Cofounding a startup as a student

Hello everyone !

Since I've joined the 18-month study programme at Télécom ParisTech, I've had the opportunity to allocate some time on personnal scientific projects ("projet PRIM"). With this time that was given to me, and as it has been few months I've been thinking about it, I've decided to form a team with other students and to found a startup. Though I'm still a newbie in this domain and I'm still discovering many parts of this experience, I wanted to share some aspects of it with you.

I won't developp the technical points about what Business Strategy we decided to apply, or about what algorithm we implemented because I don't think it matters really much in order to talk about the team-working aspects or the "being a student and an entrepreneure at the same time" part, which, I think are way more interesting in this context. It's not that I don't want to share my experience on the first points - on the contrary, I would be glad to have further discussions of this with anyone who wants to !

It is in this belief that I will try to give you an insigth of what points seem to be important for me about the team-working in a startup and the matter of founding a company while being a student : what are the solutions ? Is there any useful tips to know ? How I try to manage it ?

See you !

Welcome to BookCrossing

Welcome to BookCrossing:



I wonder how many of us know about bookcrossing.  My little sister has been using it for years!

How about you ? have you every discovered a book left in Paris by a bookcrossing member?





'via Blog this'

Couchsurfers

My first experience with Couchsurfing was not as a guest nor a host, but just attending a meeting in Paris. Though I arrived a few minutes late, I was the first to enter the crowded bar on the canal Saint-Martin. But after a few minutes, I noticed someone scrolling through a long page on his smartphone, with the traditional color scheme of orange and white of the Couchsurfing.com website. I decided to ask him if by chance he was here for the meeting. And there began my first discussion with a couchsurfer and my discovery of this curious community. I met people from various origins, a Swedish-Iranian, a Dutch,  and so many others.

Different profiles

They had all different stories, different reasons for coming to France. Some were just working, some were just travelling. Most of them had very few acquaintances in Paris and were looking for social connections. But apparently, most people on Couchsurfing didn't stay friends in real life, even if they shared good moments together during meetings.

A lot of people just use Couchsurfing.com as a convenient way to find somewhere to sleep for free, will all the advantages of having a local host who can help you during your stay. Most of the requests I had were from students traveling in Europe and making a stop in Paris, for a few days.

But there are also the couchsurfing addicts. The hosts who organise all their social life around this social network. I had a guest who slept at a host who was continuously hosting people, and several at once (250/300 a year! ). On the other side, there are the addicted travellers. I hosted someone who had been travelling for 6 months, from America through Israel, Palestine, Greece, the Balkans, Italy and then France. He was planning to go to Mexico then – a year with Couchsurfing, meeting people from all over the world (and travelling with little costs too). It was so interesting that I tried to interview him, but the conversation shifted to a different subject.

Not only for backpackers!

There are definitely not only backpackers on this website, most of the members are just travellers who want to have a different experience of the city by staying with locals. Money isn't the only advantage of couchsurfing. The fact that you can sleep somewhere for free is not the only reason to use this network. The approach to travelling was different for all the people I met. They didn't want to just see the Eiffel Tower, go to the Louvre and then come back late and go to sleep. They usually spent a lot of time with me, and they wanted to have a taste of local culture.

Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb | TED Talk | TED.com

Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb | TED Talk | TED.com:



I wonder where we're at with this technology today?



james

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Eric Giler: A demo of wireless electricity | TED Talk | TED.com

Eric Giler: A demo of wireless electricity | TED Talk | TED.com:



Have you heard about this!!!  Just think! No wires.....



'via Blog this'

A brief history of Couchsurfing

1999 

Casey Fenton buys a cheap ticket from Boston to Iceland. To find housing, he sends an email to 1500 students, asking if they could host him. The idea of a community using the internet to help travelers find a couch to sleep on was born. 

2004

Going online: after a few years, the beta version of the Couchsurfing website is online. One mission: "Creating a better world, one couch at a time."

2006

Couchsurfing 2.0: in June 2006, Couchsurfing experienced multiple computer problems that led to a database loss. The service shut down, apparently irrevocably according to Casey in an email to the members. But the members didn't want to give up the community, which relied a lot on the website: the Collective of Montreal started the development of "CouchSurfing 2.0", which relaunched in July 2006.

2011

Incorporation: before 2011, CouchSurfing was managed by a non-profit organization, and for many members, it was part of the identity of the community. Then its status changed, and Couchsurfing International Inc. registered as a B-Corporation (notice the change in the name, from CouchSurfing to Couchsurfing). Here is some information on what a B-Corporation is.
Some were disappointed by this radical change, which meant that the organization couldn't be managed by its members themselves anymore, but by employees. Despite the disappointment of some of its most active members, the community and its spirit lasted.
Today, Couchsurfing is putting more and more effort into increasing the safety of travelers and hosts, by changing the recommendation rules on the website for example. Many argue that it hurts the community by putting too many restrictions and rules, but it's also building more trust between members.

Some statistics

Sadly, I couldn't find recent statistics, the statistics page of the website doesn't exist anymore. The 2014 statistics about users, gender and the variety of locations and languages are presented nicely here. Today, the website has 12 million members, spread across 200,000 cities in the world. 
You can even find an article about "The Role of Geography in CouchSurfing Social Network Activities"! 

More to come soon!