That a French woman has created a Fab Fashion and Beauty Tech community is not surprising. When we know that she was CEO of Lancôme International at the age of 37, it takes a different meaning.

Emboldened by twenty years of experience in cosmetics, Odile Roujol began the adventure in San Francisco. His bet: to bring together the tech entrepreneurs who evolve in the fashion and beauty industry. "The first meeting took place in my living room in September 2017, we were seventy", she recalls. The objective of these meet up : share experiences and create connections between investors and start-ups. "It's a conversation, not a guest monologue"insists the French, stating that the audience is 70% female.

Today this community has expanded. In 2018, it gathered more than 1,500 people over fifteen meetings in New York, Berlin, London, Sao Paulo, Shanghai (non-exhaustive list), or Los Angeles, where the launch took place on January 17. The next meeting will take place on September 17th at Upfront Ventures in Los Angeles. Like the other chapters, the local community is run by a volunteer, Camille Çabale-Téhard, a former FrenchFounders Networker. "The themes of meetings are adapted to ecosystems. In Los Angeles, for example, there is cultural diversity, the influence of lifestyle, an environmental conscience, as well as many micro-investors and local suppliers. L.A is playing an important role for brands in "direct-to-consumer" fashion or beauty. "

Odile Roujol aspires to change the community by incorporating more the fashion aspect, and by proposing more services, such as a help to the recruitment of talents. "I think in the near future, our community could reach 5,000 members, entrepreneurs and close teams."

After thirteen years in the L'Oréal group – and notably at Lancôme – she became Director of Communications, then Head of Data and Strategy at Orange. During trips to meet Silicon Valley actors, she discovers San Francisco and appreciates the humble spirit ("Here success is never achieved and we continue to learn every day"). For three years, she moved to the heights of Corona Heights in San Francisco. On the spot, Odile Roujol will knock on doors … Result: she now advises start-ups, such as venture capital companies (VC). With her local network, a friend suggested to her the idea of ​​animating a community around beauty tech "for pleasure".

At that time, she regretted the lack of interest of the Bay Area for this sector. "If you are launching an innovation for candles or bras, investors are not in their comfort zone. Here, we are in the realm of B2B and artificial intelligence. " It deplores that only 2% of the funds invested are intended for companies founded by women whereas they represent 16% of entrepreneurs. "It is slowly changing, and I think investors are more sensitive to the subject than a few years ago."

For her, the future of this industry will come through the application of the computer vision (computer vision) to videos. "Raised by tutorials and YouTube, the new generation wants more experiences and interactions with a community." Other side: the application of artificial intelligence to find new customers, while respecting private property, whether to offer online consultations or tailor-made care.

Asia will also play an important role. "China will soon represent more than 50% of volumes in luxury; when Indonesia is the world's fourth largest population and has 50% potential customers under 30 years of age ". After Dubai, she will start a chapter Fab Fashion and Beauty Tech Singapore.

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