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Our mid-year update: three unicorns, one centaur and a combined portfolio valuation of $5 billion

Hexa

As we’re more than halfway through the year, we thought we’d give you all an update, especially as the last few months have been paved with…

As we’re more than halfway through the year, we thought we’d give you all an update, especially as the last few months have been paved with lots of good news 👀

In 11 years since our creation, we’ve built 34 companies, out of which three have become unicorns (Aircall, Spendesk and most recently Front), and one has become a centaur, Aircall: a company that has reached $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue. Our companies have reached a total portfolio valuation of $5 billion and have created over 2500 jobs across the world.

We owe it all to the incredible founders we’ve had the chance to work with and our dedicated core team who together with founders, build the companies of tomorrow 🚀

Maximizing founders’ chances of success

With the startup studio model, it is fair to say that we have pioneered a new model of entrepreneurship, one that involves building several companies in parallel. Our studio comes up with business ideas and then we partner with exceptional entrepreneurs to transform these ideas into enduring businesses.

By joining forces with founders and a core team, we increase the odds of startup success. We owe it all to team entrepreneurship, the simple premise that a team of people can achieve more than a couple of individuals, that we are stronger when we build together.

In 11 years, it’s enabled to us to build 34 companies, launched two startup studios (3founders and Logic Founders), created over 2500 jobs, and we now proudly count three unicorns and one centaur in its portfolio.

“The normal trajectory for a startup is to fail. In fact, a startup only has a 0.00006% chance of reaching a billion-dollar valuation. With eFounders, we’ve managed to create a model where the normal trajectory for a startup is success, where our founders have a real shot at building unicorns and centaurs. But we’re not foolproof either, we’ve had to shut down two startups: Station and Bonjour. All in all, we owe it to team entrepreneurship, by building companies together as a team, we’ve found the recipe to maximize founders’ chances of success.”

Thibaud Elziere, co-founder of eFounders

Three unicorns and a centaur

Front just recently became a unicorn by raising a Series D at a $1.7 billion valuation. Co-founded by Mathilde Collin and Laurent Perrin, Front is one of the very first startups to come out of our studio back in 2014. At the time the idea was to create a collaborative inbox for customer support and sales teams, today Front has become a successful global company with nearly 8,000 customers in over 100 countries. The collaborative inbox company now joins Aircall and Spendesk, as eFounders-launched companies that have now become unicorns. Hats off to them 👏

We are incredibly proud to be able to say that three unicorns were born in the very same office, surrounded by the same eFounders team. And while we believe that building a unicorn is not an end in itself, yet launching one still remains an exceptional feat, launching two is completely extraordinary, and launching three is totally unprecedented.

Recently, we welcomed a new animal to the eFounders magic zoo. A centaur. Aircall, recently announced it has reached $100M in Annual Recurring Revenue, and so it joins the ranks of the small group of startups who can claim that milestone.

If you want to follow the same path as Aircall, Spendesk, Front and all the many others that will follow, then co-found with us! Our call for founders is open and we’ve also got hundreds of open jobs at eFounders and in our portfolio companies that we’re hiring actively for.