James Paul 
It’s a great story like one you rarely hear in French Tech. Entrepreneur Alexander Gushchin announced the acquisition of MesDépanneurs, a startup he co-founded nine years ago when he was 23 years old. Engie acquired it in 2017 for 10 million euros.
“ A feeling of unfinished business »
The principle of the platform is simple. It connects individuals and craftsmen for repairs of all kindsranging from plumbing to locksmithing and electricity. Hence Engie’s interest in a takeover 8 years ago now.
“ In 2017, we started fundraising, which turned into a sale. Difficult to refuse such a check at 27 years old. But I have a feeling of unfinished business, the impression of not having given everything I had to give to this company », confides Alexander Gushchin in an interview with Echoes. The cost of this recovery has not been revealed.
“ Today, at 34, by buying the company I started with and that I love so much, I am coming back more mature, with more experience and networks. I thank Engie with all my heart for growing MesDépanneurs.fr. over the last few years as well as all those who made this deal possible. Now it’s up to me to open Chapter III of the company’s history and take it as far as possible alongside the teams. “, he writes in a publication on LinkedIn.
Strategic change
The new manager plans to review the company’s business model. Rather than spending on advertising to directly attract individuals, it favors a more indirect approach: developing partnerships with professional players who are already in contact with end customers.
The idea is to partner with insurance companies, property managers or social landlords who will naturally offer the services of MesDépanneurs to their own customers when they need a repair. The startup, which has nearly 1,200 partner artisans, employs around fifty people.
The takeover of MesDépanneurs by its co-founder is not an isolated case in the French startup ecosystem. We remember the journey of Withings, the pioneering connected health company, bought by its creator Eric Carreel after a stint at Nokia. If this takeover proved successful, other similar attempts have failed, such as that of Bertrand Fleurose who failed to take over the reins of Cityscoot, his self-service electric scooter company.
- Entrepreneur Alexander Gushchin buys MesDépanneurs, a startup he co-founded nine years ago.
- In 2017, Engie acquired it for 10 million euros.
- A recovery which should be synonymous with strategic changes for the company, in particular to acquire new customers.
