June 11–14, 2025 | Paris, France

When designed with purpose and vision, startup events do more than showcase innovation – they transform ecosystems. They spark new business models, facilitate international knowledge transfer, and provide the springboard for local startups to scale beyond borders.

Paris is one such example.

Recently ranked #12 in the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025, up two positions from the previous year, Paris has proven its place among the world’s most dynamic innovation hubs. The rise was driven by a surge in early-stage deals and the growing number of unicorns headquartered in France. But the numbers alone don’t explain the story – behind the data is a deliberate strategy: an ecosystem that sees startup events not as spectacles, but as systems accelerators.

Why France? Why Now?

At the heart of France’s startup strategy is Viva Technology (VivaTech) – Europe’s leading innovation event. Since its inception, VivaTech has served as a launchpad for French startups to connect with the global tech world. Olivia Hervy, Chief Ecosystem Officer at VivaTech, describes it as “a nexus for innovation and collaboration… where local founders gain global exposure, where VCs discover the next unicorns, and where policymakers, corporates, and startups align around the future.”

French success stories increasingly emerge from this platform. One standout is Heralbony, a Japanese startup that won the LVMH Innovation Award during the Country of the Year showcase and went on to establish long-term partnerships in France. That’s the VivaTech model in action: convene with purpose, connect with precision, and build long-term opportunity.

With over 3,200 investors attending and global players like Lightspeed and Balderton Capital establishing offices in Paris after attending the event, VivaTech is more than a gathering – it’s a gateway.

Setting the Stage: A Strategic Gathering

The Soft-Landing Mission, organized by Creative Cluster with support from the ExcellEnt Project under Horizon Europe, brought together 45 participants from across Europe –  including 39 startups, 2 universities, and a mix of incubators, accelerators, and ecosystem builders from countries such as Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria, Ireland, Türkiye, and Hungary.

The mission unfolded across four intensive days, balancing structured sessions with immersive site visits, and curated exchanges with global innovation leaders. It was designed not simply as a study tour, but as an active bridge to partnerships, market entry, and knowledge transfer.

Day One: Plugging into Global Tech at VivaTech

Participants entered VivaTech as more than attendees – they were embedded into the experience. With targeted access to country pavilions, founder showcases, and investor roundtables, the delegation began its mission with a macro-view of the forces shaping today’s tech landscape.

The opening panel, “Internationalisation of Startups in Europe and Beyond”, brought together voices from Creative Cluster, Booster Labs, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Here, participants explored the mindset needed for cross-border growth and the role of purposeful internationalisation.

Later that afternoon, the focus shifted from strategy to ideation. In a practical session titled “Secret Recipes for Competitive Business Idea Generation”, founders engaged with seasoned advisors on how to sharpen value propositions and position themselves for funding.

The energy of VivaTech – with its thousands of startups, investors, and tech leaders – offered the perfect backdrop to begin building meaningful connections.

Day Two: Funding Futures and Building Investor Readiness

The second day moved from inspiration to infrastructure, focusing on how startups can fund their growth in Europe.

At a morning business breakfast, participants met with Tunde Kallai, EU senior expert at CREA, for a working session on grants and public funding instruments available through Horizon Europe and other EU programs in 2025 and 2026. This session helped demystify the application process, criteria, and timelines –  giving founders a tangible toolkit to access capital beyond equity.

In the afternoon, the conversation turned to the private sector. The panel “Why Invest in Your Company?” featured Gisela Sanchez from Finance-Innovation and Arnaut Melilli from Choose Paris Region, offering investor-side insights into what makes a startup fundable – and scalable. Practical takeaways included guidance on metrics, market alignment, and preparing for cross-border due diligence.

“We learned how to think like an investor –  and how to speak their language,” shared one Ukrainian founder.

Day Three: Walking the Ecosystem: Site Visits and Real Encounters

While the first two days offered visibility and vision, Day 3 was all about immersion. The cohort left the conference halls behind and stepped into Paris’s innovation infrastructure.

The morning began with a visit to Station F, the world’s largest startup campus. Home to over 30 accelerators and countless global programs, Station F demonstrated how physical spaces can foster scale by clustering talent, mentorship, and capital under one roof.

From there, participants traveled to Matrice, an innovation hub blending education and entrepreneurship. The visit emphasized creativity, interdisciplinary problem-solving, and how unconventional learning spaces can catalyze innovation.

The day concluded with an in-depth session at the Pôle Léonard de Vinci Incubator at Campus Cyber, France’s national center for cybersecurity and digital sovereignty. Here, founders met with program leaders including Nora Guessoum and François Teyssier to explore how France is cultivating tech leadership in critical industries like AI, defense, and secure infrastructure.

Each site visit brought the ecosystem to life –  revealing how startups, institutions, and government actors interact in practice.

Reflections from the Road

The Soft-Landing Mission provided not just exposure, but impact. Several founders initiated discussions on co-development and market access with French partners. Universities explored collaborative models. And all participants left with a clearer sense of how to enter and scale in the French market.

“This mission helped map out new partnership opportunities, meet like-minded ecosystem builders, and rethink how universities and venture players can co-drive innovation.” – Ideas Center UCU & Angel One Fund

“It reinforced our vision of building transparent, tech-driven carbon market infrastructure. We left with stronger international connections and a clearer path toward scaling our impact.”  – ClimateTech startup founder

“It stood out — not just for the places we visited, but for the people we met and the conversations that shaped our thinking.” – Fintech founder from Nash FintechX

From Experience to Strategy: Soft-Landing as a Scalable Model

The Paris mission was not just a moment of exchange – it was part of a broader effort to strengthen how entrepreneurs move, learn, and grow across Europe. At the heart of the ExcellEnt project is a simple but powerful idea: that innovation thrives when ecosystems are open, connected, and designed to support collaboration beyond borders.

This mission, like others before it, was crafted to give founders and ecosystem leaders a first-hand experience of what another innovation environment truly looks and feels like. With visits to key institutions, tailored meetings, and embedded learning moments, participants didn’t just explore opportunities – they actively shaped new ones.

The approach draws on a tested soft-landing methodology: reducing friction for startups entering new markets by offering local insight, trusted guidance, and the right introductions. It builds on CREA’s experience supporting scale-ups and adapts that model to a wider network of entrepreneurs and changemakers. In doing so, it creates the foundation for a long-term exchange – one where relationships, not just resources, move across borders.

Building a More Connected Innovation Landscape

As Paris showed, when founders are given space to explore and connect with purpose, something lasting begins to take shape. Insights are deepened. Partnerships take root. Confidence to grow in new markets becomes real.

The ExcellEnt soft-landing missions are opening doors – not just for the participants, but for the ecosystems they return to and the ones they touched along the way. Each mission adds to a shared European story of innovation – one that is more mobile, more collaborative, and ultimately, more resilient.

Paris was a chapter in that story. And it won’t be the last.