Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners

What Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners does

Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners is a Paris-based early-stage startup accelerator and investor founded in 2012 by Michel de Guilhermier and Juan Hernandez, originally operating as L'Accélérateur before rebranding in November 2016. The firm targets French early-stage founders, providing capital combined with intensive, hands-on coaching delivered by a partner team of four operator-investors (Michel de Guilhermier as President, Juan Hernandez, Eric Kalfon, and Christophe Courtin). Day One supports 20-25 startups per year and has built a portfolio spanning more than 40 sectors, reporting a five-year survival rate above 80% for accompanied companies against a roughly 50% baseline.

The firm's capital base was materially expanded in October 2017 via a €50M, five-year commitment from the Leclercq family, founders of Decathlon, giving the firm the firepower to sustain a multi-year investment cadence. Its ecosystem extends beyond the portfolio through a partnership with the AngelSquare business angels club, connecting supported startups to private angel capital and co-investment opportunities. Portfolio activity has extended geographically into Belgium and London, suggesting an intent to support internationalization of the startups it backs.

Day One's business model is that of an early-stage venture investor rather than an operating SaaS or services company: economics are generated through capital gains on portfolio exits, with no disclosed fee stream, ARR, or operating revenue. The firm is intentionally small (1-10 employees), with the partner team functioning as both investors and operating coaches, and there is no evidence of a proprietary technology platform, AI/ML capability, or data-driven deal-sourcing product. The core deliverable is operator-led support and capital, with the claimed >80% five-year survival rate serving as the primary outcome metric communicated to prospective founders and co-investors.

Name

Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners

Legal name

Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners

Website

https://dayonepartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners is a Paris-based early-stage startup accelerator and investor founded in 2012, providing capital and hands-on operator coaching from a four-partner team to 20-25 French startups per year across 40+ sectors, backed by a €50M Leclercq-family commitment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Investment & Acceleration

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

Keywords

• Startup investment
• Venture capital
• Startup acceleration
• Entrepreneur coaching
• Seed financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Capital gains on portfolio exits: Day One invests capital (several million euros over time if needed) into selected startups and generates returns through equity appreciation and exits. They have no constraint or objective of exit timing — they can remain shareholders as long as needed for the company to succeed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners is a Paris-based long-term equity investor and startup accelerator that bundles capital (several million euros per company over time, with a €50M envelope committed alongside the Leclercq family/Decathlon) with intensive, free coaching and mentorship from four serial-entrepreneur partners. The firm invests across stages (including 5+ year-old companies) and seeks to act as the reference shareholder, with no constraint on exit timing.

Product overview

Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners is a long-term investor and accelerator for early-stage startups in France, not a product or technology company. Their offering consists of investment capital combined with business coaching and mentorship, with no standalone software products or modules. The company provides funding and acceleration services to startups across various sectors including e-commerce, fintech, hospitality, and digital services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Long-term equity investment + intensive coaching program for French startups A bundled offering for young French startups combining multi-million-euro equity investment (over time, no fixed exit constraint) with free, intensive coaching from four serial-entrepreneur partners. Day One typically acts as reference shareholder (actionnaire de référence) and conducts bi-weekly coaching sessions covering strategy, fundraising, business model reassessment, network access and personal coaching. Available to early-stage French digital and consumer startups whose founders show humility, listening ability, tenacity, commitment, ambition and integrity.
• AngelSquare Club Day One A business angel referral and co-investment club hosted on the AngelSquare platform, giving individual angels access to Day One's vetted French startup deal flow and the ability to participate in selected investments. Targeted at business angels seeking curated, experienced-operator-backed early-stage deal flow in France.

Quantifiable outcome

• Startups receiving accompaniment increase 5-year survival rate from ~50% average to over 80%.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AngelSquareminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 November 2017Day One launched its Club Day One on AngelSquare, a platform connecting business angels with startups. The club allows angels to receive deal flow from Day One and participate in investments.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Antler: Global founder-generator/accelerator that builds companies from ideation with intensive coaching and initial capital — directly comparable to Day One's venture-studio-adjacent bundle, but operating globally rather than France-only.

Direct peers

• 1Kubator: French startup accelerator with multiple regional hubs that combines capital, coaching, and community programming — directly comparable to Day One's bundled offering and geographic emphasis on France.
• Kima Ventures: Paris-based seed investor founded by the Omidyar/Zuckerberg-era XeroX teams; known for high-volume, low-cheque startup bets. Comparable to Day One in early-stage French deal flow and application-driven model.
• 50 Partners: French startup accelerator famously branded as '4 guys' investing personal capital alongside coaching in young French startups. Closest structural analogue to Day One's operator-led, bundled capital-plus-coaching model.
• The Family: Paris-based founder support organization providing community, education, and light-touch capital to European early-stage startups; comparable as a French founder-services-first investor community rather than a traditional fund.

Broad incumbents

• Station F: Largest startup campus in the world (Paris), hosting dozens of accelerator programs and corporate venture arms. A broader incumbent in French startup acceleration with adjacent — rather than direct — competition to Day One.
• Techstars: Global accelerator network with intensive mentorship-driven cohorts — overlaps with Day One on the coaching-plus-equity accelerator model but at vastly larger scale and as a US-rooted brand.
• Paris&Co: Paris economic development agency running multiple sector-focused incubators. Comparable as a French public-affiliated startup incubation layer with overlap on coaching and ecosystem support.
• Bpifrance Le Hub: French public investment bank providing seed and growth capital plus accelerator/incubation programming. Comparable broad-incumbent in French startup financing, though state-backed and fee-driven versus Day One's private model.

Others

• Technopole de la French Tech: French government-backed 'La French Tech' ecosystem of accelerators, funding programs, and community. Adjacent ecosystem player that overlaps with Day One on French founder pipeline and visibility.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwfFFJXLlhd0
• Xx.com/dayoneep

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments21 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners