Entrepreneurs of the Week: Pauline Faivre and Astrid Parmentier (H.19) bring daycare centers into nursing homes

Since 2019, Pauline Faivre (H.19) and Astrid Parmentier (H.19) have been building a network of intergenerational daycare centers located within nursing homes. Their socially driven venture, Tom & Josette, is gaining momentum. A closer look.

Arriving straight from central Paris one morning, Pauline Faivre parks her bicycle and carefully removes her shoes before stepping into a micro-daycare center in the city’s western suburbs. The co-founder of the Tom & Josette network has come to check that everything is running smoothly in this bright, spacious room scattered with toys. She greets the eight curious toddlers present that day, along with their two childcare assistants. Through the window stands a vast and elegant building — the Villa Beausoleil nursing home.

Putting older people back at the center of society

Born in Thailand, where she lived for eight years, Faivre grew up in what she describes as “a culture where older people are deeply respected.” “It left a strong impression on me,” she says. “I have great affection for older generations.” She regrets social norms that tend to sideline the elderly. “Older people are wells of kindness and knowledge, but they have been made to lose confidence in themselves.” She recalls her grandmother — “incredible, still very sharp” — who once told her: “Your project is lovely, but you know, I don’t have much to offer anymore.”

At 27, Faivre does not fit the typical entrepreneurial mold. Before launching her company, she studied family and intergenerational relationships through psychology. Passionate about the topic, she enrolled at the École des Psychologues Praticiens in 2012. “I was fairly confident, but I didn’t see myself becoming a clinical psychologist. I was more drawn to sociology and philosophy.” She later completed a nine-month internship at the CNRS with sociologist Christine Castelain Meunier.

From psychology to entrepreneurship

Drawn to the business world through brands like Michel et Augustin, which she says “bring joy and optimism,” she joined the start-up Lemon Learning after graduating. Its CEO, Pierre Leroux (M.14), a graduate of the HEC Entrepreneurs program, hired her in sales. Together they navigated the ups and downs of a SaaS e-learning company. “He supported me a lot and helped build my confidence,” she recalls.

Encouraged by the experience, she enrolled in the X-HEC Entrepreneurs master’s program. “It was one of the best years of my studies. The diversity in the class was striking — polytechnicians, doctors, pharmacists, aerospace engineers…”

While a few daycare initiatives in nursing homes already existed, they were the first to aim at building a network. In 2019 they launched Tom & Josette — Tom after Pauline’s younger brother, Josette after a fellow resident at Astrid’s grandmother’s nursing home.

A non-hierarchical approach

Their first center opened in Rennes in 2020 — one week before France’s second lockdown. “We trusted the teams we hired,” Faivre reflects. At the same time, scandals involving mistreatment in nursing homes and daycare centers were making headlines. Against this backdrop, Tom & Josette’s model attracted public and media attention. “Nursing homes were very receptive. We built many partnerships over two years.”

Not everyone is immediately convinced. Faivre’s background in psychology and sociology helps address parental concerns. “Families sometimes have a negative perception of nursing homes, and bringing children into that environment can raise fears.” Encounters are carefully supervised through shared snacks and creative workshops.

Another challenge is mutual awareness between childcare workers and nursing-home staff. “Directors are often overwhelmed and lack time for communication. Some staff members don’t even know a daycare operates in the building.” To address this, the founders created a support program and a Tom & Josette Academy to train childcare workers in age-related health conditions.

Today, the network includes ten centers in France, with full-time care costing between €700 and €800 per month, provided by four staff members in renovated facilities. The founders promote a non-hierarchical management model, where directors of pilot centers train their peers. “The same applies at our Paris headquarters. Everyone has a different role contributing to the same mission — reconnecting generations and caring for children. We don’t frame development in hierarchical terms.”

Strong growth ambitions

After raising €4.3 million last June, the company is entering a phase of rapid growth and recruitment. “We plan to open ten new centers next year.” In the longer term, Tom & Josette aims to build a network of around 100 centers within four years. The company currently employs sixty people.

Faivre is convinced of the broader social value: “We have so much to learn from the vulnerable — both the very young and the very old. A healthy society is one where a fit 35-year-old can rely on older generations.”

Photos: © Estel Plagué/HEC Stories