Load Stations, the 50,000th company in Gard dreams of becoming a European leader

Paul Flatry et Virgile Arene, cofondateurs de Load Stations MIDI LIBRE – Dorian Cayuela

Fondée par deux anciens de Vinci Énergies à Nîmes, Load Stations illustre une collaboration réussie entre chambre de commerce et des entrepreneurs ambitieux désireux d’être accompagnés.

With its claimed ambition to become the European leader in software for managing electric car charging stations in Europe, the start-up is setting the bar high in Gard. Passed by the BIC Innov’up incubator of the CCI and in operation for two years in fact, the company chosen to embody the 50,000th company in Gard is the ideal example of what a well-supported young company can achieve.

A Gard success story

Followed since well before their registration by a business manager from the chamber of commerce, Virgile Arene and Paul Flatry successfully raised 1.2 million euros. They now have around fifteen employees and are still recruiting: here a computer engineer for the development of their products, or a bilingual management assistant for the opening of their market to the world. rsquo;international.

Since the end of 2023 they have finally marketed their hardware solutions (a box capable of transforming any domestic socket into a charging station and a smart socket so you no longer have to make expense reports to his employer) and logically hope for 2024 a turnover eight times higher than the previous one.
In short, they are in great shape!

The company has raised 1.2 million euros in two years of existence. FREE NOON – Dorian Cayuela

Choosing Gard to innovate: obvious ?

How do we manage to settle so quickly and so strongly in this department of Gard, what is the recipe? "We asked ourselves questions. We are ambitious entrepreneurs who created Load Stations on an idea: electric mobility accessible to all companies (the LOM law of 2019 requires all large companies to transition to a 100% electric vehicle fleet by 2030). And we want to do it massively and dynamically. So we first raised a lot of equity in this company, then we immediately put a lot of effort into it and then we were also supported by very competent people."

A strategy which, in order to succeed, in addition to an already well-developed network, therefore requires experts who are well versed in administrative procedures and already in contact with potential investors. Jacques-Thierry Monti, president of BIC Innov’up, the only incubation structure integrated into a CCI in France to date, explains that the primary role of this service is first ’ to ensure financing. He also keeps a close eye on political risks and economic opportunities. "Five years after their registration, 80 % of companies still exist, I believe that&rsquo ;we have a good success rate in Gard", analyzes Jacques-Thierry Monti again. Next step for the young Gard company ? "Develop the Moroccan market and distribute its solutions in the United States", reveal the two partners. A success story far from over