How EFSI benefits SMEs in Europe - CapHorn VC case study: Fidzup (France), connecting the online and offline worlds

“We connect the online and offline worlds through mobile technology”, explains Olivier Magnan-Saurin, CEO of Fidzup. This French company, founded by Olivier together with Anh-Vu Nguyen, develops innovative digital tools for brick-and-mortar businesses.

“In most stores, around 80% of visitors don’t purchase anything, but their in-store behaviour is an extremely valuable source of information for businesses”, Olivier explains. “Our technology makes it possible to gather valuable insights by tracking customer behaviour.”

Fidzup will accomplish this through an innovative marketing platform structured around the point of sale, with technology that combines Wi-Fi and GPS to analyse the behaviour of mobile users inside and nearby the store. “This will enable physical stores and retailers to gather data and measure the results of advertising campaigns and store layout changes”, Olivier explains. The accuracy of Wi-Fi allows Fidzup to monitor the customer journey through the store to a much higher degree than traditional GPS would allow.

At an early stage, the company received an EU grant that allowed them to test the business model in the US and UK markets. “We went through an acceleration programme, we did a sales test and market studies. This allowed us to improve the business model and the technology”, Olivier explains.

In 2016, the company raised investment to fund the scaling-up of the business with a focus in its main market, France. The equity investment round was led by CapHorn Invest, a venture capital firm backed by EIF. “Our company was already profitable, but we had to act fast and capitalize on the opportunity”, Olivier explains, “without the investment, we wouldn’t be at the point we are today, and our team would be much smaller – around 25 people joined us over this period.“

With a growing portfolio of customers that includes, among others, Galleries Lafayette, Timberland, Peugeot and Mercedes, Fidzup remains focused on expansion, particularly in the US and UK.

Company: Fidzup (France)

Type of business: ICT

EIF financing: InnovFin Equity, EFSI

Financial intermediary: CapHorn VC

For further information about EIF intermediaries in France, please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/fr