Pauline Roux

Who they are

Pauline Roux is a Partner at Elaia Partners — Co-President of France Invest's Venture & Growth Commission and a board member who teaches VC classes there.

Person

Pauline studied Management at EM Lyon Business School, with an exchange at Corvinus University of Budapest, then went straight into financial markets — equity research covering the tech sector at Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux and Bryan, Garnier & Co, followed by corporate finance and investment banking at Genesta Finance. That sequence — public markets analyst first, then deal-side banker — gave her an unusually rigorous numbers foundation before she crossed into venture. She joined Elaia Partners in 2019, making the move from banking into early-stage VC. Her investment focus runs across AI, SaaS, Ad/MarTech, HR Tech, and AgTech. Beyond the fund, she sits on the board of France Invest and co-presidents its Venture & Growth Commission, where she also teaches classes — a signal she's as invested in building the French VC ecosystem as in deploying capital. She serves on the Venture Council at Invest Europe and mentors tech acceleration programs in Paris. She spoke at both the ALFI Private Assets Conference and the ALFI European Risk Management Conference in 2025, and is active on LinkedIn sharing views on AI, SaaS, and deep tech investing. Possibly — her long tenure at Elaia and her institutional roles suggest she's become one of the more embedded figures in the Paris venture scene.

Network

No direct relationship edges are available in the current data. Her institutional roles — co-presiding France Invest's Venture & Growth Commission and sitting on Invest Europe's Venture Council — put her in regular contact with the French and pan-European VC community. She also appeared at South Summit 2020 alongside Juanjo Rodríguez.

Juanjo Rodríguez· South Summit (co-participant, 2020)

How they likely show up

Equity research and investment banking background before VC → likely stress-tests numbers rigorously; expects financial discipline in founders she backs.
Co-President of France Invest's Venture & Growth Commission and teaches classes there → comfortable in a convening, institution-building role, not just a dealmaker.
Active LinkedIn presence across AI, SaaS, and deep tech themes → public-facing by choice; probably responds well to engagement on specific investment theses.
Possibly — long tenure at Elaia (joined 2019) → thinks in fund cycles and portfolio arcs, not short-term sprints.
Speaks at pan-European LP conferences (ALFI 2025, both Private Assets and Risk Management) → operates at the LP-facing layer, not just the founder-facing layer; understands fund structuring and LP dynamics.

Conversation tips

→ Come in with a specific view on a sector she covers — AI, SaaS, AgTech — not a generic pitch; her public writing signals she engages at the thesis level.
→ Reference her France Invest role specifically: it's a co-presidency she actively teaches through, not a token board seat.
→ If you've seen her speak (ALFI 2025 or South Summit), mention the specific session — she'll know you tracked her down deliberately.
→ Don't skip the numbers: her equity research and banking background means she'll notice hand-wavy financials immediately.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on her ALFI 2025 appearances — she spoke at both the Private Assets and European Risk Management conferences, which signals she's actively engaging LP audiences on European VC risk; ask what she's hearing from LPs right now.
Reference her France Invest co-presidency and teaching role — she's literally writing the curriculum for French venture; a natural opener is asking what she thinks is most misunderstood about Venture & Growth among practitioners.
Bring up her equity research roots at Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux and Bryan, Garnier & Co — she crossed from public-markets tech coverage into early-stage VC, which is an unusual path worth unpacking.

Discovery questions

You came into VC from equity research and investment banking — how does that public-markets lens actually change how you underwrite an early-stage deal?
As Co-President of France Invest's Venture & Growth Commission, what's the one structural thing about the French VC ecosystem you're most actively trying to change?
Your portfolio spans AI, SaaS, AgTech, and HR Tech — are those driven by a single conviction about where defensible margins are being built in Europe, or are they genuinely separate theses?

Avoid

Don't treat her as a generalist ecosystem cheerleader — she has a specific financial analyst background and defined sector focus, so vague 'exciting times for European tech' framings will fall flat.

Make it yours