Entrepreneur Coaching Day 2026, Digi Mart USA News (Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France): On Saturday, November 7, the hall of the Regional Council in Saint-Ouen (93) was as busy as a beehive, as nearly 1,000 business founders, business takeover candidates and young business leaders gathered for the seventh edition of Entrepreneur Coaching Day.
Visitors crowded into the booths run by the Île-de-France Region, which promoted its Pass Entrepreneur #Leader program, along with partners such as Positiv, MIEL and the Chamber of Trades and Crafts, and major state agencies including France Travail, INPI, URSSAF and Pépites. Participants also split into small groups for 45-minute coaching sessions on practical topics such as the use of artificial intelligence, communication and digital marketing, managing entrepreneurial stress and well-being.
Upstairs, masterclasses, workshops and keynotes drew full houses, to the point that some attendees ended up sitting on the floor. Topics included financing a project, convincing investors and winning first clients.
Supporting entrepreneurship is a core mission of the Region, said Alexandra Dublanche, vice president in charge of Attractiveness, Economic Development and Innovation: “There are so many players that entrepreneurs can feel a bit lost. Our role is to help them see more clearly and support them at every stage of creating their business, from their very first business plan through growth, including innovation, recruitment and equipment purchases.”
The Region’s flagship program, the Pass Entrepreneur #Leader, targets groups that are underrepresented in entrepreneurship, including residents of rural areas and priority urban neighborhoods, job seekers, people with disabilities and women, who make up 56% of the entrepreneurs supported.
The Region has also dedicated space at its premises to entrepreneurs through Perqo, the regional incubator, which offers an intensive six-month program to build a project, followed by a 12-month program for more mature companies. Sébastien Jallier, a former member of the French American football team, used its services to launch COMPÈ, a healthy alternative to traditional energy drinks.
“At Perqo, I learned to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, how to pitch my project, position my product and understand the market,” he said. “Today, I produce 15,000 bottles and distribute them in about thirty points of sale between Paris and Belgium.
My goal is to make my products known at major sporting events, such as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.”
Free support is also available. Madame la Présidente, a French brand of natural hair care products and food supplements, is cited as an example of entrepreneurial success.
Its founder, Meriem Khali-Malone, shared her experience in a keynote: “When I started in 2017, I didn’t even know what a business plan was! Fortunately, I was very well supported from the start by MIEL, which gave me business advice, and Bpifrance, which advanced me funds.” Today, her hair care line includes 17 products, sold in more than 750 points of sale in France, the French Antilles and Europe, and she has hired 10 employees.
Lydia Tazamoucht, director of MIEL, an incubator supported by the Region, said support is free of charge: “We follow about 500 entrepreneurs a year, with no criteria regarding sector, age or diploma, and we host them in our business incubator in La Courneuve, where they can test their activity.”
The first advice Barbara Giannotti, founder of the design agency Bal’t Design, gives to aspiring entrepreneurs is to dare: to seek support, ask for advice and surround themselves with the right people. On Saturday morning, the graphic designer and trainer led two coaching sessions: “One topic came up several times: what should you communicate about?
It can be behind-the-scenes content, a good practice or a client case. I shared concrete examples for prospecting and customer retention.” After 20 years in tourism, she took part in the Pass Entrepreneur #Leader and benefited from the BGE ADIL accelerator, a national business creation support network.
Entrepreneurship can carry a high cost for health and mental well-being. During his keynote, Alexandre Dana, author and founding director of LiveMentor, a firm that supports about 1,000 business founders each year, warned participants about the risk of burnout and the need to protect their health and personal balance when self-employed, with fewer safety nets than employees.
Of course, a business cannot be built in a few hours. The purpose of the morning was to connect project leaders with people who can help them prioritize their next steps.
Attendees left with a meeting booked with a Pass Entrepreneur #Leader operator, an aid application prepared, a trademark registered with INPI or an application to Perqo, each taking a first step forward.
The Region presents three Pass Entrepreneur #Leader programs to support projects at each stage: structuring a project, finding financing and accelerating growth. Entrepreneurs can choose the pass that fits their needs through the link provided on the regional website.
