Building Your Funding Strategy
Pre-Seed Stage (Idea to MVP)
Funding Sources: 1. Bourse French Tech (€30K) 2. Regional grants (€10-50K) 3. Business angels (€50-300K) 4. Crowdfunding (validation)
Focus: Prove concept, build MVP, initial traction
Example Stack: - Personal savings: €20K - Bourse French Tech: €30K - Regional grant: €25K - Angels: €150K - Total: €225K runway for 12-18 months
Seed Stage (MVP to Product-Market Fit)
Funding Sources: 1. Seed VCs (€500K-2M) 2. Bpifrance ADI (€200K-1M) 3. CIR tax credit (cash refund) 4. Angel syndicates
Focus: Find product-market fit, early revenue
Example Stack: - Seed VC lead: €1M - Angels follow: €300K - Bpifrance grant: €400K - CIR refund: €150K - Total: €1.85M for 18-24 months
Series A (Scaling)
Funding Sources: 1. Series A VCs (€3-10M) 2. Bpifrance co-investment 3. Innovation loans 4. International VCs
Focus: Scale proven model, expand team
Example Stack: - Lead VC: €5M - Bpifrance: €2M - Existing investors: €1M - Innovation loan: €1M - Total: €9M for growth
Growth Stage (Series B+)
Funding Sources: 1. Growth funds (€10M+) 2. International expansion grants 3. Venture debt 4. Strategic investors
Focus: International expansion, market leadership