Archive for July 2014
Iliad & Xavier Niel make $15 Billion bid to takeover T-Mobile in the US
French telecom Iliad confirmed reports this week that it has made a $15 Billion offer to take a 56.6% stake in T-Mobile US (full details here). The move comes as the Telecom industry has been shaken up in France and around the world. In the last 12 months, here are the following moves that have happened: Numericable […]
“I’ve been accepted into The Summit’s Alpha Program. Should I attend?”
In the past few weeks I’ve been receiving some emails from French startups accepted into The Summit’s Alpha Program – their program to help seed startups who are bootstrapped or have raised raised a seed round – and are curious as to whether it was worth the cost (the Alpha program is free, outside of Travel […]
When will Equity Crowdfunding take flight?
Earlier this year I laid out my vision of the Crowdfunding space – Lending-based crowdfunding (Lending Club, Pret d’Union) is getting the lion’s share of the market, while rewards-based crowdfunding (Kickstarter, Indiegogo, KKBB) are taking the lion’s share of the marketing. Meanwhile, equity crowdfunding platforms have been brewing in various countries – Seedrs in the UK (who expanded […]
![[Interview] Pilo Cofounder and CEO Nicolas Toper introduces Pilo, the 100X Better Battery](https://www.rudebaguette.com/wp-content/uploads/thumbs/photo-battery-380iwoxry9br23oh3gg9hm.jpg)
[Interview] Pilo Cofounder and CEO Nicolas Toper introduces Pilo, the 100X Better Battery
Throughout the July / August vacation period, the Rude Baguette will be running a series of interviews with some of France’s top and rising startups, where their founders give us more insight into their business, their future plans and what sets them apart from the rest. In this installment, we talk with Nicolas Toper, Pilo CEO […]
Marketplace payments platform MangoPay teams up with Currency Cloud
Marketplace & Crowdfunding platform payment solution MangoPay has announced a partnership with cloud currency engine Currency Cloud that will the former to offer better rates to clients who wish to convert currency and accept clients from around the world. Mangopay, a product built by Leetchi, has enabled over 200 platforms – marketplaces & other crowdfunding platforms – to handle money […]
Lucibel’s brilliant vision of the future of LED, Smart Lighting & Li-Fi
In the suburbs of Paris, a nondescript building in Rueil-Malmaison fails to paint the stereotype picture of a startup that I’ve come to expect. I have ventured outside of the comfort of the startup-packed Sentier district in Paris in order to meet Frédéric Granotier, the founder & CEO of Lucibel, a startup specialized in lighting. […]
Big Data innovator Expernova wins the ‘Worldwide Innovation Challenge’
The worldwide innovation challenge that grew out the French government’s ‘Innovation 2030’ commission has come to a close, and Montpellier-based, Expernova has emerged as one of the big winners in the Big Data category. Started in 2008 by Pascal Magnier and Clément Penin, Expernova is a platform focused on the science and technology space, which provides any collaborators […]
Sculpteo makes its 3D Printers available on Amazon’s new 3D Printing service
Earlier this week Amazon announced its latest foyer into the 3D Printing space – an on-demand store where users can design, order & deliver 3D Printed objects. Here in France, international 3D Printing service Sculpteo has already jumped on board the service (their services here) in order to power 3D printed objects and suggest some […]
RudeVC summer reading list 2014
Reader feedback on past editions has prompted me to produce another summer reading list this year. The criteria for reaching this list are not strict, but the guiding principles for the selected books are: i) to have some connection to startups, technology, VC, or Europe; and ii) to not be too heavy or intensely intellectual. […]
On-Demand delivery service TokTokTok raising upwards of €20 Million
It seems like Paris fundraising rounds are getting bigger by the quarter – Algolia’s crushing $2.8M Seed Round, Blablacar’s monster $100 Million round, and now, Rude Baguette has learned, On-Demand marketplace TokTokTok is working on closing a round upwards of $20 Million. After hiring Carrefour’s former CFO to lead the company earlier this year, the startup […]