"The FT120 criteria can be improved because the French Tech ecosystem is extraordinarily diverse", according to Kat Borlongan

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 L'Usine Digitale – How was the selection of start-ups made in the Next40?

 Kat Borlongan: The first version of Next40 was launched under Mounir Mahjoubi, which created a lot of confusion. When criticisms are made of the Next40 or the French Tech 120, I have the impression that the public really thinks that there has been a selection committee. This is not the case. A first jury, made up of people appointed by Mounir Mahjoubi, helped the French Tech Mission to select the criteria for the Next40.

To simplify, in the Next40, we selected all the unicorns, all the start-ups having raised more than 100 million euros and the three largest fundraisers in the last three years. Then, we removed the start-ups that had less than 10 million euros in turnover and less than 30% annual growth rate. The resulting list was cut to 40 names.

Bpifrance, which has done a wonderful job of due diligence, had access to tax reports, minutes of general meetings and investment contracts to draw up this list. At no time were there any deliberations. Given the incredible level of lobbying in recent weeks, fortunately there is nothing we can do to modify these lists.

 What do you say to people who criticize these rankings and this support for start-ups which, as private companies, should manage on their own?

 K.B: It is not hyper growth to do hyper growth. These are the future jobs of France. When we look at the figures, the annual net job creation rate of Next40 companies is 30%. When we look at the job creation rate in United States, more than half come from tech and companies like Google and Amazon, not just start-ups.

 What criteria did you use for the French Tech 120? Why did you change from Next40?

 K.B: The criteria can be improved because the French Tech ecosystem is extraordinarily diverse. When we favor emergence, it means that the boxes which have a purely organic growth do not enter there. To a certain extent, this is completely assumed by us for the Next40. If there is no need to make a good lift to make a nice box, there is a very good chance statistically that you need it to be an international champion. Otherwise, equivalent competitors will arrive, grow faster, deploy faster in other markets and have more money to pay more engineers.

But we wanted more diversity in the French Tech 120. We received 322 applications. First, we looked at the fundraisers. A criterion allowing to have only 36 start-ups, out of the 40 desired. Then, a classification was made according to hypergrowth and 40 start-ups were selected. Then, 7 other boxes were added to make up for the regions that did not have two start-ups in the list.

 Can you tell in which regions there were missing start-ups?

 K.B: No. But of the 7 start-ups added, half were eligible. And of the 322 applications, 250 start-ups were eligible.

 Are you going to narrow the criteria next year?

 K.B: I do not know. For the moment, the minister's will is to make sure nothing moves. These are just eligibility criteria, and whatever happens, start-ups will be classified.

 When you put a fundraising criterion, does that mean that you rely on investors for part of the ranking?

 K.B: If they trusted these boxes, so did we. However, we are really looking at fundraising, and that is already something. It is this slightly funny moment when you realize that start-ups do not have the same conception of what lifting is. For example, debt or convertible notes have been treated differently. Likewise for turnover, Bpifrance, which is protected by banking secrecy, checked the figures.

 Why did you put in the Next40 "start-ups" like OVH founded in 1999 or Veepee founded in 2001, which are fairly mature companies?

 K.B: In the Next40, there is no age limit at 15 (limit for French Tech 120, note) since we put the unicorns. Lots of people think we are obsessed with unicorns but I find this idea dangerous. Why do we want these unicorns? What are they used for? Take the example of OVH. It is the only European box that can still face Amazon today. We have a real issue of sovereignty in relation to the success of OVH. Not just in France but at European level.

When we say that we would like OVH to become a world Tech champion, it's not because it makes us happy to have a box ranked a little higher at the international level. This is because we are facing the United States and the China. Every day, little by little, our sovereignty is starting to go away. Where the border has gone is in relation to the boxes that have already made an IPO or that have been bought back.

 For the French Tech 120, you have moved the cursor since the age limit is 15 years. Why this limit? Can we still talk about start-ups at this age?

 K.B: We have a goal that we want to achieve. That within 2 to 3 years, France will be known as a country capable of producing real champions. When people think of the UK, they think of Revolut or Deliveroo. But when they think of France, who do they think of? French Tech is not at all embodied abroad. France must not be just a "mid-market" country (for middle market, mid-sized or medium-sized business market, editor's note) capable of producing intermediate boxes, and which are very good for managing the European market but no more.

 Can we therefore say that there is a real desire to encourage start-ups to grow and go abroad?

 K.B: The first step is to no longer be seen as an obstacle but rather as a partner. It is not only the rankings that will change that, but also the work with the correspondents.

 Is there not a risk of job loss if these start-ups settle abroad?

 K.B: The most important thing is that R&D and intellectual property remain in France so that these jobs remain in France. To attack the Chinese and American markets, you need sales teams in these countries. But we want the creation of value to be done in France.

What is our biggest weakness compared to the United Kingdom and the United States? A lot of people think it's money, but I don't agree. For me, it's the ability of these countries to tap talent anywhere in the world. The talent question is a huge project on which we are working.

 How did you think of supporting the young shoots?

 K.B: On the one hand, four people on my team work as "account managers", something the State has never done. On the other side, start-ups find help in the form of a portfolio with 50 French Tech correspondents from different ministries and public services. All of this support is new: the last two account managers will arrive in the coming months and the vast majority of public administrations have never worked like this with start-ups. This project is experimental.

 How did you find the people in the administration? How to choose the most popular services?

 K.B: Some people had already been identified in administrations such as Urssaf, INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) or Banque com France, since they were already in high demand. Other administrations, such as the Directorate General of Public Finance or the Ministry of the Armed Forces (which can be a potential client for start-ups), were completely new to us.

Fortunately, we have a lot of support from up there. Correspondents were therefore found with the help of Cédric O and the various ministers. For a long time, the start-up subject was a somewhat "lifestyle" subject, but what has really changed in recent years is that today, it has really entered the national strategy of the State.

 You say that the start-up subject is part of the state's national strategy. Is this why the Next40 and French Tech 120 rankings were announced when the president unveiled the country's ambitions in the area of ​​unicorns? K.B: Yes of course, and it is important that it is the President of the Republic who announces it. France is the only country that has start-up and hyper-growth issues in its national strategy. The French Tech mission is the only organization also integrated in the State with the French Tech communities outside the State and the correspondents in the administrations as well as my team for the part inside the State.

 You also offer support in order to facilitate contracts with the State. What do you mean ?

 K.B: This means that there are referral facilities with organizations such as UGAP which pre-reference companies to facilitate purchases. And Next40 start-ups can request a link with any buyer in the state. The only favoritism that can exist is "French Tech first", such as favoring OVH if you have the choice between it and Amazon.

 Isn't privileging your nuggets something inherent in all countries?

 K.B: No, it's crazy. China and the United States have a business act which forces private companies to favor local purchases. But France and Europe have no equivalent. The President of the Republic said it: we must assume the fact that they are our champions and that they embody France and Europe.

 In supporting these start-ups, you offer them three wishes. What does that mean ? Have you had extravagant requests?

 K.B: Most Next40 companies have already made two wishes. It is not necessarily an extraordinary request, but it simply means that it is not in the catalog. For example, someone from the Next40 asked that we let him work with the whole of the Next40 on "impact" subjects and that we facilitate his contact with these companies. Following this, there was a forum, signed by several members of Next40, saying that this ranking must truly embody the economy of tomorrow, not just in terms of technology but also in terms of values.

Others asked to be part of a presidential delegation: this does not mean that start-ups will be taken, but that we will push very hard to make this happen. For example, Devialet and Deezer went to China.

 What is happening to the 10,000 other start-ups that are not in the French Tech 120? Can some support offered to French Tech 120 start-ups also be provided?

 K.B: The French Tech Visa, the reform of the BSPCE (foreign companies can now offer their employees established in France share subscription warrants, a sort of "stock option", Editor's note), the workforce of Bpifrance or 15 people from the French Tech Mission… are already at their disposal.

When the support program with correspondents based in the ministries is stabilized, we want to deploy it to all start-ups via the French Tech Central. The goal is to have correspondents in each region who are attached to national correspondents in the most important administrations such as Urssaf and Inpi and why not the customs and the Banque com France.

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