400 startupers, tech enthusiasts and journalists came out last night to check out the hottest new startups and innovations Paris has to offer. As an added bonus those who joined also got to hear from several big names in France’s tech ecosystem who continue to disrupt the status quo and work to put France squarely on the map as one of the world’s most dynamic tech hubs.
But, of course, all eyes were on the startups. This time around, there were 7 selected startups who took the stage to either launch their startup or new products / solutions. The selected startups converged around 3 main areas: social, disruption and IoT. Here’s a short summary of the chosen startups and the highlights:
Social
Braineet: As social media continues to consume more of consumers lives, applications and solutions giving brands the ability to interact with consumers or get their feedback are increasingly playing a big role in industries such as advertising, FMCG, fashion and more. Braineet is looking to evolve this growing area by enabling consumers to share their smart ideas (referred to as ‘brainees’, 140 characters or less) with every brand to improve the products and services they use every day.
Recommend: Recommend have been well-known for a while as a startup to watch. They chose Paris Founders Event to launch the v2.0 of their mobile and web app. Their new version is an impressive leap from the previous one, which now enables users to create and curate a recommendation list, do full text search, and follow thought leaders by sector. The new version, which is of course still powered by trust and relevance, will enable users to find even better advice people they know or experts they follow.
Disruption
Marie Quantier: Looking to disrupt a sector that’s long overdue for a lasting shake-up, Marie Quantier gives individual investors access to cutting edge fintech, that was previously only available to investment banks and hedge funds. France’s online brokerage market is certainly undeveloped vs other countries’, so hopefully Marie Quantier will not only bring access to current investors, but will also bring more consumers in France and beyond into the financial markets.
Jurisfactory: Creating a business, particularly in France, can be challenging. While it has certainly gotten a lot easier in recent years, dealing with all the administrative requirements can be a time-consuming process. Jurisfactory is looking to change all that by offering entrepreneurs an affordable and reliable solution to not only create their company but also deal with basic legal paperwork.
IoT
Prizm: Prizm showed off their innovative device that is likely to get us a lot closer to having a truly intelligent object that analyzes people’s needs and environment and helps them discover new content that is a near-perfect match for the user. Prizm is a device that converts any speaker into an ‘intelligent speaker’ which not only interprets what its ‘owner’ may like or want to listen to, but also modifies the music it recommends when others enter the room. The Prizm team will be launching a campaign on Kickstarter next week.
Nettelo: Nettelo is a mobile platform which enables you to capture, view and interact with your body in 3D. It not only generates your precise 3D digital clone, which can be particularly useful when shopping for clothes online, but it’s dynamic in the sense that the clone will also change overtime as the user’s body and lifestyle changes. Nettelo will soon be available on the appstore.
Prynt: Although photography has squarely transitioned to the digital realm, the need to have physical photos remains. Prynt is a mobile phone case that essentially transforms your mobile phone into a polaroid, enabling users to print their photos on the spot. Prynt not only enables the printing of photos, but can also create videos from your photos. They also announced that they’ll be starting their Kickstarter campaign by the end of the year.
Top speakers, big news
In addition to the selected startups, there were also various speakers who took the stage to announce big news, demo new products or discuss the secrets to their success. Some of the biggest news of the night came from TheFamily’s cofounder Oussama Amar who announced that TheFamily would be opening an office in January in London focused on supporting their startups as they raise funds. The decision was largely driven by the increasing need for French startups to look to the UK and US for big fundraising rounds. Oussama reiterated that this trend has been evident in TheFamily’s case where 82 million of the 94 million raised by their startups has come from the US & UK.
Other speakers who took the stage included Benjamin Gaignault & Alexandre Chartier from Ornikar, who joined to talk about their near heroic efforts to disrupt the highly regulated drivers licensing sector in France, CEO/CoFounder of Tigerlily & Sleek and author Matthieu Chereau, serial entrepreneurs and cofounders of Selectionnist Tatiana Jama & Lara Louyres, and Richard Ollier, CEO /CoFounder – Giroptic who mounted the most successful French crowdfunding campaign to date (1.4 million euros).
Don’t miss out on the next Paris Founders Event on January 22nd !
The Paris Founders Event – Winter Edition, set for January 22, 2015, promises to bring out once again the best and brightest of French tech as they launch innovative and disruptive new products and solutions. You can already book your ticket here.
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