Ulule buys its competitor KissKissBankBank and becomes the undisputed leader in crowdfunding in France

« Oui ! » This is the response as enthusiastic as it is short by Stéphane Dedeyan. The general director of La Banque Postale answered the question “are you happy with the deal?” » sent Monday December 2 in the early morning by Challenges. The Postal Bank can indeed feel relieved. She sold her crowdfunding start-up, KissKissBankBank at number 1, and its long-time rival, Ulule, while protecting the company's eighteen jobs. While crowdfunding has suffered headwinds in recent years, “KKBB”, founded in 2009, has never been profitable despite its two million turnover in 2023.

For Ulule, the acquisition – the amount of which has not been revealed – is a win-win. Orchestrated through the investment bank NewCo, “this alliance was very natural », explains Alexandre Boucherot, president of Ulule. “We had already had several discussions in 2019 which went in both directions” (KKBB had also positioned itself, at one point, as a potential buyer of Ulule). “Newco contacted us in June, and we took the plunge”he says. Other offers were also presented, but theirs won.

Ulule's added value in this operation occurs on several levels – and not necessarily where we think. Certainly, the crowdfunding leader acquires the number two in the sector inexpensively. Ulule has only been profitable for three years and the operation was financed with its own funds. “We are not going to raise funds right away”says Alexandre Boucherot, ruling out the hypothesis of financial needs to finance the operation.

KKBB has collected more than 178 million euros since its creation, and financed almost 30,000 projects. This is more than half of Ulule, which has more than 300 million raised since 2010, and 48,000 projects financed, but enough to create an undisputed leader in France and continental Europe, far ahead of the others.

To its credit, Ulule can boast of having organized the financing of the magazines Epsiloon (1.8 million raised) and SoGood, the rescue of the Chapter bookstores, the bailout of daily newspapers Nice Morningthe Luni nursery rhyme box, the books of the YouTuber Gastronogeek, or even projects with cultural organizations, such as the restoration of “L'Atelier du Peintre” by Gustave Courbet by the Musée d'Orsay.

What will remain of KKBB? The brand, first. “KissKissBankBank is one of the most beautiful French brands”estimates for his part Alexandre Boucherot, from Ulule. “It will coexist with Ulule, and each will develop its own expertise and services. » The tech platform disappears, and KKBB will switch to that of Ulule. Development efforts will be placed on the latter, allowing for cost reduction and more synergies. Small sensitivity: KissKissBankBank will continue its operations with La Banque Postale, while Ulule will continue its partnerships with BNP Paribas.

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For Ulule, which has been focusing for two years on diversifying its sources of income, this acquisition adds a little jewel to its crown: the KissKissBankBank studio, a communications agency for entrepreneurs and content creators, which produces crowdfunding campaign videos. and product launches.

“The idea is to support entrepreneurs in all stages, from the development of a product to its distribution,” enlightens Alexandre Boucherot. Among the new offers, launched two years ago, training has concentrated the most efforts: Moocs, coaching, skills assessment, in-company workshops, retraining, etc. “We noticed that financing was only one of the many needs of entrepreneurs. They also want training, oriented towards taking action”explains Alexandre Boucherot.

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Downstream, Ulule has also launched an “Ulule boutique”, a distribution platform which allows crowdfunders to sell their projects – but only those which fall into the “ESG” box. A recycled cardboard board game about powerful women, handmade embroidery, chestnut jams, children's books, solid deodorants with cocoa butter, and even toilet brushes. biosourced. While opening partnerships with traditional distributors, such as Redoute and Monoprix. With the KissKissBankBank communication agency, it is another aspect of the life of an entrepreneur that they come to satisfy.

Partner operations close the revenue streams. In total, the turnover – not communicated – is made up of nearly 40% from crowdfunding, 25% from training, and the rest from partner operations.

The change of direction is welcome. The tide has turned for crowdfunding, which has recovered poorly from the brakes caused by Covid. Inflation and rising interest rates have had deleterious effects both on the number of projects launched and on fundraising. Long gone are the days when Ulule proclaimed the objective of one billion euros collected per year… For 2016. “Things have changed”recognizes Alexandre Boucherot. “We were focused on the amounts raised, today we are targeting a growing number of entrepreneurs to follow over time. »

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More broadly, Ulule had planned a major overhaul of its site, available for 2025. It should better promote its service offerings, with a more integrated journey for the entrepreneur. Subscription models or paid plans are under discussion. Crowdfunding is changing.