What Groupe Rivalis does

Groupe Rivalis, operating through its legal entity BM EST France SAS, is a French business piloting network founded in 1994 by Henri Valdan and now led by his sons Damien and Lionel Valdan from its headquarters in Logelheim, Alsace. The company provides a hybrid offering combining proprietary SaaS business management software (the Henrri platform, evolved over 30 years from client-server to cloud architecture) with monthly on-site human coaching delivered through a decentralized network of 800+ independent advisors operating across France. Each advisor is a former business owner who walks clients through six fundamental business questions covering profitability, investment capacity, hiring capacity, results forecasting, client payment status, and overall business situation.

The product portfolio is organized as a core platform plus modular accompaniment packages: RIVAZEN (serenity/KPIs), RIVABIZ (revenue growth), RIVAGEST (profitability), RIVABOOST (investment and hiring), RIVATRESO (treasury recovery), RIVARECRUT (recruitment), and RIVACREA (business creation), plus verticalized sub-brands for restaurants (RIVARESTO), woodworking (RIVAMENUISIER), landscaping (RIVAPAYSAGISTE), construction (RIVA BTP), and hospitality (RIVA Accueil). A QUALIOPI-certified professional training arm provides CPF-funded courses in cash flow, management, and administrative management.

Rivalis monetizes primarily through a 179€ HT/month subscription (first month free) bundled with advisor follow-up, supplemented by a 10% performance commission (Prime de Participation au Résultat) on year-over-year client result improvements, creating aligned incentives between the company and its TPE clients. The go-to-market combines sales-led advisor relationships, mass-media TV campaigns (France 3 sports programming, M6 Cauchemar en Cuisine partnership), and content marketing. After an Ardian Growth investment in April 2019, the founders completed a full share buyback in February 2026, regaining 100% family ownership and naming AI as the next growth lever.

Name

Groupe Rivalis

Legal name

BM EST France

Website

https://rivalis.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Groupe Rivalis is a French business piloting network combining proprietary Henrri SaaS software with monthly on-site coaching from 800+ independent advisors, serving very small businesses (TPE) and artisans across France since 1994.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Management Software & Advisory

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Software/SaaS Subscriptions (Consumer & Prosumer) (CRAFAIAB)

Keywords

• Small business management
• SME business coaching
• Financial piloting software
• Entrepreneur advisory services
• Treasury management

Headquarters

HQ city

Logelheim

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Monthly Subscription - Progiciel RIVALIS: Monthly subscription to the RIVALIS business piloting software combined with monthly advisor follow-up. Includes real-time treasury tracking, key indicators, and personalized coaching. Offer: 179€ HT/month with first month free.
2. Prime de Participation au Résultat (Performance Commission): 10% commission on the difference between recalculated results of the previous fiscal year and the new fiscal year. Only charged if results improve. Applied to clients with software and monthly accompaniment contracts after 6+ months under contract. Creates alignment of interests between company and clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Groupe Rivalis publishes the proprietary Henrri / Progiciel RIVALIS SaaS, a real-time business piloting software that provides small business owners with live dashboards on profitability, treasury, and KPIs. The software subscription (179€ HT/month) is bundled with monthly on-site visits from one of 800+ independent Rivalis advisors and is complemented by a 10% performance commission on year-over-year result improvements. The offering targets French artisans, craftspeople, restaurateurs, and other TPE owners seeking financial visibility and decision support.

Product overview

Groupe Rivalis operates as a business piloting accompaniment network for TPE (very small enterprises) and PME in France. The offering is organized as a layered platform-plus-modules architecture: the core consists of the proprietary SaaS progiciel (business piloting software) called Henrri, combined with monthly human advisor accompaniment. Around this core, Rivalis offers a family of named accompaniment packages organized by business objective: RIVAZEN (general piloting/serenity), RIVABIZ (revenue development), RIVAGEST (profitability management), RIVABOOST (hiring/investment), RIVATRESO (cash flow recovery), RIVARECRUT (recruitment), RIVACREA (business creation), alongside verticalized sector packages for restaurants (RIVARESTO), woodworking (RIVAMENUISIER), landscaping (RIVAPAYSAGISTE), and general construction (RIVA BTP). Additional sector variants include RIVA ACCUEIL, RIVANOO, and CROISSANCE. A complementary professional training suite (Rivalis Formations professionnelles) rounds out the portfolio. The company was founded in 1994 and serves as the #1 network for TPE accompaniment in France, with over 800 advisers and 226,590 user businesses as of December 31, 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RIVAZEN: Business pilotage accompaniment service focused on serenity and real-time key indicators tracking
• RIVABIZ
• RIVAGEST
• RIVABOOST
• RIVATRESO
• RIVARECRUT
• RIVACREA
• RIVARESTO
• Rivanoo
• Riva BTP
• Riva Accueil
• Rivapaysagiste
• Rivamenuisier
• Croissance

Products and services

• Henrri (Progiciel de Pilotage RIVALIS) Proprietary SaaS business piloting software for French TPE owners, providing real-time dashboards, quote profitability simulation, treasury tracking, and KPI indicators; bundled with monthly advisor follow-up.
• RIVAZEN General business piloting accompaniment package focused on real-time KPI tracking and cash flow monitoring to help TPE owners gain serenity and organizational clarity.
• RIVAGEST Accompaniment formula focused on improving business profitability and personal income, tracked over 6-, 12-, and 24-month development plans.
• RIVABIZ Revenue development accompaniment formula that defines business potential and executes a quarterly commercial action plan to grow customer acquisition and sales.
• RIVABOOST Hiring and investment accompaniment formula that measures the financial impact of personnel additions and capital expenditure decisions for SME growth.
• RIVATRESO Treasury recovery and management accompaniment formula for businesses in difficulty, providing real-time treasury tracking to restore and maintain a positive bank balance.
• RIVARECRUT Recruitment and team management accompaniment formula that simulates hiring scenarios and salary policies, defines action plans, and tracks the impact of personnel decisions.
• RIVACREA Business creation accompaniment formula providing 3-, 6-, and 12-month activity forecasts and real-time cash-flow monitoring for new entrepreneurs.
• RIVARESTO Restaurant-sector accompaniment formula including operational audit, menu optimization, and 6-, 12-, and 24-month activity forecasts to boost restaurant performance.
• RIVAMENUISIER (Riva Menuisier) Woodworking and carpentry-sector accompaniment formula tailored to the specific financial and operational management needs of joinery business owners.
• RIVAPAYSAGISTE (Riva Paysagiste) Landscaping-sector accompaniment formula addressing the specific business piloting and financial management challenges of landscape entrepreneurs.
• Riva BTP Building and public works (BTP) sector accompaniment variant for construction trade TPE owners.
• Rivalis Formations Professionnelles Professional training suite including cash flow, general business management, and administrative management training, financed through French professional development mechanisms (Qualiopi certified, certificate CAP1069-BM-EST-AI-2023-1, certified November 2024).
• Prime de Participation au Résultat (Performance Commission) Variable compensation component: 10% commission on the difference between recalculated results of the previous fiscal year and the new fiscal year, charged only when results improve, applied to clients with software and monthly accompaniment contracts after 6+ months under contract.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of clients report increased serenity with RIVAZEN formula
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• France 3 TelevisioncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2021Major TV sponsorship partnership for sports programming. Includes pre/post-show spots on TF20 (1.7M viewers) and Stade 2 (2.2M viewers). 317 million views over 3-month campaign in 2021. Message: 'The personal advisor for business leaders.'
• M6 - Cauchemar en CuisinecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Ongoing partnership with M6 TV show helping struggling restaurant owners. Rivalis provides business turnaround expertise to featured restaurants. Reinforces brand positioning as practical business support for small entrepreneurs.
• MOF (Meilleurs Ouvriers de France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Société Nationale des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, one of France's most prestigious artisan institutions. Aligns Rivalis with excellence in craftsmanship. Joint initiatives supporting top artisans in business management alongside their technical excellence.
• RIVAGROUPE, ALLIANCE, RIVALIS INTERNATIONAL, H2R, VALPOLIScoreOthersCorporate group entities mentioned in privacy policy as part of same corporate group as BM EST France (Rivalis). These are sister companies within the Valdan family holding structure.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Pennylane: French financial management SaaS platform targeting TPE/PME and accountants. Direct competitor in financial visibility/piloting software; existing Rivalis technology partner. Closest direct comparable in SaaS-only play.
• Tolteck: French SaaS for artisans and construction trades (quoting, invoicing, project management). Overlaps with Rivalis' artisan vertical sub-brands (RIVA BTP, Rivamenuisier); differentiated by construction-specific features vs. Rivalis' generalist piloting approach.
• Indy (accounting): French AI-native accounting SaaS for freelancers, micro-enterprises, and TPE. Competing value proposition: cheaper self-serve alternative that may erode Rivalis' €179/month subscription appeal for tech-savvy clients.

Direct peers

• EBP (Sage subsidiary): French accounting/business management software for TPE and small businesses. Direct competitor offering prepackaged SaaS without the coaching layer; comparable customer segment and France-only footprint.
• Keobiz: French online accounting and business management SaaS for TPE with monthly advisory add-on. Very comparable combination of SaaS + human advisory for small French businesses; mid-tier challenger to Rivalis.
• Dougs (Comptalarm): French online accounting firm with monthly advisory for TPE and small businesses. Closest direct comparable model: human accountant + SaaS portal recurring subscription; different in being accounting-led vs. piloting-led.

Broad incumbents

• Cegid: French enterprise/SMB management software (accounting, payroll, ERP) with strong TPE presence. Existing Rivalis partner; competes for the same artisan/SMB software stack with broader product surface but less coaching layer.
• Sage France: Global incumbent in SMB accounting/management software; established France footprint. Competes in same Saas-to-TPE category but offers fewer coaching/human-advisor services and lower vertical specialization.
• Fiducial: Large French professional services firm offering accounting, legal, and business advisory to TPE/PME. Same customer base (French artisans/SMBs) with traditional human-led advisory model; less SaaS-centric than Rivalis.

Others

• BX / Bpifrance Le Lab: French public investment bank and business advisory body running free advisory programs for TPE. Adjacent rather than direct competitor; both target French small business owners seeking piloting/development support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RIVALIS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC824iitg8egzJp4kFNi6igA
• Facebookfacebook.com/Groupe.Rivalis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/groupe-rivalis
• Instagraminstagram.com/rivalis_officiel

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Groupe Rivalis