text: Robert Marino (Deeptech Founders): "Our National Champions Suffer From The Competition To Attract Talent" - UpToFast
  Robert Marino (Deeptech Founders): "Our national champions suffer from the competition to attract talent"
  This week, we are focusing on the Deeptech sector: its players, its challenges, its funding, its issues and its opportunities. Robert Marino, director of the Deeptech Founders support program, takes stock of the deeptech sector in France in 2020. Deeptech Founders is a support program launched in partnership with Bpifrance in 2018.
  Between 2000 and 2018, only 231 research officials had requested authorization to set up their business. In 2019, Bpifrance launched its Deeptech plan to encourage researchers to start their business. In one year, more than 250 start-ups were founded and benefited from 85 million euros in funding in the form of grants or loans. A new ecosystem that still needs to grow.
  " For the creation of deeptech start-ups, we have an excellent ecosystem in France. But there is a lack of small business angel tickets at the very beginning of the funding chain to derisking technology and also very large funds to achieve significant tickets so that start-ups are no longer obliged to turn to American funds. We have not had very big exits in the deeptech field in France. This would show that it's worth investing in these companies ", explains Robert Marino
  Recruiting talent is key to the success of a deeptech business. A difficult subject for French companies which do not fight with the same weapons as American companies in terms of wages in particular. " Our national champions are suffering from the fight for talent. American companies raise four times more and can pay their employees twice as much, which makes it difficult for French companies to hunt for talent ", highlights the director of the Deeptech Founders support program.