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Paris Creator Week 2024: Insights on the Creator Economy

The first edition of the Paris Creator Week took place at Station F in Paris this week. It brought together content creators, brands, and industry experts to dive into the booming creator economy. This sector, valued at $180–250 billion globally in 2023 and growing at 15% annually, is expected to double in the next five years. The event aimed to position France as the leader in the European creator economy.

Here are the key takeaways from the event.

Paris Creator Week

Lessons from France’s top podcaster, Matthieu Stefani

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Matthieu Stefani is the leading podcaster in France with GDIY (Generation Do It Yourself), and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the creator economy.

During his conference at Paris Creator Week, he shared his approach to building a successful podcast. His main advice: passion is essential. Content creation should always come from a genuine interest in the subject matter.

He also emphasized the importance of working with sponsors you truly believe in. If a sponsorship feels forced or insincere, it risks alienating your audience.

Matthieu pointed out that, in the creator economy, it’s not the number of subscribers that matters but their quality. For example, a podcast on entrepreneurship with 500 founders as listeners is more valuable than millions of followers with no connection to the topic.

He also shared that his podcast saw a 40% increase in new listeners this year, proving there’s still room for new voices in podcasting.

CYRILmp4: Balancing content creation and entrepreneurship

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Cyril MP4, a content creator with over 5 million YouTube subscribers, spoke about balancing content creation and entrepreneurship. He believes every content creator is also an entrepreneur. Cyril has built multiple companies around his content.

However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. He mentioned taking a one-year break from YouTube to recalibrate and refocus. His key advice: organization is crucial. As creators scale, finding the right balance between producing content and managing business operations becomes essential.

Making corporate communication engaging: the role of content creation

Corporate communication can often feel dry, but there are ways to make it more engaging and relatable. One of the best ways to do this is by putting faces to the brand. Whether it’s the CEO, employees, or content creators who authentically represent the company. After all, a business is made up of people, and showing the human side of a brand helps build trust and connection with the audience.

A great example of this is Orange’s Better Program, where influencers are invited to spend time at the company’s offices to learn about its innovations. These influencers then share their experiences with their followers, offering a more personal touch to the brand. It’s not just about promoting a product; it’s about showing the people and values behind it.

Creating engaging content is another key to making corporate communication resonate. L’Oréal did this brilliantly by turning a traditional financial report into something visually appealing and digital-friendly, which garnered 3 million views. They proved that even dry corporate content can be transformed into something captivating when done creatively.

In the same vein, Orange used content creators to create over 1,000 posts leading up to the Olympics, and nearly 400 posts during the event. This real-time, engaging content kept the brand at the forefront of the conversation and connected with audiences in a natural, authentic way.

The key takeaway? To make corporate communication sexy, brands need to humanize their message—by putting real people in front of it, whether it’s through influencers, employees, or leaders—and make it engaging, whether through creative content or authentic storytelling. It’s all about finding the right balance between authenticity and creativity.

How to work with content creators ?

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When working with influencers, it’s important to give them the freedom to bring their own creativity into the collaboration. They understand their audience best and know how to deliver the message.

More and more, brands are turning to micro and nano-influencers. While they may have smaller followings, these influencers tend to have highly engaged and loyal audiences, making them an excellent choice for brands looking to target specific, niche markets.

Ultimately, the key to a successful influencer partnership is authenticity. When influencers genuinely believe in the brand and share its values, their content feels more trustworthy and organic, which leads to a stronger connection with their audience.

Although Paris Creator Week 2024 has ended, check out our upcoming events here – we’ve got some exciting opportunities lined up for you !

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Events 2 days ago

AI is reshaping how people discover information. Search traffic, once the lifeblood of websites, is plummeting as AI tools provide answers and context immediately, eliminating the need to browse to websites for answers at all.  Understandably, companies are responding by going down avenues they can control: newsletters, podcasts, memberships and events. This reality is true for startups as well. You simply can’t rely on Google traffic or algorithms to build trust anymore. You need direct channels, and there are few ways to build trust more powerful than  meeting people face-to-face. Welcome to the ‘post-click’ era Startups have long played by the ever-changing rules set by Google and social media platforms, which are more often than not prone to changing their algorithms and leaving everyone scrambling to adapt overnight.  AI is not only accelerating this instability, it’s almost making Google referral traffic obsolete. Companies need to adapt to this new reality with strategies that let them talk directly to their prospective customers. The media industry, one of the most vulnerable to the changes, is proving to be one of the quickest to adapt. Morning Brew, for example, blends its newsletters franchises with events. In a recent interview, Sam Jacobs, TIME’s editor-in-chief, highlighted how the company went from organizing two to three events per year, to holding the same number of events monthly. Even digital-first players are embracing events. Podcasts like Acquired and All-In now host live events to bring their listeners together. Finimize has built grassroots meetups around its newsletter. The new defense tech media title, Resilience Media, born on Substack, is planning events to connect experts in its niche. Alex Konrad’s new Upstarts ecosystem includes live interviews, an upcoming podcast and curated events. These aren’t just extensions of the content; they’re ways to nurture communities. Startups should copy this strategy. They must consider where their credibility and relationships will be built in this new landscape, especially as visibility is no longer about simply appearing on top of search results or burning money with ads; it’s about building lasting trust in the spaces that matter. Events are singularly effective at doing that. Lessons from after the pandemic If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that being present online is insufficient. Platforms like Hopin promised a future of global, scalable, online events. Even experiments in VR conferences were the subject of occasional hype.  All of that fell short, however. What founders, investors and marketers learned was simple: There is no substitute for shaking someone’s hand, catching their eye, and sharing time in the same space. When the pandemic ended, events came back with a bang. Companies large and small continue to invest in gatherings. Events still carry symbolic weight: just look at Apple’s meticulously choreographed product launches, or how scaleups like Helsing showcase new technologies.  For startups, events can also serve as tools for strengthening internal communications and bonds with their employees and their community. Here’s a great example: Italian travel scaleup WeRoad holds an annual, two-day global gathering of its travel coordinators and staff that strengthens culture and commitment in ways a Zoom call never could. Why startups need to show up Startups live and die on the strength of their relationships. Securing investors, signing first customers, and finding the right partners are all processes that depend completely on trust. These early relationships are crucial. In an AI-driven world where digital discovery is fragmented, saturated and noisy, events cut through the noise. They offer something AI and algorithms never will: human presence. Startups should think of events as essential investments in visibility and credibility. Whether it’s speaking on stage, hosting a breakfast or simply showing up to the right conference — being in the room matters. It’s OK to be selective. It’s OK to pass on events when priorities point elsewhere. And don’t take this to mean the digital realm and AI should be ignored. But in this era where we’re putting AI on a pedestal, founders should not underestimate the power of a physical meeting for establishing contact with investors, talent, or any other important stakeholder.

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New Materials 3 days ago

After a successful first edition, JEC Investor Day 2026 is now returning for its second year with expanded ambitions.

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Events 6 days ago

TechCrunch Disrupt? Overrated. Web Summit? A $4,700 mistake I’ll never make again. I’ve burned $18K learning which startup events actually matter for B2B SaaS founders trying to close deals—not just collect business cards. Here’s what nobody tells you: the biggest events aren’t where B2B deals happen. Why “Best Startup Event” Lists Are Useless for B2B Founders Every January, tech blogs publish the same recycled garbage: “50 Must-Attend Startup Events!” They rank by size and buzz. What they don’t rank by: where your buyers actually show up with budgets. I learned this after exhibiting at a 70,000-person mega-conference. Spent $4,700 on booth space, flights, and hotel. Had exactly zero conversations with our target market. The attendees? Mostly consumer startups and the press are looking for the next Uber. According to Cvent, 81% of trade show attendees have buying authority—but only at industry-specific events. Generic “startup” conferences are networking theater. If you’re serious about finding the right startup event strategy, you need to think differently. The 5 Best Startup Events Where I’ve Actually Closed B2B Deals SaaStr Annual – Where SaaS Deals Actually Happen 13,000 SaaS professionals in San Mateo every March. APIDays – The Technical Depth You Need If you’re building APIs, this is your room. 2,000-3,000 API architects who can actually read your docs. Paris is the flagship, but they run 10+ cities globally. What makes APIDays different: it’s deeply technical. No marketing fluff. €3,000 gets you in, and European buyers are way less saturated than US markets. Big Data & AI Paris – Enterprise Buyers With Actual Budgets 15,000 enterprise CTOs and data engineers. I closed two partnerships here worth €400K combined—with French banks and telecom companies that had active Q4 budgets. The French government subsidizes AI adoption, so budgets are real. But your networking tactics need to adapt. Less aggressive, more relationship-focused. €800 for a pass and 3,200€ to exhibit as a startup, totally worth it if you’re targeting European enterprises. Track it on Sesamers so you don’t miss early bird pricing. MicroConf – Where Bootstrapped Founders Share Real Numbers 200-300 attendees max. Everyone’s profitable or trying to be. Zero VC hypergrowth bullshit. I’ve learned more in hallway conversations here than at conferences 50x the size. The attendees are other founders who share actual numbers—not vanity metrics. Churn rates, CAC, payback periods. This is how you measure real ROI from events. Worth every cent if you’re bootstrapped. Industry-Specific Trade Shows – The Secret Weapon Here’s the move nobody talks about: skip tech conferences entirely. Go where your buyers congregate. Healthcare SaaS? Hit HIMSS. Fintech? Money20/20. HR tech? HR Tech Conference. I watched a founder close a $400K deal at a healthcare event while competitors were posting selfies at Web Summit. These cost $3,000 avg, but attendee quality is 100x better. According to Statista, B2B trade shows hit $15.78B in 2024. This strategy works because you’re fishing where the fish actually are. The 3-Filter System I Use to Pick Events Filter 1: Who’s actually attending? Can you name 20 people who match your ICP? If not, wrong event. Use Sesamers to check historical attendee data before buying tickets. Filter 2: What’s your actual goal? Raising money? Go to investor-heavy events. Closing customers? Industry trade shows. Different goals need different event selection criteria. Filter 3: What’s the all-in cost? Ticket + flights + hotel + meals. If it’s over $3K, you need $30K in pipeline to break even. Most events don’t hit that unless you’re strategic. Events I Skip (And Why You Should Too) Web Summit: 70,000 people is networking hell. Consumer-focused despite the B2B claims. Pass unless you need Series A+ PR. CES: Consumer electronics show. Your B2B SaaS buyers aren’t here. I see founders at CES every year wondering why they’re not closing deals. Now you know. TechCrunch Disrupt: Great for press and VCs. Terrible for enterprise buyers. Worth it for launch PR, not pipeline. How I Track Everything Without Losing My Mind I track every event in a spreadsheet: cost, conversations, pipeline generated, deals closed. After three years of data, the pattern is crystal clear. Niche beats broad. Quality beats quantity—industry-specific crushes general tech. The best startup events for B2B SaaS are never on TechCrunch’s homepage. For API companies: APIDays and API World are superior to generic conferences. For AI/ML: Big Data & AI Paris provides European enterprise access that’s nearly impossible to achieve otherwise. Geography matters—European buyers at European events are way less saturated than US markets. Stop Wasting Money on the Wrong Events You have limited time and budget. Most founders can hit 3-5 events per year max. Choose wrong and you’ve burned $15K and 15 days for zero ROI. Choose right and one event generates $500K+ in pipeline. Use Sesamers to find events filtered by your industry and target attendees. See which ones similar founders recommend. Track ROI data. Set reminders for early bird pricing. Never waste another $4K on an event where your buyers don’t show up. Because the smartest way to pick events is learning from founders who’ve already tested them—and can tell you which ones actually matter. Ready to find your next high-ROI event? Start tracking on Sesamers and build your calendar based on data, not FOMO.

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