All posts in bankruptcy

RudeVC: Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em

During a panel at a tech conference several years back, a seasoned and respected French early-stage VC that I will not name boasted about how he (of course it’s a ‘he’) had never had a portfolio company go bankrupt. Needless to say, this remark was an eyebrow-raiser for me about France’s venture capital sector. My […]

RudeVC: Why the latest RBS scandal smells so rotten

RudeVC: Why the latest RBS scandal smells so rotten

If claims in a UK government report published last week have any basis, then the latest scandal surrounding the Royal Bank of Scotland makes LIBOR manipulation look like just a rainy start to the cricket season. The Tomlinson report, established by UK Business Secretary Vince Cable, found evidence that RBS intentionally forced small and medium […]

RudeVC: The latest local example of how business model can go from sweet to bitter

RudeVC: The latest local example of how business model can go from sweet to bitter

It seems that almost on a weekly basis these days an emblematic French company falls into financial distress. The most recent which caught my attention is Hédiard. It’s impossible to wander through a chic quartier of Paris without seeing a Hédiard store. The venerable French brand synonymous with French gourmet foodstuffs counts nearly 200 years […]