Yes, it happens. French companies get funded, regardless of what Silicon Valley may like to think. Hot start-ups like Deezer, Eyeka, DailyMotion, Streamezzo, MXP4, etc. can all vouch for this.
But would someone like Twitter ever get funded in France?
French VCs tend to position themselves as different types of investors than their American or British counterparts, characterized as more patient, investing less and sitting on a company for longer before an exit. In other words, it’s likely that a company like Twitter would’ve had a hard time getting funding from VCs in France – although now the sentiment has likely changed.
Not such a bad thing.
Last night’s first Founder’s Club event in Paris, which included speakers from leading French and European VC firms, also underlined the positives of the more timid French approach to investment. French VCs aren’t looking for serial entrepreneurs, per say, but rather an entrepreneur who can stick with a company, is passionate about the product and really develop a loyal clientele and partner network.
And when it comes to the exit, some French VCs claim to be open to the idea of companies getting acquired before becoming profitable but it’s definitely not in their blood. The general sentiment is that they also tend to see smaller exits than across the Atlantic – although Vente-privée may soon change that.
Did some French VCs bypass the economic crisis?
The local VC community went into a bit of a venture slump in 2009, with investments plummeting between 30 to 50 percent depending on the industry. Yet, some French VCs, like Innovacom, disregarded the economic recession and closed the same number of deals in 2009 as the year before.
Seed funding where you least expect it.
For French entrepreneurs, particularly in the social media space, French VCs may be a little less likely to be seed investors. There are VCs, like 360 Capital Partners, that do more early-stage investments in order to build a stronger relationship with a company. Still, seed funding definitely doesn’t run like water and most entrepreneurs tend to look to the government for their initial investments – namely OSEO, the “public bank” that supports start-ups and SMEs. OSEO has also been hosting an annual seed funding competition since 1999, providing between €45,000 and €450,000 to very early stage companies. Plus, now that the French government allows French taxpayers to invest in a start-up and reduce their wealth tax by 75%, business angels are much easier to come by.
But who is to say Twitter wouldn’t get funded in France?
While French VCs may not throw themselves at a company without an initial business model, like Twitter, given the various additional sources for funding there’s no reason why Twitter wouldn’t have found funding in France.
The Founder’s Club event in Paris included speakers from leading French and European VC firms: François Tison from 360 Capital Partners, Guillaume Lautour from AGF Private Equity, Dennis Champenois from Innovacom, Jean-Yves Quentel from Go4Venture and Grégoire Aladjidi from Demeter Partners.
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