Our incredible adventure on "Who Wants to be My Partner?"

Hello team Pluviophile, this is Lyly, co-founder of Flotte !

Many of you have asked us about the crazy story behind our appearance on "Who Wants To Be My Partner?". So I've decided to tell it here. Sit back, relax and get ready to embark on Flotte, the brand of colorful, recycled raincoats!

As a bonus: the lessons we've learned at each step to help you prepare yourself if you want to start your own business! We know that entrepreneurship can be stressful and complicated, but nothing is impossible when you want it and when you give yourself the means (as Michael said so well).

Find our complete passage right here ⬇️

Back on the casting, the preparation, the shooting and the discovery of our passage.

Rain gear on M6?

It should be known that Mickael had followed the first season of "Who wants to be my partner?" aired in 2020 on M6. We could discover there great projects like Lulu's cards, Breathe, Constant & Zoé, Head in the clouds... So, the first thing he said to me when he saw that the casting for season 2 was launched was :

You have surely realized it during our visit, Mickael and I are ultra-complementary, and this in life as in work. This project is once again the proof of it.😎 

That evening, he asked me to write the pitch to send our application video. So I had to be quick, good and above all: to the point.

When we heard we were going to be on M6, we were excited (of course) but mostly happy to know that Flotte was getting some attention. It's been almost two years since our baby was born, we have always been guided by the desire to be part of an eco-friendly  fashion, aware of the needs of its time. Today, we are proud to have succeeded in creating collections with 100% recycled and certified fabrics. Being able to showcase all of our efforts was a real opportunity for Flotte.

We were really getting ready to go into prime time on a major network. The show had more than 2 million viewers in season 2! It was also made available on Canal+ for a while, the visibility boost was immense and unprecedented for our brand. Since then, the pace of the business has totally changed (in a good way) and we can say that entrepreneurship is pretty successful for us! 😎

Lesson number 1: Don't ask questions, just go for it!

Prepare to go before the jury of "Who Wants to be My Partner?"

We had several exchanges with the production of the show to determine the status of our business, not everything was done at once. But in the end, they finally confirmed our participation! Once our entry into the adventure was assured, the important thing was to prepare to pitch. So, before being able to meet the investors, the production team accompanied us and entrusted us to a business coach: Raphaël Girardo. He briefed us on the program's schedule because, as you may have guessed, our main concern was to know how it would go in front of the investors. He also challenged us with a lot of questions to understand our background and our business and help us as much as possible in this preparation.

For the set-up, we highlighted our colorful range of raincoats and a natural ambiance, it was a bit of a condensed Flotte ! Incidentally, Marc Simoncini didn't fail to point out the breath of fresh air provided by our panel of colors. 🌈

Yes, Marc! We simply brought our positivity and dynamism to the set. As an added bonus, we even brought gifts for the investors to surprise them, spoil them, and give them a closer look at our Flotte raincoats. 

Lesson number 2: Challenge your business model, prepare yourself as best you can.

Flotte... the honor is yours

The fateful moment approaches, for the small anecdote (and because we discharge the stress as we can): Mickael launched into a small series of push-ups just before the door opened. You didn't have the chance to see it on the screen, but it allowed me to relax and to laugh a little in this dark room where the atmosphere was really heavy!

One hour. That's how long it took us to try to convince the jury to follow us in this adventure. Together, we had nothing to fear and above all, we were ready to face everything: criticism and compliments. 

So... we went for it!

At the end of our pitch, we were asked a lot of questions: What is our background? Are we a couple? What about the technicality of the product? What about our vision for the brand?

As time went by, the stress dissipated a little, we were more and more at ease and we were able to answer very clearly and spontaneously. This is what Sophie Mechaly, founder of Paul & Joewho made us an offer.

It took us a few moments to accept the offer. We took the time to think things through, so as not to make a hasty decision. Now, in our heads, we're reassured to know that Flotte is a passion. But we're even more stressed because we have to make a decision, THE decision, the one that could turn our young company upside down.

The choice is made. We decide to make a counter-offer. In the end, we manage to find a compromise with Sophie Mechaly, we cut the pear in two and the trick is done! A new adventure can finally begin.

Lesson number 3: Keep a cool head, remember your goals. 

Lyly and Mickael on TV... so it's true! 

When we saw each other for the first time on screen: total stress. I'm sure you'll agree with me, it's never pleasant to see and hear each other on video, no one likes it if? Then imagine this feeling, but on TV! 😳

Fortunately, we were well accompanied by the entire Flotte team, as well as by our closest friends, all of whom had gathered for the occasion. We then went straight on to an Instagram live with Anthony Bourbon and Sophie Mechaly. There was no stopping us!

What next?

With Sophie, several projects are underway and we can't wait to share them with you. But for now, we'll have to wait a little while. We had the opportunity to talk to her and her team several times and she is a very talented, creative and above all human person. So, we are delighted to have her in our fleet!

We made it on TikTok!

Before, during and after the show, we received an incredible outpouring of love and support (thanks for that!). Our networks got over 3 million views on top of that and the clip of our appearance on TikTok has reached 2.9 million views so far! Besides, maybe that's how you knew us 😉

Your reactions on Twitter also made us laugh a lot, we even made a special selection as a souvenir.

The night of our broadcast on M6, we recorded 500 orders. And even crazier, 150,000 of you went to our site. Today, we're over 38.8K rainmakers on Instagram, and the community just keeps growing!

This wave of love has also followed us during the meetups organized in our pop up stores in Beaugrenelle and in the Basque Country. Meeting you is even better than reading you. Between pop up store openings and trade shows, more and more doors are opening to meet you.

So here we are, all this happened three months ago but this is only the beginning of our story. Our precious community of rainmakers just keeps growing and we can't thank you enough. But hey, thanks anyway 💙

OUR FAVORITE MOMENTS FROM THE SHOW

Mickael's story: forget the American dream, the French dream exists!

The pitch that put glitter in our lives!

See the 5 investors of the show in Flotte

See my little Nini on TV