In a dynamic of democratization of the access to the space, #Space Owl, a project co-founded by Guilhem Gernez, MSc & MBA INSEEC Alumni and two students from CentraleSupélec, offers dedicated services to companies, complete or partial management, to allow them to save time and money in the launch of their space missions. In the longer term, Space Owl’s goal will be to offer one-stop space missions to make it as easy as possible for anyone who wants to get started. All of this with the aim of carrying out these projects in a sustainable space dynamic… Meeting with our Alumni Guilhem Gernez.
Can you introduce yourself? What studies have you done?
I am Guilhem Gernez, I am 23 years old. I followed a DUT GACO (Administrative and Commercial Management of Organizations) at the University of Bordeaux. I then completed a 3rd year of a Bachelor’s degree specializing in
Finance at INSEEC Paris in a work-study program at Capgemini. I am a graduate of the MSc International Business Management, class of 2018/2020. In parallel, I worked as an apprentice sales coordinator at Safran Aerosystems in Plaisir during my MSc2.
Can you present your project Space Owl?
Space Owl offers a support service to companies that have a space mission project. The objective is to allow them to focus on their added value which is the processing of satellite data. We are currently supporting two student space missions from the CentraleSupélec space center in order to gain experience and visibility and then target companies.
Why this project? How do you operate?
We are two friends of the college impassioned of aeronautics and space. Paul had the idea to launch this project after completing his second internship at the European Space Agency’s operations center in Darmstadt, Germany. Having already worked with him on an entrepreneurial project, I immediately agreed to join him when he presented his ideas.
We are now three founders with Paul and Ilyes. Paul works more on the technical aspects as an engineer and I work more on the commercial and financial aspects. Ilyes contributes to the accompaniment of our first two missions and also carries out customer prospecting.
How do you see your project evolving in the medium and long term?
In the medium term, the objective is to offer services related to a specific aspect of a space mission for companies already present on the market. In the long term, we imagine that any company could launch its own space mission without necessarily having any knowledge in the field.
Any words of advice for INSEEC students wishing to work in the space industry?
I would say that the network is very important. Do not hesitate to contact professionals in the sector. Space in France is a rather small world and people are very accessible. In addition, many start-ups are being created at the moment, which opens up many job opportunities. Finally, I would say don’t be afraid to look at the technical aspects of the industry. For example, there are several YouTube channels that popularize space issues.
Space Owl is an ongoing entrepreneurial project, currently incubated at Creative Valley in Kremlin-Bicêtre.
Website : www.spaceowl.fr
Updated 24 February 2022