Five days in Paris, five days of innovation, networking, and entrepreneurial spirit. From November 16 to 20, 2025, we, as Venture Club Münster, immersed ourselves in the Parisian startup ecosystem, met founders, discovered new perspectives, and let the atmosphere of this unique city inspire us.
November 16: Arrival and sightseeing in Paris
On November 16, we arrived early in the morning by Flixbus in the French capital. After dropping off our luggage at the hostel, we split into smaller groups to start exploring the city and gather our first impressions of Paris. In the evening we all met for a shared dinner, the perfect kickoff for our tour.
November 17: The official start of the Startup Tour
The second day kicked off with a visit to Pennylane. The startup’s mission is to digitize financial processes for auditors and companies and bring them together on a single platform. On site we received a tour of the offices and got exciting insights into the work of the various teams. One of the co‑founders took time for a conversation where we learned a lot about the company’s origin, its vision, and its rapid growth.
In the afternoon we switched perspective and visited Surfe. The startup is working to bring CRM data seamlessly into the browser and, above all, make LinkedIn more efficient to use. In the startup’s kitchen, Co‑Founder David Chevalier talked with us about his entrepreneurial journey, the challenges of the early building phase, and the importance of a strong team. The contrast to Pennylane – one a fast‑grown scale‑up structure, the other an agile, product‑focused startup – showed us how diverse startup realities can be and how varied the paths to success may look.
November 18: Opal and an afternoon in the city
The morning of the third day took us to Opal, a startup focused on digital mindfulness. Over a light breakfast the team explained how their app helps people cut down screen time and make digital habits more intentional. The blend of technology, behavioral psychology, and design gave us a fresh perspective on digital balance. Afterwards we headed together to the Eiffel Tower and used the rest of the day to keep exploring Paris, soak in the atmosphere, and, outside of the program, enjoy the city in smaller groups.
November 19: Swan and Five Seasons Ventures
On the penultimate day, embedded banking took center stage. During our visit to Swan we learned how companies can embed banking functions directly into their products. The team explained how they scale this model, navigate regulatory requirements, and thereby reshape the European financial market. The clear insights into product development and strategy made the visit especially valuable.
In the afternoon we continued to Five Seasons Ventures, a venture‑capital fund focused on sustainable consumer brands. There we got a real highlight: each of us got to pitch a selected startup in a one‑minute presentation. The three most convincing pitches were awarded a Goodie Bag, which sparked excitement, a touch of nerves, and many lively discussions. The visit gave us not only insight into the work of a VC but also showed how varied the criteria for promising consumer startups can be.
November 20: The return trip
On the final day we headed back to Germany. The impressions of the past days lingered, and on the bus we talked a lot about what we’d experienced – founding journeys, product visions, personal learnings, and how diverse the Paris startup ecosystem truly is. Paris inspired us not only professionally but also personally, and brought our group closer together.
