Open to Fintech, Deeptech, Climate missions

I build products.
I connect ecosystems.

Born in La Réunion. Certified Product Manager, founder of START Paris, event organiser and AEE podcast guest. I spend my days getting people who ought to meet, to actually meet.

See my work → ▶ Listen to the podcast
Thanaël Fontaine
— Thanaël, 2026
Horyond · CREATIVE VALLEY · PayPlug · QHARE · VIVATECH · Team for the Planet
About

I do two things every day: I build products that solve real problems, and I connect people who ought to meet.

Born in La Réunion, raised between the Indian Ocean and mainland France. I split my time between Paris and Montpellier, and I work wherever there's something to build.

On the product side: 6+ years of XP, certified Scrum Master (icSM) and Product Manager (CPM), first at PayPlug on e-commerce integrations, then 2 years at QHARE CRM leading a B2B CRM roadmap. Trained at EPITECH, Dauphine-PSL and TU Dublin.

On the community side: I founded START Paris in 2023, I assess deeptech startups for Team for the Planet, and I support founders at Creative Valley.

What gets me up: fintech, deeptech, climate, and anything at the Europe-Asia crossroads.

T — Thanaël, writing from Paris
Currently

Three things I'm working on.

Updated Feb 2026. Inspired by the indie-web now-page.
Horyond Agency ·CEO & Product Manager

Growing the agency

Web & mobile agency, founded late 2024. Bespoke sites, iOS / Android apps, in-house NoCode builder, AI integrations. An in-house full-stack team for SMBs, startups and non-profits.

ProductNoCodeiOS / AndroidAI
Horyond Non Profit ·President

Digital inclusion for small organisations

A French non-profit (loi 1901) founded in 2025, based in Montpellier. A deliberately narrow program: scoping, guidance toward accessible tools, a simple online presence, then handover — for budget-constrained impact organisations.

Digital inclusionNon-profitsMontpellier
Creative Valley ·Paris

Startup relations

Structuring Booster and ADN Global Startup programs: investor matchmaking, mentoring, AI, deeptech, international expansion.

ProductMentorshipNetwork
Journey

Across product, community and impact.

2025 — now1 yr 2 mos

Entrepreneur Relations@ Creative Valley

📍 Paris

Strategic support to startups across Booster and ADN Global Startup programs: investors, mentors, AI, cyber, deeptech, internationalisation.

2019 — now6+ yrs · freelance

Scrum Master & Web Master@ ThanaelService

📍 Montpellier

My freelance practice: digital strategy for NGOs and SMBs, websites, UX/UI, SEO, client training. 10+ projects shipped, high satisfaction.

WordPressHTML/CSS/JSNotionStripe
2023 — now3+ yrs

Shareholder & Assessor@ Team for the Planet

📍 Remote · France

I assess climate-deeptech startups: feasibility, impact, business model. Collective selection of funded projects.

2023 — 20252 yrs

Product Owner@ QHARE CRM

📍 Paris

I owned the web/mobile roadmap of a B2B SaaS CRM, structured JIRA and Confluence, tightened internal comms. +20% user resolution, 200 weekly impressions in 2 weeks.

JIRAConfluenceRubyFlutter
2023 — 20251 yr 5 mos

Founder & President@ START Paris

📍 Paris

Founded START Paris to connect young Paris-based founders to international ecosystems. 10+ team in 6 months, VivaTech and Slush China / S-tron partnerships, 200+-attendee opening ceremony.

2022 — 20241 yr 7 mos

Head of IT@ Genius Global

📍 Paris

National NGO supporting student entrepreneurship associations. Rolled out collaborative tooling, trained chapters, built the pedagogical resources.

2022 — 20242 yrs 2 mos

President@ Genius Tek Montpellier

📍 Montpellier

10+ tech & entrepreneurship events organised, 500+ cumulative attendees, +60% active members over the period.

2020 — 20233 yrs 6 mos

Sales Lead & Project Manager@ Junior Conseil Taker

📍 Montpellier

Junior-Entreprise focused on digital strategy. 25+ client projects led, >90% satisfaction, onboarded new project managers.

20225 mos

Product Manager@ PayPlug

📍 Paris

Omnichannel payments for SMBs. Shipped Prestashop and WooCommerce integrations: -30% support tickets, +15% conversion.

PrestashopWooCommercePHPSylvius
2020 — 20211 yr · co-founder

Co-founder & Junior Director@ Celo'DD

📍 Montpellier

Association for young sustainability-driven founders. Operational setup and first wave of supported projects.

20206 mos · Bulgaria

Scrum Master & Developer@ OTOPNIVO.com

📍 Sofia 🇧🇬

Online content & services platform. Agile facilitation, backlog, full-stack development.

Projects & Business

Things I've founded, co-founded, or carry alongside my main work.

★ Flagship 🚀

START Paris

Student org founded in 2023 to connect young Paris founders to international ecosystems. 50+ entrepreneurs sent to VivaTech, Slush China, S-tron. 200+-attendee opening ceremony. A 10+ team, top-tier French and Asian partnerships.

Founder · 2023–25 ↗
🤝

Horyond Non Profit

French non-profit (loi 1901) founded in 2025 in Montpellier. Digital inclusion for small impact organisations: scoping, accessible tools, a simple online presence, handover.

Founder · 2025 → now ↗
🏗️

Horyond Agency

Web & mobile agency founded in late 2024. Sites, iOS / Android apps, NoCode, AI integrations.

CEO · 2024 → now ↗
🛠️

ThanaelService

My independent studio. Sites, digital consulting, training for NGOs and SMBs. 10+ projects, >90% satisfaction.

Freelance · 2019 → now ↗
🌱

Team for the Planet

Volunteer assessor for climate-deeptech startups. Citizen-owned, collective intelligence.

Volunteer · 2023 → now ↗
🎓

Genius Tek Montpellier

Led a student tech & entrepreneurship association. 10+ events, 500+ attendees cumulative.

President · 2022–24 ↗
🌍

Celo'DD

Co-founder. Association for young sustainability-driven student founders in Montpellier.

Co-founder · 2020–21 ↗
Talks & events

Stages I've spoken on, and the ones I've built.

Flagship event · 2024

START Paris × VivaTech
Opening Ceremony

Co-produced with my START Paris team in partnership with VivaTech. 5 European startups featured, top-tier French partners. Hybrid format — talks, networking, startup showcase.

200+
Attendees
5
EU startups
1
VivaTech co-production
×
OPENING
CEREMONY
PARIS · 2024 · OPENING CEREMONY
'22

MEUS — Model European Union Strasbourg

Member of the European Parliament · amendments passed on the energy transition

Delegate
'23

PIMUN · UNESCO

UNESCO delegate · resolutions on education and digital inclusion

Paris
'23

LIMUN · UNDP

Co-authored a resolution adopted unanimously

London
'24

S-tron Summit · Slush China

Representing START Paris · Asian-ecosystem networking

Asia
'24

START Paris × VivaTech — Opening Ceremony

Co-produced · 200+ attendees · 5 EU startups

Organiser
'23

Genius Tek — 10+ événements

Meetups, entrepreneurship nights, 500+ attendees

Organiser
🎙️ Podcast · Spotify

Building bridges between Asia and Europe.

Guest of Laura Wang on Asian Entrepreneur in Europe (AEE). We discuss the European startup landscape, how to approach French VCs, Asia ↔ Europe cultural differences, and emerging opportunities in smart cities and healthcare tech.

Listen on Spotify
Guest episode · 2025
Host: Laura Wang · Guest: Thanaël Fontaine
Testimonials

What the people I work with say.

LinkedIn recommendations · PayPlug, Epitech, Healthcare, freelance.
“

From an intern position, he really became a key member and true Product Manager of his squad because of how much he was involved in his work. Very enthusiastic on a day-to-day basis, Thanaël is completely autonomous, proactive and resourceful. It was a pleasure working with him, and I truly recommend you do the same.

Aimée Sineux Aimée Sineux Senior Product Manager · PayPlug · Dec 2022
“

Thanaël is a very engaged person who will always hold tight until the finish line. He proved his ability to manage our team by maintaining everyone focused and calm during times of pressure. He is very eloquent and knows how to build trust and secure partnership with external stakeholders. Working with him was a true blast.

Aya Ben Abdallah Aya Ben Abdallah Voice AI Engineer · direct report · Jun 2025
“

Thanaël joined PayPlug as a Product Manager intern. He ramped up extremely quickly and even fully owned the Product Manager role with success while the PM was away. A textbook example of commitment and initiative.

Mickael Messali Mickael Messali Senior QA Engineer · PayPlug · Jun 2023
“

Thanaël was one of the best collaborators we've had the opportunity to work with. He brought us many well-judged suggestions and always had a solution to fix or anticipate IT issues. He is outstanding.

Dr. Adrien Cassar Dr. Adrien Cassar Pharm.D, CSP-PO · Healthcare & STEM · Jan 2022
“

I've already had the chance to work with Thanaël on different projects. His skills as a project lead and Product Manager are beyond proof. He knows how to take small and large teams all the way to their goals.

Mathis Lorenzo Mathis Lorenzo Mobile App Developer · Project Mgmt · Sep 2024
“

I've worked with Thanaël several times and thanks to him I discovered what a good Project Manager actually looks like. He managed and shipped several projects to perfection. I recommend him to anyone who needs a real Project Manager.

Nathan Guiu Nathan Guiu Epitech · Project Mgmt · Sep 2024
“

The project I did with Thanaël went very smoothly and productively. We collaborated effectively, leveraging each other's complementary skills. Communication was constant and clear, which allowed us to hit deadlines while keeping the quality bar high.

Johan Affre Johan Affre Software Engineer · Epitech Montpellier · Sep 2024
“

Thanaël is a deeply humane person with remarkable ability and intelligence for his young age. Responsive and professional, he found the right words to reassure me and delivered every task I trusted him with.

Frederick Lodjearem-Ndilbe Frederick Lodjearem-Ndilbe Entrepreneur · EDCN · Sep 2024
Writing

What I write to pin an idea down.

4 articles live. View the whole blog →
Climate
TRL for founders, without the jargon
→
Essay
How to approach French VCs from Asia
→
Product
2 years owning a B2B CRM roadmap: what I learned
→
Stack & skills

My day-to-day arsenal.

Product & Agile

Product Manager (CPM) Scrum Master (icSM) Roadmapping JIRA Confluence Figma Notion

Tech

HTML5 CSS3 JavaScript PHP Ruby Flutter WordPress Prestashop

IA & data

Gen AI Agents LLM Chatbot Dev CRM & Payment integrations

Domains

Fintech Deeptech SaaS B2B Climate EU ↔ Asia
Let's work together

Let's build
something that matters.

Fintech, deeptech, climate or the Europe ↔ Asia corridor — or just to chat. I always reply.

📅 Book a slot ✉ contact@thanaelfontaine.eu inLinkedIn
📍 Paris · Montpellier · remote-friendly 🌍 FR · EN ⏱️ ● Reply within 24h