Winning bet for californian startup Vectice and its R&D center in Nantes
In 2020, Cyril Brignone and Grégory Haardt launched their artificial intelligence startup in the United States. Their AI project management software aims to revolutionize how data science teams are organized and collaborate within companies. At the same time, they decided to establish an R&D center in France, choosing Nantes that same year. Here’s a look back at a journey with its share of hurdles but ultimately positive results.
You created Vectice in Nantes in 2020. How did the set-up process go?
Starting in June 2020, we began looking at different cities in France, including Paris. We began the process for Nantes in August 2020 and, due to the pandemic, didn’t open the office until June 2021. Most importantly, we opened the office without having set foot in France, since we simply couldn’t travel at the time. We handled everything from the United States: hiring the team, finding office space, opening a bank account.
This was your first expansion into France. What challenges did you face? What questions did you have?
In 2020, we had just created Vectice in San Francisco. It took us three days to set up in the U.S., but more than three months in France. Since we had no idea how to set up a company in France, we had to learn everything. In the U.S., we use the typical HR model for startups and tech companies: no vacation counters, no RTT (compensatory time-off), no sick leave counters, no fixed working hours, everyone is a shareholder in the company, etc. Employees manage their time off as they see fit. It’s very different from the French system.
We had to surround ourselves with good advisors to understand RTT, collective bargaining agreements, and everything necessary to comply with French labor laws. Accounting rules are also different, so we worked with an accountant specializing in foreign companies setting up in France, as well as a part-time CFO based in Nantes. We also had to recruit a technical lead remotely to run the R&D center. The advice provided by Business France was very helpful, particularly for opening a bank account.
Whenever I had a question, I asked Nantes Saint-Nazaire Développement and Solutions&co, and I would get a reply within 24 hours! That saved us a tremendous amount of time. In the end, it wasn’t that complicated, but it did involve a lot of paperwork. We also received support from the Pays de la Loire region and BPI. I don’t think we would have had this level of support elsewhere in France.
If you had to do it all over again…
Overall, we are very happy with our set-up in Nantes, at the Palace. On our first visit to Nantes in September 2021 to meet the team we had hired, we got to experience the Nantes Digital Week festival and were quickly integrated into local networks. Nantes is a vibrant city with many schools and university programs (including a project with the LS2N university lab), and there’s a lot of talent here.
The most difficult issue remains the shortage of IT developers, which is still a challenge. We joined the UnjobANantes#tech program launched in September 2021 and also took advantage of the Young Innovative Company (JEI) status, which helped us bring in some people to Nantes.
What are your plans for 2022?
We are still a young startup and, for now, we want to focus commercially on the U.S. before expanding to Europe later on. Early 2022 should confirm our momentum, with new announcements. Out of 30 people, we currently have 13 employees in France and we are continuing to hire more in Nantes throughout 2022. We are looking for diverse profiles with strong soft skills, a willingness to take on challenges, and the ability to work in English. At Vectice, every employee is a shareholder in the company, because the value of the company is the value of its employees.
