After three months of intensive entrepreneurship training, the Apprentis d’Auteuil spoke to present their projects during a Pitch evening. In front of an audience composed of parents, former apprentices, and investors, the young entrepreneurs presented their ideas, supported throughout the process by Gaëlle Gonzales.
They came to defend much more than just a simple idea. That evening, in a concentrated room at EDHEC, the Apprentis d’Auteuil concluded three months of training with a Pitch evening, a key moment in the program. Each participant presented their entrepreneurial initiative, the result of several weeks of reflection, uncertainties, team collaboration, and custom support. Gaëlle Gonzales is behind this skill development. For three months, she guided the aspiring entrepreneurs through all the phases of the business creation. Legal status, marketing, finance, structure: several participants highlighted receiving “a multitude of tools” to structure an idea and confront it with reality.
Apprentis d’Auteuil supports young people in defining their professional future, particularly through programs dedicated to insertion and entrepreneurship. This Pitch event is part of a larger process, organized in various phases. Following this first stage of training, participants will continue their follow-up through two other key moments. The final phase will offer some the opportunity to present their initiative at L’Ouvre Boîte, a space dedicated to supporting project leaders, located at 6 Rue Benoît Bunico, in Vieux-Nice. The young entrepreneurs will thus have the opportunity to put their concept into practice in a professional environment and to access new avenues for expansion.
Louise Vigneron, Pastry as a Field of Audacity
Among the projects presented, that of Louise Vigneron stands out for its precision and deliciousness. At 20, holding a CAP in pastry, the young entrepreneur nurtures a clear ambition: to open her own pastry shop. A desire that was already present but long remained vague. “When you have a project, it’s hard to know how to do it concretely,” she confides. Almost randomly led to the Apprentis d’Auteuil through the local mission, she finds a structuring environment. Law and marketing courses, collaboration sessions: the training offers her the possibility to organize her thoughts and lay the initial foundations of her company. The idea relies on a deliberately limited menu, designed to prioritize quality and uniqueness. “To offer creations that customers are not necessarily used to seeing,” she says, such as a lemon-basil tart that plays with textures and flavors. Though the project is progressing, questions persist. Louise faces the tangible aspects of entrepreneurship, such as home production, delivery, and professionalization. But she is not alone. Through mentors and collective interactions, each challenge turns into a topic of common discussion. Following this three-month period, the continuation is already underway. Evolution of social media platforms, initiation of on-demand orders, and eventually, the opening of a shop. And above all, a sincere tribute to the one who was by her side from start to finish: “She was always there, even during the weekend. Thank you, Gaëlle.”
The Pitch evening does not mark an end, but a transition. It is where projects leave the training framework to enter reality, carried by young people now armed to venture into entrepreneurship. For some, this step will open the way to new guidance and concrete development opportunities. A decisive transition, where the desire to undertake now meets the demands of the field, under the attentive eye of professionals ready to support the most promising initiatives.
