In this episode of Twice ✌️, Thibaud Elzière welcomes Rachel Delacour, co‑founder of BIME Analytics and Sweep.
Rachel reflects on the key milestones of her first venture: from building a BI tool in Montpellier to its $45M acquisition by Zendesk. It was a meteoric rise, achieved without massive fundraising, powered instead by a strong product and an organic distribution strategy.
After the exit, Rachel spent four years at Zendesk, gaining a behind‑the‑scenes look at life inside a post‑IPO giant. Eventually, the pull of a new mission took over. That mission became Sweep, a SaaS platform that helps enterprises track and manage non‑financial data — carbon, ESG, and more — to drive their climate transition. In just a few years, Sweep became one of Europe’s most visible climate tech scale‑ups, raising over €100M.
In this conversation, Rachel offers a clear and inspiring perspective on entrepreneurship: the invisible fatigue founders face, the complexities of M&A, the mistakes she won’t repeat, and the convictions guiding her second venture — from governance and mission to investor selection and the luxury of choosing your battles.
We talk about:
The rise and sale of BIME to Zendesk
The reality of post‑acquisition integration
Building a climate tech leader from scratch
Why visibility matters in B2B
What she’s learned about common sense, loyalty, and longevity
Timeline
00:00 – Introduction & how BIME began in Montpellier
13:10 – Product strategy, early traction, and growth without a marketing budget
34:20 – Zendesk acquisition and the inside story of the deal
45:45 – Four years at Zendesk: lessons and the limits of integration
51:30 – Post‑exit: a new lens on the world, climate, and conscious leadership
57:10 – The birth of Sweep
01:03:00 – What she will (and won’t) do again the second time
01:10:00 – Fundraising: why, with whom, and what she expects from investors
01:17:00 – Enterprise clients and the complexity of ESG data
01:23:00 – How the second venture changes her approach to time and mission
01:29:30 – What’s next?
