All posts in Meetic
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. […]
The problem with Smartdate
For anyone who has been following the story concerning French dating startup Smartdate, there is clearly a lot of intentional ambiguity. For the moment, the investors in the company have either refrained from commenting or simply stated that there was a mutual disagreement that has left the company's future a bit up in the air (potentially with some of the investors leaving the board).
Smartdate, the French startup everyone is asking questions about
First off, for anyone who doesn't know Smartdate, it's often defined as the French Zoosk. It's a Facebook-based dating platform that helps you date people within your online network. The company officially launched in March 2010 raised some €5.5 million with 360 Capital and 2 well-known French entrepreneurs (in the country where it is supposedly impossible to raise money), launched its platform in 6 different languages and accumulated 650K members within a year.
I'm sorry, did you think French companies don't acquire?
It's true. French companies don't have the same acquisition culture as some of the American tech darlings, like Google or Facebook. And it definitely doesn't help the local exit market. French and other European companies often look across the Atlantic when it comes time to go public or get acquired.But just because there are more exit opportunities elsewhere doesn't mean there are none at home.