What If…? Startups Re-Imagining the World
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WHAT IF Startups Re-imagining the world Startups Re-imagining the world Startups Re-imagining the world France is more than just baguettes, brie, fashion and fine wine; it is also home to a thriving community of entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, investors, tech lovers, and other talented people who are embracing the potential of technology to change the world. A tech boom has been unleashed throughout the country thanks to the explosive combination of our renowned creativity with our flair for algorithms. We have some of the best engineering schools in the world. Our consumer electronics companies thrive on this talent, which combines expertise in computer sciences with electronics, mechanics and design. In the era of Big Data, FinTech and Artificial Intelligence, our students have the skills of the future. We’re also seeing a rise in the not-very-French (or so you thought!) qualities of confidence and risk-taking. Combined with government reforms making it (much) easier to start a business means our entrepreneurs (yes – it IS a French word!) are not only thriving, but eager to display their wares to the world. “La French Tech” is about shining a light on this talent, or “French Flair”, which is why we’ve produced this book. This edition has been specially produced to promote a broad selection of the French startups that are driving this movement. But not only. Our ambition is also to show how innovative French or foreign companies set up in France are improving lives around the world by turning incredible and mind-boggling ideas into reality. Each of their ideas has been illustrated by specially commissioned artwork. “What if…?” is the third book in the series of the same name, a continued celebration of French creativity and innovation, and a source of inspiration to us all . take more ambitious risks. It also guaranteed us more my income taxes increased significantly. And that’s before Never listen to those who say: independence vis-à-vis our investors, as we didn’t have to the California real estate tax of 1% of face value every year keep going back for money. Moreover, we used the money that would start a revolution if authorities tried to impose it well, continuing to invest heavily in technology even when in France. it can’t be done we’d ‘made it’, and accelerating our expansion overseas, Labor regulations are also not the straightjacket many “ ” when some would have been happy consolidating. would believe. It’s true that social security and firing Riding the confidence rollercoaster can be challenging someone can be more expensive than in the United States, for a solo entrepreneur, which is why it helps to be part of but these costs are factored into the labor market. Tech a team. Having co-founders expands a startup’s expertise salaries in Europe are much lower than in Silicon Valley n 2013, the French startup that I co-founded was experience. Perhaps it was easier for us to think outside and contacts, but more importantly you have someone to or New York. floated on the Nasdaq after a US$270 million IPO. the box, because we had fresh eyes and no legacy business prop you up when your confidence takes a wobble. Choose At the time we were trying to break into the American Criteo’s success has helped make it the global leader to protect. people you trust and like spending time with, and don’t be market, being French was seen as a serious disadvantage in digital performance advertising, with over 2,000 afraid about calmly discussing what happens when things I Technology startups need to be steadfast in their – which we turned to our advantage (of course!). The idea employees worldwide and revenues of more than a billion go bad. An amicable separation is more likely if the rules convictions, because they’re operating in a world that isn’t of an advertising technology company coming from France dollars. Along the way, many people told us that what we of the game are written into the shareholder agreement. ready for them. Take banking, for instance. When I began was so improbable that it allowed us to grow under the were trying to do was impossible. They might have been my second modestly successful startup Kiwee – sold How do you find cofounders? In my case, it was a chance radar for years. When we came out into the open, we had right; what we ended up with is quite different from the after six years for around US$20 million – I had trouble meeting in a Paris incubator. Serendipity perhaps, but I already reached a critical size. movie-recommendation service we started out with. What finding a bank that would allow me to open a standard was also open to talking about my idea. I’ve met startups sustained us was our belief – and the future would prove Another key advantage for us is that France has a pool of account to deposit the initial capital, let alone apply for a who’re so afraid of people copying what they’re doing us right – that we had cutting-edge technology in our highly qualified engineers with strong mathematical skills loan. Most commercial bankers are trained in traditional that they won’t talk about it. Before they know it, it’s been predictive algorithm. We just needed time, plus millions who were particularly relevant for the type of technology businesses, demanding financial guarantees that would several years and they haven’t done anything, and then it’s of dollars in investment, to figure out what to do with it. we were building. be inconceivable for virtually all startups. too late. Along the way we made many mistakes. Here are a few My hope for Criteo is that we have shown that it is in So we turn to venture capitalists, who in return for the Sadly, one challenge many of the startups in this book things I have learnt. fact possible to create world-leading tech companies in (often substantial) risk of investing, demand a share of will face is being French. Many people see France as France that are as good as – if not better – than American A technology startup is a long-term project in which our businesses. Too many entrepreneurs are endemically the country where communism succeeded – as one joke firms. The American investors who looked beyond success – if it comes at all – comes only after many suspicious of investors, devoured by an inherent fear of puts it. “La French Tech” is doing a great job at changing their prejudices and invested in Criteo certainly hit the difficulties and disappointments. The number one quality losing control. But it’s better to have a small slice of a perceptions, but some are deeply ingrained. As I have a jackpot of any founder is persistence, the ability to not get wedding cake, than the biggest piece of a miniscule cookie. platform here, I’ll tackle just a few. discouraged in the face of rejection. After under-investing at Kiwee, I was determined with Take the tax burden, for instance. Most Europeans are At Criteo, we invented a disruptive model for advertising Criteo to always raise too much capital rather than too convinced they pay higher taxes than Americans, but it’s Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, in an industry in which collectively we had almost zero little. That meant we could sleep better at night and not always the case. When I became a California resident, Founder and Chairman of Criteo contents ...the world was digitized? ...you could bottle sunlight? ...cameras could fly? ...you could run faster without training harder? SENSING LABS ................................................ 10 ELUM ENERGY .................................................. 28 SQUADRONE SYSTEM ................................. 46 SMASHRUN ....................................................... 64 ...your smartphone could DJ? ...data could roam free? ...car owners rented out their own cars? ...transporting goods to and within Africa could DJIT ...................................................................... 12 SIGFOX .............................................................. 30 DRIVY ................................................................. 48 be made simpler? BIFASOR ............................................................. 66 ...drivers shared their empty car seats? ...trash recycled itself? ...cameras could talk? .......................................................... 50 BLABLACAR ...................................................... 14 GREEN CREATIVE ........................................... 32 NETATMO ...IVF success rates doubled? POLYWED .......................................................... 68 ...young design talent gained instant exposure? ...micro-algae could feed the world? ...tea was the new wine? INFUTHÉ ............................................................. 52 CARNET DE MODE ......................................... 16 ALGAMA ............................................................. 34 ...new customer shopping habits could be elicited? ...wine always tested D-Vine? ...advertisers knew what people wanted? ...petabytes of data could be stored on standard hardware? GUESSWORK ................................................... 70 10-VINS .............................................................. 18 CRITEO ............................................................... 36 SCALITY ............................................................. 54 ...you could rent people’s homes like hotels? ...we didn’t need cash? ...children breathed untainted air? ...water was filtered with diamonds? SQUAREBREAK ................................................ 72 FAMOCO ........................................................... 20 IN’AIR SOLUTIONS ........................................