With his PR diploma in his pocket, Laurent Raspaud first of all worked as a croupier in a casino before heading off for Singapore, where he worked for an events agency that specialised in team building. Having returned to Lyon in 2006, he decided to set up on his own as a consultant… in the team building and recreational activity sector, offering games linked to corporate problem solving.

I’ve also introduced a murder mystery party concept and I’ve created my own website, he explains. I work on a freelance basis and offer two specific areas of activity: recreational activities with about 20 programmes aimed at team building where each project can be personalised to suit the client’s needs; and team building per se aimed at creating a team identity via a recreational activity, either sporting or cultural. The objective of each activity is to encourage participants to think whilst at the same time enjoying themselves and there are also various role-playing levels. I also specialise in running murder mystery parties, creating crime scenes in a specific location. I then take the participants there and they have to gather clues and carry out the investigation. It’s an interactive game and I either operate independently, for my own clients, or on behalf of event agencies such as French Flair, who use me to run certain activities .

Laurent Raspaud is proud of creating events that have demonstrated their effectiveness, proving popular with several training companies as well as the TISTRA network (Tourisme Industriel, Scientifique et Technique Rhône-Alpes) for which he worked at the end of March.

Laurent Raspaud, who offers a range of 20 or so different programmes, operates mostly in the Rhône-Alpes region but also elsewhere in France, Belgium and Switzerland. During the first half of 2009, he worked on about 30 projects involving between 10 and 80 participants. For larger groups I call on other colleagues to help out, as I did for Orange who organised a meeting for 230 people in Les Rousses at the beginning of the year. On that occasion I worked alongside French Flair .

Each project lasts on average 2 ½ to 3 hours. Each activity works out at between 60 and 110 € per person depending on the venue used and the number of participants, but not including room hire if required or any meals. For the team building activities, prices start at 70 €. For these types of activity, Laurent Raspaud mostly works with Le Manoir in Aix-les-Bains, the Domaine de Valpré, the Clos des Varennes and the Lac des Sapins which is developing its corporate clientele.