FUNDS · AGENCIES · STARTUPS
Scale across Europe, Asia and the Americas. With operators, not one more investor.
Built by repeat entrepreneurs, not by traditional consultants. We work with founders, VP Sales and VP Growth, on behalf of their fund, a public agency, or directly, on 6–12 month mandates. And we stay engaged until the first contracts are signed.
FOR FUNDS
An operating partner for your portfolio
When a portfolio company opens a market, we take over on the ground to accelerate value creation: country choice, operating model, local hiring, go-to-market and first clients.
Per mission, or as ongoing support across your portfolio.
FOR AGENCIES
We run your scale programs
Startup selection, market-entry training, delegations, business meetings and PoCs with corporates, then results tracking.
Cohorts of 5–10 startups, programs from 1 to 10 weeks.
FOR STARTUPS
Open a market, sign your first enterprise accounts
After a Series A or B, international scale puts everything under pressure. Our operators have been through it: they help you pick the right market and land your first clients there.
Directly, or through your fund or agency.
OPERATING MODEL
From market choice to first traction, on the ground.
We do not stop at the plan. We stay engaged until the first impact is visible.
01 · ABOUT 2 MONTHS
Market selection
- Market testing and prioritization
- Founder, VP Sales, VP Growth workshops
- Partner and ecosystem mapping
- Entry hypothesis and first roadmap
02 · LOCAL SETUP
Launch & local setup
- Local GTM and partner activation
- Incorporation, legal, contracts
- Hiring: GM, BD, HR, IT
- Interim management until the team is in place
03 · 3 TO 12 MONTHS
Execution until impact
- PoCs and integrator partnerships
- Pricing and product localization
- GTM: ICP, acquisition funnel, campaigns, performance tracking with regular updates
- On the ground: showrooms, event corners, speaking slots across the ecosystem
- First contracts and execution milestones
First traction signals (qualified meetings, first PoCs) in 3–6 months. A structured market, with a local team and first contracts, in 6–12 months.
ALONGSIDE FOUNDERS
Scale without breaking what works.
International scale stresses everything at once: product teams, marketing budget, the organization. Repeat entrepreneurs have lived it from the inside. They know where it breaks, and they help founders manage their organization, not just conquer new markets.
01
Protect the core
Organize the company so scale doesn’t burn out the product teams, and balance marketing spend between the home market and the new ones.
02
Adapt the model to each market
An operating model built for each country: compliance, competition, first clients, acquisition model. With resources optimized, not duplicated.
03
Industrialize
Once the markets are validated, consolidate the company into a more industrial version, ready for the next stage.
That’s the difference between scale and chaos.
WORKING WITH FUNDS
Three ways to work together.
Most funds start with deal flow or a corporate introduction. The operating partner mission comes when a portfolio company goes international.
01International deal flowWe know your theses by sector and bring you foreign startups already qualified in our programs, across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
02Corporate accessWe open the doors of the corporates we work with to your portfolio, through venture clienting: targeted meetings, vendor onboarding, paid pilots before any investment.
03Operating partner for scaleWhen a portfolio company opens a market, a Hack40 operator works alongside it: country choice, operating model, hiring, go-to-market, first clients.
What an accelerator-investor won’t give you.
No cap table conflict
We take no equity. Our only interest is your traction.
Corporate access
Ten years of programs with L’Oréal, Orange, Alstom, RATP, BNP Paribas: doors already open for your PoCs.
Operators on site
300+ experts and entrepreneurs across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Results tracked for 12 months
Vendor listings, sales, partnerships: measured long after the program ends.
SCALE ROUTES
Two corridors, three continents.
Europe → Asia & AmericasFor European startups that want to grow in Asia with the right operating model and partner base, then take on the Americas with more traction.
Asia → Europe & AmericasFor Asian startups entering Europe through the right market, the right ecosystem and the right execution setup, before preparing for the Americas.
Europe
France, Germany, the UK, Spain, the Nordics and the Baltics, and the rest of Europe through our local partners.
Asia
Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, with operators, agencies and ecosystem builders.
Americas
New York and Los Angeles, with our scale operator partners: validate demand, pick the entry route, secure first traction.
Startup-native sectors
With the operational depth required to move from market exploration to first traction.
Artificial intelligence
Computer vision, analytics, copilots, automation
Smart city
Infrastructure, safety, urban mobility
Retail & e-commerce
Customer experience, omnichannel, digital retail
IoT & industrial tech
Connected devices, sensors, industrial use cases
Cybersecurity
Security, compliance, risk management
Supply chain & operations
Logistics, procurement, tracking, B2B
Mobility
Transport, fleets, EVs
Digital platforms
SaaS, marketplaces, B2B software
For agencies: our program formats
Mix and match by startup maturity and target market.
1 HOUR TO 2 DAYSMarket Entry & PoC seminarsUnderstand a market, prepare a PoC. From 10 to 500 participants.
1 WEEKTraining WeekExpansion strategy, brand and marketing, pitch.
4 TO 10 WEEKSExpansion programsTraining, mentoring, then an on-site delegation with 15 business meetings per startup.
6 TO 8 WEEKSPoCs with corporatesOne use case, one sponsor, a clear decision at the end.
RESULTS · GIA PARIS PROGRAM 2024‑2025 FOR ENTERPRISE SINGAPORE
Startup cohorts, ten weeks of preparation, a delegation in Paris. Here’s what came out of it.
15
qualified business meetings per startup, with corporates, funds and partners
2 / 3
startups onboarded as vendors by major French transport and logistics groups
1 + 1
one PoC launched and one tender won within weeks of the program
Program run for Enterprise Singapore (Global Innovation Alliance) from 2024 to 2025. First-cohort results. Startup and corporate names undisclosed.
WHO RUNS IT
Operators who have scaled companies themselves.
Fabrice Tranier · Co-founder, Europe & Americas
- COO & CTO at Dukan: from €5M to €40M in revenue, 21 countries in 18 months.
- Board-level COO at Digital Virgo: €350M in revenue across 30+ countries, post-M&A integration and pre-IPO trajectory.
- Operating missions with portfolio companies of Bpifrance, Entrepreneur Venture and MBO Partners.
- Four years in Singapore before coming back to run Europe from Paris.
Sofian Meguellati · Co-founder, Asia
Hack40’s lead in Asia, between Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore: programs with the region’s agencies and accelerator-investors.
Our experts in each region · 300+ entrepreneurs and operators
EuropeFranck de Visme (COO Blue Frog Robotics), Guillaume Eymar (Partner, Cambon Partners), Julien de Sousa (Head of PRISM Incubator), Philippe Mascaras (CEO Kantum), Arnaud Bonhomme (CEO aBria)… AsiaAkshita Joshi (Strategy & BizOps, Airbnb APAC), Christophe Bacon (MD OmniStrada), Julien Condamines (Co-Creation Lab), CJ Yoon (Forward KR), Gregory Roustel (GRG K.K., Japan)… AmericasScale operator partners in New York and Los Angeles.
Plus a team of program managers and market analysts dedicated to scale across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
AvantGarde · since 2018
Taking startups abroad since 2018.
In 2018, we launched AvantGarde on BFM Business to take French startups to Asia. We soon opened the same path to Europe and the Americas.
Read Sofian’s interview in FrenchWeb (in French) →
The AvantGarde podcast
The spirit of conquest: we interviewed French startup founders across Asia on what it takes to win a new market. In French.
A network of 100+ funds, accelerators and public partners
FUNDS & CVC · EUROPE
FUNDS & ACCELERATORS · ASIA
PUBLIC PARTNERS
FAQ
What’s the difference between a consultant and an operator for international expansion?
A consultant delivers a market strategy. An operator executes it with you: entry market selection, local ecosystem activation, first sales meetings, building the local team. Hack40 commits to 6–12 month mandates, until first commercial traction.
How long does it take to open a new market?
First traction signals (qualified meetings, first PoCs) usually come in 3–6 months. A structured market, with a local team and signed contracts, takes more like 6–12 months, depending on the sector and product maturity.
How do you choose the right partner to scale in Europe?
Check three things: a real operating presence on the ground, an active network of experts and partners in the target countries, and verifiable references from startups that actually signed their first contracts.
Do you only work with Series A or B startups?
Most of the startups we support are post-Series A or B, the stage where international expansion becomes a priority and fundable. That said, we adapt to product and go-to-market maturity rather than a funding threshold.
Why would a fund work with Hack40?
Because we don’t invest: our only interest is your portfolio’s traction. We bring qualified international deal flow, corporate access for PoCs, and an operator on the ground when a portfolio company opens a market.