StartingFrance
StartingFrance is a bootstrapped Franco-German B2B sales outsourcing firm that helps technology vendors expand between France and Germany (DACH) by running the full direct sales cycle and partner channel on their behalf.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersMannheim, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What StartingFrance does
StartingFrance is a Franco-German B2B professional services firm founded in 2008 by Jerome Nicolet that provides outsourced sales and business development for technology vendors expanding between France and Germany (and, since 2019, the broader DACH region). The company operates through two legal entities — StartingFrance sarl in Neuilly-sur-Seine (France) and StartingFrance GmbH in Mannheim (Germany) — and employs a small team of approximately six to seven trilingual business developers who act as an extension of clients' sales teams, managing the full direct sales cycle from prospecting through contract close, partner/reseller recruitment, and channel management.
The firm delivers three packaged service tiers — Pack Inbound (content, SEO/SEA, social media on LinkedIn/XING), Pack Outbound (direct prospecting, trade show execution), and Pack All Inclusive — on multi-year contract terms, with quote-based pricing. There is no proprietary software product; the offering is pure human-delivered sales outsourcing augmented by standard tooling such as Salesforce CRM. Customer evidence spans roughly 20 named accounts across more than ten verticals including IT governance (IT4Control), PostgreSQL (CYBERTEC), tax software (AlphaTax), AIOps (Centreon), expense management (Expensya), automotive ADAS (ViGEM), energy utilities (triPica, IngSoft), defense (Sentry, deployed at the Paris 2024 Olympics), and compliance (Idox, Dastra, ID.prove).
The business model is professional services revenue from retainers and project-based engagements, augmented by two French government accreditations — the 2020 Chèque Relance Export Allemagne and the 2023 Bpifrance Assurance Prospection Accompagnement (APA) — that effectively subsidize client acquisition costs for French SMBs entering Germany. The company is bootstrapped, founder-owned (Nicolet, Voisin, Michel), has received no disclosed external funding, and has no M&A, subsidiary, or parent-company activity.
StartingFrance firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- StartingFrance
- Legal name
- StartingFrance sarl
- Website
- https://startingfrance.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- StartingFrance is a bootstrapped Franco-German B2B sales outsourcing firm that helps technology vendors expand between France and Germany (DACH) by running the full direct sales cycle and partner channel on their behalf.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
StartingFrance industry classification
Industry- Product category
- B2B Sales Outsourcing and Business Development Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising Agencies (541810)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Appointment Setting & Sales Development (SDR/BDR) Services (BPAFAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- B2B Appointment Setting & SDR/BDR Outsourcing (BPAAADAA), B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies (BPAFAKAA), Telesales & Inside Sales Outsourcing (B2B/B2C) (BPAAADAE), Lead Generation & Demand Generation (B2B/B2C) (BPAFAAAK)
Keywords
Where StartingFrance is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mannheim
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
StartingFrance business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Business Development Services: Outsourced sales team and business development services for HighTech and IT companies. Includes direct sales cycle management, lead generation, partner acquisition, and market entry support for B2B software and technology companies.
- Marketing Services (Inbound/Outbound): Inbound marketing strategy (content, SEO, social media, lead management) and outbound prospecting services. Includes social media management (LinkedIn, XING), website localization, SEA campaigns, and direct prospecting to end customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Pack Inbound - Attract qualified German prospects through content strategy |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Pack Outbound - Proactive prospecting with direct customer outreach |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Pack All Inclusive - Combined Inbound and Outbound approach |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
StartingFrance product offering
Product offeringCore offering
StartingFrance is a Franco-German business development and sales consultancy that provides outsourced B2B sales services for HighTech, IT, and software companies seeking to expand between France and Germany (including the DACH region). The firm manages the full sales cycle from prospecting and lead qualification to negotiation and closing, and also recruits and manages channel partners and resellers. Service packages include Pack Inbound (content/SEO/social), Pack Outbound (direct prospecting), and Pack All Inclusive (combined approach).
Product overview
StartingFrance is a Franco-German business development and sales consultancy that provides outsourced B2B sales services for HighTech, IT, and GreenTech companies seeking to expand between France and Germany (including DACH region). The company does not develop or sell its own software product; instead, it offers a portfolio of professional services including go-to-market strategy consulting, direct and indirect sales, inbound and outbound marketing, partner acquisition and management, lead generation, negotiation, and closing support. Key service offerings include the German Check-Up assessment, Inbound Pack, Outbound Pack, and All Inclusive Pack, which cover social media management (LinkedIn, Xing, Facebook, X), German website localization, SEO/SEA optimization, trade show participation, and end-customer prospecting.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pack Inbound Service package designed to attract qualified prospects through content strategy. Includes social media management (LinkedIn, XING, Facebook), German website localization, SEO optimization, SEA (Google Ads) campaigns, and lead qualification/management. Targeted at B2B HighTech and IT companies seeking market entry into the DACH region or France.
- Pack Outbound Service package for proactive prospecting with direct customer outreach. Includes direct prospecting using StartingFrance's network and tools, trade show participation and advice, and closing support. Designed for B2B technology companies that want an external sales team to build pipeline in a new market.
- Pack All Inclusive Combined service package merging all Inbound and Outbound services for maximum market coverage. Brings together content marketing, social media, SEO/SEA, direct prospecting, trade show participation, and closing support into one engagement. Suited to clients seeking end-to-end market entry support.
- Direct Sales Cycle Management Outsourced sales team that runs the full direct sales cycle on behalf of clients, from initial contact through lead qualification, webinars, demonstrations, negotiation, and contract signing. Sales consultants present with client materials and act as an extension of the client's sales organization in the target market.
- Channel Partner Acquisition and Management Service that identifies, qualifies, and onboards distributors and resellers in target markets (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France) for software publishers. Includes recruitment, onboarding support, and ongoing animation of partner networks.
- Trade Show and Conference Representation Event-driven lead generation service covering event selection advice, preparation, on-site participation, and post-event follow-up to convert contacts into sales opportunities. Active presence at events including MEDICA, Hannover Messe, it-sa, TechWeek, VivaTech, and E-World Energy & Water.
Quantifiable outcome
- A dozen healthcare facilities using client IT4Control's tool with a recent large hospital contract for 9-year cumulative duration
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use StartingFrance
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
StartingFrance technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
StartingFrance partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
StartingFrance competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Teleperformance: Global leader in outsourced customer experience and B2B sales/telemarketing services. Operates in the same broad category of outsourced sales operations as StartingFrance but at vastly greater scale and breadth.
- Kalypso (PTC): Kalypso, now part of PTC, provides innovation and digital transformation consulting for industrial and tech clients. Broader incumbent in the cross-border tech market entry consulting space adjacent to StartingFrance's niche.
Direct peers
- SalesRoof: SalesRoof provides B2B lead generation and outsourced SDR/appointment setting services primarily for SaaS and tech vendors in Europe. Comparable scale and model to StartingFrance's outbound prospecting offering.
- Sales Force Europe: Sales Force Europe offers outsourced sales and market entry services for tech companies expanding across European markets. Directly comparable to StartingFrance's cross-border European tech sales expansion model.
- CIENCE: CIENCE provides outsourced SDR services, lead generation, and sales development for B2B technology companies globally. Highly comparable operating model to StartingFrance's outsourced sales cycle management offering.
- Operatix: Operatix provides outsourced sales development and market entry services for B2B tech companies expanding across EMEA. Closely matches StartingFrance's niche of acting as an outsourced sales team for software vendors entering new European markets.
- Martal Group: Martal Group is a B2B lead generation and outsourced SDR agency serving software and tech companies across North America and EMEA. Comparable to StartingFrance's outbound prospecting and appointment setting services.
- Salesloop: Salesloop offers outsourced sales development, lead generation, and go-to-market services for B2B SaaS and technology firms across Europe. Closely aligned with StartingFrance's outsourced sales motion for tech clients.
- Belkins: Belkins is an SDR/BDR appointment-setting and outbound lead generation agency for B2B SaaS and tech companies. Comparable to StartingFrance in offering outsourced sales development reps on a retainer basis to tech clients.
Emerging players
- Acquirent: Acquirent provides outsourced sales teams and business development services for technology and industrial companies entering or expanding in North American markets. Similar outsourced sales-as-a-service model but primarily US-focused.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
StartingFrance social profiles
Digital presenceStartingFrance financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
StartingFrance leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
StartingFrance funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
StartingFrance M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about StartingFrance
What does StartingFrance do?
StartingFrance is a Franco-German business development and sales consultancy that provides outsourced B2B sales services for HighTech, IT, and software companies seeking to expand between France and Germany (including the DACH region). The firm manages the full sales cycle from prospecting and lead qualification to negotiation and closing, and also recruits and manages channel partners and resellers. Service packages include Pack Inbound (content/SEO/social), Pack Outbound (direct prospecting), and Pack All Inclusive (combined approach).
Is StartingFrance a public or private company?
StartingFrance is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was StartingFrance founded?
StartingFrance was founded in 2008. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is StartingFrance based?
StartingFrance is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does StartingFrance make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Business Development Services are the primary driver. The others are marketing Services (Inbound/Outbound).
Who are StartingFrance's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Teleperformance and Kalypso (PTC). Direct peers are SalesRoof, Sales Force Europe, CIENCE, Operatix, Martal Group, Salesloop and Belkins. Acquirent is listed as an emerging player.
Does StartingFrance have an API?
No public API is recorded for StartingFrance.
What industry is StartingFrance in?
StartingFrance's product category is B2B Sales Outsourcing and Business Development Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAKAD, Appointment Setting & Sales Development (SDR/BDR) Services, with a secondary code of BPAAADAA, B2B Appointment Setting & SDR/BDR Outsourcing. Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7311.