What Les Premières AURA does

Les Premières AURA is a non-profit business incubator founded in 2011 in Lyon, France, dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs and mixed-gender teams across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Operating as part of the national Fédération Les Premières network (which traces its origins to 2003 and encompasses 15,000+ entrepreneurs across France), it delivers a full-lifecycle program portfolio spanning idea testing (START, CHOOSE), validation (TICKET), company creation (GO, GO LIVE), growth (BOOST, PLAY), and business takeover (SWITCH), alongside specialized tracks for Deep Tech researchers (START(H)ER, TECH TRANSF(H)ER) and entrepreneurs in priority urban neighborhoods (1ères de Cordée). The incubator accompanies approximately 80 projects and startups per year and reports an 85% three-year company survival rate.

Program delivery is driven by a small core operational team (3 staff: Directrice Générale Marie Trouhet, Directrice de l'incubation Daphné Thomas, and Office Manager Caroline Kampf) supplemented by a volunteer board of 11 administrators and a network of roughly 80 mentors, coaches, and experts. The organization operates from a headquarters at 1 Boulevard Jules Favre in Lyon (which houses the Les Co-workeuses coworking space with 6-12 coworking places and shared offices for four) and a branch in Grenoble co-hosted with the Chaire FERE at Grenoble Ecole de Management. Its technology footprint is administrative rather than proprietary, relying on Airtable-based application intake, a public website, blog, and social channels rather than a platform product.

Revenue is generated from coworking subscriptions (€139/month Nomade, €159/month Fixe, €179/month shared bureau), meeting room hire (€200/half-day), annual membership dues, and program participation, with the bulk of operating support coming from public and private partners — Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bpifrance, Métropole Grand Lyon, DRDFE Rhône, Préfecture de l'Isère, Orange, Caisse d'Epargne, Fidal, In Extenso, Femmes Business Angels AURA, BNP Paribas, AG2R La Mondiale, and academic/SATT partners (Pulsalys, Chaire FERE). As a non-profit association (association loi 1901), any surplus is reinvested into the mission; financial figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Les Premières AURA

Legal name

Les Premières Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Website

https://lespremieresaura.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Les Premières AURA is a Lyon-based non-profit business incubator that supports approximately 80 women-led and mixed-gender startups per year in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region through structured incubation and acceleration programs, expert mentorship, and a dedicated coworking space.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Incubation and Entrepreneurship Support

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Women entrepreneurship incubator
• Business incubation programs
• Startup acceleration services
• Entrepreneurship coworking space
• Business support programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Incubation and acceleration program fees: Revenue is generated through structured programs for women entrepreneurs and mixed teams at various stages of business creation and development. As a non-profit association (association loi 1901), any surplus is reinvested into the mission.
2. Coworking space rental (Les Co-workeuses): Monthly subscriptions for coworking and shared office memberships at Les Co-workeuses, a women-focused coworking space in Lyon. Options include Nomade (139€/month), Fixe (159€/month), and shared bureau (179€/month). Meeting room hire at 200€ per half-day.
3. Membership dues (adhérentes): Annual membership fees for entrepreneur members who join the association and community, used to fund governance and community activities.
4. Event and workshop access: Free workshops and Ambition Days are offered; however, these are used as acquisition and community-building tools to funnel entrepreneurs into paid programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Les Premières AURA is a non-profit association that operates as the first women's entrepreneurship incubator in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. It provides structured programs across the full lifecycle of business creation — from idea to scale — for women entrepreneurs and mixed teams, complemented by a coworking space (Les Co-workeuses), mentoring, and community events in Lyon and Grenoble.

Product overview

Les Premières AURA is an incubator and accelerator for women entrepreneurs and mixed teams in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The organization operates as a non-profit association (created 2011) offering a portfolio of structured programs: startup validation programs (START, TICKET, GO, SWITCH, CHOOSE, GO LIVE) for aspiring entrepreneurs; growth programs (BOOST, PLAY, 1ÈRES DE CORDÉE) for existing entrepreneurs; Deep Tech bootcamps (START(H)ER, TECH TRANSF(H)ER) for scientific entrepreneurs; and a coworking space (LES COWORKEUSES) in Lyon. The ecosystem also includes events like Ambition Days, workshops, and Funding Week for financing education. The organization is part of the national Les Premières federation (founded 2003) supporting 15,000 entrepreneurs across France.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GO: 6-month program to structure your project and create your company
• START
• TICKET
• SWITCH
• BOOST
• PLAY
• CHOOSE
• Les Ambition Days
• Funding Week
• Les Co-workeuses
• START(H)ER
• TECH TRANSF(H)ER
• 1ères de Cordée

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Région Auvergne-Rhône-AlpescoreOthersRegional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a key public backer of Les Premières AURA, supporting the incubator's mission to promote women's entrepreneurship across the AURA territory. Listed as a partner in the national network.
• DRDFE Rhône (Direction Régionale aux Droits des Femmes et à l'Égalité)coreOthersThe regional directorate for women's rights and equality is a key institutional partner supporting the promotion of women's entrepreneurship in the Rhône department.
• Métropole Grand LyoncoreOthersGrand Lyon metropolitan area supports Les Premières AURA as a key partner for fostering entrepreneurship and gender equality in the Lyon metropolitan territory.
• Préfecture de l'IsèreminorOthersThe Isère prefecture supports Les Premières AURA's activities in the Grenoble territory.
• Grenoble Alpes MétropoleminorOthersGrenoble Alpes Métropole supports Les Premières AURA's presence in the Grenoble area.
• OrangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrange is a long-standing private partner of Les Premières AURA. Sophie Marchand (Directrice Projets Innovants Orange) serves on the board of directors. Orange provides hosting for events (e.g., Funding Week at Orange's SKY56 Business Center) and ongoing support for women entrepreneurs.
• FidalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFidal is a major French law firm providing legal expertise to Les Premières AURA's programs. Lawyers from Fidal led sessions on fundraising legal structures and hosted Funding Week Day 2 at their offices. Jessica Lescure (Avocat — Propriété intellectuelle) and Aurélien André serve as expert instructors.
• In ExtensocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn Extenso is an accounting and business advisory firm providing financial expertise to Les Premières AURA. Edith Vannobel (Expert-comptable associée) sits on the board of directors. In Extenso hosted Funding Week Day 1 and contributes experts on business planning and financing.
• PulsalyscoreTechnology or IntegrationPulsalys is a Technology Transfer Office (SATT) in Lyon-Saint-Étienne that supports the transfer of academic research to industry. Partner in Deep Tech bootcamps (START(H)ER) targeting women researchers wanting to launch startups from their scientific work.
• Chaire FERE (Femmes et Renouveau Économique) — Grenoble Ecole de ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe FERE Chair (Women and Economic Renewal) at Grenoble Ecole de Management is an academic research and action unit dedicated to women's entrepreneurship. Séverine Lelorne-Lemaire (Chair holder) serves as President of Les Premières AURA. The Chair co-hosts the Grenoble antenna of Les Premières AURA and co-organizes Deep Tech programs.
• La French TechminorOthersLa French Tech is a national initiative supporting French tech ecosystems. Partnered with Les Premières AURA to promote women's participation in tech entrepreneurship.
• FTA lps (French Tech Alps)minorOthersFrench Tech Alps is the regional chapter of La French Tech covering the AURA region's Alpine territory, supporting Les Premières AURA's ecosystem presence in Grenoble and surrounding areas.
• Réseau EntreprendreminorOthersRéseau Entreprendre is a network of entrepreneur patrons supporting business creation. Rodolphe Pasquier-Desvignes from Réseau Entreprendre participated in Funding Week 2020 to discuss honor loans and business support.
• APECminorOthersAPEC (Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres) supports Les Premières AURA entrepreneurs with executive recruitment advice. Jean-Marc Menigoz (APEC) provides expertise on recruitment paths as an expert for the incubator.
• CCI Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesminorOthersChambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes supports Les Premières AURA as part of the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem.
• Digital CampusminorOthersDigital Campus is a digital education institution supporting Les Premières AURA as an educational ecosystem partner.
• INSEEC Grande ÉcoleminorOthersINSEEC is a French business school and higher education institution supporting Les Premières AURA's ecosystem.
• Grow UpminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrow Up is a startup support organization. Ruben Lopez (Co-founder of Grow Up) delivers financing expertise as an expert at Les Premières AURA's Funding Week program.
• INPIminorOthersINPI (Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle) supports Les Premières AURA entrepreneurs with intellectual property guidance as part of the broader entrepreneurship ecosystem.
• SVPminorOthersSVP provides business expertise and advisory services supporting Les Premières AURA's ecosystem of resources for entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Force Femmes: French non-profit supporting women over 45 in professional transition (employment, entrepreneurship). Comparable non-profit structure and women-focused mission, though targeting a different demographic segment.

Direct peers

• Ronalpia: Lyon-based incubator for social and solidarity economy entrepreneurs. Comparable mission (supporting impact-driven founders), regional base, and incubation program structure, although gender-neutral.
• La Ruche: France-wide network of coworking spaces and incubators for impact entrepreneurs. Close comparability on physical workspace + incubation model and impact-driven mission, with a wider geographic footprint.
• WILLA: French non-profit supporting women entrepreneurs through accompaniment, training, and community. Targets the same women-entrepreneurship segment in France with similar lifecycle and community-based programs.
• H7 (Lyon): Lyon-based startup campus and accelerator serving entrepreneurs in the same city. Direct local competitor for entrepreneur mindshare, corporate partnerships, and visibility within the AURA region.
• Bond'Innov (formerly Paris Pionnières): Paris-based women's entrepreneurship incubator and the original 'Les Pionnières' chapter. Direct sister-organization in the national women's entrepreneurship support landscape, very comparable mission, program structure, and target audience.

Regional players

• 1kubator: Lyon-based digital and tech startup accelerator. Comparable regional role and incubation services, but focused on tech/digital ventures rather than women-led impact businesses.

Broad incumbents

• Station F: Paris-based world's largest startup campus. Not a perfect peer but a benchmark for French early-stage incubation scale; offers overlapping programs (e.g., Founders Program, Fighters Program) that compete for the same pool of French entrepreneurs.
• France Active: National network financing and supporting social enterprises and solidarity-economy entrepreneurs. Broader mandate and scale, but overlaps with Les Premières AURA's mission of supporting impact-driven business creation through financing and accompaniment.

Others

• Fédération Les Premières (national): The parent federation of which Les Premières AURA is a regional chapter. The most direct strategic counterpart — shares brand, mission, and national federation structure; coordination and overlap shape Les Premières AURA's positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LesPremieresAuvergneRhoneAlpes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/incubateur-les-premieres-aura
• Instagraminstagram.com/lespremieresaura/?hl=fr

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 Les Premières AURA