Your Startup’s Competitive Advantage Can’t Just Be “We’re French!”
On Frenchwashing in the Entrepreneurial Age.
Hi there! I’m Maud, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in communications agencies and then the last few years at Dropbox as a European PR Manager. I’ve recently joined The Family to help startups tell their story to the world.
“We’re the French [pick an American brand]”
It’s 2013. Arnaud Montebourg, then-Minister of Industrial Renewal, goes on a mission to re-establish the “Made in France” label as the only acceptable form of consumption for self-respecting French households.
But this movement also quickly resulted in lots of scams, so-called “Made in France” brands that were actually made in… China. The media gobbled up stories about these fake names that were smartly (and abusively) riding the wave of economic patriotism. More recently, the NGO Foodwatch explained that an increasing number of brands were exploiting the French people’s growing interest in where their purchases come from — meaning we’re still seeing lots of abuse regarding products’ (fake) origins.
Interestingly, 2013 was also the year when the French startup ecosystem started to grow and benefit from a more structured approach (no wonder The Family was born that year ;) An interesting crossroads arose between the two movements. Ever since, we’ve been living the entrepreneurial version of this “Made in France” battle.
And now, we’re experiencing the post-Obama US
More and more studies are reporting on a growing distrust towards the United States and American brands.
The Pew Research Center published a study last year that clearly showed that the share of the global public voicing a favorable view of America is on the decline. Across the 37 countries tracked, only in Russia (!) has the image of the United States improved by a large margin. Elsewhere, attitudes have taken a dramatic turn for the worse, especially in Western Europe and particularly in France, the UK, Germany, Poland and Spain. It’s the first time since 2008, the last year of the George W. Bush presidency, that these European publics have voiced more unfavorable than favorable views of the US.
A search for alternatives has led to a misplaced sense of economic patriotism for startups
The current tech backlash coupled with a vaguely anti-American feeling makes it all too easy for European startups to decide to position themselves as the local equivalent of the current, usually American, best-in-class competitor. The cognitive process is powerful: If you’re not American, and even better, if you’re European, you’re a safer bet. And without really realizing it, as a founder that’s when you start “PR-ing” your (startup) nationality.
There is nothing wrong with pushing your local origins if you’re a traditional business, but there is if you’re a startup.
As explained here and here, while there are companies that should go local, that doesn’t apply to the startup world — startups only exist to solve a big problem for lots of people.
It all comes down to the core definition of a startup. It is not just a small, new business — a startup is about reaching quality and scale at the same time. As Paul Graham says: “A startup is a company designed to grow fast.” The underlying fact is that to do so, a startup should remove all the frictions that could cause a slowdown in its growth.
How your startup presents itself to the world and the language you operate in count — a lot.
If your country of origin is your defining added-value, there is a serious issue with your product.
American tech companies don’t sell their Americanism to the world. They’re selling products and services to solve international users’ issues. While they may sometimes develop a relatively America-centric branding in the early stage, they don’t claim they’re better, safer, or faster simply because they come from the US.
If you’re a real startup, operate in English from Day 1. If you have world-class ambitions over either the short or long run, you must adopt the right mindset — and language — from the beginning.
It’s important because once you scale and go for other markets,
1/ you won’t be able to leverage your efforts of “By the French, for the French” when competing with other companies;
2/ it will cost you too much time, money and resources to re-localize your assets and content to fit your new markets.
This is especially important for European startups because, in theory, Europe is a single market. In theory. In practice, Europe’s languages, regulations, and cultural barriers make it difficult for entrepreneurs to use the continent as a unified market that jumpstarts their global ambitions. By positioning your brand as a local-only brand, without even noticing, you’re throwing sand into the wheels of the scaling process.
A common example is your website — the time you’ll spend reworking it into English when you decide the time is right will be a serious issue. I promise, it’s fine to publish your website in English only, your audience is used to dealing with English content. And most importantly you’re reducing the friction for international prospects and sending the signal that your product is global.
Be conscious of your cultural strengths and weaknesses
You weren’t born in Silicon Valley, which means you haven’t been raised as an entrepreneur. While the French like to repeat that “entrepreneur” is a French word, well, it’s pretty clear that the environment we actually live in isn’t the healthiest for entrepreneurs. Concretely, it means that you have to push twice as hard to establish yourself in the global tech world and gain a foothold in global markets.
This isn’t about rejecting France or your origins. It’s about acknowledging the forces and weaknesses given to you by your environment and taking only the best from your native culture.
Not every French startup is selling French culture.
With the exception of companies selling French culture as their core brand, you have no real reason to pick a French name for your startup.
Eliminate French words when it comes to picking up the right name for your brand — especially the bad puns that your grand-mère finds funny.
Only take the best from France. Accept the fact that you have a website in English and that you’re selling the best French grocery products. It’s not about rejecting your French culture, it’s about acknowledging that your market is much bigger than France and that you’re moving towards that from the beginning. I know that it feels like “We’re the French XXX” is easy PR, but it will come back to bite you as you grow.
You’re part of the Internet Nation!
At The Family we believe in the idea of an Internet Nation, as explained hereand here. Without any borders and with a shared language, (yes, English), we’re convinced that almost every country holds people who are citizens of Internet Nation. While there are probably more people from the Internet Nation in the US, its citizens are everywhere, in every market. And this represents a huge opportunity for your product.
So bring your product’s real value to the table, not just your nationality.
