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Twenty new startups join the ranks at Montpellier BIC

Information updated on 30/03/21

The Montpellier Business and Innovation Centre welcomes a new round of innovative companies. Here is a focus on selection criteria and a presentation of the new arrivals.

Onboarding du BIC de Montpellier avec les nouveaux incubés

Onboarding at Montpellier BIC with newly incubated startups

They all made it through the selection phase successfully. It is now time for twenty more young innovative companies (listed below) to benefit from services provided by Montpellier BIC, whose assistance is based on 33 years of experience.
 
The incubator, which has been recognized on multiple occasions internationally, has helped over 800 companies boost their growth since 1987. The numbers speak for themselves: 92% of the companies that benefited from BIC services reached the 3-year milestone for staying in business. That is about 20% higher than the national average. The 5-year survival rate is also quite high: 80% for BIC graduates, compared to 60% nationwide in France.
 
Incubation at Montpellier BIC is a sure way to receive professional advice and assistance from experts. But what are the selection criteria?

Both the project and the team

There are six main selection criteria. Candidates must:
  • Have an innovative project and ambitious goals.
  • Benefit from a competitive advantage that is hard to copy.
  • Target international markets with high potential.
  • Have a scalable business model capable of adapting volume as demand increases without driving up costs, an essential aspect of a strong business model.
  • Unite a team of people with complementary profiles and at least one person dedicated to the project full-time.
  • Have a desire to set up a company for the long-term in the Montpellier Métropole area.
The selection committee comprises members of the BIC team as well as alumni entrepreneurs and experts from the local ecosystem. They also evaluate the candidate directors’ ability to listen and their desire to take on a strong societal commitment. Refined over the years, this methodology proven itself time and time again.

Human qualities

As the Montpellier BIC Cap Alpha and Cap Omega incubators are places filled with life, where young company creators spend a good amount of their time, the overall daily ambiance must foster development of their projects. Friendliness and sharing are both key values. Human qualities are of the utmost importance.

“We also expect our incubated company founders to be  active in the community, share their experience, and inspire other entrepreneurs on the topics they know best,” highlights Isabelle Prévot, director of Montpellier BIC.

A ceremony and reception are organized for each “graduating class.” The new arrivals present themselves. They discover the entrepreneur’s ten commandments offered by Montpellier BIC, a guide of good practices based on the assistance team’s experience: be ambitious, but realistic; keep track of your finances every week; remain open and humble, and more. The ceremonies also feature company leaders who already graduated from BIC, offering their testimonials based on their own experience at the Montpellier BIC incubators.

 “An entrepreneur must be in it for the long-term,” as Célia Belline reminded them during the last ceremony held on February 11, 2021. CEO of CILcare, which she founded in 2014 with two other managers from Sanofi, she adds: “Montpellier BIC gave us access to investors, banks, and Crealia. It helped build our credibility.”

Pierre-Édouard Robert, founder of MagicPallet, was also at the ceremony.

“BIC is an ecosystem that immediately enables you to meet all the other entrepreneurs, with whom you can readily share ideas.” One of BIC’s available programs also helped him significantly: Montpellier Capital Risque (translated as “Montpellier venture capital”). “That program enabled me to prepare and launch my fund-raising project.”

Innovation is fostered at Montpellier BIC by an environment that is both professional and benevolent. We wish all the greatest success to the new startups!
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