Booklink

Creation date: 2024
Field: digital application
Status: microenterprise
Website: booklink.fr
Support: Clermont Auvergne Pépite
Awards: Trophées des Entreprises du Puy de Dôme 2024

meeting with:

Angélique Carreno, creator of the Booklink application
>> her LinkedIn

From her home office, Angélique Carreno has fashioned Booklink, a new kind of dating app… Literary! Available on all stores since summer 2024, Booklink already recorded 15,000 downloads 6 months after its release. Here’s the story of a motivated, determined and passionate entrepreneur.

From medical school benches to Booklink

Summer 2022 – Angélique C. just misses her first year of medical school. Examination of conscience. Questioning her career plans. “I asked myself what kind of person I wanted to become. What I really liked was reading. But nobody around me read. Or very little. Who could I recommend my latest discovery to? Who could I turn to for advice before buying this book? With whom could I discuss this moving story?” She had found her horizon: to share her love of books and bring together a community of readers to discuss them. In concrete terms, her ambition would take the form of a Tinder-inspired app. Except here, the match would be a book.

For easier, more engaging reading

And to come up with these matchless recommendations, Booklink relies on the reading preferences of its users. Novels, biographies and memoirs, essays, SF and fantasy, thrillers, travel and adventure, short stories, manga, comics, large format or paperback, the length of the book… Enter your preferences before setting off in search of the book best suited to your tastes and desires. Swipe left: no thanks! Swipe down: already read! Swipe right: it’s a match!

And on Booklink, you can see what others are reading, what they recommend. Each reference is associated with a discussion page, a bit like an Instagram post: you can interact.

Aplomb and a unifying enthusiasm

Autumn 2023 – As a student entrepreneur, Angélique C. is fighting two battles at once: obtaining her degree in psychology, which she is pursuing through distance learning, and launching Booklink. She’s thrown herself into the entrepreneurial adventure in an unconventional way. Improvised audits at the Jardin Lecoq to test her idea, graphic identity and initial developments entrusted to students like herself.
Above all, Booklink is a very personal brand. “ Ihad no specific training, no network, no money. I did it my way, I broke the codes.”

The formula works! She joined the Damier and Busi incubators and was soon selected by Pépite, the student entrepreneurial network.

“I quickly gained access to cultural managers. I made my mark locally. That’s where I acquired the credibility, legitimacy and network to move up to the regional and then the national level. Now when I take part in events, people (re)know me.”

The strength of the user community

To raise awareness of her project and gain visibility, Angélique C. relies on social networks. “We post very regularly on Insta and TikTok. It takes a lot of rigor and determination.” But it’s all worth it: her first video had over 300,000 views! This has enabled him to build up a community that is now highly invested. The proof: Booklink raised €8,500 (out of the €4,000 hoped for) during its crowdfunding campaign – with over 60% of donations coming from the general public.

The loneliness of the entrepreneur? “I work alone, but I’ve always been accompanied. Right from the start. The hardest part is working without seeing the direct benefits. A lot of questions go unanswered for months on end. And then one day: the meeting that clears everything up. Patience is the key. I plant seeds everywhere and wait for them to bloom!”

Matcher with independent bookshops?

“Right now, I’m concentrating on my first product market fit. In other words: finding and validating its business model. “I’m still testing the waters. One thing’s for sure: it won’t involve a paid app. “I don’t want to fall into the trap of the super-cool app that turns out to be really lame if you don’t buy the extra features.”
Partnerships with publishing houses? Angélique C. is exploring the vein: she works with some of them to create booktrailers. “Short video formats in which I insert visual and sound animation, and my voiceover pitching the book. I post them on my Instagram and TikTok accounts. And the community relays.”

Affiliation with online retailers? Conversion rates are far too low for this to be profitable. Besides, Angélique C. is thinking more along the lines of developing collabs with independent bookshops. Soon you’ll be able to click on your favorite book and find the bookshop nearest you that carries it.