Whoever said the current generation was unadventurous can't have seen what Louis Westerloppe is up to. After joining SKEMA's Grande Ecole Programme in 2018, this student with Parisian and Flemish roots is now specialising for his second year in digital marketing in a work-study programme.
He soon landed an interesting apprenticeship contract at SANOFI in the area he likes. "I really advise young people to do an apprenticeship. It's the very best way to gain experience. I was lucky enough to be taken on at SANOFI as a project manager, and I worked for them for over a year," he says. At the end of the day, the pharmaceutical group offered him a permanent contract on its staff. "At that point, I weighed the pros and cons, and decided to say no. I had always wanted to create my own company, so I went for it. Now, I train at my own pace on subjects I'm keen on, and I'm really happy," he says.
"Giving value to people's work"
In 2021, he created BleueCitadelle, a design agency "with a poetic identity," as he likes to say. "I think artisans and retailers are among those with the most ideas, and I wanted to tell their story. Recently, we helped a violin maker build up his identity, and we shot a number of videos with him. Our task is to give value to people's work," says Louis Westerloppe.
€20,000 in two months
Since its launch, the young company has garnered around ten clients and is slowly making a name for itself in this milieu. "With small-scale artisans and retailers, our competitive advantage is often the nephew or niece in charge of the Facebook page," says the entrepreneur with a smile. In two months, BleueCitadelle has earned €20,000. "We have a turnover, and that's very good. On the financial side, I must say that everything I learned at SKEMA serves me well in all the commercial situations I have to deal with, especially negotiations and accounting. Not to mention the soft skills!"