At the Cagni Foundation C4, we believe that tomorrow’s entrepreneurs have a responsibility to deliver effective and lasting solutions to today’s major challenges (climate, energy transition, education, health, etc.).
This is why, since 2014, we have been funding scholarships for students at the NYU Stern School of Business. These scholarships enable them to complete a semester of academic and entrepreneurial immersion at HEC Paris, fully integrated into their degree program.
The semester begins with participation in the HEC Paris Startup Launchpad, a startup creation accelerator founded in 2016 by Guillaume le Dieu de Ville. Designed for HEC Paris students developing a startup project, the Launchpad offers an intensive 11-week program based on a “learning by doing” approach. Participants gain cutting-edge startup-building methodology, proven operational tools, and a deep understanding of what it takes to launch in real markets, through close interaction with experts, coaches, mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs from the ecosystem.
The semester then continues with an immersion at the HEC Paris Incubator at Station F, where NYU students further develop their skills by becoming the right-hand support to a startup CEO. This experience allows them to broaden their entrepreneurial perspective, from working methods to how European markets operate, while acquiring the key skills needed to launch and grow their own venture.
Video on the Launchpad Design Sprint, which features Aradhya Jain (Cohort 2025).
Jared Tansimore (2023): “Every section of the program is very interesting because you move through your ideation & building a product, the sales, the whole process for entrepreneurship.”
