We started the year with some research and the goal to come up with a list for each EU country with 5-10 of the most promising startups to look out for in 2016. After looking at Germany and Italy, we’re now continuing with France. The “Grande Nation” has a very vital startup ecosystem and with Paris one of the main three startup hubs in Europe (the two others are London and Berlin). Below you’ll find 5 of France’s most promising startups. All of them were founded within the last two years.
1. Lendix: Founded in 2014, Lendix is an online marketplace for business loans, enabling investors to lend money directly to small and medium sized enterprises. Lendix aims to create a more efficient, transparent and customer-friendly alternative to the traditional banking system, and offers creditworthy SMEs lower interest rates and better investor returns. The Paris-based startup raised about € 11.2 million in venture capital.
2. Flashgap: A time-delayed photo-sharing app inspired by the movie ‘Hangover.’ When you’re at a great party or other types of events, it’s impossible to see or remember everything. Flashgap makes you and your friends re-live the event together. The collaborative photo sharing app keeps the photos locked until midday the following day. The Paris-based startup was founded in 2014 and raised $ 1.5 million in September of 2015.
3. Nanocloud: Founded in 2015, Nanocloud enables companies and software vendors to secure their application portfolio and turn any traditional software into a cloud solution without rewriting any line of code. The Nanocloud platform is available worldwide on a subscription basis. In October of 2015, the Paris-based tech startup raised € 1 million in seed financing.
4. DareBoost: A SaaS tool allowing to analyze and monitor websites and to produce customized reports on web performance and quality. The reports include not only general best practices, but also customized tips, depending on the technologies detected on a website. The ambitious team behind DareBoost is based in Cesson-Sévigné. So far they seem to have raised no venture capital. DareBooster was founded in 2014.
5. Email Hunter: The Lyon-based startup Email Hunter helps you find the email address of prospects, press relations, investors (etc.). Every email found by Email Hunter is given with sources indicating where and when it has been found on the web. Email Hunter was founded in 2014 and seems to have raised no venture capital yet.
By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!
