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You might think that Elisa Jolivet and Léa Guezais met in the hallway of a space agency, but in fact the encounter happened in La Fabrik – Sup de Pub incubator. Together, they launched Hapaulothe first platform for babysitting and home care for children, teenagers and young adults with disabilities.
One small step for Léa
Léa grew up in Normandy, in the town of Saint-Lô, before moving to Rennes for her studies. Following her dream of becoming an actor, she completed a degree in performing arts. During this time, she organized the third edition of the Scen’art Festival, which gave her a taste for event planning and entrepreneurship.
She then decided to head for Paris, where she enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program. She followed up with a master’s at Sup de Pub , that focused on digital communication and marketing in the first year and sustainable communication, sustainable development and CSR ,(Corporate Social Responsibility) in the second. This approach truly resonated with her.
“I wanted to work in communication in a way that meant something, not simply selling products. I was able to put together a professional project with three friends that focused on difference and accepting disability,” she recalls. That was all she needed to encourage her entrepreneurial streak. The young woman decided to follow an incubation program.
A dynamic young woman with an artistic profile
Léa likes music, dance, cinema and theater. When she was little, she dreamed of a career on the stage, of giving the audience an experience that suspends time.
“I need challenges in my life. Unlike cinema, where you can reshoot a scene several times, theater is like jumping off a cliff. There’s no parachute,” she stresses.
Since she was a small child, she has felt the need to help others and preserve life. She overflows with unconditional love for animals.
“If I were to do something different with my life, I would go into animal protection. I dreamed of taking care of animals in an African nature reserve,” she admits.
Today, on top of being in the driver’s seat at Hapaulo along with Elisa, Léa is a trainer at several schools in the OMNES Education group, and shares her experiences in the role of coordinator atFabrik-Sup de Pub.
A giant leap for Elisa
Elisa started her studies with two years of law school While she appreciated what she learned, she realized that she would be even happier in the field of communication. So she decided to enroll at Sup de Pub and pursued the rest of her education there.
“I did two work-study programs, first at Publicis Conseilthen at Carré Noirwhich introduced me to the world of advertising agencies, she remarks.
After a degree that focused on brand strategy, she plunged into a master’s in digital marketing and e-commerce, with the aim of developing her skills.
” “The last years of my studies coincided with the Covid crisis. As students, we were very isolated. In general, and for everyone, it was a period when the search for meaning intensified,”she notes.
The seed of the idea for Hapaulo slowly started to germinate Elisa submitted her idea to her classmates.
« Au départ, j’ai douté de moi. Quand je faisais mes recherches, j’étais tellement abasourdie que le baby-sitting pour les enfants en situation de handicap n’existe pas, que j’ai pensé avoir mal effectué mes recherches », avoue-t-elle.
The two founders would later learn the reasons for this lack …
An approachable young woman with an empathetic profile
Like Léa, Elisa was driven by a desire to help others. When she was a little girl, she wanted to become a researcher to understand the mysteries of genetics.
“My little brother has Down syndrome, and I never wanted him to be different. He’s the person I love the most in the world. I’ve always been very proud of him. But at the time, I was well aware that it wasn’t easy for our parents,”she explains.
During her studies, Elisa spoke up about Down syndrome several times, in particular during a support workshop. It was an opportunity for her to share for the first time the attack she faced about her brother’s disability: “If your brother has Down’s syndrome, it’s your fault”.
«It was one of the most meaningful moments of my life. I had made a fake book, entitled ‘One Smile Is Enough,’ inspired by a work by Kundera, with a cover with a picture of my brother. The end of the story is that this little girl was me,», she recalls.
Several people at the meeting were very moved and came to see her at the end of the event to ask her where they could buy the book“The teachers encouraged me to write this story. It’s something I’m still considering, she adds. She was moonstruck.
While we hope to find Elisa’s book in the bookstores, let’s continue the story of the launch of Hapaulo!
The encounter
Lionel Steve, founder of a socially responsible project incubator, encouraged Elisa to make her idea about babysitting for children and young adults with disabilities a reality. Fortunately, La Fabrik offers an opportunity to be guided by people with experience and expertise in creating businesses.
“On arrival, everyone has gaps in their knowledge, whether it be legal, accounting, or a global strategic vision. It’s reassuring to have people around who actually have experience as entrepreneurs. Of course, no one tells you what to do at the incubator. But you are surrounded by people who can give advice, and push you to question yourself,”explains Léa.
Without really knowing what she was getting into, Elisa signed up for the incubator. “What was great about this project was that I was totally naïve. Unlike Léa, I had no entrepreneurial streak. On the other hand, like her, I had promised myself not to work in the world of disabilities, “she smiles.
Elisa quickly realized that her team couldn’t not continue the adventure with her. Her partners had got full-time jobs and had less time to devote to Hapaulo. She needed someone as committed as she was. Which didn’t fall on deaf ears!
Léa was in the same incubator, setting up her project on her own. Often sitting in front of each other, the two young women started talking and getting closer. Elisa’s project resonated with Léa. While Elisa’s little brother has an extra chromosome, Léa’s older sister suffers from lung and heart problems.
“At first, I thought of going to a business school, to avoid working with my close friend. Then I realized that Léa has a business side that I don’t have, that she loves working with figures and that making Excel sheets relaxes her,” Elisa notes.
These two sisters, brought together by chance, decided to board the same spaceship to create something that was meaningful not only to them, but above all, to others.
Minutes to takeoff
Name of the mission: Hapaulo. “Ha” for handicap and “Paulo” like the name of Elisa’s little brother. Mission objective: To make it easier for families to get in contact with appropriate carers.
Elisa and Léa wish to respond to the specific needs of children with disabilities by recruiting carers with diplomas in health and social work, early childhood and adapted activities. When it was launched, the website had a lot of success with families looking for well-deserved time off. But their ship lost speed when the two entrepreneurs discovered that French regulations required them to separate the types of carers.
“What is complicated is the legal void. Right now it is impossible to bring together carers and health and social workers on the same platform. In practical terms, we cannot offer a specialized health worker and a home helper. We have to physically meet everyone to recruit them, in all regions, which is counterproductive and incompatible with a digital service,”they explain.
Giving up was out of the question. The families that preregistered were behind them. The two founders of Hapaulo thus set out on a lobbying campaign, determined to be heard. A post on LinkedIn titled “What do you have to do to be heard by the government? Go on a hunger strike?” was a huge success and attracted an elected official’s interest. Transformed into warriors, Elisa and Léa move heaven and earth to make sure people are talking about their project.
When we last heard from them, the two young women had almost succeeded in reaching the stars. Let’s cross our fingers that Hapaulo can put its platform in orbit very soon.
En arrivant, on a tous des lacunes, sur le plan juridique, sur le plan comptable, ou sur la vision stratégique globale. C’est rassurant d’avoir des gens autour qui sont réellement passés par l’entrepreneuriat. Évidemment, au sein de l’incubateur, personne ne nous dit ce que l’on doit faire. En revanche, on est entourés de personnes qui donnent des conseils, et poussent à se questionner
Elisa JOLIVET & Léa GUEZAIS
Alumni Sup de Pub