After three years spent on the Bordeaux campus, punctuated by community involvement ina BDE list, internships in market finance and a pivotal encounter - with Claire, now his wife - Raphaël began his career in trading rooms, before moving on to organizational consulting for investment banks and major financial departments. 🏦

In 2006, he co-founded CMG Consulting Group, a consulting group with operations in France and Portugal, which will be sold to a listed player in 2022. A decisive turning point: he then decided to devote himself fully to seed investment, via his holding companies and on a personal basis.

🤝 Since 2013, Raphaël has been supporting numerous start-ups, with a portfolio of 30 companies to his credit and a strong involvement: presence on boards of directors, strategic participation and operational support. An approach he describes as "Smart Capital", aiming to support entrepreneurs well beyond financing.

🌎 One of his most notable holdings is Wandercraft, a pioneer in artificial intelligence-powered exoskeletons. This start-up has recently gained international recognition, with a number of milestones:

• May 2024: finalist for the AI for Good Prize (United Nations)

• July-August 2024: its EVE exoskeleton enables paralyzed people to carry the Olympic flame, generating over 3 billion views on social networks

• January 2025: Wandercraft appears in the introductory video of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's keynote speech at CES Las Vegas.

• February 2025: Emmanuel Macron highlights the company at theAI Summit in Paris

• March 2025: Nvidia wins SXSW Innovation Award in Austin, Texas

"Accompanying entrepreneurs from the very beginnings of an idea, feeling that energy, that desire to change things... that's what I'm passionate about."

🗞️ Being ranked among France's top 15 Business Angels by two key ecosystem benchmarks - Challenges and Angelsquare - represents much more than a simple numerical indicator.

The ranking is based on several criteria: the volume and diversity of investments made, the ability to support start-ups as they grow, and influence in innovation ecosystems. It testifies not only to solid experience in early-stage investment, but also to a long-term strategic vision and an ability to detect high-potential projects and propel them forward.

This recognition also strengthens its legitimacy with young founders, who are looking for investors capable of challenging them, advising them... and believing in them from the outset. 🚀

While Raphaël's expertise has been honed over the years and through experience, he believes that much of it was acquired during his KEDGE years.

"Without a doubt, KEDGE helped forge my ability to understand others, create synergies and adapt to very different environments."

Above and beyond academic knowledge, what he retains above all is the emphasis on human and relational skills, which the school places at the heart of its pedagogy: emotional intelligence, managing team dynamics, taking initiative and agility in multicultural contexts.

"At a certain level, technical skills are shared by many. What makes the difference is desire, risk-taking and emotional quotient. That's exactly what I learned to cultivate during my years at KEDGE." ✨

For the future, Raphaël intends to expand its investments into more mature projects (Series B, C, pre-IPO, etc.) and further develop its asset management activities, both financial and real estate.

"Step out of your comfort zone, dare to take risks. Even if it doesn't work out as planned, you'll always learn something. And you'll never regret it." 🔥