Time seems to rush by at full speed for the entrepreneur behind Alix, Cédric Lavergne. His business just recently officially launched, and he’s currently in the beta testing phase of his web platform. What is Alix exactly? A cutting-edge platform where users can hire various service providers to take care of their seasonal housecleaning and maintenance chores.
Coached by Cilex, the company launched officially in the first week of May. However, the Gatineau entrepreneur has been working for over two years on his innovative platform, which helps people book cleaning services in the Outaouais region for their homes, businesses and even their cars at the touch of a button.
Alix also lets entrepreneurs promote their own companies by offering their services through the new platform. Cédric Lavergne has made it his mission to build long-term partnerships with service providers, to help boost their business. Alix takes care of almost everything: from A to X. The service provider then takes care of the Y and Z, i.e., the labour and equipment needed for the task at hand. It’s a win-win situation for customers and companies, since the owners trying to grow their businesses can avoid having to spend a lot of time on administrative tasks.
“I truly believe that everyone deserves to strike a balance between their work and home lives, including business owners. That’s why Alix was designed to perform tasks for users and entrepreneurs through its innovative platform, which can cut the booking process in half for customers,” explained Cédric Lavergne.
Services offered include lawn care, hedge trimming, parking lot and house exterior cleaning, parking lot maintenance and repair, collection of bulky items, vehicle cleaning and tire changes. In the next few months, Mr. Lavergne would like to add window and gutter cleaning, as well as various car maintenance services. New options will also be added next winter such as on-demand snow removal.
“Let’s say you go on a trip during the summer, but you usually mow your lawn yourself… Alix will allow you to order customizable lawn mowing, so your yard will be well taken care of while you’re away. Alix also offers you the flexibility of not having to commit to a seasonal contract to access maintenance services,” added the young entrepreneur.
A Successful Collaboration
Cédric Lavergne freely admits that he needed help to figure out the proper way to launch a business, and to look further ahead and anticipate certain business decisions. That’s why he called upon Cilex’s expertise, after having researched his options online.
“First, I needed support and innovative ideas, as I was planning on applying for government grants. Cilex connected me with an amazing team of coaches and helped me develop a rewarding mentor-mentee relationship. I really needed someone to challenge my ideas, and to be able to speak regularly with another entrepreneur.”
Coached by innovation catalyst Farid Dagher, Cédric Lavergne is currently taking part in the 16-week Bootcamp program and is slowly building up for the next step, the one-year Aventure program.
“Launching a business by yourself is quite a challenge. You don’t really get any feedback. Cilex’s coaching also gives me access to a network of entrepreneurs, which means more business opportunities,” added Mr. Lavergne.
Additionally, being incubated at Cilex allowed the young business owner to validate his market research and then conduct surveys to better identify the needs of his customers.
“With the recent launch and its success far exceeding my expectations, I can now fully test the operational side of the platform with Farid. He’s helping me a lot with that. I have agreements with about a dozen service providers and have to evaluate customer satisfaction. I would like to one day offer close to twenty-five different services all over Quebec or even Canada,” added Mr. Lavergne.
The OSEntreprendre Challenge
On May 4th, the spotlight shone on Cédric Lavergne when Alix won the Business Creation section in the Technological and Technical Innovation category of the Outaouais OSEntreprendre Gala. He was also selected as a finalist to take part in the province-wide 24th Grand Prize Gala on June 8th at the Palais Montcalm in Québec City.
“The event really pushed me to flesh out my sales pitch and practice showcasing my business. I would like to have shareholders one day, so I have to sharpen my skills. Farid is a great help with that,” added the entrepreneur.
To learn more about Alix, visit their website at alixservices.ca.
Whether you are starting out or expanding, the Cilex team is there to help you achieve your technological innovation goals. A helping hand could push your project even further! Get in touch with our team to learn more about our various services and accomplishments.