Presentation
ENSAE alumni are also entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is a source of pride, a lifestyle choice, a source of joy, sometimes pain, and often difficulties of all kinds to overcome. The ENSAE Entrepreneurs Club initiative is part of the ENSAE Alumni Association's commitment to offer its members the support and experience of those who have taken the plunge.This is a major obstacle for anyone wishing to set up, take over or manage an SME.
Meetings
Members come together at meetings held four times a year. These meetings start with a talk, and then everyone presents their problems and wishes. Useful contacts are made, which can lead to associations or simply exchanges of ideas and advice. To build on the contacts made at meetings and the support provided by the facilitators, ENSAE Entrepreneurs Club members can take part in cross-club Working Groups. Each Group brings together like-minded members who are ready to discuss their problems, listen, take joint action and share their experiences. The creation of a Group is decided when several members express the need for it; it is dissolved when its members consider that its objectives have been achieved. A member can support a "candidate-entrepreneur" in the process of setting up or taking over a business, and during the first few years of his or her "entrepreneurial" career. This support is generally the result of personal co-optation, based on relationships forged within the Working Groups and at meetings.
Partners
The ENSAE Entrepreneurs Club has privileged relations with Business Angels clubs, and in particular with the "ENSAE Business Angels" association. The founders of the ENSAE Entrepreneurs Club have taken the initiative of joining the X-Mines-Consult group, which brings together people who work or plan to work in consultancy or any other intellectual service activity, either individually or within companies. Through its website www.x-mines-consult.org, XMP-Mines-Consult offers a wide range of information and advice. The Club ENSAE Entrepreneurs is considering a partnership with the XMP-Entrepreneurs group. The Club ENSAE Entrepreneurs is a co-founder of France Entrepreneurs, the Club des clubs d'entrepreneurs (www.france-entrepreneurs.com).
