The Little Worker team © Little Worker

In celebration of the launch of our new personalized service for businesses, Artsper had the opportunity to collaborate with Little Worker, for an event organised on 4 April 2023 in one of our partner galleries, the Sabine Bayasli Gallery, in the heart of the Marais in Paris. The objective? To bring together, for one evening, about sixty design and decoration professionals, for a convivial moment, surrounded by the paintings of the artist Clara Bryon, herself an architect by training. On this occasion, we had the great pleasure of meeting Nicolas and Aurélien, the founders of Little Worker, the innovative company that is revolutionising the process of finding and renovating properties for individuals across France. Discover with us the original concept and the values of this company which has not finished making the news!

1. Hello Nicolas, hello Aurélien! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. You founded Little Worker in 2016, and for the past 7 years you have been helping individuals realize their real estate dreams. What compelled you both to begin this immense project? Could you tell us about the business and the values which drive you on a daily basis?

It all began 7 years ago and we were both 28 years old. Many people from our circle of family and friends were looking to access and renovate property - especially in Paris - and we realized that this path is simply full of pitfalls.

First of all, you have to spend time looking for a property, then you have to successfully position your offer against the competition of other applicants, and then you have to move on to the construction phase. Whether it's consulting different craftsmen, analyzing cost estimates, or the follow-up of the building site - everything seemed to be complicated. At the time, we were both working as project managers at Vinci Construction France. We spent a lot of Saturday mornings doing volunteer work and sponsorship with our friends. This experience led us to imagine how we might industrialize this process and assist individuals in their real estate projects.

Our company values came together around 4 years after our establishment. We were able to refine our understanding of what exactly formed the DNA of our Little Worker teams. The 5 values which emerged have stuck with us ever since: the human factor, commitment, resilience, eco-responsibility, and positivity.

2. As true "home shapers", you maintain complete professionalism for your clients, from searching for the perfect property to the final touches post-renovation. How do you ensure this quality of service throughout the project?

It's true that the world of construction generates a lot of conversation about the countless potential problems that are encountered. Thanks to our years of combined experience, staff and efficient company processes, we manage to deliver a very high quality of service. Our Net Promoter Service score is 33, which is quite exceptional for a construction company. This is reflected in the relationships that we continue to build with our customers.

To succeed in our projects, we rely on 5 pillars:

- The right discernment: the ability to identify properties with high potential and to know how to realize this potential.

- The right relationship: to be at our clients' side to guide them and support them throughout the project

- Good taste: to consistently maintain a sensitivity to the latest trends in order to offer our clients good, contemporary designs and timeless solutions.

- The right amount of tech: to be ingenious in responding to our clients' most demanding configurations and to help them steer their projects by constantly imagining new solutions

- The right footprint: to leave a positive image in our clients' minds and in their new homes, with a limited footprint on the planet.

3. In real estate as in art, there are many different investor profiles. Do you have a typical clientele? Who makes up the Little Worker community?

We mainly work for clients between 25 and 40 years old, very urban, CSP+, digitalized and who are adept at new uses and new services such as Deliveroo or Netflix. They are used to using digital services and need support because they have a busy professional life and don't always have the time to follow up on their project. As far as the Little Worker community is concerned, it is the largest proptech community on the popular social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest etc).  The members of this community love things that are neat, delicate and well finished. They all similarly enjoy a certain idea of beauty, of aesthetics.

From left to right: Images from a project by Little Worker © Victor Grandgeorge

4. In April 2023, Little Worker and Artsper will host their first collaborative event to celebrate the launch of Artsper Pro, the service dedicated to professionals. What motivated this partnership? What do you see in common between Artsper and Little Worker?

Generally speaking, we share the same vision of a certain lifestyle. More concretely, our common point is to democratize and facilitate the access, for a type of population, to things to which it did not have access before. As far as art is concerned, 15 years ago, if you were not 60 years old and had 3 million euros in your bank account, you would not enter a Parisian art gallery. In the same way, before Little Worker, the beautiful renovation with a high level of service, was reserved for people who had a minimum renovation budget of €200,000. We put this type of service within the reach of categories of population whose average basket is rather around €50,000.

5. You work with talented architects and designers on a daily basis. What are the best tips you would give to someone who wants to completely renovate their home? Do you have any tips to share or mistakes to avoid?

In line with our pillars, our first piece of advice would be to work on the potential of the property. It is important to take the time to analyze the property as a whole, even if it means rethinking the spaces in it. As for pro tips, the mistake would be to renovate a property without taking into account the eco-responsible dimension. Whether it is for the sourcing of materials (with low-carbon or bio-sourced materials), or the energy consumption of the home with adapted hot water production and heating systems, this is an important consideration.

From left to right: The Little Worker team at work, the Little Worker office © Little Worker

6. What's the craziest project you've worked on? Or a challenge you have encountered?

Hmm, the craziest project. The one we are currently working on is a magnificent project, on rue Vavin, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, 100 meters from the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens, in a building designed by the architects Henri Sauvage and Charles Sarazin. It is an Art Deco building, whose entire facade is covered with ceramic, it is incredible. 

Our clients' objective is to make it a very high-end apartment, in keeping with the building. For our teams, this type of project is both a pleasure and a challenge because we have to live up to our clients' expectations. Otherwise, in a lighter way, we also had the opportunity to conceptualize a “love room" in an apartment, with one-way mirrors and other “functional" details…

7. It's 2023 and Little Worker is already operating in 8 French cities. What are the next steps and your plans for the future?

Our ultimate goal is to become the national leader in real estate sourcing, architectural design, and renovation. Today, we carry out 600 projects per year and we want to carry out 4,500 per year in 3 years' time. Our aim is to continue to democratize access to housing and renovation for an ever-increasing number of people. More generally, we aim to be one of the main French players in the renovation of France's old housing stock, in the context of the wider ecological transition. This vision has carried us to the point of being part of the French Tech Class of 2023, and we now have the support of the French government to continue our development and help individuals buy better and renovate better.