In this episode, David sits down with Adrien de Forceville, founder of Pledger, for a candid conversation about the realities of startup fundraising. Adrien shares why raising too much capital too early can derail decision-making and how staying lean can lead to smarter, more sustainable growth.

We also explore Adrien’s entrepreneurial journey—from building and exiting a FinTech in just 30 months, to his current focus at Pledger, a company reshaping how we think about sustainability, impact, and green banking.

Key Takeaways:

• Raising too much money too quickly can lead to bad decisions.
• Lean startups make sharper, more thoughtful choices.
• Fundraising isn’t always the right path. Sometimes, avoiding it is strategic.
• Strong networks are just as valuable as capital.
• Sustainable growth beats quick funding every time.

Chapters: 

(00:00) Intro

(01:44) Adrien’s Journey to Entrepreneurship

(04:10) The Evolution of Pledger

(09:53) Green Banking and Impact Deep Dive

(20:12) The Financial Ecosystem in France: Opportunities and Challenges

(23:28) Pledger’s Pitch

(28:30) Navigating Product-Market Fit Challenges

(33:11) Adrien’s Exit of Pledger

(39:38) What’s Next?

(43:43) Service-Based AI Businesses 

(46:30) Lightning round

FOLLOW Adrien

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/adeforceville

Pledger: ⁠https://www.pledger.fr 

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