A graduate of ESTP, Matthieu Burin is passionate about renovation and everything related to architecture. This engineer managed to transform his passion into a startup with hemea. He looks back on his journey, from his childhood spent renovating the family farmhouse, to his daily life as an entrepreneur.
Matthieu Burin’s journey before hemea
Can you go back over your journey?
I trained as a construction engineer. I have always been passionate about this subject since I was little, when I spent my summers with my grandparents and saw their old farm gradually transform into a family farmhouse. When I was five, I painted the house! When I was little, I knew that when I grew up, I would create my own renovation company.
So I integrated the ESTP and I learned my skills at Bouygues Construction, in the south of France, then in London for a year. I participated in the renovation of the Vélodrome stadium and several high-end residences near Hyde Park and Regent’s Park.
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The beginnings of hemea
Was it after this experience that you launched hemea?
I’ve wanted to ride Hemea since I was a kid. In 2015, I was 24 years old and I gave it a go! At the time, several observations upset me. For example, 74% of French people believed that there was poor workmanship on their construction site. The sector was also very little digitalized and the way of carrying out work had changed little compared to what I did with my grandparents. I realized there was a really great value proposition and I didn’t want to have any regrets. I realized that similar startups were being created abroad and so I got started!
hemea, what is it?
It is an architecture and renovation studio. The objective is to support the consumer from A to Z on the work, from the design phase (plans, building permits, etc.), until the end of the project, including the selection of contractors. The consumer experience is simplified with the digital dimension. They can select materials or make secure payments directly on our platform. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The tip of the iceberg is the Pro Club that we have set up. We offer a complete range of services to simplify the lives of entrepreneurs. We serve as their business provider, purchasing center and offer business management software. We allow them to concentrate on what they know how to do: beautiful work.
Renovation work has a certain cost. How do you democratize this subject?
With hemea, we say that you can find cheaper elsewhere, but that the quality is not always there. We have the best quality-price ratio on the market with twice as many products and services as our competitors. This is the idea of accessible premium. In the end, a project that is well anticipated and well received is less expensive than a project that takes time, has material problems, etc.
Hemea news
The big news from hemea is the partnership with BARNES, specialized in high-end real estate. What does that change for you?
Today, we proved a lot of things with hemea. From now on, we also want to address a much more demanding clientele who own exceptional properties with BARNES Interiors. We will be able to increase the number of proposals and offer very personalized services for these owners.
As a manager, isn’t it frustrating to finally be disconnected from the field on a subject that you love?
Ultimately, I see lots of projects happening and I experience the projects through my teams. I remain a handyman and I do a lot of work at home. It’s fun. I’m very passionate and I love doing this. In the end, today, it’s not a job, it’s really a passion and being paid to follow your passion is really cool!
The future of Matthieu Burin’s startup
How do you see Hemea in a few years?
We already have 150 partner agencies, brokers and banks and we are convinced that the partnership with BARNES will create a breath of fresh air, which is why we have recruited someone on the subject. The strategic axis is clearly that of partnerships.
Do you intend to offer your service to businesses?
For the moment, we only deal with consumers. Their average basket is between €30,000 and €40,000. We also have our B2B2C approach which means that our clients are also the entrepreneurs who work with us. Today, the retail market is huge and we still have market share to eat. We are not targeting businesses at the moment.
What about international?
BARNES is one of the international leaders, but the market is still huge in France. BARNES, in France, there are 1,000 transactions each year on apartments worth two million euros. In France, the market is worth 40 billion and we first want to make our place in France.
