Posted Sep 30, 2022 8:01 AM
The creation of a start-up is an obstacle course. Doing it with family members heightens the emotions (positive or negative) and sometimes gives rise to funny situations. “One day, we had to take our child to a meeting with investors because the two founders had to be present at all costs,” recalls Maxime Brousse, who co-founded Selency, a second-hand fashion site. hand, with his partner Charlotte Cadé.
Selency is not an isolated case. A handful of French Tech start-ups have founders from the same family (brothers, cousins) or are in a couple living in the city. One of the most atypical examples is Unseenlabs, a start-up that tracks illegal activities at sea using nano satellites. This young shoot, who raised 20 million in 2021 was created by Jonathan, Clément and Benjamin Galic.
“Each one alone in his corner, nothing would be done. It was three or nothing ”, explain in heart the brothers who like to recall their complementarity. Jonathan and Clément are space engineers while Benjamin is a business law lawyer (M&A, fundraising, intellectual property, etc.).
Learn to work together
The choice to found a start-up as a family often comes quite naturally. “We knew we were able to work together without killing each other,” laughs Jonathan Galic. However, embarking on this kind of adventure with people you sincerely love is not always easy.
At the head of DFNS, Clarisse Hagege and Christopher Grilhault des Fontaines admit to having experienced “turbulence and disagreements” during the first year. Clarisse Hagège, a former banker at Crédit Agricole, first founded this start-up which provides banks and fintech with an infrastructure to secure their cryptocurrencies with partners.
The latter left the adventure and Christopher Grilhault des Fontaines, a multi-entrepreneur who was already playing the private coach at home, became the co-founder, under the orders of his companion. “We each have our preserves, even if I sometimes tended to encroach” he explains. The company, which raised 12.3 million euros in 2022, then found a cruising speed. “We know each other and therefore we trust each other”, boasts the boss.
Investor mistrust
Nevertheless, their marital situation may have been an obstacle. “Some investors clearly told us that, in their investment thesis, they were not making a couple,” says Christopher Grilhault des Fontaines. Same for Selency. “The French funds were a little stressed by the situation unlike the foreign funds”, rewinds Maxime Brousse. “But after a few years, there were a lot fewer questions on the subject,” he continues.
This family specificity must, in any case, be taken into account in the organization of the start-up so that the business does not suffer from a potential separation. “You need a good shareholders’ pact from the start,” insists Julia Bijaoui, who co-founded Frichti with Quentin Vacher. The couple were used to working together since they had met at their previous company (Birchbox).
Difficult separation with private life
“We are each the children of a couple of entrepreneurs! “, also recalls the boss. While some investors are hesitant, others see it as an asset. A couple that fails has, indeed, much more to lose than an ordinary pair (which may also have differences). “It gives even more intensity and soul to the entrepreneurship project,” observes Maxime Brousse.
One of the challenges for these iconoclastic entrepreneurs is to manage to separate professional and private life. But to hear them, it’s almost impossible. “We are in DFNS mode 24 hours a day,” smiles Clarisse Hagège. The Galic brothers try not to talk too much about work during family meals, even if the subject easily comes to the surface.
“It is important, in this type of situation, to leave room for other managers”, pleads Maxime Brousse, recalling that Selency has appointed an operations director and a technical director who work in harmony with Charlotte Cadé and him. To try to get out of its bubble, some entrepreneurs favor sport, others rely on culture.
The arrival of children, another challenge
But there is probably nothing more effective than children for cutting after work! “Children are becoming more important than society,” summarizes Julia Bijaoui, who sold Frichti to Gorillas this year. There remains the question of timing: should we wait for the start-up to be in orbit before launching? Not necessarily.
“We had a child in the first year,” recalls Edwige Michau, who founded Barooders, a second-hand outdoor sports platform, with her husband Geoffroy d’Autichamp. Unlike large family businesses, these start-ups have only a few years on the clock and it is still early to know if their children will one day want to take up the torch. But the idea is not incongruous. Benjamin Galic’s son did his ninth-grade internship at Unseenlabs and apparently enjoyed the experience a lot.
> Fundraising, decryptions, key figures… To not miss any news from French Tech and start-ups, subscribe to our newsletter > Subscribe
