Stéphane Paillard
Covering European fundraising, first-time fund managers, and the founders behind the rounds. Previously built event and community products across the French tech ecosystem; now runs Sesamers and hosts the Sesame Summit.
Latest from Stéphane
465 articles
What is a scaleup? When a startup stops being a startup
A scaleup is a company whose search is over: the model works, and the job becomes deploying capital into it fast. The markers, the…
European unicorns: where the billion-euro companies are
Where Europe's unicorns actually are, country by country - and why a paper valuation is a milestone, not a scoreboard.
The term sheet guide: every clause that matters, and what’s standard in Europe
A term sheet is where the deal is actually negotiated. The clauses that move outcomes, the European market standards, and the imported terms to…
Where to incorporate a startup in Europe: SAS, GmbH, Ltd, OÜ and BV compared
The legal wrapper determines how you raise, grant options and exit. The seven structures European founders actually use, compared honestly.
Employee equity in European startups: ESOPs, EMI, BSPCE and what’s normal
European option pools sit around 10% and stay flat while US pools climb to 20-25%. What options are, what's normal, and how to read…
What VCs actually look for at seed
The fund maths behind every seed decision - why a reliable 3x gets rejected, what quality of demand really means, and the questions to…
What percentage of startups fail? What the data actually says
The "90% of startups fail" figure is untraceable - here is what the BLS and Dealroom data actually show, and why high attrition is…
Startup grants in Europe: the non-dilutive funding guide
The EIC Accelerator, national agencies and the long tail of European grant money - how to interleave grants with a raise, and the hidden…
Startup dilution explained: what three rounds really cost founders
A worked example of what pre-seed, seed and Series A really do to founder ownership - plus the three traps that make dilution cost…
SAFE vs convertible note vs BSA-AIR: startup instruments explained
How SAFEs, convertible notes and France's BSA-AIR actually work - caps and discounts with a worked example, the stacking trap, and the questions to…