About Us

Our mission:

To accelerate the global diffusion of innovations.

The WIC Group is an independent international organization dedicated to accelerating meaningful innovations through conferences, consulting, and capital. With a focus on international expansion, we enable start-ups, growth companies, and Fortune 2000 to scout, launch, and distribute new technologies, products, and services worldwide and create positive economic, social, and ecological change at scale.

Founded by Jean-Bernard Guerrée, the WIC Group has run two successful businesses since 2002; international conferences (with the World Investment Conferences as flagship) and Avisé Partners. The World Investment Conferences convened high-level participants from business, government, and academia for a rich dialogue and networking on global innovations. Avisé Partners offered business development and operational support for growth companies expanding outside of their domestic markets and large companies willing to boost their of innovations culture and ecosystem.

The WIC Group is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Paris.

Led by WIC Group founder Jean-Bernard Guerrée, Avisé Partners has advised scores of companies in their international business transactions for the past 25 years, including Amazon, Aricent, Business Wire, eBay, E*Trade, Evernote, First Data, FusionStorm, Netscreen, Nuance, Tell Me, and Webex. Through the years, we have supported more than 100 companies in their global expansion with a focus on business development and corporate finance advisory services.

We utilize a three-step systematic approach to working with clients wanting to expand their international business: Engage, Accelerate, and Grow.

In the Engage phase, we host our clients in the countries of interest and introduces them to potential customers, partners, and investors via strategic industry networking events and one-on-one meetings.

In the Accelerate phase, we work with our clients to gain in-depth knowledge of the market in the target country and develop a go-to-market plan including positioning and sales strategy. We then help them execute on their go-to-market plan including customer acquisition, strategic partner development, sales channels development, marketing support, and other activities to realize the revenue potential of the target country.

In the Grow phase, we help our clients position themselves for both funding and liquidity events, and act as an advisor in the financial transactions.

The WIC Group also serves has an advisor to several government agencies and Fortune 2000 companies to assist them with their innovation strategy and sourcing of high- potential companies to feed their ecosystem.

The WIC Group invests in technology companies in various sectors that are committed to driving positive social change at global scale. Our financial support complements early-stage investors by focusing on business development and international expansion.

International growth is often one of the top CEO priorities of the innovative growth companies we work with. We add value to our portfolio companies by focusing exclusively on helping them scale outside of their domestic market and find new partners and clients.

The WIC Group is the only firm that operates global conferences, offers business development services, and provides capital to help its portfolio companies grow into global market leaders.

The services we provide include:
– Identifying countries for international expansion and developing market entry strategies
– Finding the right partners for market access and local credibility
– Defining the appropriate sales model, channels, and go-to-market strategy for each country
– Facilitating introductions to key executives at large potential customers
 

If you believe your company fits these criteria and you are interested in learning more about our services, please contact us at: capital@wic-group.com