Investment in eYou
Fil Rouge Capital, a venture capital firm focusing on early-stage businesses, launched its Romanian operations last spring and has since made three investments in the country. One of these is eYou, a social media platform that recently made its public debut. The firm invested EUR 300,000 in pre-seed funding to support eYou, developed by Bucharest-based French entrepreneurs Jasseem Allybokus and Grégoire Vigroux.
According to Julien Coustaury, founding partner of Fil Rouge Capital, the decision to invest in eYou was driven by the platform’s innovative approach to social media. “The idea of disrupting the social network status quo was very appealing to us,” Coustaury said. “The key factor was meeting the founders, Jasseem and Grég, who had a compelling vision and the technical capacity to execute it.”
Monetization and Involvement
eYou’s founders have indicated that monetization is not a priority at this stage. “The topic of monetization is very important, but not the focus right now,” Coustaury explained. “We are backing the company without a clear vision on monetization yet.” He added, “We are exploring innovative ways to monetize, something very new.”
Regarding the level of involvement, Coustaury stated, “We interfere as little as possible, but we are always there when the founding team needs brainstorming, assistance, or support.”
Future Plans
After one year of operations in Romania, Fil Rouge Capital is excited about the opportunities in the pre-seed and seed stages. “We are seeing plenty of quality founders and innovative ideas,” Coustaury said. “We are considering initiatives to increase our presence, possibly including a dedicated Romanian fund.”
Despite recent political turbulence in Romania, Coustaury noted that it has not impacted their business activities. “We are irrelevant to the political scene,” he said. “Unless there are legal constraints, we continue our operations as planned.”
When asked for advice to founders, Coustaury emphasized the importance of humility and arrogance. “Be both humble and arrogant,” he advised. “Humble enough to listen and learn, and arrogant enough to believe in your vision and execution.”
