On Tuesday night native time, Motier Ventures, an early stage tech funding agency based mostly in Paris, unveiled a startup hub known as La Maison. This comparatively new investor within the French tech ecosystem is the household workplace of the Houzé household — the house owners of upmarket trend retailer the Galeries Lafayette Group.
As the Galeries Lafayette shops’ major belongings are its bodily retail shops in addition they imagine a bodily area for startups will give them an edge over different tech funding corporations.
Early stage startup founders based mostly in Paris have extra choices than ever in relation to elevating a seed spherical. Many unicorn founders have grow to be angel traders on the facet. Family places of work have diversified their funding methods with a renewed urge for food for tech startups. And early stage VC corporations are nonetheless preventing for one of the best offers.
The most promising startups get to decide on who they need on their capitalization desk. Some traders like to vow introductions with potential purchasers and enterprise companions. Others pledge a speedy, no frills monetary transaction in order that entrepreneurs can get again to work on their startup.
Motier Ventures is betting on an ecosystem-first method. Over the previous three years, the fund has deployed capital at a speedy tempo as it’s now an investor in 85 corporations, together with many promising AI corporations — similar to Dust, H and Mistral.
They’ve additionally organized a number of occasions which have put many founders and traders within the French tech ecosystem into the identical room. The subsequent step in that technique is a bodily area, known as La Maison (a phrase which interprets as home or house).
Spread throughout the highest three flooring of the Lafayette Gourmet constructing subsequent to the Opéra Garnier, La Maison will host a dozen early stage startups on this Haussmannian constructing. It will open in early 2025.
The fourth ground will likely be a bit totally different as it can act as an occasion/demo day/hackathon/cocktail reception area. “It’s a big project, and I think what drives us is not just Motier Ventures, but the whole entrepreneurial and family ecosystem that we’ve represented for five generations,” Motier Ventures associate Guillaume Houzé stated throughout an AI-focused occasion in Paris organized by Motier.
“With Galeries Lafayette, we’re ultimately trying to support those who make the finest brands,” he added, saying the fund’s aim for La Maison is to help “exceptional teams” by offering not only a work and assembly place but additionally inspiration for creativity — or “a space to reflect collectively on the vision of society we want to build”, as he put it.
In some ways, the pitch for La Maison is harking back to the early days of native tech hub The Family. Around 10 years go, The Family opened as a startup accelerator with a lovely occasion area that rapidly turned the city sq. of the French tech ecosystem.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, The Family had no alternative however to close down the area to chop prices. More lately, it’s been again within the information for all of the unsuitable causes as Oussama Ammar, considered one of The Family’s co-founder, is being sued for allegedly diverting tens of millions of euros.
For individuals who have been working within the French tech ecosystem for quite a lot of years, The Family’s meetups and dinners at the moment are only a distant reminiscence. And nothing has actually stepped in to interchange it. While Station F is an impressive startup megacampus, it’s too massive for informal and casual occasions. Maybe La Maison will grow to be the brand new default area to host small meetups.
“Our ambition is to cultivate an environment where the next generation of tech entrepreneurs, in AI and beyond, can feel supported, inspired, and connected every day,” Motier Ventures associate Nicolas Essayan stated in an announcement.
