French start-ups have seen their turnover increase, despite the crisis, to reach 8 billion euros in 2021.
More than just resilience, we can talk about performance for French Tech start-ups. French nuggets have, during and after the height of the COVID-19 crisis, seen their turnover increase by 23%, between 2020 and 2021 more precisely. And if a small alert lies in that the share of income generated abroad has fallen (from 36 to 31%), a good part of the leaders of these young shoots plan to double the turnover of their company in 2022.
Record fundraising, but overdue cash
These data, taken from the 2022 barometer of France Digitale and EY, show all the attractiveness of French start-ups, which managed to raise 11.6 billion dollars in 2021. This is also a record year. , with an average amount raised per start-up of nearly 32 million euros, much higher than in 2020 (18 million euros).
Investments are more dedicated to products and technologies, followed closely by the recruitment of new talent. And if 39% of the companies questioned think of doubling their turnover this year, all the signals are not green.
Many start-ups have cash flow concerns, affected by factors such as rising commodity prices, inflation and the repayment of the famous state-guaranteed loans taken out by start-ups during the health crisis. . 62% of companies surveyed say they have a financial leeway of less than or equal to 12 months. This especially concerns the smallest start-ups, those having generated less than 5 million euros in revenue over the year.
Recruitment, number 1 priority for start-up managers for the next ten years
Another major problem that French Tech start-ups have already mentioned many times is the shortage of talent and, as a corollary, recruitment difficulties. Because while 98% of respondents admit to planning new recruitments this year, talent may be lacking and 60% of start-ups make recruitment the main challenge for the next ten years.
In 2021, 6,056 jobs were created within the start-ups surveyed, increasing the total workforce by 20%. But three French start-ups out of four now employ foreign employees. Last year, 13% of recruited profiles came from foreign countries.
The most sought-after profiles remain salespeople and all those who make up a company’s marketing environment. But above all, and for 58% of respondents, developers, who are in high demand, are still rare birds in their eyes.
Source : EY
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