Roxanne Varza
France's DarQRoom brings high quality Instagram printing to Europe, finally!
Last week, Nantes-based DarQRoom became Europe’s first company to offer high-quality Instagram prints. The company – which positions itself as an alternative to stock photo sites like Fotolia – provides photographers an online gallery from which users can order high-quality prints. In many ways comparable to the printing services provided by companies like US-based Canvaspop, DarQRoom offers […]
The French Presidential elections go digital
Ah yes, the US is not the only country with Presidential elections this year. While Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are busy battling it out for the Republicans on the other side of the Atlantic, France is also busy lining up its political contestants: François Hollande (Parti Socialiste), Marine Le Pen (Front National, YIKES!), François […]
Craziness: the REAL difference between US and European VCs?
I woke up Monday morning to a bit of a shock. Usually after my alarm goes off, I quickly scroll through email, Twitter, Facebook and the likes to make sure there is nothing urgent to respond to. But on Monday, I had made the mistake of taking a quick peek at Instagram…only to see this: […]
France: how many startup accelerators is too many?
Behold the startup accelerator. You know, the YCombinators and Techstars of the world. The concept is anything but new, yet it has started spreading like wildfire since US companies like Dropbox, Airbnb, Disqus, Scribd and more have proven the model successful. I’m sure you’re familiar with this by now so I’ll cut the dictionary definition […]
Hadopi: What SOPA looks like from the Eiffel Tower
Last week, the US looked a lot more like France than it usually does, thanks to the uproar caused by SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). I probably don’t need to remind anyone reading this that the internet was flooded with the protesting voices of companies like Wikipedia, Google, Reddit and more against the would-be anti-piracy law. […]
How Xavier Niel got 42K Twitter Followers in 4 Tweets and Shook-up the French Mobile Market
Behold Xavier Niel, the man who may very well be on his way to achieving Steve Jobs-status in France. It would be a first for the country that has traditionally celebrated the bureaucratic public sector to private enterprise. But Xavier, who is a college dropout and ranked amongst the richest Internet entrepreneurs, is about to […]
With Artistoon, French artists can now sell personalized portraits online
If you’ve ever been a tourist in Paris, you’ve probably been to Montmartre (and if you haven’t, well, shame on you!). If there was a “Silicon Valley” for famous European artists, Montmartre would be it. Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso all lived or worked there at some point in time. […]
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 […]
In Paris for LeWeb? Let Drinkon.me show you a good time…
There are 2 times per year when my inbox gets flooded with "Hey Roxanne, what should I do in Paris?!" emails: during summer and LeWeb. Usually I send my friends a few random things to do, like see a Chopin concert in the Eglise Julien le Pauvre near Saint Germain or go to the 5th floor of the Louis Vuitton building via the "secret" elevator for the hands-down best view of Paris and other weird things as well.