Search results for: tax
Rolling out in Lyon, France is now the only country in Europe with two Uber-enabled cities
Uber announced on their blog today that they have rolled out their secret Uber drivers in Lyon today – the first passenger was Mickael Miro, a Lyon-based singer. This is Uber’s 2nd French city, and its 7th European city (London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Milan, & Stockholm). In fact, you” notice this is the first European country in […]
France will have 4G soon, but at what cost to users?
At the end of last year, Bouygues Telecom announced they would request permission from ARCEP to transform their old 2G network into a 4G Network which would be notably compatible with the iPhone 5. Over the past two months, ARCEP has listened to the other three operators – SFR, Orange, and Free – as they […]
After eliminating the competition with help from the government, Amazon to “harmonize” commission rates in France
Amazon has been welcomed with open arms by the government. They bought their tapis rouge on Amazon, rolled it out from them on top of FNAC, Darty, Surcouf, and Virgin Megastore, and let them walk right in. To give a brief summary, in the past year Amazon has opened new offices in Burgundy, and Pas de Calais, […]
What I learned at Lift13 about the Swiss startup scene
Last week I attended Lift13 in Geneva, which was a great experience, offering all kinds of interesting insights, debates and experiences around technological innovation. Although innovation and entrepreneurship have always been at the core of Lift’s DNA, this year saw a particular emphasis on showcasing Switzerland’s startup scene. It was interesting seeing how the tech […]
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 […]
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 […]
JCDecaux bringing real Open Data for Paris bike riders
Paris, like many other French cities, has a network of bicycle stations called Velib, where people with (very cheap) subscriptions can take a bike for free for as long as a half-hour. However, up until now, the data of what stations are full of available bikes, and which have space to put one back, was […]
State of the (Venture Capital) Union in France: Bleak
Last summer I wrote a piece about how France’s Retail VC funds were facing bleak prospects (Retail VCs: Pivot or Perish). With the jury now in from 2012’s fundraising cycle for these vehicles, it unfortunately appears that my August piece proved ominously prescient. By way of refresher, Retail VCs are the venture capital firms whose […]
Today I’m pitching the European Commission for 80 Billion Euros for my startup, Europe.
This afternoon I’m making my way north from Paris to Brussels, the capital of the European Union and home of the European Commission. There I’ll be giving a workshop to Neelie Kroes, the very outspoken Vice President of the European Commission who has spoken about Europe’s need to build startups that stay in Europe. “Start […]