ESCP Business School’s startup incubator, the Blue Factory, expands across five European countries

Originally launched in Paris in 2009 during the inaugural ESCP Entrepreneurship Festival, the ESCP Blue Factory has grown from its roots as a single-campus initiative to a thriving multicampus hub supporting entrepreneurs at every stage of their local and global journey.

A multicampus hub for entrepreneurship

As of 1 March 2025, the Blue Factory is present across ESCP’s five European campuses—Paris, Berlin, London, Turin, and Madrid—each serving as a regional entrepreneurship hub while remaining deeply connected to ESCP’s European network. By engaging with local ecosystems, including accelerators, investors, and media, the Blue Factory fosters an unparalleled environment for collaboration and innovation.

“Entrepreneurship is a driving force for innovation and positive change in today’s world,” said Prof. Léon Laulusa, Executive President & Dean of ESCP Business School. “At ESCP, we are committed to fostering this spirit by supporting our community of students and alumni across Europe. The Blue Factory embodies this mission, by leveraging our unique multicampus presence to create a truly global network of innovation that empowers aspiring entrepreneurs to transform ideas into impactful ventures.”

This Europeanisation was made possible thanks to the support of the ESCP Foundation and alumnus Nicolas Motelay (‘87).

Tailored support for every stage of the entrepreneurial journey

The Blue Factory offers an integrated support system, guiding entrepreneurs through four key stages of their development:

• Explore: Open events and personalised consultations to spark and refine ideas.
• Start: Comprehensive program focused on entrepreneurship fundamentals from ideation to prototyping.
• Launch: Support for entrepreneurs at the prototyping stage, gaining their first users or clients.
• Seed: Tailored assistance to help ventures achieve product-market fit.

This structured approach is complemented by access to mentorship, funding opportunities, and resources, as well as a global network of 12,000 entrepreneurial alumni.

15+ years of impact in entrepreneurship

The Blue Factory’s journey began humbly in 1999 as an experimental incubator. By 2009, it formalised its mission duringthe first Entrepreneurship Festival in Paris, establishing itself as a launchpad for budding entrepreneurs.

Since its creation, the Blue Factory has made a significant impact:

• Over 1,200 individuals supported through selective programmes.
• More than 4,500 students trained through workshops and community events.
• A strong community of alumni entrepreneurs, including notable names like Clément Delangue, co-founder of unicorn Hugging Face; Alexis Fogel, co-founder of Dashlane and Stonly; Justine Lecallier, co-founder of Circul’egg; and Victoire Bach, co-founder of Hopia.
• Beyond the ESCP community, the Blue Factory co-founded La Boussole des Entrepreneurs in 2018, which has become a key organisation that unites over 85 incubators and accelerators across France and will soon join France Digital, the largest association of startups and investors in Europe. Its mission is to advance and strengthen the evolving field of entrepreneurial support.

The Blue Factory stands out not only for these impressive results but also for its emphasis on responsible and diverse entrepreneurship, empowering ventures that balance profit with purpose.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t just about profits or cutting-edge technology—it’s about transforming passion into meaningful impact,” said Maeva Tordo, Head of the Blue Factory. “With 15 years of practice behind us, we are excited to continue enabling entrepreneurs to thrive, innovate, and build the future, one step at a time.”

Looking ahead: Entrepreneurship at ESCP

As part of its vision, the Blue Factory aims to foster connections between students, alumni, and corporate partners to support both entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial ventures across Europe and the globe. By aligning entrepreneurship education with cutting-edge research and open innovation, it aims to unlock ESCP’s full potential as a driver of change and progress. 

Most recently, the Blue Factory signed a strategic partnership in deeptech innovation with Bpifrance to open new paths for students and researchers to co-create startups that merge science and strategy. This collaboration aims to provide real on-the-ground support for deeptech founders, from business modeling to commercialisation.

The activation of ESCP’s five European campuses paves the way for the development of new programmes designed to support the international growth of startups and SMEs. ESCP’s European incubator will also launch sector-specific initiatives tailored to local strengths and market needs. Finally, a European financing model to back ESCP entrepreneurs is currently in development.