"Since its inception, the company has developed a strong DNA centered on quality at all levels: not only in the products and services we deliver, but also in the commitment, responsiveness, advice, and support provided by our teams."
* Since the publication of this article, Docoon has received its temporary registration as a Partner Dematerialization Platform from the Directorate General of Public Finances under number 19.
Hello Laurent Mezrahi, to begin with, could you tell us about your entrepreneurial journey?
Laurent Mezrahi: The adventure began in 1999, when I co-founded ALLIANCE MCA, a company that provided fax transmission solutions. With the emergence of new media, the company then integrated new communication channels: email, SMS, voice messaging, etc., and became a company specializing in multichannel communication. In 2008, ALLIANCE MCA acquired ODYSSEY Services, a company operating in the same niche market, specializing in transactional messages (confirmations, notifications) and "sensitive" flows (product recalls, health alerts, etc.). The merger of the two companies gave rise to ODYSSEY Messaging. In the years that followed, we opened a subsidiary in Japan, made an acquisition in the United States, and then created another subsidiary in Canada.
In 2018, Arnaud Lejeune and I took some time to review this period. We decided to focus more on the French market and then look for new complementary solutions with high added value that we could integrate.
We also wanted to continuously improve the quality of our services, an ambition that has never left us and remains at the heart of who we have become.
Digitization ticks all the boxes, and in 2020, we are realizing our ambition by acquiring one of our clients, DPii Télécoms, an expert in this market, whose managers wanted to hand over the reins. This was an important step, as we aggregated dematerialization services such as electronic signatures, payroll management, reliable copying, and, very importantly, electronic invoicing. At the end of 2021, we acquired Docoon, a company founded by Damien Maitrot, an expert in electronic signatures. It then became clear to us that we should unify our three brands (ODYSSEY MESSAGING, DPii Télécoms, and Docoon), with their complementary areas of expertise, under a single identity. We chose Docoon, a name that evokes both the group's expertise in documents and their transmission, as well as our ability to take care of them. Today, Docoon has nearly 40 employees and generates revenue of around €12 million.
What have you learned from this entrepreneurial adventure?
L.M.: First, the satisfaction of having built something. "Of all acts, the most complete is that of building," wrote Paul Valéry. Second, the satisfaction of having successfully navigated several stages in the life of a company: growth, structuring, internationalization, fundraising, acquisitions, etc.
And finally, the certainty that for companies, the "X factor" is people, through the talented men and women I have met who have joined me on the Docoon adventure.
Was there a common thread that guided you through these successive stages of growth?
L.M.: Yes . For me, the key words in the company's development are: resilience, quality, commitment, and expertise. At the time of the merger with ODYSSEY Services, we had already established a strong focus on service quality. Since its inception, the company has developed a strong DNA centered on quality at all levels: not only in the products and services we deliver, but also in the commitment, responsiveness, advice, and support provided by our teams.
The integration of DPii Télécoms has further strengthened this positioning, as digitization is a tool that contributes to digital trust. It requires secure services with a high level of confidentiality and regulatory compliance. DPii Télécoms was already ISO 9001 certified when we integrated the company. We are further strengthening our DNA, as we are currently in the process of obtaining ISO 27001 certification—the international standard for information security.
This trademark is obviously embodied in the solutions and services we market to our publisher, integrator, and reseller partners. Our technical expertise is integrated into many applications. We provide technological building blocks to our partners.
We facilitate the integration of these building blocks by guaranteeing a high level of quality, and we are, of course, the guarantors of the quality of the services that our partners themselves provide to their customer-users.
As a result, in addition to providing reliable and robust solutions, we are seen by our partners as experts and facilitators, as we provide effective support for integration and use.
How is the company managed with Arnaud Lejeune, Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer?
L.M.: At some point, the founder who initiated the business project must be able to bring together the necessary skills to take it further. To do this, they must surround themselves with talented people.
Arnaud Lejeune's arrival in 2011 coincided with the start of the company's internationalization. I needed someone who was skilled and experienced in international development, but also in structuring and organization, to review the entire operation of the company.
He became a shareholder and partner the following year. He is an alter ego with whom I can have frank discussions about the smooth running of the company, capable of challenging me with a different perspective. This is very important because when you start a business, you can quickly find yourself isolated. It is also more intellectually stimulating to think together than alone, with someone who has complementary skills and freely expresses their opinion.
Let's talk about current events. Is the electronic invoicing reform a major project at Docoon?
L.M.: Yes, of course. But it's important to understand that this is a logical evolution of the solutions we offer. Electronic invoicing is already part of the paperless services provided by Docoon, and many of the partners I mentioned use our electronic invoicing solution.
For us, this is therefore a regulatory and technical development to which we must respond, and which will strengthen our position as the leading provider of electronic invoicing services.
This development is consistent with the company's DNA and positioning that we mentioned earlier, as the electronic invoicing reform adds quality and security: ISO 27001 certification, sovereign hosting, and DGFIP certification.
Our immediate news is therefore the PDP approval *. That's right, we are now one of the French companies with the capacity and in a good position to become a PDP (partner dematerialization platform).
How do you see Docoon's future (goals)?
L.M.: Wehave very ambitious goals. When we acquired DPii Télécoms in 2020, our stated goal was to quickly exceed €10 million in revenue in France. And we passed that milestone a few months later... Today, we are aiming to reach and exceed €20 million in revenue by 2025. We are an agile company, constantly evolving, with men and women committed to succeeding in this challenge.
