For employees not to upskill is professional negligence
Guest: Marie Verchère, the co-founder and CEO of Upskyld, a personalized learning app that uses audio to plug into downtimes for professionals. They are based in France and focusing on the corporate education market.
Frank Albert Coates
So tell me more about Upskyld and where you're at right now in the development stage.
Marie Verchère
Upskyld is a personalized learning app that uses audio, to plug into downtimes for professionals. Why? Because we are in a very fast growing digital world. And people and professionals are not taking the time to upskill themselves regularly and frequently. And they struggle to find the right content at the right time - actionable content to help them within their day to day job.
Professionals are not taking the time to upskill themselves regularly and frequently. And they struggle to find the right content at the right time - actionable content to help them within their day to day job.
So what we do is we tackle the question of turning those professionals into lifelong learners.
We tackle the question of turning those professionals into lifelong learners.
Where we are at the moment; we have two big areas of work in progress. The first one is the MVP that we launched a few weeks back with our first 15 to now 20 users for the for the alpha version of Upskyld. And we are raising money. So we are raising the pre-seed for September, in order to give an acceleration for the tech team, as well as the growth of Upskyld.
Frank Albert Coates
So lots of exciting things at the moment. Very busy time between the MVP and pre-seed. And do you want to say something about how the pre-seed is going?
Marie Verchère
We are looking for 1 million in pre-seed. And so far, we've committed about 20% of the of the amount, so it's going well. A lot of good feedback from business angels and VCs and, and smart money as well. So we are very happy.
Frank Albert Coates
That's great, especially in this tricky environment, right?
Marie Verchère
Yes it is. But with what's happening at the moment with the great retention, and the great demission is a very core topic. And I was discussing with EdTech France this morning, who told me that by 2030, professionals will be spending 30% of their time on training. So now is the perfect time for us to actually launch.
By 2030, professionals will be spending 30% of their time on training. So now is the perfect time for us to actually launch.
Frank Albert Coates
So let's take a few steps back and talk about you and why you ended up with Upskyld and in EdTech.
Marie Verchère
It's actually one of my co-founders, who got the initial idea, Julien, through a startup studio called miidl he launched. And he was approaching me in the customer discovery phase for Upskyld. I was at that moment struggling, for the people who know the tool SEMrush, trying to find the right content to get the right strategy to implement. And, of course, I was in the middle of, you know, execution and strategy. And I didn't have the time to find the right content. I actually asked one of my juniors to help me with that. And when Julian told me about this idea of using downtimes to actually upgrade and upskill on very specific skills I offered him to invest. And he came up with another offer and asked me to join the venture.
Frank Albert Coates
And did you already think about moving into a startup?
Marie Verchère
No. I actually I am never had the right idea or the right projects. I love EdTech. I've worked in EdTech for about three years. And I love improving, learning new languages and for me education is super important. So it was the right opportunity at the right time.
Frank Albert Coates
And if we dig a bit more into the company, what would you say is your biggest assets and why will you succeed?
Marie Verchère
The secret sauce? Well, the thing is, for all employees not to upskill is like professional negligence, and they'll drown under a tsunami of unqualified content.
For all employees not to upskill is like professional negligence, and they'll drown under a tsunami of unqualified content.
So it's a really hot topic at the moment. Our secret sauce is within three points. The first one is we do content curation through podcasts, and there is over 50 million episodes at the moment. We will add additional resources such as text and turn into audio, like your favorite Medium article, for instance, or your favorite interview turned into audio as well. So in terms of content available for professionals, the sky's the limit. The second point is the technology is now available, and affordable. So we are using artificial intelligence, deep and machine learning and NLP for the whole learning journey. The third one is the community, which is super important with a build in public strategy. So starting from the start with our first 10 users. Iterating as much as we can, it's the old mantra to fail fast and fail often. And basically to reach in September, a product for the open beta for the public. And within the product, and outside the private community is being engaged, they will review the content to nurture the algorithm to have a more personalized journey for them. Because Upskyld is supposed to be an extra layer of information and of content to follow them through the whole career. And the fourth one is the team. Because we are very experienced and tech savvy, or HR tech savvy team. And two of my co-founders are actually repeat founders. So they knew a lot about the do's and don'ts, which was very helpful.
And two of my co-founders are actually repeat founders. So they knew a lot about the do's and don'ts, which was very helpful.
Frank Albert Coates
That sounds like a good secret sauce. And when you look at the team, in particular, anything that you want to share on why does the mix work? And how did you got put together in that way?
Marie Verchère
The first one that I met was Julien about six years ago. We used to work in the same incubator when I worked in EdTech. He used to call me the floor CHO (Chief Happiness Officer). And we kept in touch because we were in a group that I founded with some friends called the game of growth, where we met once a month to talk about strategy within marketing and new tools, techniques and so on that we could use in the b2b market. And he contacted me quite regularly. He actually was a bit mad when I switched gears and changed from EdTech to HR tech, because he didn't know that I was looking for another job, because he said he always wanted to work with me. And when he offered me the opportunity he then found Louis, who is our amazing CTO with strong background in EdTech. He worked for Balsamiq for many years. He's American and Colombian, but he's worked in France for about 30 years now. So it's a good mix of culture, of languages, of knowledge. We work really well together because they both have the overview of what it is to launch a business, because they are both repeat founders. And I have the energy to put it into the mix. Between our backgrounds; me marketing and product, Louis in tech and Julian in a bit of everything we work really well.
Frank Albert Coates
And if you look back since you started together on this project, what's been your biggest challenges?
Marie Verchère
Well, the biggest challenge... The company is quite young, so about officially three months, or four months old. So everything's a challenge, when you're starting from scratch. I would say that, it's probably hard to have a good structure to make sure that you're not going into too many directions and to stay really focused on what you're doing.
So everything's a challenge, when you're starting from scratch. I would say that, it's probably hard to have a good structure to make sure that you're not going into too many directions and to stay really focused on what you're doing.
And Julian is helping a lot in that sense, because he's launched a lot of businesses. So he's helping me to make sure that I have my priorities, and that we focus a lot on the product which is the most important for us. We are very customer centric. And it took, I want to say sometime, but we have been up for about three months, so not that much time, to build the community. It's now really kicking off. So I will say it's going well.
Frank Albert Coates
And on the community piece, because it's something that 10 years ago was not necessarily on the forefront of corporates or brands agenda. And now there's communities everywhere. So what do you do to create a community?
Marie Verchère
So the community we create through a lot of different things. I'm using a lot of the digital community, the French Tech community, the EdTech Garage community as well. And all the companies we worked with. Because I worked for Urbanlinker before so I know a lot of startups and incubators and accelerators and digital communities, which helped a lot to spread the word. And a lot of references and recommendations to be honest, like we've had very good feedback on this, because people are coming from, you know, recommended by so and so. I agree with you; now you cannot launch a product without having the product customer centric, it's not possible.
Frank Albert Coates
So you engage the users from the very beginning.
Marie Verchère
Very beginning. That's why we have the build in public strategy. And that's why we are very engaged with our first 10 to 15 users. They are a bit like our best friends and and we take care of them.
We are very engaged with our first 10 to 15 users. They are a bit like our best friends and and we take care of them.
Frank Albert Coates
If you look at these last couple of months, any particular resources that have helped you along the way?
Marie Verchère
So we do everything internally. Right now we have, this is for you Jack, one intern for a month, helping us with Louis. In terms of resources we have a lot of support from the community. So EdTech Garage, EdTech France, the European EdTech Alliance as well. We have a lot of people helping us in that sense. But otherwise, as for tools, we use a lot Linear to help within the product roadmap. And to get organized with the rest, the fundraising and so on, Notion. Basic, but it always helps. We used Miro a lot when we were working on the on the first stages of Upskyld. And Airtable. On the top of my head, I think that would be it.
Frank Albert Coates
What about the next 6 to 12 months. What keeps you up at night?
Marie Verchère
The next challenges? Well, you have several. The first one is the product evolution, and the roadmap within the next 6 to 12 months. I talked about earlier the additional resources that we want to add on top of podcasts, which will be text turned into audio and video to audio. So that will be a big challenge and new doors for us in terms of content available for for users. Because, again, we have zero content production, because we think it's not really that scalable.
We have zero content production, because we think it's not really that scalable.
The second one is to prepare the seed round, because right now we are in pre-seed. But we will have to think about the seed as well. And getting the revenue within our forecast. We want to have by spring next year sold about 3000 licenses, and we are on an ARR model. So I will say that those will be my challenges keeping me and Lewis and Julian, up at night.
Frank Albert Coates
And so thinking about the seed round and the current investment climate, have you made any changes to your plans or your current pre-seed plans?
Marie Verchère
We haven't made changes. We have a very clear strategy. We have a strategy which includes specific pools for investment; one digital, one audio and one education. So I would say that, from the feedback that we received so far, some people are a bit more, cautious with the market. But we haven't had negative feedback so far. So no, we're not worried.
Frank Albert Coates
Good to hear. And when you look at both your experience now with Upskyld, and your previous experience in and around EdTech, any advice that you would give to other startups?
Marie Verchère
The first advice I would give is the one from Reed Hoffman from LinkedIn. 'If you're not ashamed of your product, it means that you've launched too late.' And that's so true. I think you should launch something sooner, the better and iterate as much as possible, not be afraid of iterating and shifting a product to make sure that it's meeting the customer needs. Because you don't want to spend six months, a year, working on something that nobody is going to use.
You should launch something sooner, the better and iterate as much as possible, not be afraid of iterating and shifting a product to make sure that it's meeting the customer needs. Because you don't want to spend six months, a year, working on something that nobody is going to use.
And perhaps the second advice I will have is about the fundraising strategy. Julian has helped me a lot with this and to have a very clear strategy, in terms of who you want to start speaking with, never start with VCs, basically. That would be my advice. But maybe with smart money, and then business angels, and then VCs, especially when you're in such an early stage, and you need a pre-seed to actually see a finished product. I think that would be important not to rush in. And take all the feedback that you can, and then just jump.
Never start with VCs… but maybe with smart money, and then business angels, and then VCs, especially when you're in such an early stage.
Frank Albert Coates
And I'll dig into one thing you said, not taking VC money straight away. So why do you think?
Marie Verchère
From my experience, they often ask for revenue generated already. And so far, we have letter of intentions for licenses in September, but we haven't per se had revenue, which is always difficult. You need to have traction. So we just find the traction through the community and the interests of people and letters of intention, but it's always a bit harder to get those credentials when you don't have all those supports from other business angels or smart money and ambassadors. Also, one point that needs to be tackled is the lead investors. Very important to know who should be the lead investor. And who do you want to go to bed with basically. Just be very picky because you don't want to ask for money from people who you don't want to work with, because it's a long term investment.
Who do you want to go to bed with… Just be very picky because you don't want to ask for money from people who you don't want to work with, because it's a long term investment.
Frank Albert Coates
And you're perfectly right. I heard this last week when I was in London that it's like falling in love; you need to have love on both sides. From investors and from the startup for it to work.
Marie Verchère
Exactly. And in early stages, like Upskyld is, the most important parts for investors are the team. So make sure you have a robust team to present, that you have a clear vision and mission. And that you start having a product like something that you can show for or at least to have a clear roadmap of what you want to do. The team is definitely one of them - a pillar for VCs and for the rest of the venture.
The most important parts for investors are the team. So make sure you have a robust team to present, that you have a clear vision and mission. And that you start having a product…
Frank Albert Coates
I'll give you a bonus question today. You are a podcast expert. Do share with our listeners, what podcasts should they listen to? What's actually really great at the moment?
Marie Verchère
It really depends. I've listened to hundreds and hundreds of podcasts. As you know, former marketing CMO person, I really liked the Marketing Square. So it's in French, but they have very actionable tips. I also really like Product Led Revenue - everything's in the name. So it's good. It's not too long. I like podcasts under 40 minutes. Generation do it yourself is also a French podcast, very international as well. So it's three hours long, but really, really interesting. And the other one is Tech 45. So it's very inspirational about CEOs, successful CEOs presented by Sébastien COUASNON who is a former BFM TV presenter. So everything related to innovation. And he has an amazing network and inspiring people.
Frank Albert Coates
Thank you. So that was it. Anything else you want to add?
Marie Verchère
What I really liked about EdTech Garage is; I think in France, we're missing a community to help us within the European range, scope and business. And I think you're right, just in time for us to benefit from this community. Thank you.
