Entrepreneurship and the environment: a way to give meaning to your ideas!

The founders of the Now You Know application

Now You Know is an entrepreneurial project initiated in late 2019 by 6 people including Gabriel, a student in Master in E-Business and transformation digitale at EDC Paris Business School.

After launching a number of entrepreneurial projects, including Révision BTS MUC and Réussir son BTS, 2 e-learning platforms dedicated to helping students succeed in their Brevet de Technicien Supérieur studies, Gabriel Vuong decided to join Benjamin Maubacq (co-founder of the e-learning platforms) and 4 other friends, to continue in the education sector, but this time focusing on the education needed to protect the environment.

In his opinion, giving meaning to entrepreneurship is a key factor for success, and "what could be more important than education in the face of the major challenge of the 21st century? Raising awareness and enabling large-scale action: these are the two pillars of the mobile application. Now You Know.

With Now You Know, the challenges for these entrepreneurs are numerous: to turn new ideas and a new project into reality, to create value, and to respond to specific issues such as "How can I take action to protect the environment without financial or time resources?" or "How can I inform myself and my entourage about climate issues? "We're determined to create a platform that makes sense, helps to change attitudes, and has a strong positive impact on society!

Application concept and operation

In a few words, Now You Know is the mobile solution that enables everyone to become a player in the fight against global warming, and to have a positive impact on the environment on a daily basis.

The application, which is 100% free to the user, is based on two pillars: raising awareness of environmental and climate issues, and above all, making donations and funding environmental projects without spending a cent.

The "understand" dimension of the application helps to raise awareness and inform people about climate and environmental issues. More concretely, this part is modeled by a complete and synthetic educational pathway, containing verified and popularized scientific statements to ensure reliability and easy comprehension for the average person.

The fun educational trail is made up of summary sheets, quizzes and levels to pass. The ultimate aim is to make everyone aware of the climate and environmental issues that concern our generation and, above all, future generations !

The entrepreneurs therefore decided to focus the educational program on gamification, which they found more challenging and motivating.

The "take action" part of the application transforms users into real players in climate change, by supporting environment-related community projects!

In fact, this part of the site enables users to finance solidarity projects without having to pay a single cent out of pocket. For example, it is possible to support an organization whose project is to participate in the reforestation of a country (tree planting), or to support a scientific research project concerning, for example, energy optimization...

To fund these projects free of charge (known as "free giving"), all you have to do is use the application's various features: the educational trail, sharing with friends, discovering eco-responsible businesses, etc. Performing these actions will earn the user "Acts".

These Acts will therefore have a real monetary value, and users will be able to choose which projects they wish to donate them to. The aim? To make a positive impact on a large scale, without financial or time constraints.

Our questions to Gabriel, co-founder of Now You Know

Why did you decide to set up your own business during your studies ?

We've always launched our entrepreneurial projects in parallel with our studies, because in reality we didn't necessarily want to wait for the "right time" to get going, and above all because with the means / tools we have these days, everything can go faster.

In the end, you launch projects, you put ideas into practice, it works, it doesn't work, but whatever happens, you learn and your "entrepreneurial maturity" grows faster. Entrepreneurship has never been easier or less costly than it is today.

How do you reconcile your life as a student and as an entrepreneur ?

There's no secret to being organized, and you have to make concessions: fewer outings and more work. You also have to be motivated, do what you love and know why you're doing it, otherwise it doesn't work, or only works half-heartedly.

What role does EDC Paris Business School play in the creation of the company ?

EDC Paris Business School helps us bring our project to fruition through the student entrepreneur program. We've joined the school's incubator and are mentored by entrepreneurship experts. This is a real asset in helping us to solve our problems, move forward, avoid mistakes, identify potential bottlenecks at an early stage, and find solutions that have already proved their worth.s.

What advice do you have for students who want to start their own business ?

If you have an idea, go ahead, implement it and make it a reality! Test it against the market/your target audience, talk about it with those around you. If you don't have one and you want to start your own business, find people who do and who are looking for partners.

Take part in entrepreneurial events on topics that interest you, to broaden your network, open your mind and get new ideas. Remember, too, that ideas aren't everything, and that once you've got one, most of the work remains to be done. Follow specialized channels and podcasters to get a 360° view of entrepreneurship and related topics. Some suggestions: Startup food, The family, GrowthMakers, Bannouze.

Find Now You Know

Download the free application

Apple Store: coming soon.

Follow Now You Know on social networks

Instagram

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