Stéphanie Berger and Fannie Asselin, founders of Barak, a start-up offering a subscription service for second homes

Tell us about yourself.

After studying Communications and Journalism, Stéphanie (44) began her career working for major event communications agencies before setting out on her own as a freelance working on more global communications, structural and management issues.

Fannie (35) has always worked freelance, as a project manager, recruiter and then copywriter. After preparatory classes in literature and a master’s degree in management, she joined the events sector and holds a Guinness world record and a major award in communications strategy.

The women love to brainstorm and, through the various projects that they co-managed, arrived at what would become the first subscription model for renting second homes: Barak.

 

Could you tell us more about your project ?

Barak’s new subscription rental model allows users to enjoy a second residence to:

 

• Have regular access to a home, be able to leave things and keep your bearings, NOT a weekend that starts at 5 P.M. on a Friday with an inventory of fixtures and fittings
• Be flexible in paying only for what you want to use when you want to use it, NOT a real estate purchase that entails a years-long commitment
• Save time and money

Regular subscribers also benefit :

• the owners : Three times the trust and three times less management (3.6 million second homes in France, occupied 11% of the year on average!).
• the local area : breathes (new) life into the local economy.

 

You have been supported by the Telecom SudParis and IMT-BS incubator. How has this support been useful in developing your project?

Thanks to IMT Starter, we were able to take a step back and look at subjects that are complex, structuring and decisive. We’re lucky enough to be supported by both experts and entrepreneurs, which means we can combine technical expertise, knowledge and experience: a winning combination for tackling most challenges. And it has also given us great opportunities, like Vivatech!

 

What do you expect from Vivatech?

It’s an event that innovative players simply can’t miss. We are proud to have been selected to participate this year. It will undoubtedly be a chance to expand our network on all levels: potential subscribing customers, owners of second homes, talent looking for new opportunities, investors and other start-ups. We can’t wait to be there and share our vision of entrepreneurship, present our platform and all the benefits of this new rental model to everyone. We hope that we will be able to build some promising relationships. It’s what we’re preparing for, anyway!

 

Do you have any advice for those who want to take the leap into entrepreneurship?

Surround yourself with the right people. Too many start-ups fail because the associates aren’t right for each other.

We have often seen lineups of complementary profiles that look ideal on paper, but that aren’t aligned in reality…the result can be catastrophic. There needs to be one or more associates with whom you share the same vision of your business, the same desire and same energy to see it through. Agreeing on the company’s major components, the long-, medium- and short-term objectives and the resources to achieve them is essential.