Juliette Sabatier joined the chemistry department at ENS Paris-Saclay after passing the PC track entrance exam in 2014. At the same time, she pursued a master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Paris-Sud and then specialized in materials chemistry and formulation by earning a dual degree at Chimie Paris Tech.
She discovered entrepreneurship alongside her friend and soon-to-be business partner, Lise Maillard. At the end of her second year of the master’s program at UPMC, they founded the startup TinyBird, which produces 100% natural candies, and have been working on it full-time ever since.
“During our studies, like all students, we snacked on foods that were increasingly processed. We were frustrated that we couldn’t find tasty, healthy alternatives to those snacks. That’s when the idea to create BonsBecs came to us, and we decided to launch TinyBird,” explain Juliette and Lise.”
How did you come up with the idea of becoming an entrepreneur and pursuing a dual degree?
Juliette Sabatier: "I wanted to use my studies to discover different things and different worlds." That’s why, after a university internship in my freshman year, I decided to do an internship at a startup in my sophomore year. I really enjoyed the environment, which motivated me to pursue a dual degree so I could explore the world of business and entrepreneurship.”
Could you tell us about the day-to-day management of the company you co-founded and what you do there?
"Starting a business is anything but routine. We face a wide variety of challenges every day. In addition, we have to produce the candies, manage orders, maintain our social media presence, and communicate to increase our visibility, handle administrative tasks, and recruit and mentor the people who join us in this project.
We also have to find new customers, including specialty food stores, large retail chains, and other businesses.
Personally, I’m in charge of product development and production. I also handle communications and marketing. Of course, we’re a young company, so we end up handling every aspect of the business.
Looking ahead, our goal is to offer healthy alternatives to the highly processed foods we consume every day. New BonsBecs flavors are now on the market. And other products are currently in development for 2021."
Women’s entrepreneurship has been in the spotlight for some time now. Could you tell us a little more about that?
Do you feel privileged, or, on the contrary, have you had to overcome more obstacles to get where you are today?
"It’s true that women are still underrepresented in entrepreneurship today. Initiatives are being launched to support one another. For example, I’m a member of the association "Elles sont food," which brings together all women working in the food industry.
That said, I haven’t felt privileged, but it’s hard to say whether this is a disadvantage since we don’t have anything to compare it to."
“I do everything I can to grow my business without letting any gender-related obstacles get in the way.”