Liam Boogar
Showroom Privé anticipates strong growth through 2014 as it rolls out across Europe, says Thierry Petit
Showroom Privé, the number two private sales site in Europe behind Vente Privée, has announced not only that they earned 250M€ in 2012, but that they are planning to earn 350M€ in 2013, a 66% growth rate. This past year, the site counted 10 Million visitors from France – likely a large percentage of their […]
After acquiring Boxcar last year, Kwaga sells its technology to ProcessOne
Paris-based Kwaga announced today that it has sold Boxcar, the US startup it purchased last year, to ProcessOne, a real-time messaging provider for popular mobile apps, such as Orange’s Libon, BBC Radio, Meetic, Atos & Major League Baseball (MLB). The company’s CEO Mickaël Rémond said that “We’ve been working in messaging for more than 10 years, delivering large […]
Suck it UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Israel, Portugal, Turkey & Romania – It’s easier to earn $1M in France!
Perhaps I’m a bit too excited about this recent article in The Economist, which details how many years it takes a ‘median breadwinner’ to earn $1M in various countries, but I was stoked to see France place at #8, behind most of Northern Europe, the USA, Canada & Japan. Here on the Rude Baguette, we […]
Microsoft announces Spark, a CoWorking Space & Accelerator in the heart of Paris’ startup district
Yesterday at the Palais des Congrès de Paris, Microsoft France kicked off the Microsoft Tech Days, an annual event that brings the community together to talk about the amazing things happening with Microsoft. Obviously, Windows 8 will be a big part of the discussion this week, but the biggest news for startupers this week was […]
Everything eMerchants need to know about the new (paid) Google Shopping platform
Today the changes that Google announced months ago for Google Shopping are rolling out in several countries. You may recall that the announced changes, which changed Google Shopping from a free to a paid platform, were met with some criticism – whether the results that showed up would be the best results, or just the results someone is paying to […]
France and the USA: A Love-Hack Relationship
The relationship between France and the USA has always been tense: the phrase “Freedom Fries” sums it up pretty well. This is a product of France’s complicated history with the US, having first funded a revolution in our favor and then funding our enemies in war, then having been ‘invaded’ by us after they were […]
Mandala Games founder Nadya Jahan announces company’s Bankruptcy
Yesterday on her personal blog, Mandala Games founder Nadya Jahan announced that the company filed for bankruptcy on February 6th. Her blog post[fr], entitled “Merci,” is a giant thank you to all those who supported her – investors, team members, family, clients, entrepreneurs – a very touching post after 3 years of running the company. The […]
SnapCar distances itself from Uber as it moves towards Business Class
SnapCar, a smartphone-enabled private chauffeur service, announced that it will be offering SnapCar for Business, a service dedicated exclusively to enterprises. Just like SnapCar for individuals, the service will allow employees at companies to stay mobile on the go by providing them with an easy way to order drivers wherever they are. The new app, […]
“Yeah, but what IS a startup?” And other questions I answered for the European Commission
Last week I was up in Brussels for a workshop called “How the European Commission can support Web Entrepreneurship in Europe.” During the workshop, I talked about different initiatives that the European Commission could provide grants for, related to accelerators, crowdfunding, company creation, taxation, hiring/firing costs & more, and I was surprised at some of the […]
Fleur Pellerin to target France’s fear of failure at its core. Banks.
Fleur Pellerin is looking to change how France treats entrepreneurial failure, and she’s attacking the problem at the source. In an article in LeFigaro, the Minister of the Digital Economy is quoted as saying “We must turn an entrepreneur’s first failure into a positive experience. Failure should not be a red light (for future ventures). […]