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Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners
Co-founder and President Michel de Guilhermier built Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners on an entrepreneurial rather than strictly financial foundation, drawing...
Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners
Co-founder and President Michel de Guilhermier built Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners on an entrepreneurial rather than strictly financial foundation, drawing on his experience founding Photobox and Juan Hernandez’s track record at Club-Internet. The firm secured €50 million from the Leclercq family, creators of the Decathlon sporting-goods empire, in 2017, supplemented by partner capital from real-estate investor Christophe Courtin. The structure gives Day One a permanent-capital feel within a venture framework, insulated from traditional fund-cycle pressures. Day One operates as a generalist investor across enterprise software, consumer technology, and digital health, targeting seed and start-up stages where it can commit several million euros over a holding period. The firm prefers concentrated positions and works closely with Bpifrance on co-investments, including a shared bet on legal-tech company LegalPlace. Geographic focus remains on France and continental Europe, where seasonal gatherings like the annual “Day One Days” at Château de Rosay reinforce a curated network among portfolio founders. The team, anchored by de Guilhermier, Hernandez, and Courtin, draws additional connectivity through de Guilhermier’s membership in Angel Square and the HEC Paris alumni network. In 2016 the firm deepened its real-asset capabilities when Courtin joined as a shareholder and partner, folding his Courtin Real Estate expertise into the platform. The vehicle eschews the fund-of-funds model in favor of direct, relationship-driven deal-making that mirrors the operational DNA of its founding families. Unlike most seed-stage firms organized around limited-partner blind pools, Day One’s scaffolding comes from a single industrial-family commitment that functions as a quasi-evergreen balance sheet. This patient-capital architecture allows the firm to sustain multi-year bets without the forced exit timelines of conventional venture funds, positioning it closer to a hybrid family-office incubator than a classic French VC partnership.
General information
Firm type
Generalist
Year founded
2012
Location
Region
Europe
Country
France
City
Paris
Corporate office
Paris, France
Principals
Michel de Guilhermier
Co-founder and President
Juan Hernandez
Co-founder and Partner
Christophe Courtin
Shareholder and Partner
Altss tracks 1 additional named team member for this firm — including direct investment leads, IR, and operating principals not listed on the public website.
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Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners?
Investment decisions are driven by co-founders Michel de Guilhermier and Juan Hernandez, both former tech entrepreneurs who serve as President and Partner respectively. They are joined by shareholder and Partner Christophe Courtin. The group operates with an operator's lens, drawing on each principal's experience building and exiting companies rather than purely financial portfolio management backgrounds.
What is the firm's relationship with the Leclercq family?
The Leclercq family, founders of the global sporting-goods retailer Decathlon, are major anchor LPs and shareholders in Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners. They committed €50 million to the firm's permanent capital base in 2017, establishing them as a foundational backer rather than a client of a multi-family office structure (per Altss research).
How is Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners structured—is it a venture capital fund or a family office?
The firm is structured as an investment company with permanent capital, not a traditional closed-end venture fund or a family office. This architecture means it does not face fixed fund-life liquidation pressure and can hold assets for longer periods. The Leclercq, Courtin, de Guilhermier, and Hernandez principals co-invest in a single unified book of assets.
Is Day One a single-family office for the Leclercq family?
No. While the Leclercq family are anchor shareholders and LPs, Day One Entrepreneurs & Partners operates as a distinct investment company with multiple founding partners and co-investors, including the Courtin family. It does not serve as an exclusive single-family office for the Leclercq family's total wealth.
Does the firm invest solely in France, or across Europe?
The firm is headquartered in Paris and its direct deal flow is concentrated in French early-stage startups. However, the founders' professional networks—such as HEC Alumni and Angel Square—extend sourcing across continental Europe, and the firm's permanent-capital structure allows it to consider opportunities beyond French borders when the operator network supports it.
What kind of co-investors does Day One typically partner with?
Day One frequently co-invests alongside Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, particularly in domestic digital-economy deals. One publicly cited example is their joint backing of LegalPlace, a French legaltech platform. The firm also collaborated with Sia Partners on the Studio investment fund, targeting early-stage services and technology companies.
Where does Christophe Courtin fit into the firm's investment strategy?
Christophe Courtin, founder of Courtin Real Estate, became a shareholder and Partner in 2016. His group's assets—including the flexible-office operator Flex-O—create cross-pollination between the firm's digital venture portfolio and real-asset expertise, though Day One's primary stated strategy remains early-stage technology investment.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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