London, 23rd May 2019: Yousign, a major player on the French eSignature market, and eFounders, the startup studio at the inception of successes like Aircall, Front, and Spendesk, have joined forces to build a leader on the European eSignature market. eFounders has taken a substantial stake in Yousign by bringing its expertise and its international experience in order to build a European leader alongside American competitors.
The market for eSignatures has grown beyond $1 billion in 2018, and is expected to grow by 30% each year for the next 10 years. Europe, via the eIDAS regulation, and the USA, via the ESIGN Act, have adapted their legislation to make eSignatures legal and recognised. The obvious advantages have firmly established electronic signatures in the day-to-day processes of businesses across the world and across industries. Yousign's customers include Cisco, Admiral Group, and Chrysler reflecting this diversity.
Launched in 2013 and certified at EU level, Yousign has thousands of clients in France using their app and API services. Yousign raised $3.3 million in early 2018 to fund its triple digit growth.
Founded in 2011, eFounders is a startup studio. Together with entrepreneurs, eFounders has launched 20 SaaS startups and is now taking on a new challenge by partnering up with an already established team.
“We're used to building companies from scratch. Entering an existing company is new for us. We're thrilled to be able to join the Yousign adventure and work with them towards a shared objective. We met Luc and Antoine 4 years ago when we were considered working in that space. We followed their progress and kept in touch until this summer when the opportunity to work together presented itself. “
— Thibaud Elzière, founder @eFounders
Both companies bring complementary assets to the table. Yousign has assembled a great team, deep understanding of the market, a large customer base, as well as a solid technical infrastructure. eFounders brings product and marketing expertise as well as international experience in SaaS.
“We immediately hit it off and knew from the get-go that we both had plenty to gain from relying on our complementary expertise.”
— Antoine Louiset, founder @Yousign
“The market is huge, and hugely competitive. We decided to partner up with eFounders to aim for the next level. We're hoping that with their experience and expertise we can turn Yousign into the European eSignature leader. “
— Luc Pallavidino, founder @Yousign
After launching in France, Yousign is now entering Germany, the UK, and Spain. European countries are all subject to the same legislation, but Yousign will adapt to local cultures and markets in a way that it's US-based competitors have not been able to.
“eFounders has focused on creating tools to help SMBs in their digital transformation and we consider eSignatures to be a key part of that transition. Our desire to position ourselves on this market and Luc and Antoine's vision on how to address it compelled us to join forces with Yousign and to deliver our know-how and our resources. We're excited by the challenge ahead and for the journey we will be taking together with Yousign's founding team.”
— Quentin Nickmans, founder @eFounders
About eFounders
eFounders is a startup studio founded in 2011 by Thibaud Elzière and Quentin Nickmans. eFounders builds businesses from the ground up to invent the tools of tomorrow and inspire new ways of working. Since 2011, eFounders has launched 20 startups, with more in the works. eFounders' portfolio companies employ over 600 people and have reached a total ARR in excess of $60 million.
Our startups: TextMaster, Mailjet, Mention, Front, Aircall, Illustrio, FoxIntelligence, Hivy, Forest, Spendesk, Slite, Station, Folk, Briq, Upflow, Equify, Multis, Zenvest, Bonjour, Chilli, Swan
About Yousign
Yousign was founded in 2013 by Luc Pallavidino and Antoine Louiset. Headquartered in Caen, France, Yousign powers agreements for thousands of businesses in France and, as of this year, in Germany, Spain, and the UK. Yousign is designing a new way to do business: their eSignature solution helps connect businesses with their clients, companies with their employees, and move their business forward.
Yousign raises $3.3 million: https://yousign.com/blog/yousign-realise-une-levee-de-fonds-...
Further information
Chris Bignell
XL Communications
Tel: 07834 020460
Email: chris@xl-comms.com