Les Pépites Tech (The Tech Nuggets) is a social and collaborative directory made to present the young french startups to the whole world. This is the showcase that suits us best, we the nuggets. Les Pépites Tech is missioned to gather and connect the entrepreneurs which innovate with all stakeholders from the French Tech.

This interview was made for Les Pépites Tech in the framework of our participation in the nuggets of the month. We warmly thank Thibault Fournelle and his team. 

 After the first publication of the interview, I wrote a new version out of the original to deepen my answers to the questions asked by Les Pépites tech. 

Introduce your nugget in a few words. What is your value proposition?

Panodyssey is the 1st responsible social network for independent content creators: a simple and intuitive solution to create and share their passions.

Panodyssey does not stress its readers with ads and manipulative algorithms. Panodyssey does not compress the value of contents published by its writers. It is quite the opposite, at Panodyssey, we decompress. 

How did you get the idea of this project and what is the problem that you are trying to solve? 

The idea arose from the problem of value creation and the lack of trust on social networks and in the media environment. Creators are impoverished for more than 20 years with the arrival of the GAFA, and in particular on Facebook for written publications. The question we asked ourselves in such a profusion of information, fake news, and content accessible on social networks where one finds the best or the worse. 

     - How to create value for creators without advertisement? 

     - How to create enchantment with an innovative service and act on trust? 

Our idea was built around these stakes.

Today, who uses your solution? What is your traction?

A diversity of independent creators use our solution: authors, designers, photographers, writers. All generations are represented, from 18 years old to retirees. Young web writing professionals love to use the solution: simplicity, design, and the spirit of freedom are highly appreciated. Creators appreciate the collaborative concept. Students need a serious social network to share quality content and enhance their skills and passions. They are used to leading collective projects but there are still a few simple and nice online solutions. In Europe, Panodyssey is the only solution in this area.

Instagram or Snapchat do not address all the needs of young people who love to write and share their passions and beliefs!

A more senior and very engaged community uses our solution to create their publication spaces even though they didn't necessarily have a blog. They are very sensitive to Panodyssey's mission and values and this opens new publishing horizons. More and more users are tired of the hubbub of social networks. Users increasingly need to feel in a quiet space without advertising nerves.

Finally, we have creators who need an integrated solution: creation, publication, and monetization. It's important to realize that advertising is not bringing much income on the Internet, with a few rare exceptions. Value creation is at the heart of Panodyssey's founding values. The good news we have to announce is the following: all creators will soon be able to collect donations and/or funds to develop their editorial projects on Panodyssey. See you at the end of 2020 to live this true revolution!

Panodyssey already has 2,000 independent editors, 10,000 publications, and 500,000 readers. Readers live a meaningful experience by creating a strong bond with the creators they support in an ecosystem that does not oppress.

What is the business model?

An alignment of interests between users and Panodyssey is the foundation of the business model. Panodyssey connects a creator with his reader. When a reader gives 10 euros to support a creator, Panodyssey receives 2 euros for the connection and the provision of the platform.

On American social networks, it's the opposite - in the best-case scenario - the share paid to the creators is minimal so as not to be ridiculous. It is not better on TikTok...

It is complete nonsense and it has become unbearable in the world of creation. Our model has the wind in its sails in the United States and it is coming to Europe. 

What are the technologies you use?

Panodyssey's team is composed of experienced engineers and developers who assemble several technologies to build a particularly complex open API. For instance, we use a blockchain for the management and protection of content with a vision of intellectual property very different from the one from the GAFA. 

We like intellectual property when others despise it. Watch this video from Panodyssey Academy, our friendly online training school!

What are your current needs?

Panodyssey is a solution to the crisis in a context where the digital needs of users (confined or not) are gigantic: collaborative writing, publication and monetization, transparency, ethics.

Our solution is timely and our objective is to accelerate the strong growth we are already recording. We need :

     - To hire to accelerate growth

     - To invest to innovate

Who are your major competitors? What is your added-value?

All platforms in the competitive landscape are American without exception. They are all experiencing growth accelerations that are attracting investors in America and now in Europe.

We align the economic interests of all stakeholders with an innovative product that meets the needs of users. In this way, the conditions for value creation are clearly set out and each party has its share of the pie. The cake is shared fairly and in complete transparency.

To build trust, nothing must be hidden. To build trust, you have to show and prove what is actually happening in the value chain. It's what you do that counts!

Where do you see the company a year from now?

In a year Panodyssey will be almost everywhere in Europe.

We will soon be announcing a very ambitious, innovative, and unifying European project that will be rolled out throughout next year. It's a very exciting project!

Share with us an unusual moment (success, failure, or funny moment).

My greatest success?

Not to have been afraid when I fell into the sea and drifted for hours until I hung on to a lighthouse in the open sea at nightfall!

To make Panodyssey, you need character and not cheat with the emotions of Internet users... I can't wait to discuss it soon with Mark Zuckerberg!

If you have any piece of advice to give to other entrepreneurs…

Dream and be pragmatic to make your dreams come true in concrete action every day. Anticipate maneuvers and sensitize your crew to change in order to manage the calm and the storm.

In both cases, it is possibly deadly! 

Translator's note: Having translated this article made me realize I participated in the making of a collective work. It is where Panodyssey's added-value lies. By rendering it possible, for writers to easily and intuitively invite others to take part in the elaboration of their work, this platform materializes a space where people's creativity can flourish both on its own but also by collaborating with others.