San Francisco opened doors for them and gave them opportunities that they wouldn’t have had in France. French entrepreneurs talk about their American experience.
“Here when you enter a café, you can meet our future collaborator”. Tinted with a touch of irony, Nicolas Dessaigne nevertheless claims not to be far from reality. Here is San Francisco. The place for all tech entrepreneurs who want to set up or develop their business. Often disappointed with Paris, wanting to dream bigger, they want to confront the giants of the sector.
Nicolas Dessaigne arrived in San Francisco in 2015. Tall, thin, salt-and-pepper hair, he has a sense of timing and says he will arrive in “7 minutes”. He made an appointment with Tech&Co at the premises of Y Combinator, one of the largest tech incubators in the world, located in the heart of San Francisco on a street that brings together all the major luxury brands. Tables, chairs, brick walls, equipped kitchen, the fully glazed space is designed to best accommodate new entrepreneurs.
“It’s the first time I’ve come here,” he admits. Since the pandemic, Y Combinator has been juggling between virtual and face-to-face support. Airbnb or Dropbox are examples of the approximately 3,000 companies that have benefited from Y Combinator, from the idea of the concept to their IPO. Some French companies are part of the incubated startups.
Among them, Algolia, the company that Nicolas Dessaigne founded. When a consumer searches for a product on the Lacoste, LVMH or ManoMano sites, the results page that is displayed is processed by Algolia. “Today there are 17,000 customers worldwide and between 5 and 6 billion requests per day.”
“Tech League 1”
In the winter of 2014, Algolia, founded in Paris, presented itself to be accompanied by Y Combinator. Bingo, the company is accompanied a few months later. The departure for San Francisco is organized, and Nicolas Dessaigne arrives in 2015. “Coming here was the opportunity to address a global market rather than just European or French”, he explains.
The company decided to settle in San Francisco because “it’s the number one destination for all entrepreneurs, talents are much more accessible. San Francisco is not the League 1 of tech”, has fun comparing the contractor. Although he admits that San Francisco is not an obligatory passage, he maintains that the city is a great help and is enthusiastic: “here we see bigger, we are immediately in the deep end, but by therefore everything is harder”.
While Y Combinator helped him grow his business, he now wants to help the next generation. He left his position as director at Algolia, although he still keeps an eye on the company, which maintains offices in Paris. Nicolas Dessaigne is now an advisor at Y Combinator. “YC helped me a lot, I was able to benefit immediately from their network even before that of the French community present here, I now want to reach out in turn”.
When he compares his American experience to that of Paris, he argues that his business would not have grown so quickly if he had stayed in France. However, “the contrast is less strong between Paris and San Francisco than it was ten years ago. He observes, for example, that fundraising in Paris is much simpler today and that entrepreneurs are better trained.
He says he is fascinated by the “spirit of serendipity” present in the Californian city.
“In San Francisco, tech is local industry. I have the impression that there are more European entrepreneurs here than in Paris”.
And for good reason, many French entrepreneurs have chosen San Francisco and the French community brings together nearly 60,000 people. “We have nearly 3,000 people on our listing,” says Sophie Rougerie, coordinator of French Tech San Francisco.
Well-established French Tech
Arriving in the Bay Area just over ten years ago with her family, Sophie Rougerie has been coordinating French Tech San Francisco for just over a year. Her role is to connect French entrepreneurs, to organize events so that everyone can network, “create a dynamic and a synergy”, she adds.
Launched in 2016, the San Francisco branch is experiencing “good momentum and has quickly established itself. Given the number of French people here, there is a real need for structures like this”, observes the entrepreneur. “Sky is the limit” is a bit of Sophie’s mantra to describe the American spirit. “Here the only limit is your energy”, she continues. “In San Francisco everything goes faster”, which she was able to experience herself with her business.
She came both for personal reasons, “we wanted our three children to speak English and acquire a real ability to adapt”, but also professional. When he arrived, his company developed baby travel beds called Magicbed. “Fundraising here is easier and faster, the ceilings higher and the support simpler”.
As a French expatriate, she was “pleasantly surprised” by how easy it is to fit in. “People come easily to us, associations or the French community have been very helpful”.
She has also worked in public relations and communication, which allowed her to meet French entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley players. “I ended up being offered this position as coordinator of French Tech San Francisco”.
However, setting up a business in the United States is much more risky: “there is no safety net, no social system or unemployment benefits. If your business does not work, if you are a tenant, you lose your home”. After the Covid, the United States set up a system of aid for businesses. “In Silicon Valley, it is you who build your stability”, slices the coordinator.
To the question, “Are the United States stealing talent from France?”, she retorts that she sees it rather as “a balance. French Tech is also there to show its entrepreneurs. , the French come and go, they often don’t stay in San Francisco indefinitely”. For her part, she immediately applied for the green card and has, for the moment, no date of return to France.
Beyond the American border, French Tech is doing quite well, since in 2022 it experienced record fundraising of 14 billion euros.
