Julien, Pinar and Gürkan are part of the Tremplin program's class #2. None of them was predestined for agriculture, but their desire for a new life led them to think about a project that brought about a real transition in their way of life. Discover their journey!
Julien Trassard, agricultural entrepreneur
This consultant followed the Hectar Tremplin training course so that his idea of setting up a mixed farming business in the Cher region would become a sustainable agricultural project.
It's a story of heaven and earth. Julien Trassard, a 47-year-old consultant with Accenture, is helping many companies make the transition to the cloud. After eight years spent in Canada, it was nature that called him: "I have wanted to launch a polyculture project for several years," he says. Last February, I bought a 21-hectare plot of land near Vierzon that I will gradually transform. First of all with a pilot greenhouse from this summer, which will be planted with onions, squash, black radish, etc., about fifteen species in total. The meeting with Hectar seemed obvious, as he had been following the development of the agricultural campus even before it opened. He still had to make the creation of the farm a reality, to become an agricultural entrepreneur...
Julien is taking the first Hectar Tremplin training course with other students who, like him, are starting a project to set up a business. I learned how to go from an idea to a farming project, right up to making it presentable to a bank," he says. I also learned how to make it profitable, whereas agriculture in France is often considered to be patrimonial. Hectar's approach is completely entrepreneurial. Business plan, legal form, sales channels..., all the facets that contribute to the viability of his mixed farming operation are examined during the five weeks of mentoring. The aim is to draw up a suitable schedule. "I saved months of work and reflection thanks to Hectar Tremplin", says Julien Trassard, who now considers himself to be in phase with the three pillars of his agricultural project: "Improving yields using my IT skills while giving meaning to my activity.
Pinar and Gürkan Tekinsen, better together
This Turkish entrepreneurial couple plans to launch an organic egg production in La Manche. Their visit to Hectar Tremplin tested, transformed and validated their agricultural project.
From vibrant Istanbul to the green bocage of the Pays de Vire, there are thousands of kilometres and a few degrees less heat. "The climate of Normandy suits us very well, we love the rain", smiles Pinar Tekinsen, who convinced her husband Gürkan and their two children of a rather radical adventure: to give up a comfortable executive life in the Turkish capital to take over a farm in the Manche and to start an organic egg production. The creation of the farm is validated, the 3 ha farm already acquired and its renovation started, but the path to the right agricultural project took the diversions of Hectar. Fortunately," says Pinar, "we were lucky. The Hectar Springboard training course took us from beef farming to egg production. It showed us what was possible and what was not. We are entrepreneurs, but it is something else to be agricultural entrepreneurs, especially in a different country.
With Hectar Tremplin, the couple, aged 46 and 48, tested, transformed and validated a complete business project. Their mentor immediately introduced them to Marie, who owned a farm in their sector. These were fruitful and reassuring exchanges to solidify an economic model. For five weeks, the Tekinsens went through all the aspects of a sustainable business plan, especially marketing. Gürkan doesn't speak French very well yet, but he works quickly with figures," laughs Pinar. Hectar Tremplin has also given us the discipline necessary for a successful agricultural installation. By 2025, the whole family will be living on their farm in the Normandy countryside, the French-speaking children at university and high school, the parents busy with the chickens and selling their organic eggs. Far from Istanbul, but armed with a carefully thought-out agricultural project.
