Barthélémy Gras

Analyst within the FTA fund (€300M), a vehicle dedicated to investing in Deeptech Venture Builders & Startup Studios. The fund invests in existing studios and structures new ones ex-nihilo to address market gaps in the French ecosystem. Operating as institutional co-founders rather than simple incubators, these studios deploy shared operational teams and capital to build ventures from scratch.

DEAL STRUCTURING & ORIGINATION (Ex-Nihilo)
• Venture Building: Contributed to the strategic structuring of new startup studios from scratch. Identified market gaps, sourced potential founders, and aligned strategic partners (corporates, academics, investors) with the startup studio.
• Dealflow qualification: Conducted screening interviews with startup studio CEOs to identify high-potential Venture Builders across Deeptech verticals (Climate Tech, Industrial Tech, Biotech).

INVESTMENT ANALYSIS & EXECUTION
• Due Diligence: Led comprehensive analysis for tickets ranging from €1M to €10M. Focused on pre-revenue valuation metrics, Market Sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM), and Unit Economics.
• Financial & Legal Engineering: Modeled complex returns scenarios and management fee structures. Assisted in negotiating Term Sheets, specifically on Waterfall distribution mechanisms and liquidation preferences.
• Committee Preparation: Drafted investment memos and recommendations for the Investment Committee (IC).

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
• Monitoring: Supported the management of 20+ portfolio lines (e.g., OSS Ventures, Imagination Machine, Technofounders).
• Performance Tracking: Monitored key VC metrics (ARR/MRR growth, Cash Burn, Runway) to ensure accurate quarterly valuations.