The French entrepreneurial landscape is rapidly evolving and the diverse mix of panelists shared their perspectives on the transformations as well as the opportunities and challenges they present.

On October 8th at 6 PM CEST/9 AM PDT/12 PM EDT, a global audience of Princeton alumni, students, faculty, and guests engaged with an alumni panel of French founders alongside professional investors. They shared their perspectives and insights on a range of topics, including trends in entrepreneurship in France, myths and realities of launching a startup company in France, issues facing women founders, and investor perspectives on funding startups.

The panel was comprised of two Princeton founders, representing different types of companies and funding strategies, and two investors also with different funding backgrounds – one from the VC world and the other with deep university technology licensing experience. The panelists included:

Celica Thellier d’Auzers ‘90, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, ChooseMyCompany, an HRtech company on a mission to enhance the relationship with Work, for each individual and all organizations.

Grégoire Landel ‘98, CEO and Founder, CityTaps, a social enterprise committed to assure running water for every home.

Bruno Rostand, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Université PSL (Paris Sciences and Lettres); overseeing the University's student entrepreneurship programme and technology transfer department.

François Paulus, Founding Partner, Breega; a founder-friendly VC firm investing at the seed and Series A stages in promising European high-tech startups.

Terence Strick ‘94 (moderator), Professor, ENS (École normale supérieure) where he holds several patents in nanotechnology and biotechnology and is currently spinning these off with the support of PSL and the entrepreneurship tools that the French research system provides its scientists to bring their research to market.