on the occasion of the French Touch Conference in New York, entrepreneurs and investors have discussed the potential of French start-ups on the american market. The visa recruitment, the challenges are many.

350 people attended, Thursday, June 26 at the French Touch Conferenceorganisée to New York by France Digitale. To conquer America, it is necessary to overcome many of the pitfalls. Here are five of them, identified by entrepreneurs who have taken the plunge.

1. Recruit, a real galley

The start-ups in france that want to grow in the United States have any interest in recruiting good executives in the u.s., which speeds up their credibility on the market. “However, it is very difficult. For many Americans, going to work in a French company, it is a trauma. He will only do this if the company is able to offer them something special,” says Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, founder of Criteo, one of the speakers at the conference.

And once recruited, the hard part is then to retain them. “Wages in the United States are much higher, and people do not feel bound to their employer. Developers, in particular, move from one company to the other as soon as they have a better offer,” notes Sébastien Langlois, contractor (Sofeus). This is a view shared by Fabrice Grinda, business man and investor with a French influence, based in New York. “The american developers have no loyalty. I can pay a 25 year old $ 150 000 per year, he will go to the first company to fashion that will make him an offer slightly higher,” says this entrepreneur who recruits programmers by “Argentina, Romania or Ukraine.” Others, such as Criteo, decide to keep the bulk of their R&D teams in France.

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2. The nightmare of visas

Another difficulty is that widely shared by the French entrepreneurs : the issue of the visa. “This is hell”, approves Fabrice Grinda. “To get the investor visa, it is necessary to invest 500 000 dollars minimum. Then, a visa is valid only if the capital remain in majority French. If you find investors in the us, it is very often necessary to change the visa, and it is complicated, some of which are subject to quotas. Each time, what are the steps to $ 15,000 of reasonable attorneys ‘ fees, and that there is always a risk.”

3. It’s better to have a good back

All the French entrepreneurs say the way to penetrate the american market, it is necessary to be present physically, having an office and employees. And ca, it requires significant resources. “It takes a lot of resources to stay the course,” notes Alain Bankier, investor, member, network, New York Angels. “The French contractors tend to under-estimate this fact. Real estate, salaries, marketing…Everything is more expensive in the United States”, confirms Xavier Sillon, CEO of Vodeclic, a training company that has opened an office in the United States. All that in order to succeed on this vast market, you have to see things in a big way. “Go big or go home is the motto in the United States. To stay in the race, it must always think bigger, imagine how to make the company ten times larger and go all out,” says Jean-Baptiste Rudelle.

4. Another marketing is possible

By comparison, american companies are more oriented towards their consumers, and to listen to their stakeholders. This translates to marketing strategies and communication different. “The typical mistake is to under-estimate the marketing, and think that the French techniques can be applied to the USA. It makes less account of them, but there is a real culture shock. This adjustment goes through the content of the slides of a presentation, the presentation of a web site, small things like that,” stresses Aymeric Antoine, consultant for French companies and entrepreneur, based in Boston.

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5. Other cultural habits

Finally, it’s better to know what to expect in relations with its business partners american. “An American, you will be able to say : ‘your product is great, you talk very fast’ And then you won’t have any more new. Face-to-face, Americans may seem very positive, criticize slightly and say rarely not. But this does not mean that they will say yes. He must not let ourselves be thrown off by this appearance,” notes Sébastien Langlois. Decode the level of enthusiasm of an American is more subtle than we think !