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 the adventure of Flotte, the brand of colorful, recycled raincoats!

Bonus: the lessons we've learned every step of the way, to help you be better prepared if you want to take the plunge too! We know that entrepreneurship can be stressful and complicated, but nothing is impossible if you want it and give yourself the means (as Mickael so aptly put it).

Read our full interview here ⬇️

A look back at the casting, the preparation, the filming and the discovery of our passage.

Rain gear on M6?

It's worth noting that Mickael had followed the first season of "Qui veut être mon associé?" broadcast in 2020 on M6. It featured such great projects as Les cartes de lulu, Respire, Constant & Zoé, La tête dans les nuages... So, the first thing he said to me when he saw that casting for season 2 had been launched was:

As I'm sure you realized during our visit, Mickael and I are ultra-complementary, both in life and at work. This project is further proof of that.😎

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

When we found out we were going to be on M6, we were excited (of course) but above all happy to know that Flotte was attracting interest. It's been almost two years since our baby was born, and we've always been guided by the desire to take part in responsible fashion, aware of the needs of the times. Today, we're proud to have succeeded in creating collections with 100% recycled and certified fabrics. Being able to showcase all our efforts was a real opportunity for Flotte.

We were really getting ready for prime time on a major TV channel. The show attracted over 2 million viewers in season 2! It was also made available on Canal+ for a while, so 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 working out pretty well for us! 😎

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

Getting ready to go in front of the jury of "Who wants to be my partner?"

We had several exchanges with the show's production to determine the status of our business, so it wasn't all done in one go. But in the end, they finally confirmed our participation! Once our entry into the adventure was assured, the important thing was to get ready to pitch. So, before we could meet the investors, the production team gave us a lot of support and entrusted us to a business coach: Raphaël Girardo. He briefed us on how the show would go, because, as you can imagine, our main concern was how we would perform 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 our preparation.

For the set-up, we put forward our colorful range of raincoats and a natural atmosphere. It was a bit of a summary of Flotte! In fact, Marc Simoncini was quick to point out the breath of fresh air provided by our range of colors. 🌈

Yes, Marc! We simply brought our positivity and dynamism back to the set. As a bonus, we'd 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 as best you can.

Flotte... you do the honours

The fateful moment is approaching, for the record (and because we're relieving stress any way we can): Mickael launched into a series of push-ups just before the door opened. You didn't get a chance to see it on screen, but it gave me a chance to relax and have a few laughs in this dark room where the atmosphere was really heavy!

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

So... off we went!

Right from the end of our pitch, we were asked a whole host of questions: what's our background? Are we a couple? What about the technical nature of the product? What about our vision for the brand?

As the interview progressed, the stress began to dissipate, we became more and more at ease and were able to answer very clearly and spontaneously. Sophie Mechaly, founder of Paul & Joe, liked this and made us an offer.

It took us a few moments to accept the offer. We took the time to think things over, 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 managed to find a compromise with Sophie Mechaly, split the difference in two and that was it! A new adventure can begin.

Lesson number 3: keep a cool head and remember your objectives.

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

When we first saw each other on screen: total stress. I'm sure you'll agree, it's never pleasant to see and hear each other on video - nobody likes that, do they? So imagine this feeling, but on TV! 😳

Fortunately, we were well accompanied, as much by the whole Flotte team as by our closest friends, all gathered for the occasion. Then we went straight into an Instagram live with Anthony Bourbon and Sophie Mechaly. There was no stopping us!

What's next?

Sophie and I have several projects on the go, and we can't wait to share them with you. But for now, we'll just have to wait and see. We've spoken to her and her team several times, and she's a very talented, creative and, above all, human person. So we're 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 (thank you for that!). Our networks racked up over 3 million extra views, and the clip of our appearance on TikTok has now reached 2.9 million! In fact, maybe that's how you heard about us 😉

Your reactions on Twitter also made us laugh out loud, and we even made a special selection of them as a souvenir.

The night we were on M6, we logged 500 orders. Even crazier, 150,000 of you visited our website. Today, we're over 38.8K pluviophiles on Instagram, and the community just keeps on growing!

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

So, this all happened three months ago, but it's only the beginning of our story. Our precious community of pluviophiles keeps growing and we can't thank you enough. But 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