Program for 2022-2023

Mandatory Courses - Chair Seminars in T2

The 1st Chair seminar "Digital Disruption" IDSI31433 for 2022/2023 will be held on the first intensive week in T2; students should attend the seminar from the 2nd to the 6th of January 2023. The course is scheduled to happen on the campus of La Defense.

The seminar will be structured in three parts: 

1. The first part consists of an introduction to the Chair program in 2022/23. We will discuss the activities and expectations. 

2. The second and main part covers the fundamentals of Digital Disruption. There will be a blend of theoretical concepts, exercises, cases, and guest speakers to cover the topics. 

3. Finally, the third part introduces the topics for the group projects and the approach to conducting applied research (similar to consulting firms). The week will be intense and each moment will be important/mandatory to attend. 

Typically, "digital" topics discussed will range from current trends such as blockchain, Web3, Crypto, NFT, AI, and sustainable digital. 

The 2nd chair seminar, IDSI31435 , "Growth & profitability drivers for new tech business models" will be held on Wednesday evenings (4:30-7:30) in T2.

From marketplaces to agritech, from healtech to fintech, new business models have been disrupting each and every tech vertical. However, understanding the financial and regulatory drivers and risks of these new models is a whole new game.

The purpose of the seminar is to:

• Understand the ins and the outs of some key Tech verticals;

• Understand the unit economics that drive these key Tech verticals, and their valuations;

• Understand the business model risks and opportunities of these Tech verticals, from both a financial & legal perspective 

This 2nd seminar will be taught by Raphaëlle D'Ornano, founding partner of D'Ornano+Co, partner of the Chair.

The seminars are mandatory: if you are not available during the first week of January or on Wednesday evenings of T2, we recommend you apply to the Chair the following year.

Research Mission in T2

Following the Chair Seminar, you need to complete a tutored, group research project in T2. The subject will be provided to you by the Chair. 

The workload is about 1 full day of work per week over one term, so 80 to 100h total per student. It will be your responsibility to agree on meeting times with your group peers and tutors. It is mandatory to be certified by the Chair, and it validates 1 research UV, eventually 2 (if continued in T3).

Examples of subjects from the last years:

• BNPP - Insurance & the Metaverse (2022): starting from the current and anticipated usage of users on the Metaverse (including payment using crypto), map the needs and risks within the Metaverse, in order to formulate recommendations of insurance - using traditional insurance products, but also imagining new servicing beyond the current insurance paradigm."

• D'Ornano+Co - What Climate + Sustainibility KPIs for Tech business models? (2022) : The idea here would be to figure out and articulate the right climate KPIs to analyze in a relevant way Tech businesses on these issues. Across the core business models (SaaS, e-commerce, blockchain, etc.), the students would assess what are the right climate + sustainability KPIs to integrate in a financial/Ops due diligence framework.

• D'Ornano+Co - What playbook to build a SaaS Unicorn? (2022): The idea would be to work on a playbook figuring out the right Unit Economics to track to reach Unicorn (or Decacorn!) status. We would determine across – Lead acquisition – Lead to user/customer – user/customer to revenue – revenue to EBITDA – and EBITA to free cash-flow the right unit economics to be tracked to reach a 1b$ + valuation. This would build on 3 verticals within SaaS studied In class: enterprise SaaS – fintech – AI + ML.

• BNP PARIBAS - BUILDING A CREDIT CARD DIGITAL PAYMENT SOLUTION (2021): this is a product management & UX design mission. BNP Paribas, #1 bank in Europe, has launched a co-branded credit card with Accor Hotels, #1 hospitality player globally. The V1 of the card was launched in France and boasted numerous digital features, services and other benefits. BNP Paribas is preparing a V2 for other countries, and would like ESSEC students to work on the product creation and design of new innovative features, hand in hand with product owners, UX designers, and lawyers. This would be based in part on benchmarks of the best payment solutions on the market, while respecting the current product and brand environment of the Accor card & app. 

• D'ORNANO + CO - INVESTING IN E-COMMERCE & MARKETPLACE STARTUPS (2021): due diligence of tech startups remains wildly untapped. Depending on the type of technology, operational trends and risks greatly differ. Dornano+co has been pioneering that field vertical by vertical, but a lot remains to be achieved. You will work with the firm to build a dashboard that evaluates the trends and risks that shape the booming space of e-commerce startups, especially around "marketplace". Among other sources, you will use Nasdaq reports as operational and financial benchmarks, with a zest of legal risks as well. This mission is meant to be a deep dive into the strategy, business models and operations of marketplaces,  without getting too technical.

• BNP PARIBAS - Taking over the cleantech space (2020): cleantech have been a booming tech space in the last few years, pertaining to industries and trends such as smart cities, smart mobility, energy & infrastructure, circular economy, biodiversity, fintech & big data. BNPP investment banking wants to identify and evaluate cleantech startups on a certain number of criteria (business models, tech/licences, client base, market value...) to formulate strategic recommendations for the group: acquisitions, financing, participations, partnerships, joint projects, etc. in order for the company to add this to its portfolio of corporate products. This study will get you closer to the intersection of digital, investment banking, venture capital and private equity. 

• YOUTUBE - How can YouTube Premium win over the 18-24 (2019 & 2020) ? YouTube Premium launched last year with numerous features, including a music streaming service. The brand is liked by the 18-24, but the space is crowded and the offering complicated. YouTube wants to better understand the motivations and habits of this target to adapt its offering. 

• GOOGLE - What sustainable development strategy for Google Vs other tech giants (2020) : Google France wonders what should tech giants do to be perceived as credible by millennials when it comes to environmental issues. Think of all possible aspects, from narrative changes to product adaptation, etc, and make recommendations for Google France.

• FACEBOOK - The future of online messaging (2019): Facebook powers Messenger and Whatsapp, 2 of the most used messaging platforms. But this space is very competitive and millennials are very fickle: what does the future hold for online messaging? How can Facebook win the online messaging battle within the millennial group? 

• BNP PARIBAS - "future of online banking" (2018): HelloBank is BNP's 100% digital bank, geared towards millennials. How could BNP improve its business model and marketing for the years to come? 

• PINTEREST - "regional partnership strategy" (2018) : Pinterest needs content from publishers to grow (tourism, home & decoration, DIY, food...). What strategy could they set up in French key regions to attract, prioritize and grow an ecosystem of content partners? 

To go further... 

We highly recommend the following elective courses in the Grande Ecole/ Master in Management catalog:

• IDSI31343 Digital Transformation - Taught by Cap Gemini consulting

• IDSI31341 Digital Humanism

• MKGS31203/4 Digital Marketing Strategy

• ECOI31307: Digital Economics

• MGTE31409 : Cleantech Entrepreneurship & innovation

• IDSI31341: e-Business Strategy & Operations  

Other courses related to the chair topics:

• IDSI 31206 Applied Cybersecurity Strategy for Managers 

• IDSI 31208 / 9 Pilotage de projets digitaux 

• IDSI 31338 / 9  Website Creation / Creation de sites Web 

• IDSI 31377 Business Intelligence 

• IDSI31129 Database Management or IDSI31130 Base de Données 

• MGTE 31404 / 5 e-Business Entrepreneurship  (taught  in French)

• MKGS 31223 B2B Digital Marketing Management 

• MOPI31207 Operations and Technology Management 

• MOPP 31100 / 1 Supply Chain Management 

• DEVD31229: Intellectual Property Law and Digital Challenges

Former classes: check back your requirements