What is the concept of Startup-Up?
Our job is to allow our clients to accelerate, structure, and rapidly acquire technological maturity through a number of precisely established, predefined, and interdependent steps, as well as thanks to our network of industrial partners. This is what we call a Flight Plan, a flight plan over a 36-month period with essential and interconnected milestones.
The goal is to quickly develop our clients' business in the market they target.
Which startups come to consult you? A particular field? A stage of maturity?
Our clients harbor the ambition of a project, an innovative product. Our intervention begins in the fundamental ideation phase and continues until the start of Series A. Often, the project leader has an idea without necessarily having a vision for its implementation or its concrete materialization.
Our typical client: an experienced executive, with a professional skill who has identified a gap, a breach, a flaw in a B2B market niche.
We have the ability to intervene even when the MVP is already designed, or even in development, especially when the Startup is inextricably plunged into what we call the "valley of death"!
How does it work?
Initially, we ask for a small initial fund contribution from the startup: this step is a commitment! This approach allows the CEO to fully invest in the project.
The following phases are funded by public and para-public organizations, followed by fundraising. All IT developments are considered as investments (CAPEX). This approach aims to avoid straining the operating budget while generating real added value for the company.
Our role is as a partner and as participants within the company. However, it is the CEO who makes decisions in all areas!
Market Testing, a key element!
One of the main elements of the Flight Plan is the implementation of Market Testing. Often, startups are in a phenomenon called the "cave effect".
Leaders are focused on their internal development, their product or technology, and lose sight of the real needs and expectations of customers.
The cave effect can therefore lead to a disconnect between what the startup produces and what customers really want.
The Market Testing approach is to validate the fit of a well-defined market and to identify potential customers to attest to the project's viability.
1 Product + 1 Market = 1 Value
How do you determine the valuation of a startup?
As part of the proposed Flight Plan, we carry out a periodic and regular (biannual) valuation of the company.
Various methods are used. A complete set of data is taken into account, including the Business Plan, intellectual property, the level of technological maturity, the readiness of the CEO and teams, as well as other aspects inherent to the company. This approach aims to compile relevant data and provide the most accurate valuation estimate possible.
Why use Ziplo?
We use Ziplo through a trustee account and regularly deposit the intellectual property created by our teams, all while acting on behalf of our clients.
This process is easy and intuitive. It is also certified by blockchain technology and is 100% French. We can determine the appropriate protection duration based on the project's progress stage. Thus, at the start of a project, we protect for a duration of 3 years, and at the conclusion phase, we opt for the maximum protection period of 15 years.
Emmanuelle Hazebrouck
Sales Manager at Startup-Up