Robert Kelley
Does France needs its own JOBS Act?
Here in France, we're seeing evidence of a similar surge in interest in early-stage deals.
Loic Le Meur sets a great example. Again.
By now you’ve all heard the news about Seesmic‘s big layoffs. Clearly they’ve been having trouble getting traction on their latest incarnation, and we speculated about their future prospects right here a couple months ago. In this very candid interview with Venturebeat, Seesmic founder and French startup pioneer Loic Le Meur takes full responsibility for […]
France's best startup digs #1: BeMyBoat
It’s Friday, so let’s get out of Paris. The first winner of our weekly French office contest is BeMyBoat, a Nantes-based online yacht charter agency. Their beautiful offices are located on an island in the middle of the Erdre River. Special thanks to Yoann Grange for the great photos, and thanks to the higher powers […]
How to enjoy French wine using tech
When I went back to NYC over Christmas, the greatest source of reverse culture shock was the wine. We kept finding ourselves at restaurants paying at least $50 for uninspiring bottles. You see, living in France has spoiled us. But let’s be honest: I, and even most native French, don’t come anywhere close to taking […]
Berlin Maniacs brings Paris to the gold rush
In case you missed it, last week marked the launch of Berlin Maniacs, a brand new French-language blog covering the Berlin tech scene. And no, it’s not a Samwer Brothers take on the Rude Baguette. But it does share many of our core values, and we’re happy it’s here. Berlin Maniacs was founded by Nicolas […]
Krrb: Paris and Brooklyn-designed fleas for fashion (and more)
Online classifieds have been stuck in the past for years now (see Craigslist and Leboncoin), and even though plenty of companies are trying hard (see Oodle and OLX), innovation in the space really seems to be lagging. So the first thing you notice when you go to Krrb.com is that it looks like something new. […]
Pimp your digs: The Rude Baguette's French office contest
Let’s face it: France is a pretty enviable place to live and work. Working in Silicon Valley might be good for meeting VCs, but your office is probably in some anonymous office park located among mind-numbingly boring suburban sprawl. But here you might be in a regal Hausmann building along the Seine, or in a […]
Did Free even pierce Orange's peel?
When Xavier Niel announced the launch of Free Mobile about six weeks ago, he invited not only comparisons to Steve Jobs but also the attention of the global tech world. Free’s approach to the French market — to build a mobile network on the back on its substantial consumer wifi network — is certainly unique, […]
The truth about Jimmy Fairly: why copying is not always copying
Last May, when our own Roxanne broke the news in Techcruch of French eyewear e-tailer Jimmy Fairly’s €200K initial fundraising, more than a few people were more than a little upset. The comments section teemed with disapproval of their ample similarities to American startup Warby Parker — “What Jimmy Fairly did lies somewhere between extremely poor form and actual IP infringement,” […]
Techstars Boston has a French flavor this year
France’s last remaining territory in North America (not including the Caribbean) is Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland with just over 6,000 residents. But if recent developments are any indication, it seems that the French have designs on the startup hotbed of Cambridge, Massachusetts. That’s where two hot Gallic startups, DocTrackr and Psykosoft, will be spending the next […]