The creation of natif.
natif. is an entrepreneurial and human adventure. By combining their ideas and skills, Laurent Stock and Thomas Rouvillain have given birth to natif., an ambitious project whose story deserves to be told.
In order to put natif. creation into words, what better way than to present it in the form of a podcast?
Entitled The Day Everything Changed, this three-part series traces the major steps that led to the birth of natif. with conversations, anecdotes and the feelings of the two partners, this podcast gives a voice to those who are usually behind the microphone.
1 - The impostor syndrome
March 16, 2020 marks for all French people the beginning of a period they will not soon forget: a strict confinement like none they have ever experienced before. But for Laurent, the pause button has not been pressed. If his business consulting activity has to come to an end, that leaves him plenty of time to try his new passion: podcasting.
He imagines a project around this audio medium. This was the beginning of the adventure " Si c'était mieux après," his first podcast. Every day for 40 days, an episode is released in which an entrepreneurial player from the region is interviewed.
An expert in communication and marketing, Laurent sees audio as a way to keep in touch with his loved ones and with people. He is listened to, his audience is growing, he has found his voice. But the confinement will eventually come to an end... That day comes on 11 May 2020.
2 - The big jump
For Laurent, the return to a normal life marks the moment to develop his project. In the same vein as Si c'était mieux après, the Learning Expedition in Hauts-de-France presents portraits of entrepreneurs and figures from the region.
With this new series, he became known, his audiences swelled, his clients recognised his know-how and even asked him to help them create audio content...
But what really triggered the natif. project was an encounter. Thomas Rouvillain, an expert in sound and its uses, provided valuable assistance to Laurent as he delved into the world of audio. When Laurent had the idea of building a company dedicated to podcasts and audio, he immediately thought of Thomas.
Both aware of the importance of the podcast format, they delved into the subject. Specialists in communication and marketing on the one hand and experts in sound creation on the other, Laurent and Thomas form the perfect duo to undertake such a project. Finding a name, working on the brand, canvassing, analysing the market... They studied the issue extensively... Until 19 February 2021, which officially marked the birth of natif.
3 - The project comes to life
On 19 February 2021, natif. was born. In today's entrepreneurial ecosystem, the time is ripe for transformation: digital and ecological transition, new sustainable development issues... The world of work is changing, and communication methods must evolve.
The challenge is to get employees involved. To do this, employees must be heard: this is the challenge of thenatif. application. By proposing to break the verticality of internal communication within companies through audio, Laurent and Thomas are entering a field that has not yet been explored.
The development of an application is organised with development sessions, design sprints in order to shape the functionalities, test phases, etc. It was on 6 January 2022 that what the two entrepreneurs had been working on for several months became a reality: the natif. application was available for download.
But the natif. application is still in its infancy. Thomas and Laurent have big ambitions and dream of going international. If the road is still long, the team, now numbering 5, is proud of the road already travelled, and is only waiting to discover what the future will bring...