Top 100 Challenges, Impact 40/120, Growth Champions, Fund-Raising... All the Latest News on ESSEC Entrepreneurs

Here’s a round-up of recent events and highlights from the world of ESSEC entrepreneurs. 

Awards 

Six alumni are featured in the 2025 edition of Challenges’ Top 100 start-ups to invest in. Matthieu Gilquin (E15) has launched 37°C, a brand of contraceptive underwear for men. Dany El Oubari (E18) has co-founded Comin, a socially responsible vehicle-for-hire service combining affordable prices with fair remuneration for drivers, which was supported by the ESSEC and ESSEC Alumni incubator at Station F (see our article in French). David Chiche (E18) has co-founded Hyperion, a solution that assists brands with their e-commerce strategy (see our article in French). Henri Desesquelles (E20) has created Osiris, a robot capable of reducing the volume of water needed for agriculture by 10-30% compared with conventional systems, for which he has already raised €2.15 million. Mathieu Maure (E11) has co-founded Underdog, which has just raised €7 million for its refurbished household appliance offering and been selected for Impact 40/120 (see below). Clément Foucher (M17) has co-founded POWER.xyz, a platform that enables brands to easily generate 3D images of their products using artificial intelligence.  

Two ESSEC entrepreneurs have been crowned “Growth Champions” in 2025 according to Les Echos. In first place: Simon Tabourier (M11), who posted growth of 6,343% between 2020 and 2023 with Kleidi, specialising in the design and management of sustainable industrial buildings. And in second place: Arnaud Delubac (M20), whose platform specialising in carbon accounting boasts growth of 260%. Other notable performances include Axtom (36^th), led by Jérémie Benmoussa (E13), Lemonway (63^rd), chaired by Damien Guermonprez (M89), Indy (68^th) co-founded by Côme Fouques (E12) and Adrien Plat (BBA 08) (who left the company to launch another standout start-up, Wavo - see below), Equativ (115^th), led by Arnaud Creput (E99), VO2 Group (118^th), co-founded by Émilie Daversin (BBA 01) (see below), Ultra Premium Direct (128^th) co-founded by Matthieu Wincker (E95) and Sophie Wincker (E96), Le Vélo voyageur (165^th) co-founded by Eugénie Triebel (E09) and Bérangère Florin (E09), and Delville Management (171^st), founded by Patrick Abadie (M00). 

Two alumnae have been selected for the 2025 edition of the French Women Entrepreneurs 40 (FWE40), a ranking launched by BNP Paribas and the Women's Forum: Anne de la Rochefoucauld (E07), who runs Amalivre, a supplier of books to libraries, ministries, documentation centres and businesses; and Émilie Daversin (BBA 01), who co-founded VO2 Group, a tech and digital consultancy.  

Fourteen alumni are included in Impact 40/120, a new index launched by Mouvement Impact France to highlight the 40 social and environmental impact companies most likely to become impact unicorns (less than 10 years in activity and €50 million in costs avoided for society per year), and the 120 companies following hard on their heels. Claire Laurent (E17) has co-founded Bene Bono (see below). Ludovic de Gromard (E11) has co-founded Chance, an augmented coaching and competency assessment solution to help people make sense of their professional lives. Augustin Derville (E19) has co-founded Electra, an operator of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles (which he recently left). Stéphane Cicolella (E96) runs elmy, a French 100% renewable energy company. Simon Bestel (EXEC PROG 04) has created FEVE, an inclusive property fund which helps young, responsible farmers using soil and ecosystem regenerating processes to set up their business. Arnaud Le Rodallec (E17) has co-founded Fifteen, a group specialising in self-service bicycle fleets, resulting from the merger of his start-up Zoov with its counterpart Smoove. Florian Blanc (E08) has co-founded Geev, a peer-to-peer donation application. Arnaud Delubac (M20) has co-founded Greenly (see above). Charles Lottmann (E11) has co-founded Nous anti-gaspi, a network of grocery shops specialising in recycling unsold products. Jean-Baptiste Lenoir (EXEC MBA 12) has co-founded Qotto, which produces and distributes solar kits that give rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa access to electricity, thus enabling them to access the Internet, and to gain financial autonomy and economic development through services such as micro-loans and insurance. Julia Néel Biz (E12) and Nicolas Merlaud (E12) have co-founded teale, a mental health support platform. Mathieu Maure (E11) has co-founded Underdog (see above). Nicolas Guinebretière (E17) has co-founded Vestack, a technology platform that helps to reconcile the carbon imperatives and profitability of real estate projects (and was also a winner of the ESSEC Founders Day 2022 competition). 

Capital Raising & Funding 

Co-founded by Tatiana Monseur (E16) and Mohamed Abou (E21), Polygon Therapeutics is raising $7.5 million to improve the therapeutic management of cardiovascular diseases, which are currently responsible for 18 million deaths every year. The biotech company is launching its first clinical trials to confirm the performance of its treatment which, according to in vitro and in vivo studies, reduces the size of heart attacks by 60% and improves cardiac function by 25%.  

Co-founded by Adrien Plat (BBA 08), Wavo is raising €7.5 million (including from Tony Parker) for its alternative financing scheme designed to help finance the inventories of micro-enterprises and SMEs. “We purchase your inventory in advance, and you pay us back as sales come in. No fixed deadlines, no pressure. And above all, no more debt or tied-up cash.”  

Co-founded by Corentin Dejean (BBA 22) and Robin Bruneau (BBA 22 & M23), Ecklo is raising €1.2 million to speed up the automation and roll-out of its reusable pallet packaging. “An innovation that has come at just the right time, when French and European regulations are forcing companies to find alternatives to plastic film.” 

Co-founded by Vincent Farines (M18), Jool is raising €1 million for its Jool electric car hire service. “More than 12,000 registrations have already been received on our application since we launched last summer. And rightly so: internal-combustion-powered mobility is the biggest contributor to our carbon footprint and is responsible for the pollution that kills 40,000 French people every year.” The start-up is topping up this initial round with funds raised from private individuals. “An opportunity to become a shareholder alongside our initial investors, starting at €1,000 and under the same conditions.” The campaign is being rolled out on the Sowefund platform. 

Co-founded by Paul Forget (E23), Rewake is raising €400,000 for its R&D equipment reconditioning solution. “80% of the carbon impact of scientific equipment comes from its manufacture. We offer laboratories a more responsible and sustainable way to source their instruments, with prices halved and lead times three times shorter.” 

Co-founded by Tengfei Han (M14) and supported by the ESSEC and ESSEC Alumni incubator at Station F, Lauvée has raised €400,000 for its innovative skincare products, where French cosmetology meets Asian beauty rituals. “The aim of this first funding round is to bring our first device to market, develop other products tailored to all skin types and based on clinical trials, and strengthen our position in the home beauty tech market.” 

Crowdequity 

Co-founded by Claire Laurent (E17), Bene Bono offers individual investors an opportunity to invest in its solution to reduce food waste: “We collect fruit and vegetables from French organic fruit and vegetable growers that have been refused by traditional distribution channels due to their appearance, and reuse them in baskets delivered to consumers at prices up to 40% lower than in the shops. In this way, we have saved 7,000 tonnes of food since 2020.” The campaign is being rolled out on the Tudigo platform. 

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