Emilie Altomare (SMIB11), From Passion to Entrepreneurial Project

In 2011, Émilie Altomare (SMIB 2011) joined the ESSEC Master in Strategy and Management of International Business (SMIB) programme with the aim of strengthening the international dimension of her career. 

While she initially hoped to secure an internship, she landed her first permanent role at Procter & Gamble. Freshly graduated, she then set her sights on Geneva. “There is no doubt that the ESSEC brand opens many doors. ESSEC is a name that reassures companies, notably thanks to its Alumni network.” 

She spent five years at Procter & Gamble in marketing roles before joining the Coty Group, then Wella, and finally Roger Dubuis. These international experiences took her as far as China, where she worked from Shanghai. Experiences she describes as “highly formative”.

Personal project 

Alongside her career, she never lost sight of her personal projects. Passionate about wine, she took the time to obtain a sommelier qualification. “The idea was never to make it my profession, but simply to better understand wine. Even then, I was convinced that understanding wine would allow me to appreciate it more,” she explains. 

She then juggled weekend classes with revision sessions. Very quickly, she realised something was not quite right. “Learning about wine requires far too much effort! There are apps to learn about history or art. But when it comes to wine, all you find are quizzes – nothing that truly explains it. That’s when I wanted to make learning about wine accessible to everyone.” 

Playful learning 

It was at this point that the Vino Master project was born. “While there are apps to learn a language or a culture, nothing exists to learn about wine in a simple way. I wanted to make wine education accessible to enthusiasts.” 

The mobile app she developed combines learning modules, mini-games and tastings, promoting an approach that is “accessible, engaging and long-lasting”. 

A project she is passionate about, which ultimately led her towards entrepreneurship.

Neuroscience serving lasting learning

In this venture, she brought on board her best friend, Anaïs Benni Blazejewski. The two founders first joined The Pool incubator in Metz. 

“Alongside our incubation, we interviewed many wine enthusiasts. We quickly confirmed there was both a strong desire to learn and real frustration with how difficult access to education is. We also identified a deeper frustration: people feel they forget everything. They struggle to retain what they learn – vocabulary, grape varieties, regional characteristics… We therefore turned to neuroscience and collaborated with a research laboratory to build a learning approach that helps anchor knowledge over time, in other words, enables lasting learning,” she explains.

In autumn 2025, the two entrepreneurs reached the regional finals of the Be a Boss Women Tour, an award recognising female innovation in the Grand Est region. 

A few months later, Vino Master joined Bernard Magrez Start-Up Win, the first incubator dedicated to the world of wine, beer and spirits, in Bordeaux.

In her new life as an entrepreneur, Émilie has come to fully appreciate the importance of networks. “After graduating, I didn’t make much use of my network. Now, I truly understand the strength of the ESSEC Alumni network and how valuable exchanges with other members are.”

Mentoring, sharing first experiences, Station F… she is now taking a close interest in ESSEC Alumni initiatives dedicated to entrepreneurs.