Archive for May 2015
Does the world really need a "Tinder for Jobs" ?
It’s not uncommon for startups to describe themselves as “N[Something you know] for X[a new space].” ‘Airbnb for X’ has become shorthand for ‘a peer-to-peer marketplace for X,’ while ‘Uber for X’ has become shorthand for ‘a marketplace of freelancers grouped around a certain common occupation.’ There are varying opinions on the practice of creating […]
Aerospace and defense giant Safran launches €50 million venture fund
Looking to reinforce their innovation and transformation focused strategy, French aerospace and defense leader Safran has announced that they’re launching a €50 million corporate venture fund. The investment period of the fund will span 3 years and will focus on innovative startups aerospace, defense and security industries. Safran Corporate Ventures will seek to invest in startups […]
Post-Charlie Hebdo France votes through Internet surveillance law, relinquishes liberté
A photo from the May 4th protest aginst the Loi sur Renseignement France’s national assembly has voted in favor of the Projet de Loi sur Renseignement, the controversial bill which creates a legal framework around illicit tapping into meta data communications from internet-enabled devices – the law passed 438-86. Highly regarded as the French equivalent of the US Patriot […]
Carmat's second patient dies 9 months after receiving an Artificial Heart implant
Nine months after Carmat implanted their artificial heart in a second patient, the Nanted-based 69 year-old passed away this past weekend, the company revealed this week. The news caused Carmat’s stock to be frozen on the Euronext stock market today, pending more information about the cause of death and the implications. Carmat’s current authorization allows them to […]
Hamon, Ham-off. How the Loi Hamon hurts startups
If you believe (like many Canadians I know) that everything is better with bacon, the Loi Hamon will disappoint you. Despite its shared namesake with the Filipino word for ham, France’s Hamon law feels more like eggs benedict without the bacon… and with rotten eggs for that matter. I finally had my first direct brush […]
iAdvize acquires Bringr, integrating social and customer engagement
Leading customer engagement platform, Nantes-based iAdvize, announced today that they’ve scooped up social media publishing and monitoring tool Bringr for 700k euros. After rounding out the various ways companies can communicate and engage with customers by integrating “click to community”, community chat functionality earlier this year, adding-in Bringr will enable iAdvize to offer a more […]
Why it's important for French startups to have one foot in the US at all times
The following is a guest post by Emmanuel Schalit, CEO of password management tool Dashlane. You can follow him online at @eschalit. When you start a company, it is common knowledge to try to get product market fit on your home market and move abroad afterwards. It’s already difficult to start a new business, why […]
Hotel Tonight's growth accelerates in France and beyond (Part II)
This is the second installment in a two part series about Hotel Tonight. In the first installment we spoke with co-founder and COO Jared Simon. In this installment we’ll also be speaking with VP International and Paris office head Amir Segall and French Market Manager Marie Hardel. How is the Airbnb phenomenon affecting what you […]