Fundraising, IPOs, Mergers & Acquisitions, New Records... ESSEC Entrepreneurs in High Demand

From the biggest fundraising round in the history of French Tech, to the largest IPO in the last three years, all accompanied by the emergence of new unicorns and blossoming start-ups: ESSEC entrepreneurs have pulled of a number of successful deals in recent weeks!

Co-founded by Guillaume Paoli (E95), Aramis Group, the European leader in online used car sales, floated on the Euronext-Paris stock market in the biggest IPO since Française des Jeux (FDJ) in 2019, with a market capitalization of €1.9bn, issuing €250m of new shares. These are vertiginous sums, equal only to the company’s ambitions of generating an organic turnover of €6bn by 2030. (To check out the ESSEC Alumni article on Aramis Group, click here)

Founded by Jonathan Cherki (E11), the Franco-American unicorn Contentsquare, which helps e-commerce operators to supercharge their online sales by analysing the browsing habits of web users, raised $500m and achieved a total valuation of €2.8bn. It is a first in the history of French Tech, and a boon that will enable the company to recruit 1500 staff and push ahead with its international expansion.

Trade Republic, the brokering and investment platform for consumers, raised $900m to bring stock saving plans to everyone in Europe. Is priority markets include France, where the company opened a subsidiary managed by Matthias Baccino (E09), who now has extra resources to persuade his countrymen to make the move into stocks, cryptocurrencies, and ETF saving plans. 

Back Market, the online marketplace specialising in refurbished electrical goods, announced a €276m fundraising round, earning it a spot amongst the 15 French unicorns. Working behind the scenes in this transaction that was front page news in the French and international press was Clément Petit (E08), CFO, who now sees the company’s valuation exceed €1bn. 

Otrium, the online fashion outlet, raised $120m – and Michaël Elalouf (E09), its CFO, played a key role in the transaction. Its next target? Cracking the American market. 

Agicap, which provides SME with cash-flow management software, raised €82m, in one of the biggest Series B rounds in the history of European fintech. The people who made it possible include Mickaël Jordan (E10), Chief Revenue Officer of the promising new French start-up. 

Co-founded by Arnaud Le Rodallec (E17), Zoov, a self-service electric bike hire company, has joined forces with Smoove, known for taking over Vélib in Paris. Together, the two start-ups plan to form a group that’s a European leader in micromobility, and to offer an expended range of services to cities. 

Co-founded by Nathanaël Faibis (E10), the healthcare solution Alodokter has just completed a fresh round of fundraising barely six months after its last round for $33m. Based in Indonesia and amassing 27m users every month, the app lets users make appointments with 30,000 doctors and 150 clinical hospitals, manage their health insurance, and browse health-related content.

Co-founded by Thibault Levi Martin (E15), Partoo, which provides retailers with a way to boost their online visibility and enhance their reputation, raised €15m as part of a drive to generate €100m turnover and hire 800 staff by 2025. The start-up is already well on the way: it recorded 80% growth in 2020, and now counts more than 300 brands among its customers, including Carrefour, Leroy Merlin, Starbucks, Toyota and Etam. (To check out the ESSEC Alumni article on Partoo, click here)

Co-founded by Louis Carbonnier (E05), Hokodo, which provides SME with invoice-based insurance and financing to better manage payment times and delays, raised €12.5m to help it develop its technology and expand its services in Europe. 

Co-founded by David Benhaïm (E18), Wethenew, the marketplace for fans of limited-edition streetwear and sneakers, raised €10m to double its workforce, bolster its communications, open a collection point in the centre of Paris, and conquer the German and Italian markets.

Co-founded by Grégory Nadjar (EXEC MBA 18), SmartKitchen, which makes city centre restaurants available under a dark kitchen franchise, raised €10m to open a further ten kitchens by the end of 2020 and expand its brand portfolio.

Co-founded by Morgan Hilmi (E12), Beebs is a second-hand platform for the childhood sector, and raised €3m to accelerate its growth, expand its team, improve its distribution channels, and invest in marketing.

Launched by Angélique d’Esclaibes (E17), Epycure, the customised natural food supplement brand, raised €2.5m to develop new products, as well as to develop an assessment and advice platform and expand its team. 

Directed by Mounir Laggoune (BBA 13), Finary, the asset management tech solution for private investors, raised €2.2m to enable its expansion throughout Europe and the USA, connect with thousands of additional finance companies over the course of 2021, develop new features, and pad out its staff.

Co-founded by Julia Néel Biz (E12) and Nicolas Merlaud (E12), Teale, a platform that helps companies care for the mental well-being of their staff, raised €2m to recruit ten new staff and earn a sought-after position as a European unicorn in this rapidly growing and still highly fragmented market. 

Founded by Jean-Cédric Bekale (M11), TradeIn, the collaborative customer risk management platform, raised €2m to recruit more than ten new staff, enhance its offering, expand into new regions, and accelerate its commercial acquisition.

Co-founded by Sami Biasoni (E08), Neo raised €1.6m. The new online media channel is already competing with Brut and Konbini, amassing more than 150m views and 160,000 subscribers in just 5 months This success is also down to the journalists and producers Bernard de La Villardière and Stéphane Simon who are behind the project, as well as an editorial positioning with a focus on local, regionally relevant news, seen from a positive angle.

Albin Serviant (E92) raised €1.5m to consolidate the business of Têtu, the leading LGBTQI+ magazine that he acquired and successfully relaunched via a digitalisation and diversification strategy that included the creation of a think tank delivering awareness-raising initiatives for companies, and the acquisition of other press titles that target activist communities. (You can also read his interview with ESSEC Alumni, here.)

Founded by Axelle Ayad N’Ciri (M19), MAPatho, a healthcare toolbox tailored to each disease through a community of 30,000 patients and 6000 recommended specialist partners, products, and services, raised €1m to accelerate its European expansion and use artificial intelligence to improve its healthcare pathway models. 

Founded by Gaëlle Frizon de Lamotte (M02), OLY Be acquired its competitor, Yoga Connect, after a €1.5m fundraising round. The end goal for the platform that helps people find sport and fitness classes near home? “To become the leader of the wellness market in France.” (You can also read the ESSEC Alumni article on OLY Be, here)

Co-founded by Adèle Galey (E12), Ticket For Change helps people who would like to have a positive impact on society retrain in careers that match their values. It has just received €1m in funding over a five-year period from the Degroof Petercam Foundation, which selects and rewards the most innovative employment solutions every year. “The prize represents fantastic recognition of the work we’ve been doing for the past 7 years. It provides us with the resources we need to be more ambitions and accelerate our replication strategy.” 

Co-founded by Romain Palmieri (E17) and Dorian Perron (E17), Groover is a platform that brings artists into contact with the music scene and media. It has just absorbed its competitor, Soonvibes, which boasts a particularly solid position on the booming electronic music market. The merger will add 70,000 artists to its existing catalogue, and consolidate its international presence. (Read the ESSEC Alumni interview with Romain Palmieri and Dorian Perron by clicking here.)

Co-founded by Ghislain Rouëssé (E14), Billee is merging with Zenchef to provide restaurant owners, hoteliers, and retailers with a comprehensive selection of digital services tailored to the everyday and operational management of their brands: online bookings, table orders and payment via an app, room service, click & collect… and more besides (Read the ESSEC Alumni article on Billee here).

Co-founded by Jean Garrec (EXEC MBA 21) and Jean Cuiné (EXEC MBA 21), Bioadhesive Ophtalmics is a delivery service for ophthalmology drugs that has just raised €600k to give its R&D a boost. 

Launched by Claire Sauvage (M19), Petit Côté, the healthy bakery brand that uses vegetables grown in France, raised €500k to expand its distribution network and develop new products. 

Co-founded by Arnaud Delubac (M19), the app Greenly measures the carbon footprint of purchases made using your bank card, and rewards you for choosing greener options. It raised €500k to accelerate its development and international expansion. The investors in this round include Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux (E84), a MEDEF patron. 

Founded by Oriane Sentis (E20), Smartvrac raised €100k to develop its smart retail system for bulk products. “With our pre-packaged weigh-as-you-go dispensers, you no longer have to calibrate the scales and then weigh your containers: you know exactly how much you are buying in real-time, as you dispense it. Once your container is full, a barcode and QR code are printed automatically, so you can head straight to the checkout.” 

Co-founded by Yoann Huang (M20), Hubworkair, the specialist aerospace recruitment platform has just signed a strategic alliance with Airbus. The start-up will offer those working for the Toulouse-based aerospace giant with a two-step process for finding work: first, by helping them find opportunities in other sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by their priority return once the turbulence in the aerospace industry has passed.

Co-founded by Nicolas d’Aligny (M20), Vinidaily, the app that helps you choose your wine in the supermarket, launched a crowdfunding project on KissKissBankBank that has already blown past its target: 118% raised 20 days before the deadline! You can get involved, too: click here! 

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

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