Business Cool

What Business Cool does

Business Cool is a French digital media platform operating under the legal entity Up2School SAS (registered in Versailles, France, with a registered address at 5 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 78280 Guyancourt). Founded in 2016 and operating with a team of approximately 7 people, the platform serves as a specialized editorial and resource destination for French students and prospective candidates navigating the country's Grande École ecosystem, covering business school admissions (concours AST, Parcoursup), program rankings (PGE, MSc, MBA, Bachelor), career guidance, salary benchmarking, and entrepreneurship content. Its core audience comprises French high-school students, undergraduates, and young professionals seeking admissions prep, career direction, and salary transparency, while its commercial customers are French and international business schools, higher-education institutions, and companies that buy advertising, sponsored content, and lead-generation packages.

The product surface centers on the WordPress-hosted business-cool.com website, supplemented by the "So Biz" podcast distributed across Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Deezer, and Amazon Music, plus a suite of practical tools including the AST concours preparation guide (a gated email-capture lead magnet), a French salary comparator by sector/region/gender, an economic dictionary ("Le Dico de l'éco"), and a Toolbox of templates for cover letters, pitch decks, and budget simulators. Content is distributed free to consumers and monetized exclusively through advertising and sponsorship sold to business schools and corporate partners. The platform maintains active social channels on Facebook (41,000+ likes), Instagram (11,000+ followers), LinkedIn (10,500+ followers), TikTok (12,400+ likes), YouTube (450,000+ views), and Twitter (3,700+ followers), and is part of the 2Empower network alongside Major-Prépa, AuFutur, Capitaine Study, and La Méta. Business Cool holds media-partnership status with the CGE, CNJE, and BNEM — the principal institutional bodies of the French Grande École and junior-enterprise ecosystem — which underpins its editorial credibility and audience access.

Name

Business Cool

Legal name

Up2School

Website

https://business-cool.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Business Cool is a French digital media platform, operated by Up2School SAS, that provides editorial articles, school rankings, salary data, podcasts, and admissions-prep tools to French students and prospective business school candidates, monetized via advertising and sponsorships from business schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Media and Career Content

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Business school rankings
• Career guidance media
• Salary benchmarking data
• Student editorial content
• Grande École admissions

Headquarters

HQ city

Guyancourt

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Advertising and Sponsorship: Business Cool generates revenue by monetizing its audience of students and young professionals through display advertising, sponsored content, and brand partnerships with business schools and companies. The partners page and extensive coverage of schools indicates schools and companies pay for visibility and promotion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Business Cool is a French online media platform that publishes free editorial content covering business schools, careers, salaries, and entrepreneurship for French students and prospective Grande École candidates. The offering combines written articles, rankings, the 'So Biz' podcast series, salary benchmarking tools, an economic dictionary, the Toolbox (budget simulators, pitch generators, cover letter templates), and downloadable guides (e.g., Concours AST preparation), monetized through advertising and brand partnerships with business schools and companies.

Product overview

Business Cool is a French online media and content platform targeting business school students and prospective candidates. The offering consists of a unified content platform delivering editorial articles, rankings, podcasts, and practical tools. Core content includes business news (Actu Business, Actu Écoles), career resources (Recrutement, Vie Pro), and educational materials across topics like salary data, entrepreneurship, and international opportunities. The platform supplements editorial content with practical resources including salary comparison tools, economic dictionaries, budget simulators, cover letter templates, and entrance exam preparation guides. Content is distributed across multiple formats including written articles, the 'So Biz' podcast series, and downloadable resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Cool Website The core owned-and-operated online media platform (business-cool.com) that publishes French-language editorial articles, rankings, news, and resources covering business schools (PGE, MSc, MBA, Bachelor programs), career guidance, salary data, entrepreneurship, and student life. Free to access, monetized via advertising and sponsorships.
• Business Cool Podcast (So Biz) Podcast series featuring interviews with French entrepreneurs and business leaders (including founders of Tediber, Lydia, and Luko), distributed via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Deezer, and Amazon Music. Episodes cover startup stories, business lessons, and career insights.
• Classement Salaire Moyen France Comprehensive salary data resource providing average and median salaries in France by sector, region, job type, and demographic factors, including gender pay gap analysis. Targeted at students benchmarking career outcomes.
• Le Dico de l'éco Online economic dictionary helping students and readers understand business and economic terminology.
• Toolbox Collection of practical downloadable and online tools for business school students, including budget simulators, pitch generators, and resume/cover letter templates.
• Concours AST Preparation Guide Free downloadable guide helping candidates prepare for AST entrance exams that grant parallel admissions access to French business schools. Distributed as a lead magnet in exchange for email sign-up.
• Lettre de Motivation Templates Templates and structured guidance for writing motivation letters (lettres de motivation) for business school and program applications.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HEC PariscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHEC Paris is listed as a business school partner on Business Cool's partners page. The platform publishes news, rankings, and content related to HEC Paris programs, admissions, and events, serving as a content marketing channel for the school.
• ESSEC Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerESSEC Business School is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers ESSEC news, double-degree programs (e.g., with CentraleSupélec and Columbia), and campus developments as part of its editorial coverage.
• ESCP Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerESCP Business School is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers ESCP's European model, international partnerships, and student activities.
• EDHEC Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEDHEC Business School is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers EDHEC admissions, rankings, and student events.
• emlyon business schoolcoreGTM or Marketing Partneremlyon is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers emlyon news, new program directors, and student associations.
• SKEMA Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSKEMA Business School is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool regularly covers SKEMA's international agreements, scholarships, and academic programs.
• NEOMA Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNEOMA Business School is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers NEOMA's international partnerships (e.g., with Columbia, Cornell, McGill, Caltech), scholarship programs, and strategic plans.
• KEDGE Business SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerKEDGE Business School is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers KEDGE's international programs, strategic plans, and student associations.
• AudenciacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAudencia is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers Audencia's luxury brand partnerships, podcast launches (L'Entreprenariat pour tous), and ISO-certified junior enterprise.
• INSEADminorGTM or Marketing PartnerINSEAD is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers INSEAD's MBA program transformations and rankings.
• Grenoble EMminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGrenoble EM is listed as a business school partner. Business Cool covers GEM's programs, new PGE director appointments, and hosts events like Hult Prize.
• CNJE (Confédération Nationale des Junior-Entreprises)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNJE is listed as a partner organization. Business Cool actively covers junior enterprise news, the legal statute inclusion in law, CNJE president interviews, and CNJE-organized events. The platform serves as a media channel for the JE ecosystem.
• CGE (Conférence des Grandes Écoles)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGE is listed as a partner organization. Business Cool covers CGE's 50th anniversary, accreditation missions, lobbying activities, and annual congresses, positioning itself as a media partner for the organization.
• BNEM (Bureau National des Étudiants en école de Management)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBNEM is listed as a partner organization. Business Cool covers BNEM's student representation activities, ecological surveys, anti-discrimination charter, and podcast launches. The platform provides editorial coverage supporting BNEM's mission.
• 2Empower NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBusiness Cool is part of the 2Empower group alongside Major-Prépa, AuFutur, Capitaine Study, and La Méta. This network provides cross-promotion and referral traffic between complementary student-oriented platforms.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• AuFutur: Another 2Empower network property targeting prospective students with school and orientation content. Closely overlaps with Business Cool's audience and editorial themes.
• Major-Prépa: Direct peer as a sister property in the 2Empower network targeting prépa students preparing for business school admissions. Same GTM and audience base.
• Diplomeo: French online student-media platform covering schools, formations, and student life with an SEO-led content model. Directly comparable publishing-oriented business.

Broad incumbents

• Studyrama: Long-established French student media platform with editorial guides, salon events, and school advertising. Competes for the same advertising revenue from French business and engineering schools.
• Glassdoor (France): Global salary-and-employer-review platform with strong French user base and a content-led SEO strategy on French career keywords. Notable comparator on salary data and employer content.
• L'Étudiant: Le Monde Group's flagship student media property covering orientations, formations et vie étudiante. Direct competitor on school rankings and admissions content, but with vastly greater scale and a broader audience than Business Cool's niche French business-school focus.
• Indeed (France): Global job platform extending into editorial career guidance in France. Overlaps with Business Cool's recruitment content and competes for the same mid-funnel audience.
• Les Échos Start: Les Échos' student/young-professional editorial vertical covering career guidance, school rankings, and salary data. Comparable audience and B2B monetization model.

Emerging players

• Welcome to the Jungle: French-born employer-branding and career-content platform targeting young professionals and students. Overlaps with Business Cool's career-guidance audience and competes for employer/school sponsorship budgets.
• JobTeaser: Student- and graduate-focused recruitment and content platform with strong integrations into French universities and business schools. Comparable audience, comparable B2B monetization (school/employer sponsorship).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BusinessCoolFR
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/BusinessCool
• Facebookfacebook.com/business.cool2
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/business-cool-2empower
• Instagraminstagram.com/businesscoolfr/?hl=fr
• TikToktiktok.com/@businesscoolfr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Business Cool