Gaia Entrepreneur

Tancrède DU RÉAU, originally from Brittany, has followed multidisciplinary studies. First, he completed a master’s degree in history, then a DESS in Tourism and finally an MBA in Spain. He started his career in 2005 in marketing at Marionnaud, where he then worked as a CRM Manager until 2009.
In 2010, he founded his first company, Open Digital, which assists companies and institutions in their digital transformation by integrating digital into their marketing strategy, their business development and their communication. The company has 10 employees and is based in Nantes and Paris.
From 2018, he gets closer to some NGOs, which will mark a turning point in his vision of undertaking and acting. First, he gets involved as a donor for 1% for the Planet. Then, he became involved with Surf Rider Foundation as Head of the Loire-Atlantique branch.
But it is from 2019, with the foundation of Sorewards with his brother that Tancrède DU RÉAU really registers as a GAIA Entrepreneur by seeking at all costs to create value with positive impact.
Sorewards is then a company that seeks to create this value by setting up a device that gives a better use of the gift card, to become a universal and solidarity gift card that encourages patronage and donations to associations.

Podcast summary

During this podcast, Tancrède du Réau, founder of Sorewards, shared with us his activity and his point of view on sustainable entrepreneurship.
Sorewards was born out of the following observation: 20 to 30% of gift vouchers granted in France are not spent, in other words, lost. Faced with this major « waste », Tancrède du Réau, with the help of his brother, decided to create their company Sorewards.
The economic model of the latter, which must remain lucrative, is quite simple: to recover this money to benefit associations and NGOs. In order to make Sorewards economically viable, the company is remunerated by management fees imposed. Sorewards does not take a margin on unused gift vouchers. The entire amount is directly transferred to the various NGOs.
In order to collect these forgotten vouchers and gift cards, this company proceeds in two ways: through companies and also through beneficiaries. Companies that wish to do so can transfer their employees’ unused vouchers and gift cards directly to associations or NGOs. The second way is through the beneficiaries who decide to donate their vouchers themselves, even if the receiving company is not a partner. For the time being, most of the money comes from companies. However, Tancrède du Réau is convinced that the potential market of beneficiaries is much larger.
Another point addressed by the co-founder is about the notion of “responsible entrepreneur”, echoing the notion of the “Gaia entrepreneur”. According to him, an entrepreneur with an impact is an entrepreneur who is aware of his activity. He must know how to reconcile the notion of ecological responsibility, of course, but also human responsibility. You must know how to question your model, because, as he rightly pointed out, « When you have the why, you can go through any how »: this quote perfectly sums up the approach to adopt for an entrepreneur who wishes to make his activity part of a responsible approach. Moreover, it is necessary to stress that a responsible entrepreneur is not a perfect entrepreneur. However, he must be exemplary to show the way, to show that it is possible to do things differently. A Gaia entrepreneur has the capacity for resistance but also for resilience. You have to be convinced that the model you propose is the model of the future. You must know how to hold on, even in moments of doubt. Tancrède du Réau insisted on the need to be educational and transparent, especially when creating new and different models such as Sorewards, which may seem a little complex for donors but also for recipients. It is necessary to be convincing when faced with companies that capitalise on old models.

Podcast recorded by : Philippine BOUFFARD, Corentin BATTUT, , Chloé CAHART, Émile FIALIP, Florian MARTINOT, Juliette PLANTIVEAU