Young businesses to the rescue of Saint Etienne! By organizing an inter-company table football tournament, eight Saint-Étienne startups wanted to demonstrate that the city still had resources and could revive thanks to the dynamism of its young entrepreneurs.
Eight Saint-Étienne startups united around Sulpie table football!
By general agreement, foosball is an essential accessory for any self-respecting startup. By choosing Sulpie table football for their friendly tournament, the eight Saint-Étienne startups confirmed that young companies possess real expertise in mini football! More seriously, the choice of table football to unite startups around a common goal is not insignificant. For Florian Garnier, co-founder of Green Cup (which produces reusable plastic cups), the table football in the startup is not a cliché, it's a symbol:
Large companies, to initiate this startup spirit, install a table football. For us, it's a foosball game to bring together people who are happy to stay for lunch and dinner, with colleagues who have become friends; that's what we try to maintain.
This foosball tournament was also a way to combat certain preconceived notions surrounding startups. Solène, a student and work-study intern at Green Cup, explains her changed perspective on starting a business:
When you're a student, you think that to start something, you have to go to bigger cities, but in fact, no, in Saint-Etienne there's plenty to grow, and it's really interesting.
For Julien Licata, Marketing Manager at Pizza Cosy, starting a business is above all a state of mind:
Even though the group has a turnover of €5 million this year and we have 70 employees, we want to be a startup with this innovative aspect in terms of products, this youth, this dynamism!
Companies from different backgrounds united around a common challenge
While launching a startup is a solitary, long, and complicated journey, this kind of initiative proves that it also requires support and exchange between young creators. Garance, who created her escape game in Saint-Etienne, is now aware of this. This foosball tournament is a way for her to meet the city's companies that operate in sectors other than hers, but all share the same philosophy and the same dynamism:
While launching a startup is a solitary, long, and complicated project, this kind of initiative proves that young creators can also support each other. Garance created her escape game in Saint-Etienne. This foosball tournament was a way for her to meet the city's businesses that operate in sectors other than her own, but all share the same philosophy and dynamism:
It also allows you to see that you're not alone. Most business owners are quite young, and we face common issues related to business management. It's good to meet up so that you can later create new connections and rely on each other.
If you work or run a startup in a city that's losing steam, you know what you have to do.
