The French startup Aladom, a platform for connecting people providing services and those who need household or other support, has just completed a fundraising of 780,000 euros. We spoke with Guillaume Thomas, founding president of this startup. The latter explained to us his future objectives!
Everything you need to know about Aladom
Who are you ?
My name is Guillaume Thomas, I will be 50 this year. I graduated from Centrale Lyon and started working in Paris in the IT field, in a trading room, then for software publishers.
When my second daughter was born, in 2004, we chose to leave Paris and settled in Rennes. I worked for 3 years for a telephone operator and I was looking for a project to launch on the internet. It was the time of the Borloo law and the promotion of personal services. As our family grew, I saw how difficult and time-consuming it was to find childcare options. This is how I had the idea of launching, in 2008, a platform for connecting people in personal services.
What does Aladom do?
Aladom connects those who offer their services and those who have needs for cleaning, childcare, help for seniors, help for people with disabilities, academic support, music lessons, DIY and all types of services at home, in establishments and in businesses.
We reference 250,000 service providers who are companies, associations or individuals. At the start, it was necessary to build up a base of service providers. At the time, there were still free newspapers where you could find people offering their services. We initiated our service provider base and the good SEO of our site did the rest: every month, we have a million people who come to Aladom to find a job or a service provider.
Aladom’s fundraising
Why did you raise 780,000 euros?
The company is profitable today, but we have ambitious development projects that require investment. For 3 years, we have left the personal services sector and we now help retirement homes and health establishments to recruit staff. We want to continue to establish ourselves in this sector.
We also want to strengthen our presence in new services such as works. Today, you can find a solution on Aladom for small DIY projects. We also allow elderly people, in addition to the home help they can find, to request quotes for home furnishings (installation of adapted showers, stair lifts, ramps, lighting, etc.). We think we can diversify into more work: painting, renovation, windows, etc.
Finally, since the beginning of 2023, we have launched a solution that allows pay for services securely through our platform. We are interfaced with the URSSAF services to pay the speakers and make the declaration to the CESU to be able to benefit from 50% tax credit. These funds will help us continue this development.
Why did you choose to bring these investors into your capital?
Aladom has chosen to bring Breizh Invest PME and business angels into its capital.
Aladom is a company based in Rennes and we chose to bring in Breizh Invest PME which is also from Rennes. This is a partner who will work with us over the long term. In addition, it brings together the Brittany Region, Bpifrance and four regional banks (Banque Populaire Grand Ouest, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Caisse d’Épargne Bretagne-Pays de Loire, Crédit Agricole).
In addition, we have chosen to appeal to our community by bringing together investors within an investment holding company. We relied on the Ayomi platform which allowed us to collect €210,000 from 45 investors. Finally, we took advantage of these operations to set up a ManCo (Management Company) which brings together Aladom employees and which holds 10% of the capital.
What will Aladom look like in 5 years?
In five years, it will be possible to find a solution for any service and anywhere in France. In addition, we will have contributed to the revaluation of link professions. We will be in the process of launching our service in other countries in Europe.
