WHO WE ARE
OUR STORY
Founded by the serial European tech entrepreneur, Marc Menasé, Founders Future is a venture studio, providing creativity, network, support and productive capital. We’ve built an investment platform dedicated to entrepreneurs, funded and managed by entrepreneurs, bringing high value and an ambitious mindset.
We aim to build partnerships with inspiring entrepreneurs, align all stakeholder’s interest and create a true operational relationship.
Our mission is to become a sparring-partner and continuously try to impact the business on the product, go-to-market, business development and talent acquisition. We’ve hired top-notch operating partners coming from the best entrepreneurial ventures to cover the key functions of the company.
While sourcing off-market deals and keeping a high flexibility on our investment criteria, we are entrepreneur-friendly and do our utmost to create synergies between start-ups and our network of tier one investors.
Our sweet-spot: a A+ team, a scalable business (platforms, marketplace and SAAS), a market in transformation with significant opportunities.
We focus on investing at 4 different stages: startup studio, pre-seed, seed and series A.
Who whe are
Manifesto
1. As entrepreneurs, we want to partner with personalities and not profiles. We aim to work on everyday bases with authentic founders who are the best at what they do.
2. Of course we love ideas (we are all dreamers), but we care more about converting them to reality.
3. Studio and Seed are our focus. As lead investor and partner, we see our relationships with entrepreneurs longterm - whether it is up or down - and we know what we’re talking about.
4. We work as entrepreneurs, being next to founders to co-create and invest in exceptional ventures. We help accelerate and structure the fundamentals to put the rocket on the launch-pad.
5. We believe in:
Humility - action pays more than marketing
Respect - interact and listen will always be more productive
Ambition - entrepreneurs and visionaries are often synonymous, so we are doing everything we can to make their projects a reality
Performance - improving product, numbers or quality bring us everyday happiness
6. We don’t buy hypergrowth for hypergrowth. Building and scaling a great company takes time. This is why we particularly care about client satisfaction, staff motivation and proudness.
WHO WE ARE
TEAM
MARC MENASÉ
Founding partner
Marc Menasé is a French serial entrepreneur.
Entrepreneur and early stage investor, he created and participated in many European successes including, Kelkoo (acquired by Yahoo Inc), Nextedia (acquired by Lagardère Group), TEADS (acquired by Altice), Mensquare (acquired by group Le Figaro), Le Petit Ballon (acquired by Vente-Privée.com), Tiller Systems (acquired by Sumup), October, Yuka, Lydia, Taster, Molotov.tv,…
Marc is very involved in the European Tech industry, he co-founded France Digitale (French digital and venture association) and was elected French E-commerce personality of the year in 2012.
Marc is graduated from HEC Paris.
VALENTINE BARBELIVIEN
Partner
Before joining Founders Future, Valentine Baudouin Barbelivien spent more than a decade as a lawyer in private practice, investment fund or private bank in the field of capital markets, private equity and investment banking advising regulated companies, particularly in the field of innovation (marketplace, blockchain, ICOs, Fintech, IA). Valentine is also an active business angel who is involved alongside entrepreneurs in their development.
Valentine is graduated from Paris Assas and Paris Dauphine.
SARAH CORNE
Partner
Before joigning Founders Future, Sarah Corne spent 6 years working at Ulule, the European crowdfunding platform as Associate and Business Development Director.
She started her career at the French NGO Positive Planet, founded by Jacques Attali and lauched the Positive Planet Foundation.
Sarah is very involved in impact ecosystem. She is Board Member of Tech For Good France and Fight for Dignity, the NGO created by the French Champion Laurence Fisher.
She also co-founded the new media So Good with Sopress (Society, SoFoot, SoFilm…).
Sarah is graduated from ESSCA.
MAXIME DE VARINE-BOHAN
Investment team
Before joining Founders Future, Maxime was Investment Associate at Groupe Labruyère, the private equity investment holding of the eponymous family. He started his career at Skylar within the Hedge Fund department and then joined the M&A branch.
Maxime is graduated from of Ecole Polytechnique Féminine and Paris Dauphine university.
VICTOIRE DE LAVIGNE
Investment team
Before joining Founders Future, Victoire was an Equity Analyst at Goldman Sachs in London. She started her career at Lazard Frères Gestion in Asset Management.
Victoire is a graduate of ESSCA and ESCP Europe.
GABRIELLE FOUREY
Office manager
Before joining Founders Future, Gabrielle has managed creative teams and led projects for 20 years in a communications agency and then as a freelancer.
Now Gabrielle holds the key position of office manager. She assists the team on all cross-functional issues and runs the Future House venue.
PAUL VARRASSO
Investment team
Before joining Founders Future, Paul worked in investment banking at Ader Finance. He started his career at EY in Financial Audit.
Paul is graduated of Kedge and is completing a master at CentraleSupélec.
SOPHIE DUVAL
Legal Counsel
Before joining Founders Future, Sophie worked as a lawyer in M&A and private equity at Coblence Partners.
Sophie is a graduate of Toulouse Capitole University.
PORTFOLIO
COMPANIES
FUTURE HOUSE
THE FUTURE HOUSE
The Future House is a place dedicated to entrepreneurship. In the heart of the 10th arrondissement of Paris, these 300 m2 offices are a place of exchanges where entrepreneurs, investors and partners meet. It is a space for creation, collaboration and collective intelligence.
FUTURE HOUSE
FOUNDERS FUTURE FAMILY
FUTURE HOUSE
WE LOVE PARIS
WE LOVE PARIS
The French scene points some impressive stats: there are now more than 10,000 startups in France, while VC investments continue to grow (over €5.1bn in 2019), putting France just behind the UK in Europe.
French startups raised on average €7.5M in 2019 (+43% vs 2018)
With more than 120 VC operating, and some of the best universities in the world, the French capital has many of the ingredients necessary for the startup alchemy to take place.
37,000 engineers graduate every year, with very good software engineering that can be much more accessible than in the Silicon Valley.
Paris is also a hotspot for international companies (CAC40, Fortune 500) that are now involved with the startup ecosystem. Buying companies is not the only target, it’s also about having the best talents.
A VIBRANT PARISIAN ECOSYSTEM
In the last decade, parisian entrepreneurs have breathed a renewal with ambitious initiatives: first with France Digitale, then with the French Tech and more recently with Ecole 42 and Station F.
France Digitale is a French association of general interest that brings together digital entrepreneurs and investors (angels investors and VC) to promote the digital economy with public authorities.
Ecole 42 is a parisian school, free of fees, that creates the next generation of coders (3,000 students each year, without backgrounds prerequisites). It is backed by Xavier Niel, as well as Station F, the world’s biggest startup campus that gather a whole entrepreneurial ecosystem under one roof (incubator, accelerators, VCs, corporates and associations).
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A PRO-STARTUP GOVERNMENT
The French government tries to have a positive impact on companies all over the world. They attract young businesses to France and participe to investments thanks to the Banque Publique d’Investissement.
The main goal is to dynamize this growing ecosystem and to attract international entrepreneurs.
The French Tech Ticket is a good example: it offers to startup founding teams of two or three English-speaking foreigners up to 45,000 a year plus 12 months in an incubator if they will set up in France
In September 2019, the government launched the Next40 index to groups together the 40 most promising French startups, 40 French corporate prodigies with high prospects of becoming global tech leaders. This is a driver for raising the international profile of these businesses and enabling them to grow more quickly.
CONTACT
LET’S MEET
FOUNDERS FUTURE
Future House
6 rue Pierre Chausson
75010 Paris
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
You would like to work with us? You are the next unicorn, our next team member, a potential partner, a journalist?
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