Meet Florent Sciberras, co-founder of the "TikTok of Education"

In the bustling startup scene at Station F, Revyze stands out with its bold approach: to revolutionize the educational system in the digital age. Founded by three HEC graduates, this innovative startup is making waves in the EdTech landscape. In this interview, co-founder Florent Sciberras discusses his journey from HEC Paris to launching a social learning platform that has raised $6 million in seed funding.

Hello Florent, can you introduce yourself?

Florent : My name is Florent Sciberras, and I am the co-founder and co-CEO of Revyze, where I focus on growth and community, as well as content creation. Originally from Paris and an engineer by training, I attended the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées and completed a dual degree at HEC, finishing with the MSc X-HEC Entrepreneurs program. I then spent 10 years at Airbnb, holding various data roles, eventually becoming the right-hand to the Director of Europe and Territory Manager for France, Belgium, the Middle East, and Africa. I am passionate about education, Revyze, technology, nature, and the mountains. My time at Airbnb instilled in me a great deal of ambition, especially witnessing how, in just a decade, it was possible to revolutionize an entire sector globally. I gained valuable insights into product and design, the importance of culture, building a company, and consistently pushing the boundaries.

Who are your associates and how did you meet?

Florent Sciberras : I co-founded Revyze alongside Guillaume Perrot and Anatole Blanc, who are also HEC Paris graduates. Guillaume serves as co-CEO with me and is responsible for Product and Design, while Anatole is the CTO, handling the technical aspects. I first met Guillaume through a very good friend of mine, Charles Gorintin, who is the co-founder of the startup Alan. I shared my desire to start a company in the education sector, to which Charles responded, “You need to meet Guillaume!” At the time, Guillaume was an intern at Alan and was also eager to create a company in this field. We quickly connected and traveled to numerous high schools across France to meet with students. Three weeks later, Anatole, one of Guillaume's closest friends, joined us on this journey. The three of us share many things in common—we hold the same values, have a passion for sports, love nature, and are driven to make a difference.

Could you introduce your startup, Revyze?

Florent Sciberras : Revyze is on a mission to democratize access to quality education for everyone. Inspired by TikTok, it is a social media platform that features engaging, short videos shared by the community, which everyone can access. The aim is to provide middle and high school students with accessible resources to learn, review, and succeed in their studies, particularly by receiving support from their peers.

Before officially founding Revyze, we spent six months conducting user research by visiting high schools. We launched the app for math and French baccalaureate students in April-May 2022. At that time, I was still working at Airbnb, while Guillaume and Anatole were students at HEC Paris. Remarkably, they learned to code to develop the app! Within weeks, we garnered 20,000 users, enabling us to secure funding and officially launch the startup in August 2022.

Today, we boast over a million users, and one-third of ninth-grade students in France have used Revyze to prepare for their national exams (Junior High school certificate) in 2024. The platform's videos have accumulated over ten million views, with a substantial number of students returning daily to learn. Many students in eighth and ninth grade are also creating videos to assist others. They've shared with us that receiving "thank you" messages not only brings them joy but also boosts their self-confidence.

What convinced you to launch your startup?

Florent Sciberras : The pivotal moment for us was realizing the true potential and mission of Revyze and the opportunity it presented. When we met with over 300 high school students, we asked each of them one simple question: “What is your favorite way to learn?” Their response was, “No one has ever asked me that before.” That’s when we knew we were onto something. We discovered that their preferred method of learning was with friends who are like them: “They talk like me, they understand my context. We meet in real life to study, watch short videos, and exchange ideas on class Instagram groups…”

It's evident that the current educational system in France doesn't meet their needs, and no one seems to really communicate with them in a way they understand. Parents often ask, “What grades did you get today?”—missing the opportunity to truly center the learning experience around the student. This realization highlighted an incredible opportunity for us.

We observed that the hashtag 'Learn on TikTok' had amassed 200 billion views, yet the platform wasn’t ideally suited for educational use. With our initial MVP⁽¹⁾, we attracted tens of thousands of users, and that’s when we decided, “Let's go for it!”

(1) The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a product version designed to garner the maximum amount of user feedback with minimal effort.

Why did you choose the education sector?

Florent Sciberras : The education sector impacts all other fields. It serves as the foundation for everything else. Personally, I've been fortunate to work at Airbnb, and I reached this point largely due to the support my parents gave me in my education. Luck plays a role in education, especially in having a supportive network. But how can we extend that luck to benefit more people? This question is central to the genesis of Revyze.

With Guillaume and Anatole, we noticed that the educational system hasn't changed much in over 100 years. You still have one teacher, 30 students, one way of teaching, and 30 ways of learning. Our personal experiences also guided us towards this field: my mother is a teacher, and Guillaume's grandmother was a schoolteacher. One of the biggest challenges for teachers is adapting to 30 different students.

Through our tech startup experiences, and not surprisingly, we saw that technology is a major driver of impact today. In education, there's almost everything left to innovate. It's a complex yet fascinating field with endless possibilities.

What major challenges have you encountered in developing your startup?

Florent Sciberras : We constantly face challenges, and one of the biggest was our launch in the United States. We entered the U.S. market in June 2023, when we were number one on the app store. It was extremely difficult—the product wasn't ready, and the retention⁽²⁾ wasn't taking off. We couldn't adapt the product effectively because we were trying to do too much at once. So, we refocused on our original market in France to develop a solid product before considering another market expansion.

In France, we created a new project that helped us improve retention: modeled after Duolingo, we launched a feature called "Capsules," which includes a series of videos and quizzes to help users prepare for exams. We also introduced a rewards system where users earn "flames" for returning to the platform daily, watching multiple videos, and successfully completing quizzes.

^{(2) The retention curve illustrates how the number of active users changes over time.}

You recently raised $6 million, congratulations! What can you tell us about this fundraising round?

Florent Sciberras : We successfully raised $6 million, approximately 5.5 million euros, with contributions from Speedinvest, Moonfire, and several business angels and investors, including Ilkka Paananen (co-founder of Supercell), Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi (co-founders of King/Candy Crush), and Nickey Skarstad (Product Director at Duolingo), among others. Motier Ventures and Station F also participated in this funding round.

We are thrilled to learn from these experts as we work to make Revyze as engaging as Brawl Stars or Candy Crush, and as social as TikTok! This funding will primarily help us recruit developers and designers to build a robust technical team, enabling us to create the world’s leading social learning application for GenZ and GenAlpha. Initially, our focus is on strengthening our learning product in France with content creators and then layering social features onto it. Once we achieve a strong retention rate, we will consider monetization and international expansion.

What have you taken away from your experience at HEC Paris?

Florent Sciberras : I graduated from the Grande École (H.12), completed the X-HEC Entrepreneurs program, and then joined the Incubateur HEC Paris with Revyze. My experience at HEC Paris was fantastic, particularly due to the incredible people I met. These extraordinary individuals have become very good friends, and that's what truly lasts over time. Many have gone on to create remarkable startups, such as Frichti with Julia Bijaoui, Front with Mathilde Collin, and Montagne en Scène with Cyril Salomon. It was incredibly enriching to be part of this ecosystem and, by extension, to build this network. As entrepreneurs, we all inspire one another and continuously learn from each other's experiences.

What advice would you give to a student considering starting a business and launching a startup?

Florent Sciberras : I would tell them that it will be very long and very hard, and it's going to take a lot of energy... but it will give back even more in return! Never give up and be obsessed with your mission. Truly position yourself on a topic you are passionate about. You should not embark on this journey for the money, but for the positive impact you will have, and you'll see that money will likely follow as a consequence of your impact!

Have ambition, have a strong vision. This will help you recruit the best and stay the course during tough times. Don't be discouraged by those who say "it will never work" – there will be many. Talk to users every week and iterate quickly. That's the key. Join forces and recruit people who are passionate about your mission, who learn very quickly, share your values, and with whom you would enjoy having a drink.