New funds, new offices, new tracks: what did we achieve in 2023?

We hit several long-awaited milestones: a significant fundraising achievement, a move to our dream office space that perfectly embodies who we are, and the launch of Hexa Scale, our first venture into diversifying our activities. Against all odds, 2023 turned out to be a year of progress for us. It’s been amazing to achieve so much against such a difficult backdrop, though it wasn’t without its challenges.

So, what did we achieve? 🧐

We launched six startups, our largest-ever batch

This year, we were all about generating, validating, and bringing to life more ideas than ever. Our 2023 batch, comprised of six companies, is the fruit of our collective hard work over the past 12 months:

• Kiosk: Enabling businesses to leverage WhatApp at scale. Founders: Paul Lafforgue (CEO) & Thomas Sohet (CTO). Visit Kiosk’s website. They just made it into Y Combinator, congrats team! 🥳
• Tengo: The platform for public tenders. Founders: Hugues Renou (CEO) & Yoann Gauthier (CTO). Visit Tengo’s website.
• Catalog: Order management solution for B2B wholesale companies. Founders: Julien Bellemare (CEO) and Maxime Poitevineau-Millin (CTO). Visit Catalog’s website.
• Okko: The modern buying channel designed for teams. Founders: Julien Chriqui (CEO & Cofounder) Robin Brissaud (CTO & Cofounder). Visit Okko’s website.
• Riverflow: Enabling businesses to make blockchain data actionable. Founders: Ludovic Simon (CEO) & Mathieu Bour (CTO). Visit Riverflow’s website.
• Coming soon: Peer-to-peer learning to unlock the skills of the future. Founders: Zineb Salamat (CEO)

We raised €20 million

Our first major fundraising since 2016 – €20 million! This capital injection will put us on the right track to launch 30 companies a year by 2030 🤩

It’s also about new verticals. Building on our solid footprint in future of work, web3, and fintech, the funding will support us to venture into new areas such as health (🔜), climate, education, proptech, agritech, and cybersecurity. To all our investors – thank you for believing in us and our vision.

We opened La Cristallerie, Paris’ new entrepreneurship hub

We moved! Our new space in Paris' 10th arrondissement isn't just an office; it’s Paris’ new entrepreneurship hub designed for the community. Its operational potential will support our ambitions to scale and host many events reuniting tech and entrepreneurship enthusiasts. Find out more here.

Our companies raised over $50 million

In a year when fundraising was tougher than ever, our portfolio companies raised an incredible $50 million collectively. Huge hats off to Swan, Cycle, Cohort, Roundtable, Dotfile, Elba, and Crew, who raised $37M, $6M, $3.5M, $3.5M, $3.5M, and $3.2M respectively  – your success in these times is nothing short of amazing.

That said, the fundraising challenges are very real for most startups, those of Hexa included. At a time when the market is so difficult, it’s important not to undermine this reality.

We launched our Build Better event series

Empowering founders to build better companies is at the heart of our mission. This year’s launch of our BuidBetter events allows us to extend our reach beyond our immediate founders, equipping attendees with the knowledge they need to build startups that are more impactful, innovative, and ambitious.

We already hosted two this year on the themes of female entrepreneurship and cultivating resilience, welcoming over 120 participants. We received such positive feedback and can’t wait to ramp up the series in 2024, supported by La Cristallerie. Keep an eye out for the next one in Q1.

We launched Hexa Scale

2023 also saw the launch of Hexa Scale, a new track (a first for us!), helping to propel companies from linear to exponential growth. Led by our latest Partner Augustin Celier, our goal is to give high-potential companies another chance at become a market leader, by stepping in as a late cofounder. Hands-on in altering company trajectories – rethinking marketing, products, talent, funding, and operations — it’s our commitment and involvement that will allow us to take companies further.

Find out more about the path back to exponential here.

We got ready for our future founders

As we plan to ramp up our studio operations, we've clarified the kind of people we want to partner with. After working with 80 founders across 40 companies, we understand what makes an exceptional founder. For us, it boils down to execution, ambition, and humility, and we're eager to partner with those who share these traits.

Read the full guide to our desired founder characteristics here.

We’re optimistic about 2024, a year that feels as exciting as it is challenging. Some signs suggest that a semblance of trust is returning and that better days could be promised. But for now, our feet remain firmly rooted on the ground.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making 2023 an exceptional year despite the challenging circumstances. Let’s go 2024 ✨