FriendsClear's Blog

May 2008 update : The project described below has been slightly changed. Hey, we're a startup, dudes :) FriendsClear is now a P2PLending web service. Launch: 2nd quarter 2008.

When launching a new venture, the most important thing (in our opinion) is execution, not ideas. "Keep your secret, secret" is not our number one motto. Of course, we do have business secrets from our FriendsClear labs. We'll keep them by ours, for now. But we truly believe that we can learn a lot from your feedback. So we decided to disclose excerpts of our SeedCamp application form. This document is our best efforts to date to pitch our project.

1. What is your company called?

• FriendsClear

2. What are its contact details?

• c/o Jean-Christophe Capelli/ jeanchristophe at friendsclear.com

3. What are you creating?

• Interpersonal financial services

4. Let us say you have 15 seconds to pitch your business. Can you describe your business?

• FriendsClear is a mobile and web service to split bills, borrow and lend money between friends, family members or contacts and keep track of it all. US people call it «expense & loan tracking »

5. How long have you been working on this? As a team?

• February 2006 : dedicated « Bank 2.0 » blog opened by Jean-Christophe
• September 2006 : Co-founded BarCampBank which aim is to foster innovations and the creation of new business models in the world of banking and finance
• January 2007 : launched "Tontine des blogueurs" a Rotating Savings & Credit Association, funded by french bloggers to test P2PLending use cases
• February 2007 : Starting thoughts presented during BarCampBankParis 3 (at « Atelier BNPParibas »)
• June 2007 : First teamwork on the FriendsClear project

6. What customer need will you solve or put another way, why do people need your product?

• FriendsClear helps people to manage money safely and painlessly with their friends & contacts. FriendsClear brings trust and stickiness among them.
• « Neither a borrower, nor a lender be ; for loan oft loses both itself and friend » Shakespeare (Hamlet) » (quoted by BillMonk co-founder)

7. What specifically is your target market and how is it being poorly served today?

• Main target: Generation Y.
• Categories target: Young active adults socializing with friends (restaurants, movie tickets, drinks, cabs,...), roommates, group vacations, shared gifts, co-workers, families with students, co-ownership…
• Market poorly served today: Interpersonal financial relationships are « grey market » with no safety, no managing and tracking tools. There is no social financial tools for Generation Y at this time.

8. What gives you an unfair advantage ?

• A crystal clear vision of social money market
• Extensive knowledge of the complex regulatory banking context (specifically in France)
• First mover in Europe

9. When will you have a prototype/beta?

• We have a prototype on a reduced set of use cases
• We wil enter mid september in alpha & beta release with a launching date depending on fundings & partnerships

10. What is the oddest or funniest thing about your company?

• When we opened our company bank account, the banker asked us to send her some documents by….fax. She’s got no email ! This experience confirmed us that there are huge opportunities to improve the way client are serving by banks…and that these services will not be invented by banks.

11 What entrepreneur(s) has (have) inspired you the most?

• Chris Larsen (eLoan, Prosper)
• Jason Knight (Wesabe)

12. What is your favourite movie of all time?

• Frank Capra’s film “It‘s a Wonderful Life”. With James Stewart’s savings & loan where ordinary people lent each other and made them all more prosperous.

May 2008 update : The project described here has been slightly changed. Hey, we're a startup, dudes :) FriendsClear is now a P2PLending web service. Launch: 2nd quarter 2008.

It's been an ongoing refrain among the European Web 2.0 community that it's a long way to the top if you're an entrepreneur with a good idea. Where's the support? Where's the money?

Searching this initial boost that many startups lack off, we decided to apply to SeedCamp. 20 projects will be short-listed to the Camp, we hope to be part of this Top 20 chosen by a panel of Venture Capitalists. If so, we will move to London for a week of mentoring (first week of September).

After pitching their ideas during this week, 5 companies among the 20 will be chosen to receive an investment of 50,000 euros each for a 10% stake in the company. These 5 startups will be invited to stay in London for the further 3 months to develop their businesses. During the 3 months, Seedcamp will work with the selected companies on a weekly basis. Startups will be coached by a network of serial entrepreneurs, corporates, product designers, venture capitalists, recruiters, marketing specialists, lawyers and accountants that will help the selected teams to improve their new business. Afterwards, the companies will "graduate" and will get a chance to pitch their business ideas to a group of VCs.

So, we applied. We did our best efforts to fulfill the Application Form provided by the SeedCamp Team. We went to Paris OpenCoffee to exchange with Frederic Baud about this 10% stake for 50 KE. Frederic convinced us. While keeping an eye on the prototype, Nicolas and I worked for long hours this week, and we finally made it. Today, I skyped with Anthony (he is in Osaka right now) and we did a final review of the document. Hopefully we have a US guy in the team who can review our English which is so French. In the meantime, Nicolas is in... Pornichet for the week-end (a nice but a little bit old fashioned sea resort by the Atlantic Ocean). He deserved some short holiday while working on the prototype. Yes, Pornichet is less trendy than Osaka. But don't tell Nicolas :)

Next step : Monday, 20 August. At that date, shortlisted entrants will hear and will be assigned an interview slot for a telephone interview on 23 August. Let's cross our fingers !