14.10.2025
Creating, sharing, and bringing ideas to life: at 26, Corentin Grenon embodies a generation of ESSEC alumni who have made entrepreneurship a driving force for impact. A graduate of the Global BBA, he now leads the ESSEC incubator at Station F, at the heart of Europe’s most dynamic start-up ecosystem. His journey illustrates the power of early entrepreneurial callings and the ambition of a school dedicated to shaping change-makers.
From his very first year at ESSEC, Corentin wasted no time. Together with classmates Jacques Sagot and Stanislas Cadjenovic, he founded Leqto, a tech agency specializing in digital solutions. Soon after came Formalý, a digital learning platform designed to offer personalized training pathways. “We had the choice between an internship and a project. We went for the riskiest but most exciting option: starting a company,” he recalls. Within two years, the venture reached €1 million in revenue, boosted by the expansion of France’s CPF training scheme. A third venture followed: a SaaS solution for digitalizing training providers, which was sold in 2022.
This drive to create began long before. With two entrepreneurial grandfathers, Corentin spent his childhood between India and the United States, two nations steeped in entrepreneurial culture. “At 13, I launched a small import-export business selling cashmere scarves. I didn’t know what a business plan was yet, but I already wanted to sell.” Back in France, he chose ESSEC’s Global BBA to put action at the center of his education. “What ESSEC gave me was immense freedom: the freedom to dare, to make mistakes, to learn. I was always encouraged to see my ideas through.”
After several years of building companies, a new desire emerged: to share knowledge. This thread runs through his career and shaped two of the three businesses he founded. He began teaching BBA students, before, in 2023, ESSEC and ESSEC Alumni invited him to head their incubator at Station F. He accepted without hesitation. “I had lived through the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. This mission ticked all the boxes: transmissibility, community, ambition. And then… Station F is a place where anything feels possible.”
Today, he supports around thirty ESSEC alumni projects every year. Most are at a very early stage, but their energy and vision set them apart. “What I look for is the spark: a strong idea, a united team, a healthy obsession with solving a real problem. One founder once told me: ‘My MVP isn’t great, my roadmap unclear… but I’ve been obsessed with this problem for five years.’ He didn’t have the best pitch, but he had the fire. And that was enough.”
The incubator, which he runs with both empathy and rigor, has become a powerful catalyst. Eighty-six percent of the start-ups it supports are still active. Forty-three percent have raised seed funding. Two have been acquired. Some are already generating over €1 million in revenue. But beyond the numbers, Corentin champions another vision of success: “ESSEC has always been a school of pioneers. Today, what we need are responsible entrepreneurs, leaders who can create lasting value, not just profit.”
Deeply invested in building a culture of community, he envisions the incubator as a safe space for testing, failing, and bouncing back. “There’s a big psychological component in this work. You need to catch the subtle signals and help founders take perspective.”
True to his school, Corentin continues to carve his own path without losing sight of his roots. Committed and passionate, he perfectly embodies the ESSEC spirit, where entrepreneurship is not simply a career choice, but a calling.
