Co-founder of Payfit

Ghislain de Fontenay story

From a language-learning site at school in Laval to a payroll company valued at €1.82 billion.

Ghislain de Fontenay is a co-founder of Payfit. He started building with Firmin Zocchetto well before the company existed. As classmates at a high school in Laval, a small town in north-west France, the two made a social network for learning languages.

Payfit was incorporated in Paris on 14 September 2015. Florian Fournier joined them as the third co-founder. The company sells payroll and HR software to French small and mid-sized businesses.

Early backing came fast. In 2016 Payfit raised a €500,000 seed round from Kima Ventures, TheFamily and Thibaud Elziere, then €5 million from Otium Venture and Xavier Niel. Accel led a €14 million round in 2017.

In January 2022 Payfit raised €254 million at a valuation of €1.82 billion, which made it a unicorn. By 2026 it served about 22,000 clients.

Read the full Payfit founder story

How did Ghislain de Fontenay meet Firmin Zocchetto?

They were classmates at a high school in Laval, in north-west France. There they built a social network for learning languages, years before Payfit.

What is Ghislain de Fontenay's role at Payfit?

Ghislain de Fontenay is a co-founder of Payfit, the Paris payroll and HR software company. It was incorporated on 14 September 2015, with Firmin Zocchetto and Florian Fournier as the other co-founders.