10 years in a few moments
Photo Laurent Sacco ©
TEQOYA turns 10. We've delved into our archives, our memories, laid everything out, and picked a few standout moments—key events and unforgettable memories—that we want to share with you! Don't worry, this isn't an online slideshow party: it's short and tries to be funny from time to time! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, read until the end. We have a wonderful surprise for you at the bottom of the page :)
The CES: The Beginning of the Journey
On January 6, 2015, we were a small group in Las Vegas, having secured one of the last spots available at Eureka Park, the space reserved for startups, just a few weeks earlier. It was there that we received the official registration confirmation for TEQOYA SAS. Amid the lighthearted and over-the-top atmosphere of the CES (the massive annual tech event), a small voice invited me to pause for a moment—a fleeting sense of solemnity and... apprehension. From that moment on, I was responsible for everything that would happen to this company.
In this photo of our booth, hastily assembled in what now feels like a miraculous timeframe, you can see next to the TEQOYA name a hoodie gifted by French Tech, which I still wear often (great quality, thank you French Tech... but why on earth did I leave it there on the booth?).
Results and Testimonials That Inspire and Energize!
Everything then moved very quickly: laboratory tests at CERTAM, the manufacturing of the first production batches, the initial trials in China by distributors and specialists... and the first awards.
Like Malo's testimonial, a young asthmatic whose short video made us so proud. Like the first group-buying campaigns, where orders surged and threw us into the frenzy of meeting shipping deadlines. Like that evening at a restaurant with a few “friends and fools” who invested in the project, during which Frédéric (co-founder, the embodiment of Franco-Chinese friendship) spent almost the entire time on the phone handling a continuous flow of orders from China. We emerged from the winter exhilarated by our first commercial successes in Asia.
How to Win a Startup Contest with a Failed Pitch
Why not America next? My friend Ravouth Keuky managed to convince me, at the last minute, to apply for a startup competition in New York organized by French Touch. And I won! “Despite the pitch,” a jury member told me on stage (stage fright had slowed me down). Thanks to the project, thanks to the product—and that's just fine. Also thanks to the coaching from Julien, my brother-in-law, which was so practical and effective.
But France and Asia absorbed all our energy, and the Westward conquest would have to wait. Our first trade show in Shanghai featured hundreds of booths, all dedicated to air quality! A scale that's impossible to imagine in Europe.
A Stand Bigger Than Our Office
The day before the trade show, a photo of the core team—slightly tense but happy—in front of the booth we had just discovered. I'm wearing my iconic French Tech hoodie. This quartet still leads TEQOYA today, a stability that is one of our greatest achievements. What followed were four days of high traffic at our beautifully designed booth. Nicolas (co-founder, the master of digital mechanics, finely tuned and consistently maintained) and I became walking “Made in France” signs, while Isabelle (the pivot, the pillar... without her, the walls would crumble) and Frédéric, with their indispensable Mandarin skills, hosted visitors in the cozy, glass-enclosed, purified lounge.
Let's Build Made in... Villandraut!
2016, 2017: sales exceeded our expectations. In Villandraut, Gironde, where we manufacture, we expanded our facilities to accommodate the team and stock. The decision was made to build our factory! The land, the plans, the construction... Thank you, Renaud (brilliant engineer and mentor), for handling all of it—I don't know how I would have managed without you (the factory, but so much more). The joy of seeing this beautiful structure in the sunlight, then holding the first meeting in the middle of the vast empty space. The testing room was built first and urgently, as we continued working tirelessly to advance the technology...
... to prepare the next product line and meet the growing demand!
Being a Designer Isn't for Everyone
After two failed collaborations with designers, and as I was losing hope of finding someone to design our future products, I mentioned it over the phone to my friend Jean-François while strolling through Antwerp, one evening during the Indoor Air conference. To this day, I still hear him responding: “Do you remember that Frank is a designer?” Frank Bieven became the designer—and much more—of the Teqoya brand. The sketches quickly came together.
At the Global Industry trade show, I met another person who would play a key role in Teqoya's development: Victor Brochard, the head of Outinov AJC. With him and his team, Frank's sketches became plans, then tooling, then products. Countless hours of meetings, video calls, and instructions passed over the phone on the street at 8 a.m. for plan updates to be delivered by the evening.
New Clients, New Tech, New Horizons
It's already 2019, the new product line is finally launched and kicks off strongly with a deployment at Air France Lounges at Roissy Charles de Gaulle!
Other prestigious deployments followed, at Beaumanoir in Shanghai, Lelièvre Paris, and successful partnerships with EDF and Klésia... Then came 2020, a pivotal year: after two years of co-innovation around the filtration technology developed by TEQOYA, the ALDES group, France's leader in air quality for buildings, decided to invest in TEQOYA to boost its innovation, starting with a revolutionary filtered air intake for residential buildings! At the same time, we successfully ran an experiment of our filtration technology at a nursery in Aubervilliers, with the support of the innovation hub of Plaine Commune, Vinci, and Veolia. These two milestones paved the way for 2024's outcome, but let's not rush ahead ;)
Work and Rewards, Just Like in School :)
2021 and 2022 were years of behind-the-scenes work: the difficult industrialization of our filtration technology, with three products being developed in parallel. The Covid pandemic, of course, didn't make things any easier. We worked tirelessly, and I made express trips across France between our factory, laboratories, and partners...
By the end of 2022, the E500 was finally deployed and immediately put to use in a school in Saint Ouen, where the Respire association validated its effectiveness. I came to talk about air quality to the children, who discovered the pollutants captured in the washable filter.
Sustainability at the Heart of Our Concerns
Now that the products are available, it's time to highlight their major benefit: no consumables, very low energy consumption, and long lifespan, resulting in an exceptionally low carbon footprint for air quality in buildings. These arguments convinced the Solar Impulse Foundation to label TEQOYA.
We were also honored to receive the “Committed Company” trophy from Dr. Squinazi, on behalf of the ARCAA (Clinical Research Association in Allergology and Asthma) during the SEIQA morning event. To be recognized at this major event on the public health challenges of air pollution was a significant milestone in these ten wonderful years.
You Can Love Technology and Love Planting... It's Actually Recommended!
Because environmental preservation is something we care about deeply, as any sensible person would agree, we have been supporting the "Semeurs de forêt" association for several years, planting one square meter of forest for every device sold... We also plant trees on our site in Villandraut! Even our circuit boards have plant-based names, like Pollen, the key component of our S1 sensor, here beautifully showcased on a sunflower with Emilien, our CTO :)
The Seeds Planted in Asia Keep Growing, Too
Meanwhile, Asia continues to love TEQOYA... and vice versa :) The TEQOYA store opened in Qingdao, China, and several corners in shopping malls in Taiwan!
Shopping mall in Taiwan
TEQOYA store in Qingdao
Shopping mall in Taiwan
10th Year Under the Sign of... Guess What? ;)
And here we are, already in 2024. TEQOYA is deployed at the Olympic Village! The culmination of a promise I made to myself in 2017, right after the announcement of Paris's selection. Of course, it wasn't without its challenges... One morning, Pascal (another pillar, on the tech side of the force) calls me. A software bug slipped through his tests, and we need to update the filtered air intakes already delivered. Hundreds of devices sent back to the factory, and two days of effort from Emilien (CTO, gardener, living encyclopedia of life), in the chaos of buildings under construction, to update the devices already installed in the rooms. Excited to see the Olympic Village site, I help him out and share his beers :)
2024 being the year of sports (as you've probably guessed), we're equipping athletes for the Olympics and sports clubs, including the Ducs d'Anjou, hockey champions, who are here humoring the creative whims of our ever-present photographer, Laurent Sacco.
I have plenty of other satisfactions I haven't spoken enough about: our beautiful and valiant team in Villandraut, the satisfaction testimonies from our clients, articles and media features, and more… Maybe another time ;) Now it's time to move on to the next chapter!
If You're Reading This Line, Definitely Keep Reading!
So now, what about the next ten years? We have an idea, an idea that excites us, and we call it "haute couture" air purifier.
We'd love to develop this idea with you. Plus, there's a TEQOYA T200 to win! So if you want to contribute and participate in the contest, sign up here!
Information on air quality and news from TEQOYA
How does an air ionizer work?
#Essential
Natural environments are rich in negative ions. This is precisely the principle on which the air ionizer is based on. However, do you know how this technology manages to capture the pollution particles contained in the indoor air to purify your home?
Are air purifiers effective against viruses, especially the coronavirus COVID-19
#Virus and microorganismes #L'essentiel
In December 2019, a respiratory virus of the Coronavirus family appeared in the Wuhan region of China and has now spread to all continents.
What is eco-responsibility?
#Essential
Purifying indoor air while protecting your health and the planet is possible! Say goodbye to filters and make way for negative ions: choose an eco-responsible air purifier that will easily reduce energy and resource consumption.
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