Four Years Later: Our Co-Founders
If you follow us on Instagram you know our co-founders May & Eliz have been on the move these past 4 years. We’ve gone from Frankfurt to Munich, London to Paris and have even crossed the Atlantic to launch in Bogotá! It’s hard work turning a casual Afterwork Apéro with friends into a full-scale company operating in 4 countries and 6 cities! Lucky for you, we’ve caught them in between flights and business meetings to ask to hear more about where Apéros Frenchies is headed next!
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- Marie Anne You and Friends
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- Marie Anne You and Fanny Bertalan
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- Eliz and Marie Anne You: Apéros Frenchies Co-Founders. Photograph by @Kendrick.Press
Q: When Apéros Frenchies started in Frankfurt you all didn’t even have public Facebook events, it was all word of mouth. It grew pretty quickly from there, but when did you realize Apéros Frenchies was ready to move into new cities?
Eliz: We realized that French Expats are everywhere! We had personally always been looking for an event like this as a chance to meet new people. After we launched people were asking us “When do you come here? “, and we realized there was a huge demand for this.
May: I agree, it was easy to see where this could go when everyone began asking us to bring the concept to them!
Q: What are your goals as the company grows? Do you think you’ll have the moment where you can look around and say that you finally feel like you have “made it” and accomplished the goals you had when you started the company?
Eliz: We want to keep building this international community. It is so gratifying to see that people are following us from one city to another. I just want to keep launching news cities and working with new brands!
May: We want to become ‘the monthly rendez-vous’ for the young international community worldwide of course! (haha!!) Just as important to us though is the ability to recruit and keep a great team of Ambassadors, Photographers, Content Creators, and so on. A strong team is the most important part of the business!
Q: With all this talk of expansion where are you guys thinking of launching next! Any surprises up your sleeves for 2020? Which country is it your dream to launch in?
Eliz: Top 3? For cities Dubai and New York City, and I’d love to launch somewhere in Brazil.
May: There is not one country in particular we are focused in launching in right now. In the future, I would love to launch in Sydney, Australia or Auckland, New Zealand and of course, also New York City, USA. For 2020 we’ve already planned Amsterdam and Tel Aviv!
Q: Who is your favorite fellow girl boss/entrepreneur?
Eliz: Julia Bijaoui from Frichti, I love the concept and the success they have! I like as well the story of Fany and Amandine Pechiodat with My Little Paris: 2 sisters working together and building a successful concept. Really inspiring.
May: There is no one specifically, but I admire all the self-made Girl Bosses, both entrepreneurs or artists. I love Chiara Ferragni (Her business side at least, she’s built an empire!). I am also really inspired by the girls from My Little Paris, starting from nothing in their living room and now being one of the most successful french media companies and doing it all without fundraising! Of course, I am a big fan of Carolina Ramirez & Blake Lively.
Q: How about some fun ones! What was the best party you’ve ever been to?
Eliz: Been to? Carnaval de Rio!
May: Apéros Frenchies of course!! Haha No, I would say Tomorrowland. It is just insane. You are literally living in a parallel world for a few days, and you meet hundreds of different people from everywhere in the word!
Q: …and the best party you’ve ever thrown?
Eliz: Honestly I’ve thrown so many parties… I would say the birthday session we organize every year with one of my friends. We pick a City in the EU and 30 friends meet there for 3-4 days and we party hard together. Always a lot of fun.
May: I guess it is funny but for my personal life, I am the worst organizer ever! Everything I try to organize is a fail haha! So this year, for example, I let Adina Hotel Frankfurt organize my birthday party and they just rocked it! It was in one of the hotel suites, crazy view, DJ, bar, decorations, cakes.. and all my friends! I still find confetti in my bag today.
Q: One more fun one? If I spot you out at an Apéros Frenchies event, which drink should I be buying you!
Eliz: Either a Moscow Mule or Gin Tonic.
May: Start with wine, and then you can offer me Gin Tonic or Basil Smash!
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- Aperos Frenchies Frankfurt Freigut Opening by Patrick Schmetziger
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