Behind the glitter, the reality of a start-up
Serge Duriavig, founder of NightSwapping, summarizes the different stages that marked the development of his start-up.
2 years after its launch, a fundraising in France of 1.5ME, more than 150,000 users on its platform, the success of the beginnings has not spared him and Serge Duriavig is now leading a race against time with French investors. The challenge before March 31, 2016 will therefore be to raise 2ME to accelerate the development of the start-up, bring it to self-financing and maintain its team of 15 employees.
3 questions to Serge Duriavig, founder of NightSwapping
Why did you embark on this adventure?
I have always admired the power of simple ideas to revolutionize our consumption patterns. I wanted to aim for the intellectual success of a model validated by the greatest number. But creating NightSwapping was also living a collective adventure alongside committed and passionate collaborators for this ambitious and international project.
What’s behind the scenes?
The growth of collaborative economy startups relies exclusively on the acquisition of a strong and committed community, while the break-even point is only reached from the 5th year on average. Their financing therefore depends on fundraising.
Here in France, I noticed that public investment in startups was very present while on the private side it was more complicated. Investors want models with immediate profitability while startups need funding to build a community and then be profitable. It’s endless!
What are the challenges for a start-up like NightSwapping today?
In just 2 years and thanks to an initial fundraising of 1.5ME, we have passed the milestone of 150,000 members worldwide. A very promising start, but the challenge today is to attract business angels before March 31, 2016 as part of our second fundraising of 2ME.
