ESSEC Start-Ups Weather the Crisis

Despite the current crisis, many ESSEC entrepreneurs have done some (very) good business in recent months. These newcomers are soothing the fears of economic collapse and giving us hope for the future!

Launched in 2012 by Jonathan Cherki (E12) and incubated at ESSEC Ventures, Contentsquare raised $190m slap bang in the middle of the crisis, for a total valuation of more than $1bn! This means that the SaaS platform that helps brands improve their user experience has now cemented its place in the highly exclusive club of business unicorns.

Founded by Ludovic de Gromard (E12), Chance has just raised €5.6m to roll out its self-coaching course. The three-month course runs on a dedicated platform with exclusive video content, and can be customised thanks to a “PsyTech” solution that analyses user behaviour in real-time. And as a member of ESSEC Alumni, you can sign up at a discounted rate thanks to our partnership with Chance.

Co-founded by François Roth (E12), Amaury Courbon (E12) and Alexandre Martin (E12), Colonies, a real estate company specialising in co-living, announced a fundraising round of €180m in the midst of lockdown, which follows a first round that raised €11m last year. Its aim? To open over 50 residences throughout Europe by the end of 2020. 

Launched by Philippe Bencteux (M15), in late April Robocath raised €40m from China’s MicroPort, in partnership with four investment funds specialising in healthcare, in order to “become the world leader in vascular robotics”. To that end, the start-up plans to develop a new generation of robots that can be used in surgery, treating strokes for example. 

In early May Mickaël Jordan (E10), CMO of Agicap, announced a fundraising round of €15m to support the development of their automated cash-flow management software, which has been garnering increased attention since the start of the crisis. That should be plenty to forecast a fivefold increase in the company’s B2B clients by the end of the year. 

Co-founded by Antoine Chabassol (E12) and Bastien Moreau (E12), Qilibri has just completed a first round of fundraising worth €3.5. The budding company specialising in well-being and a balanced diet now plans to increase its staff and add online fitness classes to its meal delivery and nutritionist services.

Launched by Adrien Oksman (E09), Boks raised €1m in March to boost its smart lockers which, installed in a building’s lobby, make it easier to deliver parcels. It is a solution that comes at exactly the right moment, at a time when coronavirus has seen an unprecedented explosion in e-commerce and therefore home deliveries.

Co-founded by Pierre Grateau (E10), AssoConnect, a management solution for charities, raised €7m this winter. The main aim of this second fundraising round was to conquer the American market. 

Founded by Tristan Verdier (E09), Eventmaker has just announced a fundraising round worth €1.3m. The start-up provides a B2B event management solution which had the foresight to roll out online at the start of the crisis to help businesses take all their events online. No wonder business angels like Olivier de Panafieu and Antoine Jeandet saw the potential!

Launched by Arnaud Delubac (M19) as part of the Centrale- ESSEC Entrepreneurs Advanced Masters, Greenly, which uses your bank account to instantly show you the carbon footprint of your shopping, raised €500,000 in early May. The start-up makes an app that shows the carbon footprint of your shopping in your bank account, to raise awareness and help you make more responsible choices as a consumer. The funds will be used to enhance the solution with a rewards system in the form of cashback for responsible purposes, as well as suggestions for alternative, more sustainable products, and to move in to the US market.

Have you spotted any more achievements from ESSEC entrepreneurs the past few months? Let us know!

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