Founded in 2023 by two students from the Entrepreneurship and Project Management Master’s programme at Grenoble INP – IAE, UGA, Explora Production has established itself in the filming and broadcasting of outdoor sporting events.
When Jordan Mattrel and Hugo Lopez-Rios began their Master’s programme at Grenoble INP – IAE in 2022, they had yet to meet. What they did share was a desire to create their own business. Between the two years of their programme, they decided to combine their skills and found Explora Production, an audiovisual production company specialising in the filming and broadcasting of outdoor sporting events. “I originally had a project idea of my own, but Hugo’s won me over,” explains Jordan. Hugo was already running a drone-operating microbusiness and wanted to take his activity to the next level. Together with a third partner, a technician from the television industry, they gradually developed a business model focused on image production and live broadcasting for sporting disciplines that often receive little coverage from mainstream media.
The company really took off in March 2025 following the acquisition of business assets that included equipment and a client portfolio. This transaction enabled the team to become fully operational very quickly. “Our first season was extremely busy, particularly with cycling events,” Jordan recalls.
Based at Diderot Labs in Saint-Martin-d’Hères, Explora Production now works with associations, tourist offices, sports federations and clubs. Its services cover the entire production chain, from project assessment and filming to production control, image processing, the integration of real-time data and broadcasting across multiple platforms, including television and streaming services.
The company currently has three managing partners and one work-study student, with plans to expand its team as the business becomes more firmly established. Its revenue increased from €35,000 to €250,000 in one year, reflecting encouraging growth, although Jordan remains clear-eyed about the challenges ahead: “We still need to strengthen our organisation and reduce the impact of our activity’s pronounced seasonality.”
For the founders, the programme at Grenoble INP – IAE played an essential role in developing the project. “It gave us the foundations we needed to run a business, including accounting, law, finance and management skills,” Jordan emphasises.
The school and its wider ecosystem also supported the young entrepreneurs at several stages of their journey. They obtained student-entrepreneur status through PÉPITE Ozer, received a grant from the Grenoble INP Foundation for their initial investments and were subsequently supported by the Réseau Entreprendre network and Bpifrance during their fundraising round. This combination of support helped them navigate the first stages of their entrepreneurial journey with greater confidence.
After graduating in September 2024, Jordan and Hugo committed themselves full-time to the company. Their priority is to establish solid foundations for the young business, build customer loyalty and develop new markets, particularly in winter sports.
“Our ambition is not to grow at any cost, but to consolidate a sustainable business model rooted in our passion for images and sport,” Jordan concludes.
Their journey provides a concrete illustration of the purpose of the Entrepreneurship and Project Management Master’s programme: to train people capable of turning ideas into action and transforming opportunities into professional experience.
