Anne-France Fournier, 40, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of clicNwork.
Tell us about yourself.
Having worked in the car rental industry for over 10 years, nothing predestined me for the human resources sector, BUT a strong friendship over 20 years turned me away from the sector. Julien Artigue suggested a project that resonated with market trends in societal, economic and employability: combine the HR and technology sectors to speed up hiring!
The idea was wonderful, and I was won over by the original, ambitious project to offer something different than what already existed and, above all, had real value for society by focusing our energy on candidates.
Could you tell us more about your project?
ClicNwork is a fully automated SaaS tool designed to help recruitment managers identify and work with candidates already in their database. It uses matching algorithms and machine-learning chatbots to reach out to a large number of candidates at once and survey their availability and goals in real time. The tool helps recruitment managers work with their pool of existing, often passive candidates, to reactivate, follow up with and match them with vacancies. New technologies have helped us to create this dynamic career management platform.
You have been supported by the IMT Mines Alès incubator. How has this support been useful in developing your project?
Christine Cerruti at IMT Mines Alès has been working with us to develop our start-up. The incubator gives us access to a team of qualified experts and professionals and a network of partners. Their expertise and advice have helped us to find high-quality, tailor-made support to overcome certain challenges that have faced us. We also have access to tangible and intangible resources that have been crucial to our research and development.
What do you expect from Vivatech?
VivaTech is a major event in the field of technology and innovation, which are the two key themes of our SaaS platform. We have three main goals:
- Promote ourselves: the trade fair offers many opportunities to network by meeting entrepreneurs, investors, manufacturers and experts. It’s a unique opportunity to make contacts, build partnerships and converse with key players in the industry.
- Know: about cutting-edge technologies and innovative products
- Learn: thanks to a packed schedule of conferences to hear from opinion leaders about their perspectives on technology.
Do you have any advice for those who want to take the leap into entrepreneurship?
I didn’t “absolutely” aspire to create my own business. I was very comfortable in my job, but the idea of speeding up employment and the excitement of a new adventure won me over. You shouldn’t want to become an entrepreneur at any cost because it is very difficult: you need to have the right idea that fits the current market and world. You need to be ready to make big financial and personal sacrifices, but the experience is unique and extraordinary. You need to be open-minded and knowledgeable on a wide range of topics, but everything becomes fascinating, and it’s so enriching that no one could regret making this choice.
Take the leap if you have the right idea, go for it and surround yourself with the right people !
