TechCrunch Roundtable, Paris, Feb 25: What Next For France 2.0?

TechCrunch is hosting a Roundtable and Meetup in Paris on Wednesday next week, Feb 25. “TechCrunchTalk: What Next For France 2.0?” will feature an afternoon of panel discussions and some great evening networking with French startups and the investment community. The event will be live video streamed on TechCrunch. Please grab a ticket here. Read on for details:

The TechCrunchTalk event – put on by TechCrunch UK & Europe and TechCrunch France – is aimed at bringing together the Web 2.0 startup and VC community to debate the next phase of the French startup world. It will feature two quick-fire panel discussions with the hottest entrepreneurs and investors selected for their leading views on the market, with topics focused around the following themes:

• What are the strengths of the French tech scene?
• Where and how can it be improved?
• Should French startups concentrate on France, or scale across Europe and the rest of the world?
• Is the VC community doing enough for entrepreneurs?
• What is the VC community looking for from French entrepreneurs?

France is a key nation in Europe but can it build the next Google? French entrepreneurs are renowned for their savvy, smart take on technology – but does France face a brain-drain as French startups seek their fortune in Silicon Valley?

To help us explore these questions we’ll have on hand:

Roundtable Discussion
Salman Malik, co-Founder of Firefly
Steph Bouchet, ex-Joost
Laurent Féral-Pierssens, Silentale.com
Olivier Schuepbach, Wellington Partners
Colette Ballou Lamotte, Ballou PR
(Other panelists will shortly be confirmed)

Roundtable Moderator:
Mike Butcher, TechCrunch UK & Europe

Details: TechCrunchTalk France 2.0 will be on on Wednesday, 25 Feb 2009 3pm-6pm, followed by networking over refreshments till 9pm. It will be held at La Cantine, 12 passage Montmartre, Galerie des Panoramas, 151 rue Montmartre, in Paris, the innovation and co-working place owned by Silicon Sentier. See also here and here for maps. Tickets here..

Please contact our event organiser Petra Johansson on petra [at] twistedtree [dot] co [dot] uk for any enquiries about demo tables or sponsor packages. Press enquiries for press passes to rassami.

The event will be followed by product pitches from three to five companies (products or startups that actually launch at the event will receive extra consideration, but it is not a requirement). If you have a startup ready to launch then and would like to give a demo, send a brief pitch to TechCrunch UK editor Mike Butcher.

The event is sponsored by Viadeo
Viadeo is a business and social networking tool to development your business and career.

Founded in June 2004, Viadeo quickly established itself as the place to be for online professional networking in Europe and beyond. Since then, with almost 7 million members (as of January 2009), Viadeo is the reference for those who want to:
• Increase their business opportunities (Discovering new clients, partners, staff and suppliers)
• Enhance their visibility and their online reputation
• Manage and develop their network of professional contacts

Each day Viadeo attracts almost 10,000 new members; 20,000 new connections are made and over 60,000 profiles are viewed. Based in Paris (head office), Viadeo also has offices and teams in England (London), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan), China (Beijing), India (New Delhi) and Mexico (Mexico City). The company employs 200 staff worldwide.

Créée en juin 2004, Viadeo.com s’est rapidement imposée comme LA plateforme de mise en relation professionnelle de référence, en France comme à l’étranger. Avec près de 7 millions de membres (données : janvier 2009), VIADEO est désormais incontournable pour qui souhaite:
• augmenter ses opportunités « business » (recherche de nouveaux clients, partenaires ou fournisseurs),
• accroître sa visibilité et sa « net réputation,
• gérer et développer son réseau de contacts professionnels

VIADEO, c’est près de 10 000 nouveaux inscrits par jour, 20 000 mises en relations & plus de 600 000 profils consultés quotidiennement. Basé à Paris (siège social), VIADEO dispose également de bureaux et d’équipes locales en Angleterre (Londres), en Espagne (Madrid et Barcelone), en Italie (Milan), en Chine (Pékin), en Inde (New Delhi) et au Mexique (Mexico City). La société emploie 200 salariés.

We’ll be holding a series of TechCrunch events in Europe this Spring and Summer, all focused on bringing together and networking the European tech community. If you wish to be on the mailing list for information about all the up-coming events, sign up on our Amiando account here. And there is lots more information here.

Warsaw
19th March – Central European event for tech startups & VCs
Topic: Re-engineering the Central European tech scene – What’s next?
Get Tickets

London
21st April
Topic: A day-long event for UK & other European startups. More details to follow
Sign up for further info

Stockholm
27th May – Nordic and the Baltic states event for startups and VCs
Topic: Connecting Northern Europe – Where are the strong and weak links?
Sign up for further info

Berlin
10th June – More details to follow
Topic: How does Berlin and Germany become a key node for European Tech?
Sign up for further info

London
9th July – TechCrunch Summer-Party
Topic: Party!
Sign up for further info

Past TechCrunchTalks:

Barcelona
19th February – “Mobile 2.0″ event alongside Mobile World Congress
Topic: The future for Mobile 2.0 startups.
Archive here