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Entrepreneurs: two MIM students raise over $267,000 and launch their start-up two blocks from the Empire State Building
Students in the MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the Master in Management (PGE) programmes at SKEMA Business School, Baptiste Vanpoperinghe and Amaury Grange are the minds behind Piléa – an artificial intelligence solution that detects and corrects visual flaws on e-commerce websites. Faster, cheaper, and more efficient – that’s the promise. From a penthouse in New York, just a few blocks from the Empire State Building, they’re refining their technology, preparing for launch… and inviting brands to join their waitlist.
Baptiste, Amaury, it seems you both had the entrepreneurial spirit even before SKEMA?
Amaury Grange: Absolutely. I launched my first app at 18 – it used AI to translate content automatically. It reached 100,000 users, and I eventually sold it to a private investor. I then went on to build a marketplace for collectible items.
Baptiste Vanpoperinghe: On my side, I ran a consultancy focused on detecting technical bugs on e-commerce websites. We worked with freelancers, but I wanted to go further and automate that work using artificial intelligence.
I took a course called Startup Catalyst – every week, students pitched to real investors.
Is that the idea behind Piléa that you developed together at Berkeley?
Baptiste: Exactly. We met during our semester in California. We clicked straight away – it was a kind of professional ‘love at first sight’. We started working on a more ambitious, more scalable solution that could detect flaws invisible to the human eye or missed by traditional tools.
Amaury: What really sparked things was the environment. At Berkeley, everyone talks about AI, everyone is building something. I took a course called Startup Catalyst – every week, students pitched to real investors. One was developing carbon capture technology, another was working on low-tech desalination… You realise that nothing’s out of reach. It really expands your vision of what’s possible.
What exactly does your product do?
Baptiste: Our AI agent carries out a thorough scan of e-commerce websites, takes screenshots of every page, analyses all graphical elements – buttons, texts, visuals – and flags imperfections: contrast issues, visual hierarchy problems, poor translations, grammar errors, broken links…
We were also selected by Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) in New York
Amaury: These details cost brands a lot. Our AI does the work of a UX designer – but in real time and at scale. And it goes further than detection: it suggests adjustments to boost conversion rates. For instance, repositioning a button, tweaking a colour or border, rewording a title.
Where are you now in terms of development?
Baptiste: We’ve raised just over $260,000 from Plug and Play, a business angel, and Campus Fund. We were also selected by Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) in New York, where we’re currently incubated in the heart of Downtown.
Amaury: Our office is a few blocks from the Empire State Building, in a penthouse shared with other international start-ups. It’s a high-pressure environment, but very energising too. That momentum helped us sign our first clients – including Petit Bateau, Tikamoon, Motoblouz, and Greenweez. We’ve now secured around ten contracts, which really caught the eye of our investors.
What has SKEMA brought to this adventure?
Amaury: I chose SKEMA because of its rich academic offering and strong international partnerships. During my MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation, I had the opportunity to study in Berkeley. That immersion in the Silicon Valley academic ecosystem changed everything. We learned discipline, pace – and above all, the right mindset. Over there, people don’t ask if they can succeed. They build, test, adapt.
Baptiste: Even as students, we had access to amazing resources. Through SKEMA’s courses and networks at Berkeley, we were able to pitch to American VCs. That kind of bridge is invaluable.
Amaury: We’d also like to thank Nicolas Servel, our programme director at SKEMA. He supported us from the start, and his backing made a real difference at every stage.
Do you still identify as students?
Baptiste: We’ll graduate in December, but we still describe ourselves as “student entrepreneurs” – that’s the reality.
Amaury: And we think that resonates more. It shows that everything can begin while you’re still studying – as long as you’re willing to surround yourself with the right people and take the leap.
A final word?
Amaury: If you’re a brand, a start-up, an e-commerce business keen to test our solution, join our waitlist to be among the first to try Piléa.
Baptiste: And if you’re hesitating to start something of your own – a semester at Berkeley can really change your path.
