Monaco Economie 109

98 Côte d’Azur “In France,not much thought has been given to how to help start-ups to apply new economic models,” notes Dominique Vian, professor of entrepreneurship at the Skema Business School in Sophia-Antipolis. This is, however, a subject that has been of interest to Mr Vian for nearly five years, as well as to Laurent Masson, director of the PACA-Est Business Incubator, and ImmaTerra director, Christophe Sempels, all three of whom are convinced that the PSS model represents not only added value environmentally, socially, sociologically and financially but is also an advantageous and pertinent economic move for start-ups. When the project was announced by the T3E (Economic and Ecological Transition for Companies), the ADEME (Environmental and Energy Management Agency) and PACA region authorities, this was a chance for the three men to combine their skills. This pilot scheme, which is 70% financed by the two regional institutions, allows for significant funds to be released, as well as a combination of skills to guide the five chosen start-ups, adhering to a specific process based on the incubator’s criteria, as Laurent Masson explains: “First of all, these are companies in the first phase of their creation or which are still at the project stage. They have to be involved in new inventions or innovative projects. We are not talking about traditional activities.” Whilst changing a company’s economic model may be onerous for an already-established business, start-ups have the flexibility and suitability to adopt new economic criteria. PSS: An Ecosystem Based On Efficiency With a PhD in management sciences from the University of Louvain, Christophe Sempels, who is also a specialist in PSS, starts by asking the start-ups to question the fundamental raison d’être of their entrepreneurial projects by putting themselves in their clients’ shoes: “A PSS involves replacing the logic of a classic economic model based on means with one based on end result. We no longer want a means-based model which, if it is not used correctly by the client, will not produce the desired effect. Instead, we must engage with the client in relation to the end result by placing the client’s needs further up the pecking order.” This way, it is easier to win over new clients as they are presented with a win-win situation, in which the end result takes precedence over any promises. As a counter- example, Christophe Sempels highlights the logic of car makers, who sell cars individually with the consequence of road congestion and pollution: whilst what the customer is seeking is mobility, his or her car purchase will be limited to a utilisation rate of 6%, so the buyer is essentially paying for a car that will mostly be parked, waiting to be driven. One of the many solutions to this is car sharing (where the utilisation rate rises to up to 60%), combined with a multimodal transport system, including public transport, bicycles and so on. A PSS includes efficiency that can be divided into several essential sections. It is up to each start-up to look at the resources it uses, whether they be material or intangible, since environmental efficiency begs the question of the impact the company has on natural resources (consumer, neutral or regenerating). As for social efficiency, a virtuous circle and chain of events is created, as Christophe Sempels describes: “First of all, a company must create individual and collective well-being within itself for all its staff. This must then be done in relation to clients, others in the value chain, as well as all other interested parties, local residents and any person likely to be directly or indirectly affected by the company’s activity.” This leads to a debate on financial efficiency, as it is in each company’s interests to correctly evaluate its activity: it should be high enough to allow for continued development but not so much that it is to the detriment of stakeholders. Any action taken that harms other partners will weaken the whole of the ecosystem in place. It is just this aspect that represents a new economic order in Dominique Vian’s eyes: “The classic model used by traditional industry consists of saying that whatever one does, as long as monetary value is created, it is acceptable to produce waste and injustice. This view of creating monetary wealth at any price is no longer viable with the PSS model, which proves that it is still possible to create value but for the benefit of more people.” ISMA360: A Counter-Intuitive Model Dominique Vian has written many works on the subject of entrepreneurial cognition and he hopes to help start-ups save precious time with the Innovation Systemic Marketing Analysis (ISMA360) method. This process, born of observing successful start-ups, is the only method that streamlines the choice of a market for an invention. Dominique Vian explains how it works: “There is no uncertainty when looking at established markets, as we know who is involved; but when you are dealing with innovations, you are in uncertain waters. Inventors try to link an invention to a problem, supposing that the invention will solve the cause of this problem. The ISMA360 method asks the question differently, using counter-intuitive logic. Using this method, the cause of a problem is never sought; instead the consequences of what the invention could do are identified.” This unique method is time-saving for a start- up project and means it can avoid the risk of focusing on the wrong target audience or market. Christophe Sempels sums up: “The big novelty of our system is that we bring several different innovations together. From identifying target markets and setting relevant perimeters that will enable innovative economic models to be constructed, to seeking out funds to re-stock and increase the value of environmental efficiency – this is one of the unique things about this system. We are assembling innovative bricks in order to build a super-innovation!” A New System To Help Innovative Start-Ups Since October 2018, the PACA-Est Business Incubator, in partnership with ImmaTerra and the Skema Business School, have been carrying out a pilot scheme for start-ups, relating to the transition to a product-service system (PSS). The five start-ups selected to take part enjoy an innovative guidance programme. Monaco Economie meets the founders of this project.