Bonjour!
After touring the city of Paris for the past few days, we attended our first business meetings with two companies. First, we met with Les Restaurants de Coeur, and then Station F later in the afternoon.
Les Restaurants du Coeur is a non-profit company that was founded in 1895. Their mission is to provide food to those who are less fortunate in France, while also providing other services to prevent poverty from the generosity of others. Les Restaurants du Coeur is now thirty-three years old and has expanded into major cities throughout France. It relies on its volunteers to assist with the provisions for those who are in need. This was an interesting meeting to have, as they are only a company that is in France and has been very successful in helping the people in their community.
Then, we met with Station F for a tour of their campus. Station F is a campus that is intended to help those who want to start their own company by providing any resources they may need to become successful. As it is not even two years old, Station F is known to be the largest startup campus in the world. This meeting was fascinating, as the company had multiple facilities for meetings and technology labs, and are partners with well-known companies such as Facebook and Amazon.
Both of these companies are very different in various aspects in the business world and were exciting to learn about. I am eager to learn more about the other companies in France!
All together, this first day of business visits was extremely interesting. Les Restaurants was a valuable experience in how it shows that a good service can be provided for those less fortunate while maintaining an efficient operation. They have provided over 130 million meals and offer a footing for people to get back on their feet. The visit to Station F however seemed most interesting to me. The ability to offer entrepreneurs all of the tools necessary to start a business and give it a real chance at success seems astonishing to me. Also a fun fact that was shared was that Station F is as long as the Eiffel Tower if it was laid on its side. That seems pretty fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed visiting these two businesses on our trip. I think Station F was my favorite out them all. I recently took a nonprofit management class at Manhattan therefore having some sort of a nonprofit background helped me really enjoy the Les Restaurants. I found Station F's three zones to be very cool, especially the chill zone. The chill zone was decorated so creatively and was set up with tons of tables for people to meet to elaborate. Visiting the largest startup campus in the world was awesome. Also I found it interesting how they are going to try to build apartments/dorms nearby for those starting their company.
ReplyDeleteThe visit to "Station F" was the most enjoyable and innovative facilities we visited. I currently intern at a startup therefore, it was very interesting on how having all the necessities in one place facilitates the process of creating and maintaining an application. The stations F's zones and divisions really complete and define the startup world. I loved the art pieces around and the areas created for the developers and workers to clear their minds in order to continue with their ideas.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Station F was the most beneficial/interesting visit we completed during our trip. As soon as we walked in, I was struck by the modern, unique and clean atmosphere. As a startup incubator, it is critical for such an environment to possess these qualities as some of the most important modern technology initiatives have the potential to be conceived here. Additionally, It was interesting to see the farthest section of the facility, coined the "chill zone", as it provided a means for employees to relax and engage in activities not related to work if they so chose. These included a few restaurants, a bar, and more. Overall, I believe this facility has all of the right traits to foster creativity and innovation.
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