Archive for January 2016
How Epic Foundation is bringing Philanthropy into the digital age
About 6 months ago I found myself pacing back and forth during some startup event – I wasn’t avoiding pitches or waiting to use the bathroom, I was talking with NYC-based French entrepreneur Alexandre Mars about his Epic Foundation. I can’t say that I was surprised that an entrepreneur with a successful exit would go into […]
This year at CES, La FrenchTech was all in !
France is undergoing a startup renaissance driven by a new generation of entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, designers and other talented people. Last year, France’s charm offensive over CES visitors worked so well that Las Vegas shown a real empathy to the French community, while Paris was suffering its first terrorist attack of the year. In 2015, Yahoo Tech’s […]
With 300,000+ reservations made, Dayuse raises €15 Million to book hotel rooms… during the day
Daytime hotel reservation service Dayuse has raised a €15 Million Series A investment led by Partech Ventures & IDInvest, with participation by Accor co-founder Paul Dubrule, AmEx Travel President Charles Petruccelli, Cedric Barbier, Christophe Chausson & others. The startup has helped professionals make over 300,000 reservations across 14 countries for hotel rooms during the daytime – for a […]
Doubling down on digital, Michelin acquires table reservation service Bookatable
Michelin has acquired London-based Bookatable, Europe’s leading online table-reservation service, working with 15,000 restaurants & managing more than 34 million covers worth of reservations. Bookatable had raised upwards of $70M from Balderton Capital (via Johan Brenner, currently GP at Swedish fund Creandum) & Wellington Partners (via Daniel Waterhouse, who is now a Partner at Balderton Capital). Bookatable was […]
Microsoft Ventures beefs up its Paris activities with two new hires
Kicking off 2016 strong, Microsoft has recruited two new entrepreneurs to lead their startup initiatives in France, which is coordinated through their Paris-based 300m² accelerator space. Pascal Fite joins Microsoft as their acceleration program’s Entrepreneur in Residence, having spent time as an investor at Sigma Gestion, leading investments in LeKiosk, Qobuz & others, after working in the […]
5 Reasons why 2016 is France’s year to take over IoT
With CES wrapped up for 2016, it is time to see if all the big promises will come to fruition – new transportation methods, new sensor-enabled devices, new cameras & a new way to make your home smart – the most important promise that has been made this year is that France will dominate the IoT […]
2016 Will Be The Year Of The European Entrepreneur
Making predictions are hard, especially about the future. I may be underestimating the time horizon, but for me the trend is unmistakable. The European entrepreneurial ecosystem is poised to enter the major leagues, and I predict that this will happen in 2016. Our vieux continent already boasts a burgeoning collection of tech unicorns, with the […]