The Talent Revolution

The transformation in human capital was equally dramatic. Top graduates from École Polytechnique, HEC, and Sciences Po increasingly chose startups over consulting or banking. The French Tech Visa attracted international talent. Perhaps most importantly, experienced executives from successful startups created a pool of seasoned operators.

"In 2015, finding a CTO who had scaled a startup was nearly impossible," notes a prominent VC. "By 2020, we had engineers who'd been through hypergrowth at BlaBlaCar, Criteo, or Datadog. That experience is invaluable."

French engineering education—long a strength—adapted to startup needs. Schools added entrepreneurship programs, coding bootcamps proliferated, and new institutions like École 42 (founded by Xavier Niel) revolutionized tech education with project-based, tuition-free learning.

The gender balance, while still imperfect, improved markedly. Organizations like SISTA pushed for equal representation. By 2024, 23% of French startup founders were women, above the European average. Programs like "Femmes et Numérique" worked to increase female participation across all tech roles.