On Tuesday evening local time, Motier Ventures, a Paris-based early-stage technology investment firm, unveiled a startup hub called La Maison. This relatively new investor in the French tech ecosystem is the family office of the Houzé family, owners of luxury fashion retailer Galeries Lafayette Group.
Since Galeries Lafayette department stores’ main asset is physical retail stores, we believe that having a physical space for startups will give us an edge over other technology investment companies.
Paris-based early-stage startup founders have more options than ever before when it comes to raising seed rounds. Many unicorn founders have become angel investors on the side. Family offices have diversified their investment strategies with renewed interest in technology startups. And early-stage VC firms are still fighting for the best deals.
The most promising startups can choose who they want at the capitalization table. Some investors like to promise introductions to potential customers and business partners. Others promise quick, hassle-free financing deals to help entrepreneurs get back to their startups.
Motier Ventures invests in an ecosystem-first approach. Over the past three years, the fund has deployed capital at a rapid pace, now becoming an investor in 85 companies, including many promising AI companies such as Dust, H, and Mistral.
They also organized several events that brought together many founders and investors from the French tech ecosystem. The next step in that strategy is a physical space called La Maison (a word that translates to home or house).
Located across the top three floors of the Lafayette Gourmet building next to the Opéra Garnier, La Maison will host 12 early-stage startups in the Haussmannian building. It is scheduled to open in early 2025.
The 4th floor is a little different as it will be used as an event/demo day/hackathon/cocktail reception area. “This is a big project and I think what drives us is not just Motier Ventures, but the entire ecosystem of entrepreneurs and families that we have represented for five generations,” Guillaume Houzé, partner at Motier Ventures, said at an AI-focused event in Paris. by Motier.
“With Galeries Lafayette, we are ultimately trying to support the people who create the best brands.” He added that La Maison’s goal for the fund is to support its “exceptional team” by providing inspiration as well as a place to work and meet. Creativity — or, as he puts it, “a space to collectively reflect on the vision of the society we want to build.”
In many ways, La Maison’s set is reminiscent of the early days of local tech hub The Family. Almost a decade later, The Family opened its doors as a startup accelerator with a beautiful event space, which quickly became the centerpiece of the French tech ecosystem.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced The Family to close its space to cut costs. Recently, Oussama Ammar, one of the co-founders of The Family, was in the news again for the wrong reasons as he was accused of misappropriating millions of euros.
For those who have been working in the French tech ecosystem for more than a few years, The Family’s gatherings and dinners are now a distant memory. And nothing really came into play to replace it. Station F is a magnificent startup megacampus, but it is too large for casual, informal events. Perhaps La Maison will become the new default space for hosting small gatherings.
“Our goal is to create an environment where the next generation of technology entrepreneurs in AI and beyond can feel supported, inspired and connected every day,” Nicolas Essayan, partner at Motier Ventures, said in a statement.
