The problem with waiting
Issue #07: The actual wrong time vs. procrastination/self-sabotage
"It's not the right time."
A phrase we hear often from potential founders, and one that resonates with anyone who's stood at the edge of a big decision. Starting a company is one of the biggest leaps you can take in your professional life.
The search for perfect timing is deeply human. We gather experience, build savings, wait for market conditions to improve, hope for clearer signs. But the right time is elusive, like the pot at the end of the rainbow.
There are times that are genuinely challenging to start – when basic security is at risk, during major life crises, or when essential support networks aren’t in place. That's different. But between "perfect" and "very wrong" lies a vast space where great companies are born.
The most interesting conversations we have with successful founders aren't about how they timed things perfectly, but about how they learned to embrace "good enough" as a starting point. Every one of them had more to learn. They started anyway.
That includes Séraphie de Tracy, founder of Cohort (HX22) 👇
Files from Hexa
⏰ The myth of the ‘right time’ with Séraphie de Tracy
In our latest Out of the Box episode, Séraphie de Tracy talks about embracing imperfect timing - for her, the Hexa opportunity manifested when she and her partner were expecting a baby. Two months into the journey, she managed to land retail giant Etam as their first client. From finding product-market fit to constant iteration (their current product looks nothing like their initial one), Séraphie shares candid insights about what building a startup looked like for her.
🦢 Inside Swan with Nico Benady
Swan's Nicolas Benady pulls questions from our mystery box to share the real story behind one of Hexa's biggest successes. Back in 2019, Nicolas and his cofounders joined Hexa with an ambitious goal: to enable any company to become a fintech. Five years later, they've raised €37M in Series B funding (during a financing no man's land, no less) and expanded across Europe. In this chat, Nico opens up about finding PMF, cofounder dynamics, and what building a category-defining company looks like behind the scenes.
✉️ Thibaud’s Hexa letter #03
Every year, Thibaud sits down to share his unfiltered thoughts about where we're at and where we're going. This year's letter is no less exciting than usual: we're scaling up in a big way, aiming to launch 30 startups by 2030. Thibaud breaks down how we'll get there - from our new Hexa Scale vertical with Augustin Celier, to our Partner model for launching companies, to what it really means to build companies that are fueled with ambition and driven by purpose. It's a transparent look into our thinking.
🏆 How can AI-first startups win against incumbents?
How do you compete with established players who are racing to add AI to their products? It's a question we think about deeply at Hexa when launching new companies. In his latest newsletter, Hexa partner Florent Quinti shares a practical mental model he's developed for evaluating AI startup ideas and their chances of success against incumbents. Drawing from his experiences building Dialog and now Tandem, he breaks down the key patterns that separate winning AI-first companies from those that'll struggle to find their place in the market.
Other files we recommend
🛠️ Clef de voute with Thibaud Elzière
A special look into our product DNA at Hexa.
News
🧲 Crew (HX20) launches ATS for recruitment agencies
Recruitment agencies and freelancers have felt left behind by the innovation within ATSs, and Crew realized they too wanted their own model tool tailored to their needs. The team listened, and last week they launched a version of their product especially for this group of recruiters. As always with Crew, it’s beautiful and super easy to use.
🛡️ Elba (HX21) goes holistic
elba 2.0 (HX21) dropped last week, going from a security training tool to the first all-in-one platform to help IT teams tackle human cyber risk in a hands-on way. IT teams now have a single solution for handling access management, safeguarding data, and managing risks from AI-powered tools, without having to juggle a mix. They’ve had the vision of being a holistic cybersecurity tool since we met them in 2021, and here we are!
👥 Upflow (HX18) becomes an FRM
Since its launch in 2018, Upflow has grown far beyond B2B payments collections, culminating in their latest release last week as a Financial Relationship Management platform. Fighting the hard-wired notion that B2B payment delays are about unwilling clients, the new Upflow enables businesses to master cash collection performance and engage with clients through modern interfaces.
🦸♀️ Séraphie named one of Les Echos' 100 Female Founders
Our very own Séraphie from Cohort (HX22) has been recognized as one of Les Echos' 100 Female Founders. To celebrate the 100th edition of Charlie Perreau’s weekly female-founder feature, they hosted a special event to honor these special women. Well done Séraphie!
Jobs
Product Manager at Hexa
Investor Relations Manager at Hexa
Fullstack Engineer at Basalt (HX24)
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or suggestions for this newsletter, don’t hesitate to hit reply. In the meantime, you can follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter.
Cheers,
The Hexa Team