Returning to study at 26 in Health
It was at the age of 26, just 4 years ago, that Julien came to the Incubator on the Bordeaux campus to get some information.
This nurse had already been practising for several years, but he wanted to return to his studies to continue his apprenticeship and “go further”. He had just been accepted onto the MSc Director of Healthcare Establishments in the INSEEC MSc&MBA programme and had 2 business creation projects:
- A first communications & marketing agency project aimed at medical practices and healthcare establishments
- A second digital platform for medical practitioners to enhance therapeutic patient education. For this young entrepreneur, “patients tend to over-inform themselves before consulting a doctor. They suffer from too much doctissimo and often imagine the worst, even when it’s benign”. For him, the only way to get the right information is to get it from those who have the expertise, i.e. the healthcare professionals themselves.
The creation of HEALTHCIE, a 100% medical digital agency
These two projects have merged to become HEALTHCIE, a web agency specialising in healthcare communications and medical e-reputation.
In the end, it’s a fully digital offering, but one that has to be carefully managed to comply with the ban on advertising in the medical sector. As medicine should not be practised like a business, it is forbidden for healthcare professionals to use Google ads (SEA), social network advertising or display advertising. The only digital option for them is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): having an attractive website that is well referenced by Google so that it is visible to the public. SEO is based on 3 pillars: technical (fast site with pages optimised for mobile and PC), content (interesting, in quantity, relevant to the subject) and trust (recognition by peer sites).
HEALTHCIE has rapidly established itself as one of the leading medical web agencies, with exclusively organic growth. It has made natural referencing its pure speciality. The company now has around thirty clients, mainly in surgery, but also with laboratories and other healthcare players.
During the two years he stayed at the OMNES Education Incubator, Julien was able to benefit from a wide range of services, including a co-working space, themed coaching workshops and a network of alumni and incubatees. Access to the Incubator is free for students and alumni of the group, and there is no financial or capital compensation. Thanks to the French Tech partnership, our founder was able to meet the various players in the Bordeaux tech sector. Julien Vervel was awarded the French Tech Tremplin prize a few months after joining INCUB. The aim of this programme is to give a helping hand to the most promising start-ups in the Bordeaux ecosystem.
A sales strategy based on satisfying opinion-leading customers
Today, Julien is continuing his ascent. He now has his own offices and 3 employees. He has also just joined the Scientific Committee of the AIME conference, where he is involved in all aspects of medical e-reputation.
He shared with us his vision as a business leader and digital expert: “In my opinion, digital and communications agencies will only have a future if they are ultra-specialised. Companies (= clients) are looking for recognised experts in each discipline. What’s more, if we analyse the consulting market in France, we can see that it has grown exponentially over the last 10 years”;
That’s why an agency that is sufficiently expert and recognised doesn’t need to canvass. All it needs is credibility and the reputation it has built up through its expertise in the network. Key opinion leaders”, or client leaders who are opinion leaders and influencers in their network, have replaced sales representatives in the niche business. They are the guarantors of the start-up’s expertise and promote the company within their community.
And because Julien likes to keep busy, in 2023 he is also launching a platform aimed at healthcare professionals: a more mainstream solution to meet the needs of as many people as possible in the medical and paramedical sector, OCAB.
OCAB, democratising digital visibility in healthcare
OCAB is an online platform that allows practitioners to develop their online visibility independently. Halfway between a website and a 100% customisable referencing page, OCAB embodies the democratisation of digital visibility FOR ALL self-employed healthcare professionals. A medical website can be created in 10 steps, fully customisable, in 20 minutes for just €20 a month.
What advice do you have as an alumni company founder?
“A lot of people say BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS! It’s true, it’s important, but don’t forget the second part, which is: give yourself the means to achieve them! It’s a fact that life as an entrepreneur isn’t always easy. On the networks, we only see the events or the good times, whereas entrepreneurship requires courage and a great deal of determination on a daily basis.
And don’t hesitate to ask the Incubator for help in setting up your company. Very few incubators ask for no rent or equity investment. This represents a real opportunity for young entrepreneurs!