🥳 Feeling '22
Reflections & Predictions from an Accidental Newsletter Writer
Welcome to Startup ROI, where we explore global technology trends and how they manifest themselves in France 🇫🇷 . Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor or tech enthusiast, I'm glad to have you here! 📩 Get in touch: bonjour@startup-roi.com
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Let's cut to the chase. It's been:
~3 years since I moved to France
~2 years since the pandemic started
~8 months since I quit my job
~7 months since I launched this newsletter
Needless to say, it's been an unconventional year, both personally and professionally. But there's one phrase I find myself uttering over and over again:
“I've met more people in French Tech in the past 3 months than the past 3 years combined.” — Me, literally all the time
There's a reason this refrain keeps coming out of my mouth: it's true. My original goal moving to France was to have a professional experience abroad — whatever that means… I checked that box, and it was well worth it. But venturing beyond the confines of a singular startup has been one of the best decisions I've made. Through building this newsletter I've had the opportunity to combine many aspects of the quintessential startup experience on my own terms: entrepreneurship, product marketing, networking, writing, and most importantly, continuous learning.
I'm incredibly grateful that I'm in a position to take on a risk like this. And I couldn't do it without a loyal readership (you!) for which I'm eternally thankful. There's a French expression that I love: avoir la tête dans le guidon. Literally, it translates to having your head in the handlebars/basket of your bike. A more familiar translation might be: can't see the forest through the trees. Which is to say, it's easy to put on blinders when your singularly focused on one objective: a career, a relationship, a project. Startup ROI has given me the chance to pull my head up, take a step back, and gain some much needed perspective. It also just so happens to be something I enjoy doing (and hope that you enjoy reading). This is just the beginning and there's a lot in store for next year.
With that, a few important announcements:
This is the final post of 2021 — it'll be a bit more technical i.e. talking about my journey, some newsletter milestones and some forward-looking statements around the project and French Tech in general.
I will restart publishing in February when I return to France from holiday. I'm currently bouncing around the US and then off to Colombia (Omicron pending…) so you can expect some dispatches via Twitter.
I have a very exciting announcement that is both a product of this newsletter and an opportunity to expand the horizons for Startup ROI. Stay tuned!
Today's agenda:
By the Numbers
Notable Milestones
What I've Learned
2022 Predictions
📊 By the Numbers
I published my first article on June 15th, 2021. That same day, I tweeted the below objectives. I wanted a way to hold myself accountable and there's nothing better than putting it into writing.
I fell short of my goal, but I'm still proud of the progress. As an ex-pat, writing about French tech startups in English with a day one audience of zero, I feel I've made a respectable dent.
The good news: this is just the start!
Most success doesn't happen overnight. I've had a few noticeable bumps in subscriber count that I might attribute to specific articles. But in general, it's been a slow and steady climb. I think, however, that I've reached a critical mass of readers/followers that affords me a fairly consistent view count each week (comfortably, 500+ views each).
All in all, I've written 28 articles. At 2-4K words a pop (let's take an average) that puts me on track to have written roughly 84K words! Of those words, the most viewed are related to: food, housing, mental health & Christmas gifts. You be the judge on what that means!
I think what I'm most proud of is the fact that I've managed to build a small, but mighty, international community. The vast majority of my audience (90%+) is in the US & Europe (primarily, the UK & France). But I've gotten visitors from all over the world including Lebanon, Argentina, Monaco, India, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada.
I hope this geographic diversity continues to expand next year and that I can meet any and all folks hoping to get involved!
✔︎ Notable Milestones
There are several moments I'd like to include here but for the sake of time, I'll feature a handful that were particularly meaningful during the course of the past half-year.
Liam Boogar-Azoulay, Founder of Rude Baguette & current VP of Marketing at Scaleway reached out for a coffee. His original French Tech blog in partnership with Roxanne Varza (Director of Station F) was a foundation for tech media in France. Flattered to be endorsed by the legend himself!
Believe it or not, I'm not the only American “O'Brien” writing about the French Tech ecosystem. Chris O'Brien, Editor of the French Tech Journal, is a veteran tech journalist bringing his Silicon Valley expertise to Paris. What could have been a family blood feud situation turned out to be a great professional mentor. Look out for future collaboration!
Speaking of collabs, I've had the fortune of working on two articles with fellow newsletter writers. Back to the Future of Work was a joint effort with Ethan Corcoran of Turtles All the Way Down & If You Wanna Be My Coder was co-written by Christian Petroske of No-Code Startup Ideas.
I launched “Startup ROI Audio” — a podcast version of the newsletter for those who prefer to listen than read!
I was asked to speak at Station F in front of the French Tech International community. It was a privilege! On a side note, this community has been a super fun way to get involved with more ex-pats in Paris working in the sector: 5/5 would recommend! Apply here
At the event at Station F, I crafted a little experiential growth hack. It was fun, but wasn't a huge success haha! Here's how it went: I created Startup ROI branded “tickets restos” with trackable QR codes. The idea was to incentivize attendees to sign up subscribers with a prize for the highest referral rate. The exercise was a fun way to get the creative juices flowing (and people loved it) but didn't really drive much traffic, sadly. Next time!
Through some Twitter magic, I was introduced to Gonz Sanchez, Founder of Seedtable (EU Tech Newsletter) and current VP of Growth at On Deck. I wrote a feature for him [CRISPR & Cannabis] which was distributed to his 20k+ email list!
One of my top demographics has been the Venture Capital community throughout Europe. I've made tons of contacts at firms across the continent. These conversations have been incredibly insightful and in one case, fruitful (*hint, hint*). More to say here, so come back for a major update in January 2022!
🧠 What I've Learned (Tips for any aspiring newsletter writers)
Distribution, distribution, distribution! Figure out how to get your content in front of the right eyeballs. Substack has been a huge help but I re-publish on LinkedIn, Polywork, Twitter, Instagram, my Squarespace site etc. I don't have a magic bullet here, but start wide and narrow down based on conversion rates by channel.
Repurpose for Social! I know shameless self-promotion on social media can be cringeworthy, but it's essential. Find a way to do it creatively. Repurpose long-form content for snack-size Tweets or LinkedIn Posts. I have a social content calendar to accompany each article. It's helped build an audience and expand my reach.
Just write, don't think. Start with something on the page and then shape it up. It's easy to procrastinate, hesitate or meticulously edit to your own detriment. Get words on the page and come back later. You'll thank me.
Most people want to help. It might be intimidating to reach out to a quasi-celeb on Twitter but my DM response rate is pretty high. I've talked to fairly influential people simply by getting in touch and asking questions. Shoot your shot, most people are friendly and want to see others succeed.
Follow your curiosity. I've found it much easier to write about topics I'm interested in than forcing something that is popular or trending. I would apply this mentality towards your writing style and graphics, too. Authenticity counts and people will gravitate towards it regardless if it's weird or unconventional (see: all my cover images!).
Find your niche. There are infinite niches on the internet. They say there are riches in niches. Success isn't defined by follower count but by engaged community members. I was concerned French Tech was too small but the EU was too large. I'm still tweaking the formula but don't optimize for numbers, optimize for outcomes and engagement.
🔮 Predictions
France's (and Europe's) leadership around Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) will be a launching pad for category-defining climate tech companies. Expect to see some major funding rounds in Carbon Accounting, DeepTech carbon capture/green energy solutions, & the Circular Economy/Sustainability sectors.
We will look back at 2022 as the year the 2nd Space Age started. SpaceX, Blue Origin & Virgin Galactic have inspired interest in the private markets and viable business models will encourage entrepreneurship and open new industry verticals. The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (operated by French space agency CNES on the Ariane 5 Rocket) will accelerate scientific discovery and further propel the space race. France will incubate at least one innovative Space-Tech unicorn.
Web3 & Crypto will hit a mainstream inflection point through major advances in UX and ecosystem development. France will supply and attract top-tier talent to pioneer next-generation consumer applications and alternative finance infrastructure.
🧨 Have a happy & safe New Year! 🧨
Great content, good luck for the year to come !
Happy new year cowboy 🤠!