It's time to get your hands dirty 🌾

It will be life-changing

Mar 11, 2021

What would be the best career advice to give a kid today?

If you are reading this newsletter, chances are you would lean toward becoming a data scientist, or bringing forth the future of machine learning.

But think about being 30 in 2050. What will then be the job that neighbours admire and that will convince in-laws that you are a good catch upon the first meeting?

If the UN predictions are correct, being able to feed one's community from working the land might be what brings all the boys (and girls) to the yard.

At least, Xavier Niel seems to agree, since he decided to start financing Hectar, an upcoming school dedicated to training 2000 farmers per year - for free (no pun intended)!

Xavier thinks in ecosystem terms, as displayed by launching Kima Ventures, 42, and Station F, one after the other, to create a massive tech entrepreneurship trifecta.
So we can expect Hectar to likewise connect with powerful partners to involve its future graduate in the existing social fabric.

Will Hectar end up being a boon for the agriculture industry in France? We don't know it yet.

However, what we can be sure of is that farmers are getting less forgotten than they were a few years ago.

Farmer's markets are more popular than ever, and about half of city-dwellers dreamt about moving to the country during lockdown.

So if you are thinking about reorienting from the world of tech to the agrarian one, at least you would not be the first…

A last look to the past ⌛

Upping your social media content game! ⏪

Are you spending more time on social media as a content consumer than as a content creator?
Rewatch Olivier's advice on the best way to build a content strategy for social media!

What is it like to say no to a $30M check? 💸

The Lemlist team has carried out an interesting experiment these past few weeks: dissecting, and then refusing, an 8 figure funding round.

If you are wondering what was the point, the best is probably for you to get the explanation directly from Guillaume's mouth.

Are you missing anything important? 📰

LinkedIn is the time killer.
But don't worry, you don't need to go there, here is what you missed:

Backacia has launched its first click and collect solution for repurposed construction products.
HEC Ventures has completed yet another funding round by investing in Iroko.
R-Pur is launching its product in Asia, and opening a new office in Hong-Kong.
You could have seen Roombâ on BSmart, or on BFM for Women's Day.
Trone was on TF1 to showcase their new toilet design.

Go to our Fortnight News recap!

Looking toward our future 🔮

Saving ugly produce from an early grave 🥕

If you have ever stepped foot in an organic produce shop, you might have wondered why everything was so expensive.
Part of the answer is that farmers have to throw away all the misshapen fruits and vegetable from their production.
Discover how Hors Normes is fixing this issue to make quality food more available.

Diversity as the key to success 🗝️

On Monday was International Women's Day, and it got us thinking (not for the first time) about diversity and the role it plays in the success of startups founding teams.

We are always wondering how we will manage to get better, so go ahead and read our musings on the topic (and our numbers!).

What about your future? 🎯

Find your dream job! 💼

👔 Simundia is growing fast, they are currently hiring for 8 job positions, to change the world of professional coaching.

🏘️ Bunji is providing the first CRM for real estate agents, join them as an intern, as full stack dev, or as customer success.

👁️ Inbolt is changing the world of computer vision for the industry, they are looking for two new interns.

💸 Fygr is making everyone better with cashflows, join them as an apprentice or an intern.

😷 R-Pur is looking for a head of communication, to bring high-quality pollution masks to the world.

Fill your calendar 🗓️

Wondering how to make the most out of your human resources?
Ludovic has written a book called «Dream Team», so chances are he knows a thing or two on the topic.
Let him tell you how to change a team into a dream team.

If you are raising money and expecting to get term sheets, you better be familiar with all the lingo within.
SeedLegals is helping you see through the fog, with a testimony from Claire-Aline from Ekestrian.
Don't miss it!