Bump.sh: 4 million euros to make life easier for API users

La Belle Histoire is a series of articles featuring entrepreneurs and their teams. the main characters – starting from where it all began the genesis – to share with you the stages they went through – and the epic -. What next? They’re still writing it 😉

Thursday, 10:30 am, Anthony Lio, co-founder of Bump.sh, returns from several intensive days in Paris for their participation in apidays, the benchmark event for APIs. If you’re not familiar with the subject, APIs are application programming interfaces: a set of definitions and protocols that facilitate the creation and integration of software applications.

The trip wasn’t planned: Sébastien Charrier, founder of Bump.sh, was simply going to give a talk. The team takes advantage of this opportunity to take part, raise its profile and meet industry players and potential customers. In just three weeks, Anthony and his team had to put everything together, taking into account the human and financial investment involved. At the end of the event, the balance sheet was positive. Just back from a long day, Anthony tells us the story of Bump.sh.

The genesis

Back in 2020: Anthony and Sébastien work in tech. Sébastien is lead developer on the payment API for Capitaine Train (Trainline), a start-up dedicated to selling train and bus tickets in Europe.

The world of APIs is complex and fast-moving. In their day-to-day work, developers and product teams are subject to constant change. Collaborators are not always in phase with each other, the risk of desynchronization grows and the development processes put in place come to a standstill. Faced with these issues in his work, Sébastien no longer wanted to be held back in his projects, and the idea of Bump.sh germinated in his mind.

Through a client, he met Anthony, a freelance product design specialist who lives between France and the United States. When Sébastien pitched him his idea, Bump.sh was just a side project.

It’s not an attractive environment, but Anthony sees a new challenge in simplifying interfaces and making them more aesthetically pleasing. He recognizes himself in the issues outlined by Sébastien, and their expertise complements each other, balancing each other out. In March 2020, he joined the Bump.sh adventure as co-founder and Head of Product.

The epic

The world of APIs has really taken off in recent years. Experts estimate their numbers at 200 million today, rising to over a billion by 2030.

Demand is growing, the solution is becoming urgent, and their initial observation could lift the brakes on development for many companies. With Bump.sh, Anthony and Sébastien aim to reach both open source projects and large corporations. The latter can have up to 1000 APIs in their ecosystem.

Their vision: to become the one and only source of truth for all API users. They came up with a solution that would enable developers to collaborate effectively: their challenge was to provide a seamless experience for several types of API technology, in the same portal.

Concept validation and launch

In concrete terms, Anthony and Sébastien design documentation portals for their teams. Thanks to this, employees can understand how APIs are used, without having to worry about updates and making sure they work properly.

In March 2020, Sébastien talked about Bumps.sh around him and the magic happened: a first investor saw the potential and bet on the duo. This initial investment enables the two founders to devote 100% of their time to the project. This is the beginning of Bump.sh.

Covid doesn’t stop them in their tracks: the two men take the full-remote route. Sébastien is in Angers and Anthony is still sailing between France and the USA. As the project grew, Anthony obtained a green card (permanent resident card in the United States) and saw the opportunity to live his American Dream, while continuing to grow Bump.sh.

It’s early 2021 and he’s off to Silicon Valley for a few months. He took the opportunity to immerse himself in and draw inspiration from the practices of American companies.

The team

But Bump.sh isn’t just the story of Anthony and Sébastien, it’s also the story of the talents who are gradually joining the team. In October 2020, the first member of staff was recruited.

Sébastien and Anthony face a new challenge: building their dream team. They are discovering the difficulties involved in coaching a team, and don’t want to repeat the mistakes they made in the past.

To ensure the team’s well-being, they decided to take part in training and coaching sessions. For them, the entrepreneurial adventure isn’t just about the product: it’s first and foremost a human adventure.

The full-remote policy remains unchanged, and the team works remotely from Nantes, Lyon, Paris and Brittany. But to develop their corporate culture, the two founders need to maintain a physical link with their employees. Every three months, they meet face-to-face in France.

By the end of 2021, Bump.sh had grown from 3 to 6 employees, and by 2022 had 9 talents on the team . Anthony then decided to return to France to concentrate on recruitment: the team had to grow quickly if it was to deliver. Nevertheless, he devotes time and special attention to each recruitment.

Bump.sh doesn’t want to grow too fast, and everyone must share the same values: kindness, attention to detail and a sense of service .

Fund raising

By summer 2022, 6 people will be working on Bump.sh. The project is running smoothly and new recruits are on the way. To finance their growth and recruit with peace of mind, Anthony and Sébastien need to find financing. The timing isn’t ideal: it’s summer and markets are tense.

Despite the context, they are putting their networks to work and reactivating relationships with potential funders. The environment is small, so exchanges have to take place over a very limited period. For three weeks, they presented Bump.sh to investors, accompanied by business angels.

At the end of these intensive weeks, the team raises 4 million euros in Seed capital (the first round of a fund-raising operation to finance the company’s development). Galion.exe leads the round alongside Bpifrance, through their Digital Venture capital, and a group of business angels. For the two founders, this fund-raising validates their vision and gives them the opportunity to go even further.

More

Bump.sh focuses on its goal: to become the one and only source of truth for API ecosystems.

In the coming months, the team will grow to around twenty employees. Eventually, Bump.sh will find its own rallying point, where all collaborators can meet whenever they like. Anthony’sAmerican Dream still carries him forward in his ambitions, and maybe in a few years we’ll see the creation of a Bump.sh office in Silicon Valley… Stay tuned.