VC firm Balderton Capital is getting serious about France, or at least is thinking about it. The European VC firm is looking for someone to source deals in France, TechCrunch has learned.
According to a source, Balderton realized that the firm is not as efficient as Index Ventures in Paris and it wants to fix that. For now, the company only wants someone who can go back and forth between London and Paris to source deals, conduct due diligence investigations and more. We confirmed this information with Balderton.
In other words, Balderton wants someone who can speak with French entrepreneurs (figuratively and literally as the team wants someone who can speak both French and English). As a reminder, Balderton already has a French partner, Bernard Liautaud, and a few investments in French companies, such as Vestiaire Collective.
When it comes to Index Ventures, principal Martin Mignot has been doing a good job going back and forth between London and France to talk with French startups. I keep bumping into him at startup events every other week.
He is following a few of Index’s investments in French startups, including investments in Algolia, Capitaine Train, Drivy and TheFamily.
Maybe Balderton missed out on some of these deals and wants to send a message to the French ecosystem. The firm is not building a team in Paris; it just wants to be on the ground while still investing from London. It’s a tiny first step, but an important one.