Village by CA is a unique organization in France, helping startups and young companies as an accelerator. The network is made of 44 villages spread in the country and overseas, benefiting from a national and international influence. Village by CA is a partner of the Laval Virtual event, where several companies specialized in immersive technologies are exhibiting. Interview with Timothée Broucke, mayor of the village of Laval in Mayenne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A village is a local liaison of the Village by CA network. It was created in 2014 by the National Federation of Crédit Agricole. Its goal is to be an<\/span> innovation accelerator <\/b>at the service of the local companies. In the 44 villages of France, 1,350 startups are helped.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Those startups have reached an advanced level of maturity, already have clients and products that are sold. Village by CA is not an incubator. We don’t come to a village with an idea and the hope to developing it. We come with a product that is sold<\/span> and <\/span>the hope of selling it more<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n To get there, 800 partners are part of the network. They are expert partners but also large groups, SME, mid-size companies, that all work on transformation subjects. We are an accelerator for all companies, not only for startups. At Laval, I am helping 12 startups and 8 partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal of a village is to create links, federate people around common topics and see how we can create value. For example, a partner from the village of Lyon can meet a startup from Laval at the village of Lyon. Startups from Laval can meet clients in the Paris village and startups from the network come to Laval to meet Luminess, a local company. The objective of a village is mainly to <\/span>connect clients and experts<\/b> or business angels for fundraising. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Startups are here for two years, renewable once for a year, so three years in total. To get into a village, you must be a young company (between 2 and 5 years old) and <\/span>already have clients <\/b>and business attraction. There is a selection committee with the co founders: Crédit Agricole Anjou Maine, Laval Mayenne Technopole and Laval Économie, as well as partners that are local companies. The startups have 7 minutes to pitch and 7 more to answer questions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, the Laval village is the network <\/span>reference in terms of immersive realities<\/b>. Among the startups, there are Massive Immersive, Komodal, Olfy, Inod, Bliss, Agogy and Imagin VR. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of them had a beautiful success story. I am thinking of <\/span>Inod<\/span><\/a>, which performs well. They had a lot of success with <\/span>their virtual fair project<\/span><\/a> for Crédit Agricole during the pandemic. But they are doing a lot more, they are very diversified. They are capable of meeting all types of demands according to the current context.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nYou are the mayor of the Laval village. In your approach, we feel a strong territorial attachment. Is it a real marker for your structure?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How do you, as a startup, get into a village?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Laval is often called the “capital of virtual reality”. Is this visible in the companies supported by the Village by CA?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is it important today to be a partner and to take part in an event about immersive technologies like Laval Virtual?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n