5 scale-ups founded or run by EDHEC graduates stand out this year by joining the 2022 ranks of French Tech Next40/120! This means they will benefit from a support programme dedicated to late-stage French start-ups. The objective is to help them become world-renowned leaders of technology. 

Three of them were co-founded by EDHEC graduates and regularly make the headlines on the EDHEC Alumni website:

ManoMano - Gardening and DIY community

It was back in 2013 when Philippe de Chanville (EDHEC Master 2003) and Christian Raisson (EDHEC Master 1994) began their adventure, with the aim of revolutionising the world of DIY and gardening by bringing it into the digital era (no less!). Since then, the venture has gathered pace and ManoMano is now enjoying exponential growth, setting new sales records each year in France and across Europe.

Valued at €2.4 billion (Dealroom.co estimates Jul 2021)

Malt - Connecting businesses with freelancers, finding the ideal person for each job

The company founded in 2013 by Vincent Huguet (EDHEC Master 1998), CEO, and Hugo Lassiège, CTO, has grown considerably in recent years. It now boasts 320,000 freelancers and 40,000 companies registered in Europe and represents the largest freelancing community in Europe! 

Valued at between €102 and €153 million (Dealroom.co estimates Feb 2019)

Iziwork - Interim job platform

Co-founded in 2018 by Mehdi Tahri (EDHEC Master 2008), in just a few months Iziwork became the leader of the digital market for interim jobs in France, with more than 1 million registered Iziworkers and more than 40,000 interim staff employed by its clients in 2021. Iziwork now has its own staff team of 250 and more than 200 people on the Partner network spread throughout France, with the job of attracting the most talented people, combining proximity with digital technology.

Valued at between €140 and €210 million (Dealroom.co estimates Jan 2021)

Two other companies are now run by EDHEC graduates:

Corwave - Develops innovative blood pumps that can be implanted using revolutionary membrane technology

Founded in 2012 by studio start-up MD Start and supported by renowned investors, CorWave has obtained more than €80 million in finance and employs more than 50 staff. Since its creation, the company has been awarded many prizes and won several competitions. Since 2015 it has been headed up by Louis de Lillers (EDHEC Master 2009).

Valued at €78 million (Dealroom.co estimates Jan 2021)

Recommerce - European market leader in the sale, renovation and resale of smart phones and electronic appliances

Founded in 2009, Recommerce aims to promote the circular economy by recovering smartphones and tablets and selling them on once refurbished. Their ambition is to make “re-consumption” the favoured consumption method of French consumers ... and perhaps even all Europeans. Augustin Becquet (EDHEC Master 2001) is now CEO of the Recommerce Group.

Other EDHEC graduates, although not founding members or CEOs, have seats on the steering committees of companies that are part of this prestigious programme. Examples include: 

• Laure Helary (EDHEC Master 2008), Chief Marketing Officer of Jobteaser
• Aline Gachelin (EDHEC Master 2007), Chief Marketing Officer of Veepee
• Lionel Martin (EDHEC Master 2010), Chief Financial Officer of Ilek

We wish them all every success!

About French Tech Next40/120:

The objective of French Tech Next40/120 is to support the development of these new technology players as they address the major challenges facing society: coming up with solutions for the environmental transition, healthcare, mobility and the modernization of small and medium businesses, etc. French Tech Next40/120 offers support designed for French scale-ups with the capacity to become world-renowned leaders of technology. 120 French start-ups and scale-ups are selected each year to join the programme. The selection process, which is based on fundraising criteria or revenue hyper-growth, is open to all start-up models (digital, deep tech, industrial) and all business sectors.

See the complete list of Next40/120 companies