
The (real) truth about international entrepreneurs at STATION F
“International, from day 1”: this is how Roxanne, STATION F’s director, puts it in our previous blogpost: “The (incredible) truth about international entrepreneurs at STATION F”. Wait, this title sounds a bit similar, no?
When this blogpost was published, exactly a year ago, we had just been open for a few weeks. Since then, we have gathered a lot more data and uncovered new insights into our international community!
Startups applying to STATION F: who they are, why they apply
Last year, STATION F received more than 11k applications to join the campus. A third of them came from outside of France. Surprisingly, the majority of foreign applications did not come from geographical neighbors.
In first place, we have the US (34% of foreign applications), followed by the UK, China and India.
Good news, we are seeing a growing number of foreign applications as time passes. For the Founders Program, the number has more than doubled between batch 1 and batch 3!
We are a bit jealous but the Founders Program is not the #1 program when it comes to variety of countries in applicants. ShakeUp Factory, our FoodTech partner startup program, leads in diversity with applications from 78 different countries (yes, you read that right).
You might ask yourself why do foreign entrepreneurs choose to move to Paris and to start their business at STATION F. Well, we asked ourselves the same question!
The #1 reason for which foreign entrepreneurs applied to STATION F is actually the same as French entrepreneurs (#oneworld): it’s to be surrounded by thousands of entrepreneurs.
This shows how important it is to leverage a network of like-minded people.
The diverse community and variety of resources provided also seem to be a strong component in their decision to apply to STATION F. Indeed, we have workshops daily at STATION F, on all topics that matter to early stage startups. We also like to create a welcoming environment for foreign entrepreneurs, starting with the official language on campus: English! This is something we want to emphasize to create an inclusive environment for our international community.
Interestingly enough, you might notice that political situations like Brexit or Trump do not represent such a big influence (despite what we read in the media a lot). At least not in our community!
Special perks for foreign entrepreneurs at STATION F
First, and maybe most importantly, the biggest perk we offer for foreign entrepreneurs at STATION F is that we love you.
It sounds corny but it’s true: we welcome you with open arms, and will do everything in our power to make you feel at home. We believe that having entrepreneurs from all horizons at STATION F is our greatest asset, and hope that you will consider building this dream with us.
Setting up shop in France or just stopping by for a few months: you are equally welcome! (But we bet you’ll want to stay so… watch out).
Now to be a bit more pragmatic: visas. We know, what a hoot.
Thanks to La French Tech (a government initiative created to support entrepreneurs in France and abroad), foreign entrepreneurs can apply to:
- French Tech Ticket: a program to help international entrepreneurs move to France
- French Tech Visa: a fast track open to founders, employees and investors.
You can read more details about this program on our blog here.
When you apply to the Founders Program and get accepted, you can get access to La French Tech very easily. Once you’re here, you can get help with all your administrative tasks at the French Tech Central, right here at STATION F!
This is just one of the many resources that we offer at STATION F. You can also get access to workshops (in English!), investors, special offers and discounts, good food at La Felicità, and so much more.
Oh, and we have a Slack Channel for #learning-french :)
International entrepreneurs in the future
What will the next “International Entrepreneurs” blogpost look like? Well, we don’t want to spoil anything but bear in mind that we are planning on always improving our offer to welcome entrepreneurs at STATION F.
Our housing extension, welcoming 600 STATION F entrepreneurs, will open in a few months. We are also exploring a lot of options to strengthen our links with other countries and startup organizations worldwide.
In the meantime, international entrepreneurs, apply to join the Founders Program, STATION F’s core startup program, before September 25th!

