Launching a new venture: Dancefloor Paris
I’m writing this in English but you can find all the info en français here.
If you’re reading this, you probably know me as the former Head of Comms at STATION F, the biggest startup campus in the world (yes, still proud of that), or as an eFounders alumnae. If you’re French, you might even have read one of my novels (self promoting here, don’t blame me)! After a few months hidden in the mountains, it’s time for me to finally announce what I’ve been working on: Dancefloor Paris.
0 days experience in entrepreneurship, 20 years experience with the problem we’re solving
I’ve met my co-founder Fanny in a dance studio. We both have been dancing our whole lives. I’m the up-tight ballet dancer, she’s the groovy jazz dancer. As it happens, we were going to the same school, and we’ve been friends for 15 years now. Fun fact: Fanny’s little daughter’s name is… Rachel. We’re pretty close :)
Like thousands and thousands of young amateur dancers, we had to quit our ballet shoes when we started our corporate careers, because of time-management and a lack of proper offer. Fanny was a very successful business lawyer, I had my job and my books: dance studios didn’t offer either a good atmosphere or a flexible to maintain a dance practice.
This is why, a few months ago, we decided that the best way we could attend a provide the best amateur-dance-experience, is by opening our own!
We call it “Dancefloor” because we see dancing as a very festive practice. Yes, it is rigourous. Yes, it is hard. But no, you don’t need to be on a diet to dance. No, you don’t need to be a semi-pro to create a beautiful movement. We want to make dance (all kinds of dance: from ballet to hip hop, from jazz to voguing, from contemporary dance to salsa) accessible to everyone.
Today is our Day 0 as entrepreneurs, and it’s already a hell of a ride!
Building a retail business with a startup mentality
Fanny and I like to remind each other every day: “We sell tickets for dance classes”. Nothing AI- or machine learning-based. Pretty much nothing tech-based. Except that… The coronavirus crisis has striken.
In the course of a week, we went from real-estate negotiations for our studio, and discussions on what color to pick for the wall with our architect, to a global sanitary crisis and the collapse of the economy. We consider ourselves truly lucky that we didn’t have to close down (the opening is scheduled for the next few months), we didn’t have to fire anybody, and furthermore, we are in good health.
But 10 years of working in the startup industry builds habits! When talking to our community of dance teachers, and with our community of dancers, we realized that everybody needs to dance, especially during the confinement.
We both immediately decided to build an online platform so that our clients could take classes in their living rooms.
Because we need to show solidarity in times of crisis, we have decided that 100% of our benefits will be used to pay our teachers (and Dancefloor Paris guarantees a decent minimum / per class).
Dancefloor Paris’ online classes are now live!
We are extremely happy to announce that we are now live with a great selection of classes!
- Ballet, jazz, barre… Our teachers are dancers from the Paris Opera, Madonna or London Musicals, and they created classes especially for small spaces to be taken online
- Small groups doing classe LIVE for a “quasi” real experience
- Throughout the day, everyday, for all levels. And there’s even a Ballet class for kids!
This is our promo video, shot with iPhones in our apartments… Another example that under tight circumstances, you need to be creative ;)
Don’t worry, we’re still working on opening our physical space, just be patient (and confined!)
*English speakers: we have 2 classes taught in English, Jazz and 80’s Barre*
We launched with a special offer, so hurry up and dance with us!
Cheers
Rachel
