It’s not often in the startup sector that I have to write these kinds of articles, so I’ll try to keep it brief and respectful. Jean-Marc Plueger, CEO of Yasound, an online music startup, was ‘found dead’ earlier this week. At just 46 years old, the details are still unclear as to how he passed away, but Yasound has set up a radio station hommage where friends, family, and fans of Yasound can leave comments and listen to a hand-picked music selection.
One of the Kima Startups CEO was found dead yesterday… R.I.P. 🙁
— Jeremie Berrebi (@jberrebi) December 12, 2012
The news first broke yesterday evening, when KIMA Ventures’s Jeremie Berrebi tweeted an ambiguous “One of the Kima Startups CEO was found dead yesterday… R.I.P” Hours later, after Yasound posted about their hommage to their deceased CEO (seen below), Berrebi tweeted again, mentioning Pleuger by name.
Notre CEO, Jean-Marc Plueger, nous a quitté lundi soir. Nos pensées vont à ses proches. Pr 1 hommage : http://t.co/c24dFPaB #jeanmarcplueger
— YaSound (@YasoundSAS) December 13, 2012
As word began to spread, there was no doubt that Pleuger will be missed, not only by his family, but by the startup community as a whole. Editor of ReadWriteWeb France Fabrice Ebelboin cited the “j’ai vecu de belles aventures [avec Pleuger],” while Marc Brandsma spoke of him kindly, saying “he was really passionate about his ventures, that’s a loss for the community.”
One of the few serial web entrepreneurs in France, Jean-Marc Pleuger was previously the CEO of Jiwa, which he closed in 2010 after 4 years of offering free music to users in France. In 2000 he was the PDG of Prizzo, which sold airline tickets online – the company had €1,000,000 in capital when it opened, according to Societe.com.
I had the unfortunate displeasure not to meet Jean-Marc Plueger just last month. I had been introduced by email and was set to meet him at the Soirée Yasound, where the company announced a partnership with Deezer. I thought I would come back around in 2013 and meet him, but it seems I’ll be spending that time reflecting on missed opportunities.
Just one month ago Jean-Marc Plueger gave a talk at Club Digital, during an event called “Can we succeed in the digital sector while being French?” The event was recorded and placed on YouTube, why not take 15 minutes (if you understand French) and listen to what a great French serial entrepreneur sounds like.
Did you like it? 4.4/5 (30)
