Compass is THE back-to-school project. The concept is simple, a discount card for 18-25 year olds, valid in Marseille. It allows you to benefit from tailor-made offers from quality partners. Behind this ambitious and totally trendy project hide three students driven by the idea of helping others. Through Compass, they intend to create various events to shake things up and change our world. It was in the heart of Marseille, at one of their partners, that we met. Discover the map through my exchange with Julien and Mathieu. We are certain, the map, once discovered, will not leave us.
Hello, can you introduce yourself?
Mathieu. I'm Mathieu and I'm 21 years old. I am a business school student at Kedge in Marseille. I set up my company with my two colleagues Julien and Ryan, the company Compass, discount card for 18-25 year olds in Marseille. Julian. And I'm Julien. I am in Kedge like Mathieu, in master. There, I am currently on gap year until December, I resume classes in January. And during my gap year, in parallel with the association in which I was, we created Compass.
Did the three of you know each other before?
J. So, Ryan and I knew each other, he's a childhood friend. Mathieu, we met in Kedge, so in September, last year, at the beginning of the school year in fact. And we were able to develop a friendship through work in progress, group work. Including one that focused on the project of a discount card for 18- to 25-year-olds. M. We were led to develop a project idea, and this idea with Julien we had from the beginning. We did it with the whole group and over time it germinated, it developed. There was Covid next door too, so it wasn't necessarily clear. With Julien, we were both in Marseille and we noticed that there was a need here. We ourselves are young and a student, we need discounts. So we thought: Why not get started!
So it fits into the framework of your studies?
J. So, not quite. In fact, basically, it comes from group work and then we wanted to launch it, really on our side, outside of class. To really create our company.
A project that you can keep after business school.
J. Exactly! There is really this parallel, between the school and our project. It is not necessarily on the same trajectory. M. It has really been developed separately. We started the company with Ryan, so there were three of us. And there, we really threw ourselves into the big bath.
How did the construction of the project actually go? How the relationships with partners went, you have big partnerships. Is it because of school or did you only go canvassing?
Mr. All three, yes. J. It was really done in parallel with school. We did not rely on the notoriety of Kedge or the fact that we are a student at Kedge, to do the canvassing. We went there as an independent almost, Compass. And we did a physical canvassing, all three of us, over almost four, five months. It took us a lot of effort, to go see all the partners, to maintain the relationship with them until signing a contract and setting up an offer with communication etc. So it was a long-term job. Since February, we are clearly on it, working.
So in the middle of Covid?
J. That's right. In February, we said, "We're launching the project." On April 1, the company was created. And from that moment, we were able to do the canvassing, quite simply, in Marseille and until mid-August. M. All summer, we didn't take a vacation (laughs). But it was a pleasure!
Did you know Marseille?
J. I arrived in Marseille a year and a half ago, in the third year after the baccalaureate. I was able to know a little bit about Marseille. But by canvassing, by trying to establish itself in Marseille with Compass, the city we know it very well now. 
Because it's true that to go see the key places in Marseille, the places where young people are used to going, you have to know a minimum of the city.
M. We got to know the city through canvassing, in addition to what we already knew.
There was a real work upstream on that.
J. This is. In fact, what must be said is that we did not go canvassing without having worked before. We did a huge prospecting on the internet, networks etc., to define the partners we wanted. By type of activity, whether bar, restaurant, leisure etc. And also by neighborhood, because we really worked a lot on neighborhoods. On not having two restaurants that have the same line of business. For example, two Thai people next door in the same neighborhood. We really worked on that.
It has four people who have launched a concept close to yours, it is Embassy Marseille with the Marseille identity card, which also gives right to discounts. Aren't you afraid that you will be assimilated a little bit to that. What makes you different?
Mr. No. So, we have a partner in common, it's Soccer 13 by Puma. But, they are not specialized in the same sectors of activity, they have different activities from ours. And there is no age limit. On the form, they also have discounts. But we are really for young people aged 18-25. Since you are between 18 and 25 years old, you directly reach a population you know. We ourselves needed to have reductions. We all know it, it's vital, because we do not necessarily have the purchasing power of a 30/40 year old person and we like to go out etc. So we wanted to help young people through our card.
Can you introduce us to the card and explain why it is called Compass?
J. For the name, we searched for a long time, because we wanted a name that was simple, effective and that we could remember easily. And Compass came. It is the translation of compass into English and compass can be assimilated to the direction, and the direction that the project can take. The fact of developing in other cities, after, for example. It can serve as a guide. It's a bit symbolic. Mr. The guide to good deals too, it guides to reductions. J. This is also the definition of compass in English. The compass that plants that delimits a geographical area, Marseille, and have reductions in this area, for the Marseilles. It's clearly taking root in Marseille, even if we're thinking of going to other cities. And if not the word pass that was also fine in Compass. M. For the card, it is a classic PVC card, where you have your name and surname. So, it is nominative. And there is a serial number, of course, to prevent any attempt at fraud. To benefit from the discounts, young people have their card and when they pay with one of our partners, they present the card to get the discount. With our 50 partners, there are permanent discounts. And on the back of the card there are 6 welcome offers in addition to the permanent offers they have all year round. He scratches it once, for example, at our partner Burger Papa , where they have for a burger bought, a burger offered, in addition to the 20% they have year-round. 
Can you tell us what sectors of activity there are?
M. We have bars, restaurants. We also have activities and leisure, daily life. For activities: gyms, soccer. J. Everything related to nautics, because we are in Marseille! M. We have daily beauty salons, phone repairs. The Boulanger store too, which allows you to buy household appliances. Young people sometimes need to buy a microwave. J. When you move into your new apartment, a small fridge. Mr. Bars, we have karaoke bars, pubs, a beer bar, concept bars, like here, since they also sell jewelry, bags and clothes. We also have the Rooftop, which is a disco.
Are they the same discounts wherever it has been negotiated with each partner?
M. We have seen with all our partners and we have tried to really have a multitude, a variety of offers, precisely that correspond to the place where they are. J. Discounts tailored to partners. Some cannot afford to make higher discounts than others. It is also according to the field of activity in which they are. M. Depending on what they offer, the type of drink, food. There, we adapt to make a nice offer, on what appeals to young people.
So it can go from a free drink, to -15 or -20%?
Mr. Exactly!
I buy the card. How do I use it concretely, if I want to drink here, for example?
J. All you have to do is have the card, go to the partner in question, go to the counter if there is one, present it and you can benefit from the discount. M. At the time of the bill, for example if the waiter or waitress comes to collect us. There, we present the card, and the price is adapted on the TPE. 
I don't need to have a QR code scanned, just under presentation of the card.
Mr. No. The QR code that is present is just for offers on the website. J. If we scan the QR code, it takes us directly to the site and we can see all the offers available with the card.
Can I order it all year round?
J. It can be ordered all year round and there are three ways to pick up the card. There is the means of delivery that allows you to recover it all year round, you can order it at any time. There is the BDE way. We are in partnership with student offices from different schools in Marseille. If you choose the option to pick up the card at your BDE, you just have to choose the BDE in question and then you can go and get it. So either they will do permanences, or they will be constantly, their premises, will be constantly open and in this case, we can recover the card, maybe all year round. And the last thing, there is also the permanence that we will do from September 22 at the Queen Victoria. The card can be pre-ordered and will be reserved for the Queen Victoria. The person can pick it up at our stand, without reservation. This is a bar on the Old Port. M. To also answer the question if we all sold at some point, I do not know if we will recommend any, but I do not think so.
Is there a limited stock?
M Yes, that's right, it's a limited stock.
How are the cards made and how quickly do I receive them?
M. The maps are already ready. They are manufactured by a supplier. For the delay, for pre-orders, they received their card September 20. They were able to use it from the first day it was available. Offers are available from September 20, 2021 to September 20, 2022, over one year. And in delivery, it's about four to five working days, a week. J. In BDE, it is according to how they, they manage to make their permanence to give them. So that's really specific to every student office.
It was you who gave them and then they manage?
J. That's right, we just have to have the number of cards that were ordered for the BDE and we give them back. Either we appoint directly, or it is the BDE that deals with it.
Why is the card paying, what is it mainly used for and why 15€?
M. It is paid because we necessarily have costs behind, production, website, all ancillary costs. There is also work. We've really been working on it since January/February. J. That's it. And then there is all the loyalty work we have done with our partners. That we will do all year round because there, the project has started concretely. All the prospecting work. We do this to offer discounts to people and that's the quid pro quo. I think that 15€ for all the offers that are on the card, it is something that is, that can be very very profitable over a year. It is a price that is very reasonable. And that more than covers our costs. M. For example, for the profitability Julien is talking about. On the back of the card, just the welcome offers, it is equivalent to 50 € offered for the card which costs only 15 €. The example I take most often is that of a person who does not have his license and who saves 300 € with the card. It's directly profitable, it's amortized. 
Are you thinking of developing other partnerships in Marseille during the year?
J. So, we have been in contact with more partners than the 50 who are there. Some could not set up the partnership now, for various reasons. They recommended that we come back in September or from September to discuss a partnership again. So for what seems interesting to us to add, yes, we will add them over the year. But the goal is still to keep a reasonable number of partners to be able to do all this loyalty work properly and to keep only qualitative offers.
Why did you choose this age group, 18-25 years old, and not just students?
J. We think that a person who comes out of his baccalaureate, will perhaps continue in his studies or not. She may start her own business or work for someone. She certainly has the same needs as a person who is a student, whether in DUT, college or school. So we put everyone in the same boat by giving the opportunity to have this card.
The Covid and the difficulties encountered by some students, it also motivated and pushed the project?
Mr. Clearly! The fact that there was student precariousness, among young people in general, it touched us. And we thought that there was even more of a need than usual, because there is always a need for young people. But there, the fact that there is Covid, it was really an extra motivation to help. And then, on the side of our partners, help them because they too have experienced difficulties.
Are you planning to repeat the experience next year? Will it take the same form or are you already thinking about a different version?
J. Yes, we would really like to be able to keep the project alive. In the same way with a card to present at our partners.
Next year and as many years as possible?
M. If it works and it still pleases, we will always be there to work as we do. It would be our pleasure. It already makes us happy to have feedback from young people who tell us "Oh that's a great idea", because we worked a lot on it, a lot of headaches, questions etc. 
Have you had feedback about the map, the instagram page or the website?
J. We were told that the idea was great and that people were happy to have it. Compared to the website, the feedback we have had is very good because it is quite clean, it is qualitative. Same for instagram. We tried to make something that differs a little from what we can see in general and to have a frame that follows all along. And that, too, really pleases. For the customer experience, the person who buys the card, who goes on Instagram, it is very readable for him, to discover all our partners and discover the offers.
You told me about it a little earlier, you would like to launch the project in other cities? Do you have a development plan, start with the cities around Marseille, or maybe where you come from?
M. If it works well, why not consider other cities. We had mainly thought of Aix-en-Provence which is next door and it is a common campus. So to be able to also allow the Aix and Aixoises to have the Compass card, which would allow them to have discounts on Marseille and Aix-en-Provence and vice versa for Marseillais, Marseillaises.
And why not in student cities, such as Toulouse, Lille …?
Mr. Yes, we would like to. We have little visibility on what we are currently doing in Marseille, we will have a little more in a few months. But of course, if it's possible, it could be a great experience since we'd go to cities we don't know to develop our business, so it would be nice. J. What also makes the difference is a question of proximity with our partners. When I was talking about loyalty, I think it's something that's very important in general for the project. So we can't have our heads everywhere and we must, I think, already focus on what we have there. And that we seek to develop it, to make it work well, that it pleases people, partners, all stakeholders and we will see to eventually develop it elsewhere.
See what it gives at the local level and why not, then, install it durably and even hire people, why not!
J. Very clearly!
Do you have a word for the end, for the readers?
Mr. Thank you for reading us, it's nice that readers liked the project because if they read these lines, it's because they liked it. And we hope they find the concept nice. We are happy to help young people! J. Do not hesitate to come to Marseille, it is a great city that deserves to be highlighted. Thanks to Julien and Mathieu, to Ryan who unfortunately could not be present. Thanks to the Double Je concept bar team. If you are from Marseille, do not hesitate to order your card on the Compass website, for others, you will have to wait a little! In any case, it is a project to follow very closely with three highly motivated entrepreneurs full of ideas. To follow them on instagram @cartecompass Allez l'OM, Allez Saint-Etienne!
