Archive for May 2014
Dailymotion on the sidelines as Yahoo plans to go head-to-head with YouTube
I’ll be quick on this one, as I think AdAge covered the facts of the situation pretty well. Former Google Exec and current Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has made it clear since her arrival that Video was key – it’s a $70 Billion market that Yahoo’s barely scratching the surface of. Yahoo came to Dailymotion in […]
Microsoft reinforces its mobile-first focus with Capptain acquisition
Microsoft has made no secret its new lazer focus on mobile. When taking the helm at Microsoft earlier this year, new CEO Satya Nadella made known that Microsoft’s new reality would be a world that’s “mobile-first, cloud-first“. Though Microsoft seems to have the cloud part of the equation in place, their effort to shift to […]
What to think of Viadeo’s €200-300 Million IPO plans?
This week Viadeo announced in an interview with LeFigaro that they would be seeking to raise €200-300 million on the Euronext in a Paris IPO early next year. Viadeo, which competes with LinkedIn and Xing as a professional network, owes much of its success to France, where it first started as an online network for French […]
LeKiosk revamps its newstand app, goes head-to-head with Google & Flipboard
It’s not easy being media these days. In France, things have gotten so bad that the government negotiated for Google to create a €60 Million fund dedicated to helping dying print magazines switch to digital. Now that said money has now been all but dolled out, Google has launched its paid newsstand, which was already […]
What packing can teach us about management in a startup
Ever notice how packing a suitcase always seems a lot more stressful and time-consuming when you’re planning what to bring on your trip at the same time? Conversely, drafting a packing list before actually opening the empty suitcase makes the packing exercise flow so much more smoothly. Behind this phenomenon lies a trait inherent in […]
Sculpteo becomes the latest “Netvibes” disappointment with its pivot to B2B
When I first met Sculpteo CEO Clément Moreau, I was pretty impressed with his vision for the future of 3D. We discussed how 3D Printing could disrupt manufacturing and distribution altogether, and he showed me how they were 3D printing wax casts which could then be used to create silver, gold or other metal objects, […]
France leads the way in Europe in Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators list
Each year global media and information giant Thomson Reuters conducts an extensive study to identify the most innovative countries in the world. While the US, not surprisingly, came out on top with 45 companies on the list and Japan came in second with 28, France came out on top in Europe with 12 companies making […]
We will never be Silicon Valley, so what can we be? Answer: Ourselves.
In this week’s Weekly Digest, I touched on a conversation topic that has been swirling around my head for a while. It seems that we have moved beyond the old “How can X become the next Silicon Valley?” question, and this is undoubtedly a good step. The question of how one should measure and shape […]
Don’t look now: Sigfox is expanding its M2M network into… the Silicon Valley
If you’ve been following the M2M space this year, you may have noticed that SIGFOX is making a number of sweeping moves to position itself as a global M2M Telecom Operator. After raising their €15M Series B, Sigfox added former Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon as their President, signaling to many that this company has IPO […]
Something’s not sitting right with me about TheFamily
Last week TheFamily announced that they have pulled in $1 Million in fundraising, including the initial $150K that Index Ventures limped in last year. Index’s investment has been matched by a leading French VC , alongside a handful of Business Angels, all of whom have one thought on their mind: deal-flow. For VCs & Business […]