The strengths of family businesses are well-known: entrepreneurial DNA, local roots, networks built on trust, tangible and intangible capital…
Combined with their experience in patient company building and long-term vision, these qualities make them a natural partner for the new generation of impact entrepreneurs.
The proof lies in the story of "N Zero." (Op-ed originally published in the Family Stories event special edition and on the Décideurs Magazine website).
Once upon a time, there was an innovative young company called "N Zero," whose mission is to develop large-scale decarbonization technology.
The founders, Claire and Leila, recent engineering school graduates, have just filed three patents.
They are now on the hunt for funding to grow their company.
Financing real impact innovation: a necessarily long-term bet
Following an initial series of meetings with investors, disappointment sets in:
"your technology is too risky, you're not generating enough revenue, you don't have enough experience… that's what every fund told us," the two young co-founders recall.
Yet Claire and Leila are deeply convinced of their innovation's impact potential.
But their project requires time and significant investment to have a chance of succeeding.
Their timeline is incompatible with the exit requirements of most venture capital funds.
Just as they were beginning to lose hope, a fellow entrepreneur told them about a new permanent capital fund investing at the seed stage in impact-driven companies: "It's an evergreen fund, meaning there's no predetermined exit date—it lets founders think long-term," he explained.
The power of the collective: supporting first-time impact founders and de-risking your investment
Claire and Leila present their vision to the fund's partners who, after thorough due diligence, decide to invest.
The two young entrepreneurs can approach the next two years with confidence. As lead investor on this seed round, this VC has the distinctive feature of bringing together 50 individual investors within a single investment vehicle known as an SPV.
These 50 individuals, selected for their targeted and proven expertise, have been an accelerator for N Zero: "We saved an incredible amount of time thanks to them," Claire recalls.
Over the years, N Zero took off: contracts multiplied, the team grew, and funding rounds supported the company's growth. N Zero became a mission-driven company and a certified B Corp.
The Evergreen VC, which remains the long-term reference shareholder, also ensures that new incoming funds are aligned with N Zero's mission.
Evergreen funds and family businesses: long-term anchor shareholders
Each round is also a liquidity event, allowing some individual investors within the SPV structured by the evergreen fund to exit gradually while others come in.
Thus, the €10 million Series B generates a fundamental change in the SPV's cap table, but N Zero retains the same lead investor.
This funding round is led by the family office of Roche-Dubois, a family-owned industrial company. A year earlier, the new generation of leaders had decided to make a strategic shift, putting their regional roots, industrial expertise, and experience in patient company building at the service of high-growth industrial startups.
"That's when our early investors who had helped us find our first customers started selling their shares, already with a very strong multiple. The arrival of the Roche-Dubois family allowed us to secure the equity financing we needed during our pre-industrialization phase," Claire explains.
Ten years later, Claire and Leila now lead a thriving 600-employee company, recognized for its multiple positive impacts and boasting the highest Net Promoter Score in its category.
With the support of their long-standing investor, they made the decision to partner with the European leader in their industry to multiply the impact of their technology tenfold.
Claire sums up the conclusion of the N Zero journey as follows:
"We had other acquisition opportunities before, but it wasn't the right time or the right deal. I'm glad we were able to wait because everyone wins: the team, because there's a real human project behind it; the investors, who are making a strong exit; and our innovation, which is now in good hands."
You'll have gathered by now: N Zero's story, while fictional, could be that of many new impact-driven industrial companies.
This is the story of two founders who were given enough time to maximize their company's impact.
It's the story of a community of entrepreneur-investors who rolled up their sleeves to help two first-time founders find their market.
This is the story of a family business that recognized the strategic value of partnering with a young impact-driven company.
This is a story like so many others that could exist if more French funds embraced the evergreen model and if more family businesses made the bold bet of putting their assets at the service of new impact players—passing on to future generations not just a legacy, but also a livable planet.
To fully realize their potential, impact startups will need the patient capital and expertise of the families leading France's finest SMEs and mid-caps—who in turn can accelerate their own innovation through these emerging players.
What if this alliance between family businesses and impact pioneers heralded France's industrial renaissance?
(Article published in the print special edition of Décideurs Magazine ahead of the event https://www.family-stories.fr/ where Asterion will be speaking)