Archive for December 2011
How to get hired by a French startup. No Bullshit.
Ok, so before I get started, this article presupposes that you have the legal right to work in France – either you’ve got an appropriate VISA or you’re a citizen in a country in the European Union (ps: check where your grandparents were born if you don’t have the right to work in France – […]
Startups: To Outsource or Not To Outsource?
So you’re a startup and want to outsource graphic design, system administration or development? Don’t feel bad, this is very common. Often startups can’t afford to hire many people right away or do not have a team with every skill required to build the perfect product. Should I Outsource? Some will tell you that you […]
[rant] Turning Angry Users into Users for Life
This past weekend, Angel-funded startup AllThis made headlines across the internet for their seemingly sketchy practices. In short, the service allows people to ‘buy time’ from other people using virtual currency. I happen to find the idea interesting, but that’s not the point of this article. An issue came up with their ‘company practices’ when […]
John Lewis launches private accelerator DojoBoost
Earlier this month at LeWeb, I ran into entrepreneur, professor and startup mentor John Lewis. Having been funded at least 6 times by my count, John Lewis has been living in Paris for quite some time, helping startups at LeCamping, mentoring at StartupWeekend events, and as a professor of finance at both HEC and IAE […]
European Blogs to Follow in 2012
I read blogs. Lots of ‘em. Sometimes it’s a personal blog, sometimes it’s a collaborative blog (which is basically a news site, but with the editorial freedom that we used to expect from the news). I get introduced to a new blogs in a variety of ways – sometimes I meet the blogger, sometimes someone […]
François Cazor: Finance Engineer to Green Startup
A few months back a friend of mine told me about a company that was French, Green, and Financial. I sat down with François Cazor, co-founder of eCO2market, to talk about eCO2data, their flagship product. He explained to me the history of carbon credits, and how governments are slowly beginning to make companies pay for their […]
France should stop saying "GET OUT" to talented foreigners
Let me preface this article with a bit of a disclaimer. A while ago, I published a response to the diversity debate that Michael Arrington kicked off in the Silicon Valley. I mentioned that – contrary to what one would think – France’s tech startup scene was incredibly diverse, including entrepreneurs of Moroccan, Tunisian, Israeli, […]
A mini wave of French acquisitions?
A while ago, I published an article titled “I’m sorry, did you think French companies don’t acquire?” Despite the fact that France lacks a company with an aggressive acquisition strategy comparable to that of Google, there ARE companies that acquire. At the time, my list was oriented towards larger companies – like Ubisoft, France Telecom […]
The Only Thing French About LeWeb '11 Was Its Name…
Last week Loic Le Meur hosted LeWeb for the 7th time on the outskirts of Paris. Silicon Valley bloggers, investors, and entrepreneurs rode in on Uber Carriages, bringing with them French companies, European startups, and fanbois of all shapes and sizes. For three days, croissant-fueled networking and wine-induced pitches filled the air as startups pitched […]
Developers – From SSII to Startup
In France we have what we call SSII for Société de Service en Ingénierie Informatique. Poorly translated it goes something like «IT Consulting Firm». This is where most young CS graduates will go, mainly because once you get your degree you are spammed by job offers from their recruiters. This is fine for some, but […]