Bouncing back on an idea developed by Katarina Fake, a few weeks ago L’ADN published an article setting out the virtues of cockroaches, which are also capable of performing miracles in the same way as unicorns.
So, what does it mean to be a cockroach in the start-up nation? It’s about taking your time, surviving in extreme conditions, and staying out of the spotlight… while we too spit rainbows and glitter and gallop on clouds! We invite you to take a tour of our wonderful world.
To each his own, to each his own
It’s safe to say: Fasterize is a cockroach . In other words, we follow a different path to that of the unicorns. It’s neither simpler nor more complicated, we just don’t go through the same experiences at the same stages of our lives: we’re not scrutinized by the media, we don’t announce huge fund-raising campaigns, the pressure we have to deal with is totally different.
And while we’re aiming for the same goals – growth, success, sales – it’s also a longer road.
Indeed, when a company raises funds, its sales are bound to explode (we hope!), but profitability is not necessarily forthcoming.
The cockroach doesn’t systematically raise funds, so it needs to reach profitability as quickly as possible to ensure its survival, and that’s no easy task.
Unlike the unicorn, the cockroach starts out lean and relies exclusively on itself to fill its pockets. In this context, it’s essential to keep a tight rein on expenditure and revenue: a penny is a penny.
Keeping a low profile without kowtowing
This “low-profile” attitude doesn’t mean walking headlong into the street – quite the contrary. Just because you’re a cockroach doesn’t mean you can’t succeed! In fact, Fasterize has won a number of awards that sit majestically in our offices (EBG, SFR Jeunes Talents Start-up, IMC Awards, Grand Prix de l’Innovation de Ville de Paris, Trophée EuroCLoud…), including the Deloitte In Extenso Technology Fast 50 award.
The cockroach often flies under the radar in terms of media exposure and notoriety, but nonetheless enjoys the recognition of its peers. As far as we’re concerned, we care about a job well done, and that’s what has earned us a place in a community of experts.
Live my life as a cockroach
We spoke earlier of pressure. Unicorns and cockroaches both inevitably feel it, but not in the same way.
In absolute terms, reconciling start-up and profitability is a complicated operation. Generally speaking, a start-up finds its business model as it goes along. It creates a product, goes out to meet its market like Little Red Riding Hood with her basket in hand, and for all that time, it’s not profitable. And for any company, cash flow is the lifeblood of the business!
No matter how many horseshoes and sailor’s cap tassels you collect, it’s impossible to predict or control the duration of this period of unprofitability.
In this respect, the cockroach version of business creation is a hybrid of the start-up in terms of risk-taking, and the traditional company in terms of financing.
In concrete terms, how do things work at Fasterize?
Cafard is also a culture: application of lean management values, testing, observation of what works, active reflection on the best way to avoid dispersing resources…
To date, the company has chosen not to raise funds via venture capital. As success has a price, so does independence! It means accepting that you’re not in the limelight, and putting your ego to one side.
Stéphane Rios is CEO and majority shareholder of Fasterize: “We almost died several times due to a lack of cash. In 2016, we were on the verge of going out of business, and 6 months later we reached profitability!”
By what miracle? According to Emilie Wilhelm, Head of Marketing and Communications at Fasterize: “It has a lot to do with the fact that we are a liberated company. We all carried the same weight. The whole team had the same level of information about the health of the company, which enabled us to move in the same direction. Some of us spontaneously offered to lower our salaries while we put things right, with compensation afterwards, of course”.
In conclusion, to echo the advice of many VCs: raising funds is not necessarily desirable for all companies. There are other models for success, and unicorns and cockroaches coexist very well.
And it’s a well-known fact that cockroaches are resistant to nuclear radiation and can bear up to several hundred times their own weight!
Follow our news and that of the web performance sector,
subscribe to our newsletter!
