A Recap of Foundation, the first startup documentary ever at STATION F
It’s over! The first season of Foundation, the first immersive documentary following 5 entrepreneurs from STATION F, is officially done! We know you couldn’t be sader, so to cheer you up, here’s a bit of behind-the-scenes facts for you:
“It’s not always easy being filmed” says Jasmine, the co-founder of Recast.AI, one of the four startups of the documentary
“Having to do a take again, stay 2 more minutes in one place, walk slower… but all-in-all it got me to calm down and confide myself to someone during tough times”.
Favorite moments of Foundation’s heroes
All entrepreneurs had good memories of being filmed, and all have a different favorite moment.
For Etienne, co-founder of Les Sherpas, it was when filming in San Francisco, showed in Episode 3, because that’s the moment when he really bonded with Olivier Blaecke, the director of Foundation. And a little fun fact: in Episode 8, before pitching on stage, the team of Les Sherpas were casually interrupted by no one other than Xavier Niel; “He smiled at us, it made us that much more nervous” says Etienne.
Millions of viewers for Foundation
You were Millions to watch it, either on Youtube, on BFM Business, or on Tech Crunch, and we undoubtedly owe the success of the series to you!
Wonder what this success means to our five favorite entrepreneurs? First off, they all claimed to have been contacted by partners and investors who had watched the documentary.
“We got great visibility and are working on a partnership with a large shoe and clothing company.” says Julian, co-founder of Torq Labs.
And are you wondering what each founder and their loved ones said after watching the documentary? “It looked like we don’t work that much” says Etienne “although if you know STATION F you can tell a lot of the scenes are filmed late at night”. All entrepreneurs were also happy to show their families what they do and put pictures on what it is to be the founder of a startup;
“My Grandma understands what I do now!” jokes Etienne.
What happened after Foundation?
- Julian and Justin, founders of Torqlabs, are still working together! They’ve finally found and are working with proper investors in NYC as a result of their Network in Paris. However, according to Bruno, the sound engineer of Foundation, Julian’s french has not improved ;)
- Les Sherpas are still at STATION F and are the youngest founders of the Founders Program! They’ll also be graduating this summer!
- Loubna and her startup Meet My Mama are still going strong! They’ve catered more than 500 events and have more than 50 mamas!
- Recast.AI has left STATION F due to their success! They were bought by tech giant SAP and are the first exit of STATION F.
So… Season 2?
Le Studio Next and STATION F, co-producers of Foundation, definitely took a risk when making Foundation! “This documentary was kind of like a startup in and of itself” said Etienne; with its innovative format, 8 episodes of 10 minutes released online, and never-seen before peek inside the lives of startup founders, this project was a unique one!
Foundation was made possible by the partnership of Allianz France (main partner), Paypal France and Sycomore AM.
“We were seduced by the authentic character of this project of following startups in the different steps of their development.” says Caroline Thelier, General Director of Paypal France.
Overall, the documentary received very positive critics, and millions in viewership from all over the world, even Kenya! If your part of it and want a Season 2, tell us in the comments or on our Social Media, @joinstationf !
And as a Bonus, listen to the Foundation soundtrack, which Konbini France described as “punchy like the entrepreneurs’ energy”:
