“The fiber is more powerful here than in Paris,” laughs Geoffroy Marty. The director and majority shareholder of Evocati left the capital a year ago to settle in Hautefort, east of the Dordogne. “I was tired of the tumult of Parisian life,” says the 54-year-old boss. In Périgord, we do not stay in a rabbit hutch. We are much better here, with the tranquility and quality of family life.”
The move to the South-West is an important step for the company which was born thanks to chance. Geoffroy Marty “fell into IT” when he was very young. After his scientific baccalaureate, he went to the United States for a year where he learned to master the language of Shakespeare. A German girlfriend finally convinced him to take an interest in languages. “I arrived on the job market in the 1990s. I saw an ad to become a journalist and I joined a video game magazine.” He rose through the ranks, becoming editor-in-chief and then directing illustrious publications of the time, such as “PC Team” and “PC Mag”.
“At that time, I met video game publishers who were having trouble finding people who specialized in translations.” He then created his first business. Then a second in 1999 following a disagreement with its partner, Evocati. There were three employees in the first years, compared to ten now. “We went up very strong, very quickly. Sony and Microsoft had just released their consoles. Then, we experienced several crises linked to video games in particular and new technologies in general. We were down to two employees and we were getting by. It was complicated for a while. »
Industry giants
The life of society has its ups and downs. Covid started a new cycle, with fans stuck at home who massively consumed products. “Afterwards, the market turned around and the industry laid off people.” The manager saw that teleworking worked and suggested that his employees join him in his native region. “They followed us and in the end, there were only two people left in Paris. »
Since then, Evocati has been quietly charting its path: “We are not in a short-term development logic. We try to make the business last. Our main competitor is a large international company listed on the London Stock Exchange, which has carried out massive buyouts. It’s the opposite of us. » The small craftsman, who claims to be “the last independent structure of this type in France”, can boast of having contributed to the success of “Fortnite”, “League of Legends” or “Warcraft”, behemoths of the sector. Enough to ensure a turnover fluctuating between 750,000 and 1.5 million euros, 99% of which is generated abroad.
