Autodesk : "Never has the ability to create a physical product been so accessible to everyone"
Autodesk has been making huge news at Connected Conference. One of their top highlights has been their sublime SOLID, the first connected, 3D-printed titanium lifestyle bike designed with Autodesk’s Fusion 360 & Alias software. Andrew Anagnost, senior vice president, Industry Strategy and Marketing, Autodesk describes here how manufacturing and design are being completely revolutionized thanks to […]
Hardware lead John Dimatos on why Kickstarter is opening in France today
Today’s the big day. The day that Kicstarter officially comes to France. Of course, numerous French startups have been long been mounting successful Kickstarter campaigns, but now the can do so from France. The first big campaign from France, also launched today, is Mixfader – the first connected device for aspiring DJs, developed by DJIT, makers […]
Calling all cars: Please return to base immediately
On Friday France’s Conseil Constitutionnel, the country’s judicial authority, announced its long-awaited ruling on Uber’s objections to the Loi Thévenoud. For a quick recap, the Thévenoud Law (named after Thomas Thévenoud, former secretary of state who left the cabinet in a tax scandal last year) aims to handicap innovative on-demand transport companies like Uber and […]
Indiegogo's Kate Drane "We're building a global community that funds what matters to them, built on trust"
Indiegogo has rapidly grown into a global platform, leading many hardware startups around the world to success. Their rise has been a welcome development for hardware investment shy VCs, given Indiegogo’s solid track record. In fact, since 2013 Indiegogo-backed companies have raised more than $210M in VC funding, including health scanner Scanadu who raised $35M post campaign, fitness tracker Misfit who’ve […]
Withings CEO Cedric Hutchings "health is no longer something you begin to think about the day you are sick"
Thanks to their heralded activity trackers and other connected health devices, Withings has quickly grown to be on of the leaders in the “Mhealth” space. Although consumers have been rapidly flocking to their devices, they know that the their devices will only achieve their greatest impact once all players (health care professionals, governments, etc) in the healthcare […]
Four false friends for French startup lingo
I greatly admire French entrepreneurs who step outside their comfort zone to pitch me in English. Regardless of your mastery of second languages, pitching in your native tongue is usually far easier. Your reflexes are more instinctive; it’s easier to think on your feet; and you control the tone and the cadence of the pitch […]
Italy on the Pacific: How Airbnb can alter Japan's trajectory
When Japanese Prime Minister Abe visited the San Francisco Bay Area last week, he spoke about the need for Japan to foster its own version of Silicon Valley. His rationale makes sense. Many governments here in Europe have launched initiatives to encourage startup ecosystems and boost innovation (LaFrenchTech, London TechCity, Finland’s Startup Sauna, Enterprise Ireland, […]
Learning and talent management leader Skillsoft buys Vodeclic
Skillsoft, a global leader in learning and talent management have announced that they’ve just bought Vodeclic, a leading provider of next generation video tutorials via a purpose-built and easy-to-navigate cloud-based platform. The terms of the deal were undisclosed. Vodeclic offers content in 6 different languages and their platform is offers a variety of innovative features, including: Interactive assessments […]
Techstars to hold Paris launch event this week for their new Berlin-based food and travel tech accelerator
Techstars has been one of the most successful accelerators in bringing their program to different cities throughout the US and now in Europe. In the last couple years, Techstars’ expansion strategy has taken a interesting turn as they’ve partnered with corporates to build out several vertical accelerators around areas such as entertainment (Disney), mobility (Ford, […]
Has anyone hacked the time zone problem with the cloud?
Whew, I made it through another month of March without embarrassingly shirking any business meetings. March is always the most challenging month for me to uphold the standard I set (and expect of others) of arriving on time for meetings. The difficulty stems from a combination of two primary factors: traveling across time zones, and […]