Portfolio Days
The First of a New Tradition
Opening Statement from Alice:
“We know that getting up to Chamonix is quite an adventure. But we thought that there was no better place than being here, next to Mont Blanc, the top of Europe, for our 1st Portfolio Days. It’s a place that encompasses a lot of symbols, where we wanted to share with you the values of alpinism (ambition to climb mountains together with you, achieving success through humility and collective work, but also the awareness of complex situation management) but also a place where we can, unfortunately, easily see the impact of climate change…
“Below (*see Original Content section*) is a video highlighting the success of our portfolio companies in our first fund. It resonates with our Values at Revaia: optimism prevails. Ascension is what we’ve done for the past 4 years at Revaia. Today, we climbed our first rock face, we’ve deployed Fund I, and we thank you for your support and participation, because it was a collective effort. After climbing our first mountain, we are raising the bar, and hope to climb even higher summits.”
Last week, we embarked on a 3-day journey with founders, LPs and teammates. It’s the very first of what we hope will become an annual tradition aimed at bringing together stakeholders in the Revaia ecosystem for an engaging set of discussions, an opportunity for valuable exchanges and, of course, several moments of reflection among nature. This inaugural Portfolio Days event took place in Chamonix, France from June 27–29 at the base of Mont Blanc, the perfect setting (and metaphor) for the activities we had in store!
For those who were able to join, we are deeply grateful for your time, energy and contribution — it means the world to us that you were willing to join despite so many competing priorities. For those who couldn’t, not to worry — there will be a next time. This update will serve as a quick overview of the experience and what you might expect at a future date. Not to mention, the programming was top-notch (if we do say so ourselves) with incredible insights from executives and thought leaders around the world.
Before we dive into the fun & games, it’s worth noting the significance of this event in the context of Revaia’s values. Getting together, having fun and sharing ideas is at the heart of change and progress. Maintaining that sentiment, we wanted to tie back each aspect of the experience to our Values.
- At Revaia, we’re building from the ground up like many of our founders; this overlap enables us to be more than a sounding board, but a committed partner willing to get our hands dirty and problem solve together.
- As you’ll see shortly, we overcame a few obstacles together during the outdoor activities. We dream big just like our founders, and there’s nothing bigger than the highest point in Europe (Mont Blanc) which makes it the perfect location (physically and metaphorically) to discuss how we can turn our visions into reality.
- Optimism is hard to come by these days — we wrote about maintaining it during an economic downturn here — but it’s a part of our DNA. Despite uncooperative weather, we persevered and created some fantastic memories.
- Perhaps the most relevant to Portfolio Days is our love of Tea & Pastries — of which there was no shortage during the off-site. In addition to tea and pastries, there was plenty of coffee and some fantastic meals. The open dialogue and conviviality among guests was undoubtedly a top priority!
- Our vision is big and we count on each other to achieve it. We put this accountability to practice during (simulated) mountain rescue missions and supporting our partners during a rock climbing session. Trust is at the core of what we do, therefore we should practice it any chance we get.
Now that we’ve revisited the importance of such an event, let’s do a quick recap of the day-to-day activities. I’ll break it down into 3 categories (NOT in chronological order): outdoor excursions, original content & overt celebrations.
Outdoor Excursions
Let’s just say, you didn’t need to look for inspiration. Our hotel was at the base of the expansive mountain range we would later explore with views onto Mont Blanc and Aiguille du Midi, we weren’t short of stunning scenery. To see a full recap of the weekend in high definition, click to watch the video summary below!
Day 1 participants had the opportunity to hike up around Aiguille du Midi following a quick cable car ride to a mid-way point. Having reserved mountain guides for the day, we split into small groups of 3–5 and explored the mountainside. Despite some menacing clouds and a bit of hail, the views did not disappoint.
(Source: Kyle O’Brien)
On Day 2 we challenged our athleticism and agility as well as our mental acuity. Half the group started by harnessing up and climbing the sheer rock face, learning the fundamentals of rope work, communication and trust. Following that, we participated in a mountain rescue simulation in which the “victim” was briefed on their predicament and the remainder of the team set out to construct and deploy a rescue plan based on the information they could gather.
The final morning entailed a trip up to Mer de Glace (literally translates to Sea of Ice) for those who remained. Stunning views and dangerous crevices were sobered by the symbolism of a rapidly melting glacier — nature’s call to action for solutions to the ever-increasing threat of climate change.
Original Content
We were incredibly lucky to have three fantastic panel discussions featuring leaders with unique vantage points on particularly apropos topics for our founders.
Jonathan Cherki, the Founder & CEO of Contentsquare shared his wisdom on international expansion among other subjects of his wide-ranging expertise. Jonathan is the quintessential French tech success story, building Contentsquare from the ground up while maintaining unwavering ambitions to lead the company. He highlighted their approach to expanding internationally (testing viability and operational excellence nearby in Europe before heading the United States) as well as his lessons from several successful M&A processes. And of course, as the consummate salesman he is, we were given a demo of the latest and greatest features in the Contentsquare platform.
Sandrine Meunier, the Chief People Officer at Aircall outlined her perspective on recruiting, employee engagement and retention through hyper-scale. Sandrine’s extensive CV includes VP and Executive HR positions at some of the top luxury brands in the world before pivoting into technology. At Ledger, the leading cryptocurrency infrastructure and security provider, she held a VP of People role before taking on the Chief People Officer title at hyper scale-up Aircall. She outlined her philosophy on talent density and how to navigate building company culture across different geographies.
Roger Dudler, Founder & CEO of Frontify, and Vincent Bryant, Co-Founder & CEO of Deepki, shared the stage with Morgan Kessous to discuss a variety of topics from founding stories to navigating turbulent times to developing and embodying the leadership qualities necessary to scale. Roger detailed the advantages of being based in St. Gallen, Switzerland as well as the importance of professional coaching and mental health. Vincent shared his dedication to building transformational technology for the environment and his enthusiasm around an upcoming acquisition (Fabriq) that would be announced the following day.
Last, but not least, we hosted our in-person Annual Information Meeting (this General Assembly was hosted remotely a second time on Thursday, July 7). It consisted of a fireside chat with a Chamonix Mountain Rescue Officer, a lookback at Revaia Growth I, a highlight reel of our portfolio companies, strategy for endurance during the economic slowdown, an update from our Sustainability Team and a sneak peek at the next phase in our journey: Revaia Growth II.
Overt Celebrations
It’s important to balance hard work with play. As such, we planned two unique dining experiences. The first at La Folie Douce, a modern eatery with cabaret-style singing and dancing throughout the meal. Needless to say, there was a bit of our own singing and dancing between courses! On our final night, we took a short ride to what would become an evening under the stars: an apéro overlooking the mountains with dinner and dancing in a modern (and quite large) tipi-style dwelling. We enjoyed typical Savoyard cuisine and then burned off the tartiflette on the dance floor!
On a daily basis, we reflect on what a privilege it is to partner with our community of portfolio companies and LPs. But events like these serve as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate that fact among a group of driven, compassionate and brilliant people.
Closing Statement from Elina:
“We were hiking next to Mont Blanc, thunder started to rumble, at some point it even hit the cable of the cable car, we were hearing the snow blanket of the glacier crack, a sad illustration of global warming. I was walking with one of our founders, and we looked at each other, visibly panicked but we both then looked at our guides and they had the most peaceful face, because they were prepared, they know what they know, they know what they don’t know. Just looking at them, we were instantly reassured, we knew that we would be fine. This is what we should be for our portfolio companies and our investors in the current context, this is also the role our executives play for our portfolio companies. like mountain guides, we have to be disciplined, prepared.
“This is the exact mindset we are in for our portfolio companies, focusing on strong fundamentals, great companies, solid teams that we are supporting to navigate a more complex environment than anticipated. And we are comfortable beyond the dark period we are going through, optimism will prevail.”
