“Cultural intelligence is a competitive advantage… listening more and adapting your communication style and understanding to the local etiquette can really open doors.”

In this episode of venturing abroad, we are traveling from Normandy to Hong Kong, as we follow the incredible journey of entrepreneur Ines Gafsi. Driven by her passions and instincts from a young age, Ines’ interest in languages and world cultures drove her to study and work abroad.  

After a stint in Canada and London, she made her way to Hong Kong, where she has played an integral role in paving the way for women in entrepreneurship. Co-founding Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide, she shares how she built one of Asia’s leading communities for female founders.

Today, Ines is bringing that same purpose-driven energy to Blissmi: a preventive health and longevity platform for employers. Powered by real biometric data, medical science, and AI, Blissmi helps companies support their teams with personalized, proactive health insights. What began with her own experience navigating motherhood is now reshaping how workforces understand and manage their well-being, shifting care from reactive to preventive.

In our conversation, Ines details:

• Business communication nuances in Asia 
• How to raise funds in Hong Kong
• The power of personal branding 
• The tech landscape of APAC
• Creating impact by filling gaps

Her key advice for entrepreneurs? Dream Big.

Thank you for joining, Ines!

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.

“We said okay, let's pack our suitcases, go to France for three years… and 11 years later, we are still in France.”

In this episode of Venturing Abroad, we have the pleasure of talking with Chris O’Brien. An American journalist based in France, Chris is the founder of The French Tech Journal and one of the key voices covering France’s tech scene.

After years of reporting on Web 2.0 and the rise of social media in Silicon Valley, Chris found himself building a new life and a new career in France. From navigating French bureaucracy to chronicling La French Tech’s incredible growth, his journey offers both humor and wisdom about adapting, learning, and thriving in two different countries.

In our conversation, Chris shares: 

• How timing, curiosity, and adaptability can shape a career
• His observations on the evolution of French tech ecosystem
• Misconceptions about Silicon Valley and La French Tech
• Cultural shocks of moving from California to Toulouse
• Journalism in the age of AI and more

Thank you for sharing with us your France-US experience, Chris!

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.

"If you don’t understand the value you bring, you won’t succeed… no matter where you go."

In this episode, we had the pleasure of welcoming Finnish entrepreneur Monika Liikamaa, co-founder and co-CEO of Enfuce, the leading global card issuer and payment processor.

Monika’s career is embedded in international fintech, from building networks during the Nokia boom to scaling multiple financial businesses across the globe. 

In this episode, she shares:

• How her dual Finnish-Swedish roots shaped her entrepreneurial mindset 
• The steps to scale a fintech business internationally 
• The power of co-leadership and trust in driving growth
• Keeping sustainability at the core of her work through her initiative “Everyone Should Give a Damn”

Monika’s experience is a blueprint for entrepreneurs aiming to grow globally with purpose and precision.

Thank you Monika for joining us!

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.

“Discipline, hard work, practice… that’s what you learn as a professional athlete. The same elements apply to investing.” 

This week on Venturing Abroad, we sit down with Luben Pampoulov, a former professional tennis player who swapped the court for Silicon Valley’s world of venture capital.

From Bulgaria to Austria, UCLA to Silicon Valley, and eventually Paris, Luben’s story is one of reinvention, grit, and global perspective. After leading early investments in Spotify, Dropbox, Lyft, and Coursera, he’s now helping shape the future of EdTech through GSV Ventures.

In this episode, Luben shares:

• How lessons from elite sport translate into entrepreneurial success.
• What moving between continents taught him about cross-cultural investing.
• Why he believes education technology is one of the most powerful tools to drive societal change, especially in the age of AI.

Thank you for joining us, Luben!

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.

“Prepare for success sooner than you think.” 

This week on Venturing Abroad, we sit down with Clare Jones, CEO of Polarsteps: the all-in-one app for travelers to daydream, plan, track, and relive their adventures. A native Londoner, Clare moved to Amsterdam over a year ago to take the helm at Polarsteps. From adapting to a smaller city and a frank work culture, her move mirrors the values that the travel-tech company cherishes: new cultures, learning from different perspectives, and traveling respectfully.

As the third CEO of Polarsteps, Clare took on the rare challenge of leading a team where the founders and former CEOs are still part of the company and deeply involved. Her approach? Listening first and keeping product and culture in sync, as the company quickly scales internationally.

Today, Polarsteps has:

• 17 million users (up from 16M just in July!)
• 1 million daily active users
• 20 million trips shared across the globe
• Expanding across the U.S. while topping the app stores in France 

Thank you so much, Clare, for sharing your story with us!

If you love traveling, this episode is a must-listen.

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.

“At 20 years old, I had this idea of starting this company… So I go up the Empire State Building, I ring at the door, and I say to the office secretary, “Hey, I have a great idea to sell your boss, can I see him?”

In this episode of Venturing Abroad, we’re going on a transatlantic journey with Patrice Thiry. 

Growing up in the suburbs of Paris, Patrice moved to Boston at 17 to pursue a degree at Babson College. After graduating, he spent five years in New York and London, combining his American mentality with his French savoir-faire to lead sales and marketing operations for Russell Athletic across Europe and Asia.

Patrice shares with us his key learnings from studying and working in the U.S., and how he translated those skills when he returned to France to build his startup, ProwebCE, which he sold in 2017 for 300M €. Today, he is the Co-founder & President of startup accelerator Tomcat, an investor at daphni, and the

author of “The Journey of a Successful Entrepreneur.”

Thank you Patrice for your candor and sharing your expertise!

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.

In our debut episode of Venturing Abroad, we sit down with Ervin Tu, an investor whose career spans Goldman Sachs in New York, major global deals at SoftBank with ByteDance and Uber, and leadership as the former Group President and CIO at Prosus in Amsterdam.

A lifelong learner, Ervin shares what it takes to close deals across Asia, the Middle East, and North America and why respecting local context and building genuine relationships are critical for success. He also opens up about his nonprofit, Passport, which helps first-generation and low-income students in the U.S. pursue higher education.

His advice for investors and entrepreneurs? Stay curious. Connect with everyone. Never take relationships for granted.

If you’re building a startup, scaling across borders, or curious about how global deals get done, this episode is for you.

Fasten your seatbelts, and let’s go venturing abroad with Ervin Tu.

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.

Welcome aboard daphni's third podcast series "Venturing Abroad."  

In this podcast, entrepreneurs, leaders, and investors from around the world will share their journeys of scaling across borders. You'll embark on a trip through the stories of founders and industry pioneers who have built businesses with global reach, as we explore the strategies, challenges, cultural nuances, and pivotal moments that shaped their paths to international growth. Along the way, we’ll also hear from investors on how they navigate global investment opportunities and close groundbreaking deals that transform the way we live.

Fasten your seatbelts, and let’s venture abroad!

Hosted by Audiomeans. Visit audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite for more information.