Junior Conseil is often an excellent idea for start-ups. Beyond the financial reasons (with more attractive prices), the advantages of calling upon HEC Junior Conseil are numerous.

Unlike other Junior-Enterprises, HEC Junior Conseil has chosen to work in close collaboration with Master 2 students and students in double-diploma from HEC Paris who are familiar with the start-up environment.

HEC Junior Conseil has a wide range of students with double degrees from some of the most prestigious institutions in the world (Polytechnique, ENSAE, ENS Paris, the Sorbonne...) who can be mobilized for missions requiring more technical or in-depth skills in certain sectors that are particularly relevant to start-ups (Fin tech & Legal tech, Blockchain, Deep Tech, Big data, Artificial Intelligence, Clean Tech, Cryptocurrencies...).

JE is also fortunate to be able to call upon students who have followed a curriculum focused on entrepreneurship and start-up issues. Indeed, many students specialize through the "Entrepreneurs" major and thanks to the HEC Entrepreneurship Center and its incubator. The latter supports dozens of students from the school, who benefit from personalized tutoring, communication assistance, practical workshops and legal mentoring, among other things.

Calling on HEC Junior Conseil means having access to specific resources essential for the development of any start-up. The business school provides the Junior Conseil with more than 150 economic, financial and technical databases (Xerfi, Statista, Marketline, Orbis, Corporama...). These databases provide access to specialized market studies that are inaccessible and allow us to obtain precise information on any type of sector. HEC Junior Conseil also has access to an internationally renowned faculty, which is a source of expertise and excellence in the realization of the majority of its missions.

The HEC Paris JE has significant experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: the numerous collaborations with different start-ups each year have allowed the association to become familiar with various sectors (health, CSR, Tech, agro-food...).

Our renderings:

• strategic,
• financial
• and functional

are thus constantly carried out by 5th year graduate students. These students have already completed all or part of their gap year in prestigious strategy consulting firms, private equity funds or CAC 40 groups, and this field experience has enabled them to acquire valuable operational experience that makes the difference during missions. The experience of HEC Junior Conseil allows us to increase the efficiency and quality of the services offered to start-ups.

Doctoclass is an online academy for continuing education for healthcare professionals: doctors, nurses or physiotherapists. This start-up allows liberal health professionals to continue their training via your platform. It called on HEC Junior Conseil to diversify its offer by also addressing public or private health institutions with a B2B offer. HJC conducted a quantitative study and a market study on online continuing education for public and private healthcare institutions

This service allowed them to have a very precise idea of the structure of the market, the typology of the health establishments and a base of prospection to launch their project. Today, the B2B side of their project is developing well thanks to the service provided by HEC Junior Conseil. They really enjoyed working with the association and have called on it again for a new mission to create an exchange platform between physiotherapists, doctors and nurses.  

JE is a powerful tool available to all types of companies, especially start-ups. Whether it is through the realization of classic and efficient services - such as quantitative and qualitative research, market research, Benchmark, Business plan, or Pitch Deck - or through other more personalized missions, HEC Junior Conseil accompanies, advises and challenges all the start-ups it works with. Calling on a Junior-Enterprise is not only making the best choice for your projects, it is also helping to train the future leaders of tomorrow.