The translated metadata string from French to English is: "Guide to Resources for Investing in French Startups"

When I started as a business angel, I quickly realized that information was scattered and often poorly adapted to the French context. After 3 years of investing in seed-stage tech startups, here is the guide to French resources I wish I had when I started.

This guide is not exhaustive, but it contains the essentials – the resources that have truly served me and that I still use today. Of course, I also use American resources, but I will address those in another article.

Education: Books, Webinars, and MOOCs

The first step is to find training on the BA profession. French resources are quite rare, which is regrettable. However, here are the ones I recommend:

Super Capital: Supercapital offers to invest in seeds via their fund. They also offer training in their club (link to the club and the notion). Their training is very well done, I highly recommend it.
Frédéric Bouleuc: Frédéric is one of the creators of Supercapital. He offers an excellent free white paper on investing in France on his site.
Startup Guide 2019: This guide is old (5 years!) but it is free and very comprehensive. It is worth consulting.

Note on books: Surprisingly, there are very few French books on the subject. The only two I know are "Profession Business Angels" (2010) and "Les Business Angels" (2006). I advise you to rather focus on the resources mentioned above.

Profession Business Angels: Being a business angel in France by Cyril Demaria and Marc Fournier. A practical guide covering investment strategies, due diligence, and legal framework (2010) (note: I have not read it yet, I ordered it)
Les Business Angels: By Raphaël Boukris. A complete overview of the French business angel ecosystem. Note: book sold out but a historical reference (2006). (note: unread)

Finding Deal Flow

Once the basics are acquired, the next step is to find a deal flow. I recommend joining a BA club. They don't necessarily have the best deals, but they allow you to create a network, benefit from their internal training, and get all the latest BA news.

The list of networks is on the France Angels website (The national network of business angels. Essential for understanding the ecosystem). I have personally tried several, and I recommend PBA (Paris Business Angels: The largest network of Parisian BAs) for its professionalism.

Several other strategies:

Invest in a fund that gives access to "side" deal flow. The most well-known are SuperCapital and Inovexus. But the full lists are here: Top30 2024, Serena VC list, Top seed funds 2022
Sign up for platforms that provide access to deals after selections:
1. AngelSquare: Premium deal flow platform. Rigorous selection and exclusive opportunities.
2. Sideangels: The pioneer of the club deal in France created in 2016 by Renaud Guillerm.
Follow incubators
1. Station F: The largest startup campus in the world, listing its programs and resources, and often meetings between investors and entrepreneurs. Visit the site
2. Regional Incubators: Search for public incubator sites (competitiveness pole incubators) or private ones, which regularly publish “demo days” open to investors.

Investment Early-Stage Events and Conferences

To grow your network and be visible, conferences are inevitable.

Entrepreneur's Fair: An essential annual meeting, with a space dedicated to connecting investors and project leaders.
France Digitale Day: An event bringing together tech startups and investors, offering conferences, workshops, and speed-pitching sessions.
Maddyness agenda
List of events French tech
Allevents: List in Paris
International events: Want to travel? The best expos. #1, #2, #3, #4, #5
Kite camp: The tradition started with the Maitai in California. The tradition continues with the French Kite camps.

Due Diligence and Info on French Tech

Galion project: mainly for founders but some of their tools are very useful for angels as well, such as their term sheet reference. Essential for reviewing a term sheet in France.
Dealroom (France section): A complete database on the European startup ecosystem, including information on funding rounds, investors, and company performance. Visit the site
Crunchbase: Global database listing startups, investors, and transactions, with the option to filter by region and sector. Visit the site

For valuations and culture on the ecosystem, nothing beats reading regular reports. I advise these: Avolta Insight
20VC 2024 French Ecosystem

Media: Staying Up to Date

Blogs and newspapers

Jean de la Rochebrochard Blog
Maddyness: Flagship media of the French entrepreneurial ecosystem, covering startup news, fundraising, and investment trends. Visit the site
FrenchWeb: A portal dedicated to innovation, digital transformations, and new economic models, focusing on technology and the growth of young companies. Visit the site
Serena Blog: Serena is one of the largest French VCs and their statistics on seed valuations are very useful for a BA. Visit the site
Avolta: The most complete with all the exit valuations. Visit the site
Sifted: European media deciphering tech trends.
Mighty nine blog

People to follow on LinkedIn: Maya Noel (CEO France Digitale)
Charlie Perreau (Head of Tech-Media-Startup service at Les Echos)
Agathe Wautier (Gallion project)
Adrien Chaltiel

Essential Podcasts on BAs

Silicon Carne: Deep dives into the French startup ecosystem.
Le Tech Show: Weekly analyses of tech trends by Vincent Kingbeil.
Tech 45: Tech news decrypted in 45 minutes.
Cash Out: Behind the scenes of the most notable French Tech exits.
Matthieu Stefani ⇒ https://www.gdiy.fr/