Meet Emerik BRICAUD, entrepreneur, mentor and student at IÉSEG
03/22/2022
Emerik, can you tell us about your background?
I am 22 and I am a student in Master Cycle in Finance at IÉSEG. Since my first year at the School I have developed a passion for marketing and communication through my involvement with several associations. I was in charge of video at REC, an association that gives visibility to other associations at IÉSEG through photography and video. I was also in charge of communication for the Bureau des Sports, then the Bureau des Étudiants and IÉSEG Finance, where I became president. In these associations, I learned how to manage teams of 10 people or more, just like in a company. Finally, during my studies, I started to give private lessons to other students in order to provide academic support to those who needed it. And it was during my academic exchange in Taiwan, in my 3rd year, that I created my first company.
Although you have a passion for marketing and communication, you chose a major in Finance, why?
I like Finance but also marketing and communication! The major in Finance has brought me a lot of complementary knowledge which have been very useful for my entrepreneurial projects, knowing the numbers well and knowing how to use them is fundamental, it makes the difference. Since I live my passion in parallel to my studies, I keep my options open.
You are a student, but also a teacher, and you have already launched 3 companies!
At the end of the Master 1, we have the opportunity to do a Consulting Project, where I accompanied a start-up (Socrate) as a Finance and Marketing consultant. Socrate is a social network for knowledge sharing that allows mentors to share their knowledge, and learners to leave feedback on professors and courses taken.
©Emerik Bricaud
At the time, I was already giving private courses to my friends. With Socrate, I started teaching other courses to IÉSEG students who wanted to learn: Word, Excel, Photoshop, statistics, video editing… In total, in one year, I taught more than 4,000 students and I got more than 1,300 positive reviews (4.9/5 on average) on the application.
At the same time, during my academic exchange in Taiwan, I launched my first start-up with a childhood friend of mine who was in Russia: Wooger. We actually proposed two businesses through this company: online sale of textile with Wooger Store, and digital consulting for companies with Wooger Digital. Building and developing this company has been a very enriching experience during which we have learned a lot. This was our primary goal in launching this project, and we would now like to hand it over to other entrepreneurs so we can start a new business (in strategy and marketing).
I also recently started a business offering my photography and video services, through which I have had the opportunity to do shootings for various brands and associations. This allowed me to travel all over France and to really start living from my passion. And finally, I recently created a new company, M-REC Studio, which offers companies the creation of websites, photo shoots and paid advertising campaigns such as Facebook Ads, which I am specialized in.
©Emerik Bricaud
What do these entrepreneurial projects bring you?
It brings me a lot of things, especially freedom. To follow my studies at IÉSEG, I contracted a rather important student loan, and the fact that I have income as a student through these companies brings me a certain serenity as for the reimbursement of this loan. It also gave me a real professional experience which allowed me to get an internship at Publicis Groupe, in Paris, while I was in the Finance major!
I also learned resilience, organization and ambition. I now consider myself a very organized person and I like to take on projects that have no limits. Entrepreneurship is a real challenge. When you start an enterprise, it makes you want to continue, to go further. Only entrepreneurship can offer such infinite possibilities.
How has IÉSEG helped you with your projects?
The school helped me to develop my oral communication skills, my creativity and my people skills. When you study at IÉSEG, you grow up in an entrepreneurial environment that pulls you up. I strongly believe that we are the average of our environment. If we surround ourselves with ambitious people who have ambitious projects, then we also become ambitious in our lives and projects.
©Emerik Bricaud
How do you manage to balance your student and entrepreneurial life?
The key is to manage your time well and to be productive and efficient. You have to have structured working methods, know when you are efficient, how and why. In fact, I will soon launch a Youtube channel where I will give my advice to students on how to organize themselves during their studies and launch their projects in parallel.
Any advice for a future entrepreneur?
Don’t hesitate to start your own business as soon as possible! When you are a student, you have nothing to lose. We don’t have any constraints yet and there are plenty of people around us ready to help us. It also allows you to quickly gain experience, because when you are an entrepreneur, you learn a lot on the job. We are extremely lucky to be at IÉSEG, some people would dream of being in our place, so we have to seize our chance!