Founding Partner
Charles Thomas
“Thank you for the roses; thank you for the thorns.” Jean d’Ormesson
Skills
Entrepreneurship
Fundraising
BizDev
People & Culture
Key achievements
- Raised €25M with top investors
- Led 100+ staff
- Signed 100+ large enterprises
- Grew 1st firm to €60M revenue
- Invested in 30+ startups
On the lookout for
Passionate, ambitious founders with endlessly replayable game concepts. Honest, transparent, and humble. On a mission to entertain humanity.
Backstory
I'm Charles, originally from Lille, France, now living between Lille and Paris. A former engineer turned entrepreneur, I co-founded Comet, Europe's leading tech freelancing marketplace, and served as its CEO for six years; I remain an active board member. Passionate about video games since age 12, I've devoted thousands of hours to playing favorites like Flight Simulator 2004, WoW, LoL, Kerbal Space Program, Northgard, and Enshrouded. I overcame generalized anxiety disorder through therapy, sport, and meditation, without medication. Family is my foundation, and I cherish the time spent with them.
Fun facts
What was the first game that really hooked you? What moments do you remember?
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight. I was 12.
When I first sat down—virtually—in the student pilot's seat at the game's training center, the instructor introduced himself and gave me the initial instructions for learning how to fly a Cessna 172 over Seattle. I was in my room, on a laptop, and I truly felt like my pilot career was starting right there, just before my eyes.
How have games influenced or shaped you?
It might sound strange when put this way, but it was video gaming that made me love entrepreneurship. Let me explain: video gaming instilled in me a love for creating, building, advancing, developing. This could be seen in the progression of a character (WoW), a career (Ivao - Flight Simulator), a city (SimCity), or even a life (The Sims). I loved it all right from the start. 10 years later, when I founded my first company, Comet, I found—this time in the real world—those same sensations. Thanks to video gaming, I had developed a taste for being a builder, a creator, a leader, and it proved to be a fantastic foundation for fostering a thirst for real-life entrepreneurship.
Which game character resonates with you?
Henry from Firewatch.
Not only did I love this game, but I am also a big sentimental/romantic. I find the love story with Julia beautiful and tragic. My maternal grandmother suffers severely from Alzheimer's disease, and I recently lost my grandfather. They were together for almost 70 years, and their story is still wonderful in my eyes. By embodying Henry in 1989, I feel somewhat closer to my grandfather, who experienced the same love and, unfortunately, the same pain. This one's for you, Papo.
If given a superpower in a game, which would you pick?
Fly, in space and time.