Serena is a venture capital firm that focuses on supporting startups and innovative companies through investment and by providing a platform for talent acquisition and development. They have created the Serena Talent Club, which is a pool of high-quality job candidates interested in roles within fast-growing startups, particularly in C-suite positions. The firm also emphasizes the importance of its community, the Serena Squad, which is a network of over 500 C-level executives and key decision-makers from its portfolio companies, offering resources, best practices, and support for daily operations and strategic issues.

Serena

Serena is one of Europe's leading investment funds, with €750m under management. 

Founded in 2008 by Xavier Lorphelin, Marc Fournier, and Philippe Hayat, Serena finances and supports innovative start-ups from pre-seed to Series A, with initial checks ranging from €500k to €15m. Focus sectors: AI, SaaS, Climate Tech, Impact.

The portfolio includes successful exits such as The Fork (acquired by Tripadvisor), Aramis Auto (acquired by Peugeot), Cheerz (acquired by Cewe), iBanFirst (acquired by the Marlin fund) and Dataiku. We have invested in nearly 100 companies, including Malt, Electra, Descartes Underwriting, Accenta, and Lifen.

Born of the profound conviction that a venture capital fund should be at the service of its portfolio companies, Serena has set up the largest operational support team in Europe, comprised of 7 former top-level entrepreneurs. Added to this is the Serena Squad®, a community of 600 C-levels who can be mobilized rapidly to meet the day-to-day challenges faced by entrepreneurs. Serena has contributed to the recruitment of 40% of the management of portfolio companies by 2023.

In 2023, Serena obtained the status "Société à Mission", paying particular attention to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion challenges. Protecting biodiversity and combating climate change is also part of our DNA: 25% of Serena's employees are facilitators of the Fresque du Climat.

Want to ensure your startup thrives with efficient growth? Thanks to Sébastien Le Roy, Partner at Serena, author of the Serena European Saas Benchmark, and his insightful session at #SaaStrEuropa, discover the five essential metrics driving sustainable growth and efficient scaling today.

📊 YoY Growth Rate
- Early-Stage Companies (0-5M€ ARR): Still achieving impressive growth, often doubling or tripling annually.
- Mature Companies (10M€ ARR and above): Top performers are reaching a YoY growth rate of 64%.

🏆 Rule of 40
- Now applicable from €5M ARR.
- Top startups are achieving 36%, showing a shift in focus towards smaller companies.

🔁 Net Retention Rates (NRR)
- A crucial driver of new ARR for mature companies.
- Startups prioritize early lifecycle expansion as corporates tighten budgets.

🔥 Burn Multiple
- Measures cash burn to add $1 of new ARR.
- Crucial for success, aiming for a 1x burn multiple as you scale.

👥 ARR per Employee
- Aligns team efforts with company growth.
- Targets vary by stage, ranging from 0-300K EUR ARR for different company stages.

A special thanks to the SaaStr team for the excellent organization and invitation. 🙏🎉

How do you align your growth strategies with capital efficiency? Have these metrics influenced your approach? Share your thoughts below!

Thrilled by Le Plongeoir's spotlight on our €85M impact fund Racine², born from a powerful partnership between Serena and makesense, and backed by MGEN.

Through it, we invest between €500k and €3M in impactful startups focusing on the environment (CarbonFarm, helios.do, Lokki, kelvin), health (May, Santé Académie), education (Educ-Up) and physical activity.

Our secret sauce? It’s challenging to encapsulate it, but here are the key ingredients:

➡️ Aiming for a 10% net annual return to balance financial performance and impact.
➡️ Complementary investments targeting both high financial returns and underserved sectors like education.
➡️ Impact-linked remuneration, where 50% of our bonus is tied to specific impact goals – unachieved goals result in donations to charity.
➡️ Genuine accompaniment for our startups through our unique blend of financial, operational, and impact expertise from Serena and makesense.

As we redefine the investment landscape, we recognize the need to rethink exit strategies and evolve success narratives within the investment world. We’re working to create a long-term impact and transform societal views on success.

A heartfelt thank you to Guillaume Fourdinier for this great feature; take a look at the article, it's worth the read! 👇

Last but not least: we’re hiring an Investment Associate! If you’re passionate about making a difference, now’s the time to dive in.

Vote for Olivier Martret for France Digitale board  🗳️
 
We are excited to announce that Olivier, Partner at Serena, is running for a board membership at France Digitale! 

France Digitale has been the backbone of our tech ecosystem for 12 years, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe. With Olivier, we’re eager to join this mission and make a real impact. 

Here's why you should vote for him:

🌿 Olivier will champion clear action plans for companies to tackle climate challenges effectively.

🇪🇺 He will help businesses understand and adapt to Europe's evolving regulations.

🤖 He will drive the adoption of AI in companies, ensuring we stay competitive in the years ahead.

Over the past 10 years, Olivier has been putting his operational skills and knowledge at the service of entrepreneurs. His levels of dedication to them and to the French Tech ecosystem at large make him an excellent candidate to be part of France Digitale’s board.

If you are a member, cast your vote by June 18th!

French Climate Tech kelvin raises €5 million to scale up home energy renovations in France! The seed round is led by Racine² (Serena x makesense), with the participation of Seedcamp, Raise Capital, Kima Ventures, Motier Ventures, and several industry-savvy business angels.

In France, buildings account for 43% of annual energy consumption, making energy renovations a critical tool in the fight against climate change. With France's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the need to triple comprehensive energy renovations is urgent. Kelvin, which is co-developed with partners like the French Scientific and Technical Center for Building (CSTB), is here to bridge that gap.

🏡 Founded in 2023 by serial entrepreneurs Clémentine Lalande, Guillaume Sempé and Pierre Joly, Kelvin‘s software uses a unique blend of open data, computer vision, and artificial intelligence to remotely assess a property's energy performance and provide customized renovation recommendations.

👏 “Kelvin’s technology addresses a major climate challenge,” says Eric Gossart, partner at Racine² and Serena. “Since the energy renovation sector is still not very digitalized, the opportunities to make an impact are immense. We are proud to support Kelvin's ambitious goals.”

📈 Kelvin’s AI, trained on millions of audits and photos, combines unparalleled expertise in energy renovation and thermal engineering, offering efficiency and reliability to professionals. Already deployed among contractors, matchmaking platforms, and real estate agencies, Kelvin is poised to become the gold standard in residential energy renovations!

🏭 Decarbonized industrial heat, 🛳️ decarbonization of the maritime sector, and 🚰 WaterTech are the top Climate Tech priorities for 2024, according to our team at Serena.

🏭 Did you know industrial heat accounts for approximately 20% of global carbon emissions? By adopting decarbonized industrial heat solutions, we could slash these emissions by up to 75%! Small Modular Reactors (Hi Jimmy) offer a promising path forward, dramatically reducing carbon emissions. Plus, solutions for industrial heat storage can further mitigate CO2 emissions.

🚰  Meanwhile, innovative solutions in Water Tech are crucial with global water demand projected to outpace supply by 40% in the next decade, and nearly 2 billion people facing water scarcity by 2025. We need emerging solutions to monitor, predict, and manage water resource utilization effectively, especially in drought-prone or polluted regions. Advanced wastewater treatment technologies are vital for combating pollution and enabling water recycling and reuse. Looking ahead, IoT-based solutions and data analytics will optimize water usage across agriculture, industry, and urban areas, minimizing losses and waste.

🛳️  Vessels over 5,000 tonnes make up 55% of Europe's maritime fleet but are responsible for 90% of the sector's CO2 emissions. The focus is now on developing and scaling up greener propulsion solutions, such as biofuels, e-fuels, hydrogen, wind, and micronuclear systems. Regulatory initiatives like FuelEU Maritime are also providing incentives to foster a more sustainable maritime sector.

For more insights on which solutions are Climate investors actively looking for, check ClimateHack's latest content 🔮 

Xavier Lorphelin Sébastien Le Roy Paul Moriou Laura Hodgkiss

Our fund Racine ² (Serena x makesense) is hiring a full-time Associate to back the most ambitious entrepreneurs while maximizing social and environmental impact.

Here's why this is a unique opportunity:

🌟 A dual culture: You'll be at the intersection of a pioneering impact player and a top-tier European VC (👋 makesense, Serena).

💸 €50M to deploy: We have €50 million still to invest in pre-seed and seed rounds, spanning approximately 15 more deals over the next three years.

🎯 Our Mission: We're searching for entrepreneurs set to make significant changes in the #climatetech, #healthtech, and #edtech sectors.

💪 You'll partner up with top co-investors and you'll join an awesome team that inspires and helps each other grow every day 👋  Anne, Coralie, David,  Eric, Léa, Margaux, Marion, Marc, Mila, Sybille,...

💘 Startups we back include CarbonFarm, Educ-Up, helios.do, Lokki, May and Santé Académie :)

Apply below!

VC:SERENA

Serena