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Paris is becoming one of the best places in the world to build a startup, but most of the early-stage entrepreneurs we speak to aren't aware of all the local tech resources that are available to help them.

With applications for the Paris Founder Institute now open, we're excited to release the Paris Startup Resource Guide, which is currently in Draft v1 below! It was developed by the Paris Founder Institute and local leaders: Alexandre Jeissou, Duong VuOliver Tilloy, Vera Baker, and Wen Hu, and Raphael Bellec.

This is just a draft, and while we spent many hours on this research, more input is needed. Please leave your comments on this collaborative Google document to help us complete the list. There are definitely omissions on this current version. 

Are you looking to build a startup in Paris? Then apply to the Paris Founder Institute today!

Text version included below, for ease of searching:

Startup Stages


There is no one right way to build a technology company, but for the sake of simplicity we have outlined a basic, common, sequential framework.

1. Idea Stage

This is where new entrepreneurs get inspired, learn best practices, develop skills, validate ideas, and begin to build their team and product.

A. Inspire

  • Paris Startup Media: Centralized local information, listings, and news. (i.e. startup blogs/ publications/ lists/ FB groups/ newsletters)
    1. J'aime les Startups
    2. La French Tech
    3. Maddyness
    4. ParisTech Review
    5. Rude Baguette
    6. Tech.co Paris
    7. TechBaguette
    8. Welcometothejungle
    9. Wydden
  • Inspirational Paris Startup Events: Open, inclusive startup events that often focus on ideation. (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups)
    1. Free Startup Project
    2. Kultur Startup Paris
    3. Les Entrepreneurs Evolutionnaires
    4. LoudStory Startup League
    5. Paris International Tech Meetup
    6. Paris NewTech
    7. Paris Startup Digest
    8. Paris Tech Talks
    9. Startup Nouvelle Génération Paris
    10. Tech Stars
    11. Urban Linker Startup Fever
    12. Vivatech 

B. Educate

  • Best Practices: Beginner knowledge-sharing tech events. (i.e. beginner events that serve to educate more than inspire).
    1. ClubStartups Paris
    2. FinTech Startups
    3. Paris Startups CTO Meetup
    4. Startup Founder 101 Paris
    5. Startup Grind Paris
    6. Startup Workshop Paris: From Idea to Reality in 12 Weeks
    7. Startup Workshops Paris Louveteaux
    8. Startups Founders Apéros Paris
  • Training & Feedback: Skill & Idea development events and startup bootcamps for entrepeneurs. (Includes comprehensive training programs, like Founder Institute, General Assembly, Lean Startup Machine, code camps, etc)
    1. #SenseMeetups
    2. Code 42
    3. Data Science Dojo
    4. Founder Institute
    5. Growth Hacking Girls
    6. Le Wagon Paris
    7. Lean Startup Experience
    8. Lean Startup Workshop
    9. Nest France Paris Startup Development
    10. Simplon
    11. Startup Bootcamp Paris
    12. Startup Leadership Program
    13. The Family

C. Validate

  • Team Formation: Events for Finding Co-founders in Paris.  (i.e. tech networking events or other resources that facilitate early-stage recruitment and cofounder matching)
    1. Founder2be
    2. HackerHouse Paris
    3. IdeasVoice
    4. Paris Entrepreneurs Network
    5. TheMakers
    6. Unicorners
  • Build First Product: Hackathons & product events in Paris.
    1. BeMyApp Events
    2. Blockchain Hackathon 
    3. Cisco DevNet Hackathon
    4. Code for Paris
    5. Food Hackathon
    6. Hackateam
    7. Hackathon Métro 2030
    8. Ladies of Code Paris
    9. Le Hackathon de L'Education 2016
    10. Paris -beginners- Coders Meetup
    11. Techfugees Paris
    12. Women On Rails
    13. Women Who Code Paris

2. Launch Stage

In this stage, entrepreneurs establish and formalize the company, develop the product, get feedback from customers, and prepare for the next step.

A. Start

  • Establish: Paris law firms & banks for startups
    1. Alto Avocats
    2. BNP Paribas
    3. Baker & McKenzie
    4. Banque Populaire
    5. Barclays Bank
    6. Chammas & Marcheteau Avocats
    7. Gide Loyrette Nouel
    8. Jones Day
    9. La Banque Postale
    10. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
    11. Orsay Avocats
    12. Pinot de Villechenon & Associés
    13. Prêt d'Union
    14. Qonto 
    15. Solegal
    16. Watson Farley & Williams LLP
  • Paris Workspaces: Co-working and flexible workspaces for startups in Paris.
    1. Anticafé
    2. BTevenement 
    3. COWORKSHOP
    4. DojoCrea
    5. Draft
    6. Greenspace
    7. L'Archipel
    8. La Compagnie
    9. La Cordée
    10. La Ruche
    11. Lawomatic
    12. Le Laptop
    13. Le Loft 50 Partners
    14. Mutiniere
    15. NUMA
    16. Soleilles Cowork
    17. Work In Paris

B. Develop

  • Formalize: Paris accounting, development and HR tools for early-stage startups.  
      1. Astria
      2. Backelite
      3. Belighted
      4. Beyowi
      5. ELITAX
      6. Exponens
      7. Fi Solutions
      8. FIDAG
      9. G-Design
      10. James Howes & Co
      11. NLE Accounting
      12. Octave & Octave
      13. Spira, Twist & Associés
      14. Tapptic
      15. Wandi

  • Paris Incubators: Groups that prepare companies for seed investment and provide advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources)
    1. 50 Partners
    2. 1000 Startups
    3. Agoranov
    4. Labo de l'edition
    5. Paris & Co. Incubateurs
    6. Paris Biotech Santé
    7. Paris French Tech Ticket
    8. Sciences Po Entrepreneurs
    9. Startup Next Paris
    10. The Cantillon
    11. Welcome City Lab

C. Launch

  • Paris Seed Accelerators: Seed funding mentor programs (Techstars-style programs that provide funding)
    1. L’Accélérateur
    2. La Javaness
    3. Microsoft Ventures Accelerator
    4. Nextstars
    5. NUMA
    6. Partech Shaker
    7. SenseCube
    8. Startup42
    9. Tektos
    10. TheFamily
    11. Yump France
  • Pitch & Demo Events: Tech events that showcase Paris startups for investment.
    1. Blockchain Pitch Day
    2. D-DAY : Let’s celebrate entrepreneurship!
    3. Microsoft Ventures Demo Day Paris
    4. NUMA Demo Day Roadshow
    5. Paris Pionnieres Demo Day
    6. Pitch Don't Kill My Vibe
    7. SeedNetworking
    8. Startup42 Demo Day
    9. Startup & Levée de fonds
    10. Startup Pitch Night Paris

3. Growth Stage

Here, a startup proves their utility, receives recognition, and scales up. This usually requires funding, angels, VCs, and ways to connect them to startups.

A. Recognition

  • Paris Investor Networking:  Events and groups that connect professional investors with founders.
    1. CAIA
    2. Cleantech Business Angels 
    3. France Angels
    4. Investessor
    5. Keiretsu Forum
  • Major Media: Mainstream local business press that often showcase local startups.
    1. 20 Minutes
    2. Canal+
    3. Euronews
    4. France 24
    5. France Info
    6. France Inter
    7. L’Express
    8. La Croix
    9. La Tribune
    10. Le Figaro
    11. Le Monde
    12. Le Parisien
    13. RFI
    14. TF1
    15. The Local

B. Funding

  • Paris Angel Investors: Seed-stage investors and micro-vcs.
    1. Aksel Piran
    2. Alain Sarfati
    3. Audrey Soussan
    4. Charles-Henry Tranie
    5. Christophe Chausson
    6. Cyril Grislain
    7. David Bizer
    8. David Opolon
    9. Didier Tranchier
    10. François Véron
    11. Frédéric Montagnon
    12. Gaston Bilder
    13. Gilles Samoun
    14. Jean de La Rochebrochard
    15. Joakim Nilsson
    16. Marc Brandsma
    17. Marie-Christine Levet
    18. Mark Yoshitake
    19. Oussama Ammar
    20. Renaud Visage
    21. Rodrigo Sepulveda Schulz
    22. Romain Lavault
    23. Samantha Jerusalmy
    24. Simon Dawlat
    25. Tariq Krim
    26. Vincent Bastien
    27. Yann Lechelle
    28. Yann Mauchamp
  • Paris Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond
      1. Alven Capital
      2. Aster Capital
      3. Auriga Partners
      4. CEA Investissement
      5. Demeter Partners
      6. Elaia Partners
      7. H.I.G. Capital
      8. Idinvest Partners
      9. ISAI
      10. Newfund Capital
      11. Next World Capital
      12. Paris Business Angels
      13. Partech Ventures
      14. Quadrille Capital
      15. Serena Capital
      16. Seventure
      17. Sofinnova Partners
      18. Truffle Capital
      19. Ventech

C. Growth

  • Infrastructure: Office space, HR, local business insurance. (i.e. office space/ HR/ insurance providers for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
    1. AIG
    2. Aviva
    3. BPI Group
    4. Courtier Assurance Professionnelle Vallois
    5. GBO Human Resources
    6. Groupe Arthur Hunt
    7. Instant Offices
    8. Locartis
    9. MetroDesk
    10. Regus
    11. Search Office Space
    12. Target Offices
    13. Webscout
    14. Zurich Insurance Group
  • Expansion: Paris Growth accelerators and consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
    1. Accenture Consulting
    2. Akeance Consulting
    3. Areka Consulting
    4. Bain & Company
    5. CGI France
    6. FTI Consulting
    7. KPMG
    8. L.E.K
    9. Mars & Co. Consulting
    10. McKinsey & Company
    11. Okan Consulting
    12. PwC
    13. Roland Berger
    14. Schlumberger Business Consulting

4. Paris Startup Success Stories

Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.

  1. Autoreduc
  2. Aircall
  3. Appsfire
  4. Augment
  5. Blablacar
  6. Contentsquare
  7. Daily Motion
  8. Dashlane
  9. Dataiku
  10. Deezer
  11. Drivy
  12. Ecovadis
  13. Evercontact
  14. Infinit
  15. Jolicloud
  16. KEECKER
  17. Keymetrics
  18. Lydia
  19. Mailjet
  20. Mention
  21. Mirakl
  22. My Visual Brief
  23. Netvibes
  24. Paw
  25. Paymium
  26. PrestaShop
  27. Prêt d'Union
  28. Qonto
  29. Replay App
  30. Sendinblue
  31. SensioLabs
  32. Sketchfab
  33. Smeeters
  34. Smiirl
  35. Snips
  36. Swile 
  37. Teads.tv
  38. Tldr.io
  39. TravelerCar
  40. Voodoo
  41. Withings
  42. ZapTravel



Supporters


To facilitate the steps, every ecosystem needs strong supporters.

1. Paris Startup Leaders

Successful local founders who lead the ecosystem & frequently mentor newbies.

  1. Alain Baritault 
  2. Alexandre Grandremy
  3. Alexandre Jeissou
  4. André Dan
  5. Axel Calandre
  6. Benjamin Joffe
  7. Benoit Bergeret
  8. Bernadette Martin
  9. Bertrand Marquet
  10. Cédric Oeblinger
  11. Clément Lécuyer
  12. Duong Vu
  13. Erwan Guiriec
  14. Fabien Collangettes
  15. Fabrice de Brisoult
  16. Frédéric Austruy
  17. Gilles LeGuennec
  18. Guillaume Richard de Vesvrotte
  19. Iain Wallace
  20. Isabelle Raugel
  21. Maike Strudthoff
  22. Maxime Wagner
  23. Nicolas Beretti
  24. Oliver Tilloy
  25. Orny Richard Impenge
  26. Sara Stephenson
  27. Sébastien Monaco
  28. Stewart Masters
  29. Timo Elliott 
  30. Tony Jazz
  31. Vera Baker
  32. Wen Hu

2. Paris Government Startup Resources

Public organizations that facilitate local economic development

  1. BusinessFrance
  2. Grands Prix de l'Innovation de la Ville de Paris
  3. International Chamber of Commerce
  4. Invest in Paris
  5. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  6. Paris21
  7. Paris&Co.

3. Talent

Major local business or tech universities and employers that attract and retain local talent.

  • Local Paris Tech Universities (universities with prominent technical or business programs)
    1. American Business School Paris
    2. EDHEC Business School
    3. ESCE International Business School
    4. ESSEC Business School
    5. HEC Paris
    6. IÉSEG School of Management
    7. INSEAD
    8. INSEEC
    9. IPAG Business School
    10. ISC Paris Business School
    11. ISG International Business School
    12. International School of Management
    13. Novancia Business School
    14. Paris School of Business
  • Paris Tech Employers
    1. Amazon
    2. Apple
    3. BlaBlaCar
    4. Cisco
    5. Criteo
    6. DailyMotion
    7. Deezer
    8. Facebook
    9. Google
    10. HP
    11. Mention
    12. Microsoft
    13. Mozilla
    14. NetApp
    15. PayPal
    16. Pinterest
    17. Spotify
    18. Twitter

 

*  *  *

Learn more about the Startup Ecosystem Canvas here, and leave us your thoughts on the Paris Canvas on this collaborative Google document (This is just a draft, and more input is needed!)

Are you looking to build a startup in Paris? Then apply to the Paris Founder Institute today

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