The start-up provides inspiration for Chinese tourists to discover France (with its E-Magazine and Travel Guide) On the French side, it aims to facilitate communication with the Chinese market for high-end tourism professionals.
“The special feature of Very Frenchy, is that it is digitally Chinese. Google, Facebook and Instagram among others are not allowed in China; the Chinese internet is specific to China with its own search engines and social networks. The site has been thought up and designed in line with Chinese internet users’ habits in mind and is connected to the most influential tools in China such as the main search engine, Baidu and the social networks Weibo and WeChat.” Explains Dung Tran Thien. “With Chinese tourists becoming more and more independent, young and hyper-connected, it is essential to be present on Chinese digital tools.”
Very Frenchy is currently accelerated in the incubator-accelerator Blanchemaille by Euratechnologies. It is part of the second cohort of the Euratech in China programme that gives start-ups total immersion in China to develop partnerships with local actors. The Very Frenchy platform is also a prize-winner of the Fond de Développement Touristique Régional de Paris Île-De-France (Fund for Regional Tourist development of Paris île de France). It was launched in the summer of 2017 and already boasts over 250 000 visits and over 30 partners.
“My career at SKEMA was very enriching and gave me a strongly international view with a semester in Singapore at Nanyang Polytechnic and another semester in the United States at Rutgers University. While I was in Singapore (gateway to Asia and influenced by the Chinese culture) I saw how Asian countries were developing fast, particularly with the huge potential of China. I am specialised in marketing and am very interested in Asia and the digital world - I wanted to be an entrepreneur.
Being a digital entrepreneur for China needs specific competences. It was obvious that I should go into partnership with my brother Duy. His expertise and experience in information technology and his particular knowledge regarding China, are very precious,” concludes Dung Tran Thien.