Liam Boogar

After Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia acquires connected health startup Withings for €170 Million

Almost one year to the date since their acquisition of France’s Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia announced today that it will pay €170 million to acquire Paris-based Withings. Nokia is seeking a major role in the burgeoning Internet of Things space, and has been making acquisitions in order to put that in place. The Finnish company has been looking […]

Join us for our 10th & final #ParisFounders meetup

Join us for our 10th & final #ParisFounders meetup

Back in 2013, I dreamed of organizing a startup meetup that was so good, you’d keep coming back. Like many, we had organized a few bar meetups – thanks to Orange & eFounders for being among the first companies to sign us checks that allowed us to get our friends drunk – and we realized that […]

In France, a failed government for startups

In France, a failed government for startups

This year’s political debates in France have largely centered around what was meant to be major reform to labor regulations, which have left France’s unemployment rate up around 15% (near 25% for those under 25). The task: Find middle-ground that will make it less risky, less expensive, and less restrictive for employers to hire and fire. In the beginning of […]

There’s no such thing as AdTech

Last month, we organized the first edition of AUDIENCE, a high-level conference dedicated to digital media professionals. We brought together a couple hundred media professionals – brands, advertisers, agencies, publishers, content creators, and platforms – to take a look at a subject that gets a lot of attention – AdTech- from a different angle. A few […]

ParisFounders Spring Edition Fuses San Francisco & Paris on April 22nd

Rude Baguette is proud to announce our ParisFounders Spring 2016 Meetup, which will focus on the Paris-San Francisco connection. Since 2013, ParisFounders has been the #1 networking opportunity in Paris to meet with founders, investors, journalists & innovators. Each edition, we bring together 750 attendees and have 5 Demo’s on stage and 5 Interviews with headline-making […]

Pre-empting Spotify, Deezer puts music on your wrist with new Apple Watch app

Paris-based online music streaming service Deezer released their Apple Watch app today, allowing Apple Watch owners to play music directly from their watch. The app, which puts the service’s smart playlist “Flow” at the front of the experience, comes at a time where services like Spotify have not yet released an Apple Watch version of their […]

CapHorn Invest announces €100 Million first closing of its 2nd fund

VC Fund CapHorn Invest, specialized in startups who can help Industrial players transition to digital, has announced the first closing of its second fund at €100 Million, with a goal of reaching €125 Million for their final closing. This comes on the success of their first €50 Million fund, which invested in the likes of connected toothbrush Kolibree, among others. […]

Julie Desk raises €600K from France’s 1st super angel syndicate SIDE Capital

Virtual Assistant service Julie Desk has raised €600,000 from the recently launched SIDE Capital, a new super angel syndicate which includes the founders of Blablacar (valued at $2 Billion), Showroom Privé (IPO in 2015), PriceMinister (acquired by Rakuten) & A Little Market (sold to Etsy). Julie Desk was the result of a pivot away from collaborative planning app WePopp, and founders Julien […]

Don’t Say the F-Word: Europe’s future in Spending, Sending, Lending & Investing

The Financial Services capital of Europe has always been London – and it will likely remain that way (save a Brexit) – however, all of Europe seems to have caught the F-bug. This week BBVA announced its acquisition of Finland’s Holvi, an early player looking to reinvent the consumer banking experience. In Germany, the launch of […]

France sets its sights on sponsored endorsements on YouTube

YouTube monetization is a tricky game, and making a living off of posting videos on the Internet has required those who want to reach peak success to diversify their income beyond the Google-controlled advertising network. YouTube videos have pre-roll & banner ads; however, many YouTube stars gain their living through product placement: that is, direct […]