2021 in numbers and 🤩🕺🤓 😢
2021 was another interesting year to say the least. But I think we can all agree that it was best spent… together. As a team at eFounders, we broke records, set new goals, got our thinking caps on to imagine the future of work & fintech, welcomed new projects and said goodbye to the previous ones.
A lot happened in 2021! Thanks to the wider eFounders community we were able to achieve more than ever. So come and join us in celebrating the year that’s just come to an end.
2021 in numbers 🔢
Together as a team we…
Celebrated our 10 year birthday
2021 marked the 10th year since the start of eFounders. Ten years ago, we developed a new model of parallel entrepreneurship: the Startup Studio. We decided to take on a different approach than existing structures like Venture Builders. The companies would not only be built from scratch but would originate from our own ideas with a clear goal of becoming fully independent, both financially and operationally after 18 months. 10 years on and we’ve proven that the model works and can be successful.
Welcomed our 1st unicorn with Aircall
The very first eFounders company to achieve a valuation of over $1B. A milestone for us and a true testimony to Aircall’s ability to impact customers and create long lasting relationships (yep they’ve now got 10,000 customers in 103 countries across the world!)
Raised over $3️00 million in funding
Another record was set this year with funding rounds from Yousign (eF19), Aircall (eF14) Upflow (eF18), Spendesk (eF16), Folk (eF19), Swan (eF19), Collective (eF20), Numeral (LF21)…
Surpassed a $3️ billion portfolio valuation
As a result, our total portfolio valuation amounted to over $3 billion, gaining $1 billion in one year and tripling in just two years. Beyond just valuation numbers we’re also proud to say that all the eFounders companies employ over 2000 people worldwide. And counting.
Completed 1️ acquisition
Foxintelligence (eF16) got acquired by NielsenIQ, marking our sixth acquisition after Textmaster, Mention, Mailjet, Hivy, and Briq. While exits are never our end goal, it is a key milestone in the journey of a company, and one to be celebrated!
Behind the numbers 👀
Let’s rewind! While our numbers spell out growth and achievements, it’s not all about that. A lot happened in 2021 that can’t be counted in dollars, ARR, or even unicorns. Let’s have a look at what happened in our studio, behind the numbers:
2021 was a year of exciting beginnings 🤩
We started 2021 with a bang with the launch of Logic Founders, our new startup studio launched by Camille Tyan dedicated to fintech. As we are entering a new era for finance and banking, Logic Founders partners with world-class entrepreneurs to build the next generation of fintech companies. And one startup has already come out of the studio: Numeral who enables tech companies to automate payments.
Speaking about new startups, this year also marked new eF21 projects with Dotfile (no-code onboarding workflows), Elba (cybersecurity platform to empower employees) and AngelX (revolutionizing private investments).
A year of Demotimes on Zoom and IRL 🕺
Our quarterly ritual Demotime still went ahead, although on Zoom for the first quarter. But we reunited IRL for the other ones, a nice moment to see each and everyone of us for the first time in much too long. Demotime is when our startups share their visions, look back on what’s been achieved, look ahead and set goals, and as you probably guessed it: demo their product!
A year of new ideas and breakthroughs 🤓
SaaS is booming, and our ideas too. We put our thinking caps on and published all of our startup ideas in our Call for Founders (Vertical productivity, B2B Payments, API for X, PQLX, GTMX…) and wrote down all the opportunities remote work opens up.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows 😢
Let’s be real. 2021 was an amazing year, but it wasn’t perfect. We closed Station (eF16), a very first for our startup studio.
And while we’re always happy to see our startups become independent and leave the studio, it remains a bittersweet moment. So we said goodbye to Canyon, Crew and Collective who are now out of the studio and setting their own path.
Team Entrepreneurship
Despite some setbacks, it’s safe to say we’ve had a pretty successful year. And we owe it all to the people:
