Techbaguette turns…10!
I cannot believe I’m saying this, but my silly blog Techbaguette recently turned 10 years old. Now, that probably isn’t saying much, because I haven’t actually published anything on the site since December 2016. But it’s kind of crazy to look back and realize how much has changed since I bought this domain on Decemeber 31, 2009 (one wild, wild New Year’s eve). And to celebrate, I decided to update the site (a little).
Thoughts on writing.
The truth is, even though I haven’t written much over these last few years, I often feel the desire to write. The ecosystem has changed dramatically and my own role in it has, too. In the new year, I hope to find more time to share my thoughts and learnings — and perhaps a few startups that catch my eye.
My desire to write is perhaps somewhat selfish; it enables me to reflect properly and organize my thoughts. In the age of bite-size, ephemeral and click-bait-driven media, text remains one of my favorite formats — followed by podcasts for almost the same reasons. Yet, today’s audience gravitates more easily towards catchy titles and big, bright photos. And don’t get me started on the comments.
A few new projects.
So a bit of a quick update. Since my last Techbaguette post in December 2016, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in quite a few new projects in addition to Station F. In 2017, I joined the board of Agence France Presse ( I stepped down in 2019) and the European Innovation Council (ended in 2019). I won’t go into all my thoughts on these 2 opportunities here, but both enabled me to see a lot — whether it be the workings of a State-owned business or the way the European Commission wants to better allocate resources to key innovators.
More recently, I had the opportunity to participate in the first edition of the angel program with venture fund Atomico and “invest” in 4 companies. You can find more information on Atomico’s angel program here. Actually, I find this type of program still quite rare when it comes to European funds. I’ll perhaps follow-up with another post with my learnings and experience.
What next?
All of this is a fancy way of me saying that I’m jumping back into things and will be writing a little more this year.
