For more than a decade, A/B testing has been one of the pillars of digital optimization. One of the most rational tools in digital marketing, designed to improve conversion rates in relatively linear environments. This framework has been shattered with the fragmentation of pathways and the multiplication of data. Uses have become hybridized, and artificial intelligence has established itself as a structuring layer.
It is in this context that AB Tasty opens a new chapter in its history. During an episode of Decode Marketing, we welcome Alix de Sagazan, its CEO and co-founder, to discuss at length the merger with VWO, supported by the Everstone fund. An operation which marks a change in dimension for the French company, without denying its DNA.
From a tool to a platform
When AB Tasty was born, “We were just an A/B testing tool,” recalls Alix de Sagazan. The product evolves quickly and experimentation becomes an entry point towards broader bricks, gradually integrating personalization, product recommendation, merchandising and search.
This product evolution is accompanied by assumed geographic development. After France, Europe. Then the United States, with a personal installation by the manager to launch AB Tasty US. Asia-Pacific follows. Today, the company has around three hundred employees, generates nearly sixty million euros in turnover and operates in several key areas.
A trajectory that places AB Tasty in an intermediate zone. Sufficiently structured to envisage a global ambition, but faced with the limits of organic development in a market that has become very capital-intensive and highly competitive.
An engaged reflection without constraint
The genesis of the merger is not part of a financial emergency. Alix de Sagazan insists on a point rarely put forward in this type of operation. “For us, it is important to point out that we have been profitable for almost three years. » This profitability changes the nature of strategic thinking. “The day we were profitable, things changed a little. We felt a little more in control of our destiny. »
With her partner and co-CEO Rémi Aubert, the manager began an open reflection about two years ago. Continuing alone remains an option. Discussions are then initiated with funds, but also with other companies. “If we find something we like, we go for it. But otherwise, there is not necessarily an obligation. »
It is in this context that VWO enters the field. Originally, the two companies knew each other as competitors. “Not exactly in the same industries,” she explains, AB Tasty being historically very oriented towards e-commerce, fashion and luxury, while VWO addresses more media and B2B tech segments.
The meeting and the evidence
The change occurred during a meeting in New York, in March of the previous year. A whole day dedicated to vision. “We spent a day together building the vision. And it’s true that we came away from that day saying “That’s great, we have to do something”. »
The discussions are on hold, other options exist. Then, during the summer, the decision becomes clear. “We said to ourselves that we wanted to write this story together. » The due diligence process then fully begins.
Beyond numbers and products, people play a central role. “We, with Rémi, are people first. » A common DNA of founders, a close corporate culture, and a shared ambition. “This desire together to create a larger company to better serve our customers motivated us greatly. »
Action and measurement, an assumed complementarity
On the product level, the industrial logic appears clear. The two companies share a common base, experimentation, but diverge on the rest. “They were a little more focused on the analytics part. We were more on the action part. »
AB Tasty has strengthened its advanced and predictive personalization capabilities in recent years. VWO has developed more advanced analytical bricks. “Apart from our core product which is experimentation, the rest is extremely complementary. »
This rapprochement thus makes it possible to cover the entire chain, from measurement to activation, in a context where performance can no longer be managed in silos.
Shared governance
The future organization reflects this desire for common construction. The four co-founders, those of AB Tasty and VWO, sit together on the executive committee and the board. Roles are distributed according to areas of competence. Alix de Sagazan focuses on revenue and customer relations. Rémi takes charge of the strategy, particularly on future external growth operations. Ankit retains technological leadership, while Sparsh Gupta, co-founder of VWO, becomes CEO of the new group.
Here again, continuity prevails over rupture. AB Tasty had already carried out several external growth operations. “We bought almost six boxes in a few years. » This dynamic is set to continue.
The role of historical shareholders
The operation marks an exit for the historic investors, all French, XAnge, Omnes Capital, Partech, Korelya and Crédit Mutuel Innovation. An exit accompanied by partial retention of the capital of the new entity. “As they believe enormously in the project, they all wanted to keep a small part in the new entity. »
The manager underlines their role over time. “They have always been there, in good times and bad. » Support that facilitated alignment around the project.
On valuation issues, few elements are communicated. “Valuations are always negotiations. » The main thing, according to her, lies in the overall balance of the operation. “Everyone was comfortable, happy. »
AI as an accelerator, not as a posture
AB Tasty was not born as a native AI company. “I find both an advantage and it can be seen as a disadvantage, but I also see it as an advantage. »
AI is integrated on two levels. First in internal processes, sales, support, organization. Then into the product. The objective is not to replace humans, but to accelerate. “Our clients who use all our AI products, they create twice as many or even three times as many campaigns as those who do not use them. »
Copilots help generate test ideas, prioritize actions, or even create campaigns directly. “Before you had to go into the editor. Now he can create the campaign himself. » The gain is simple, time, speed, and increased capacity to test.
A new geographic map
The merger also redraws the geography of the group. The United States becomes the largest market, ahead of Europe. Asia, until now marginal for AB Tasty, is taking on a new dimension thanks to VWO’s historic presence, particularly in India, Japan, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
“We are becoming a much more global player. » An expanded strike force, at a time when critical size determines access to major international accounts.
When to change size
The conclusion of the exchange deliberately moves away from ready-made recipes. To the question of the signals that should alert a manager, Alix de Sagazan answers without generalizing. “I don’t know if there are any signals. I think it also depends on what the manager wants to do. »
Profitability, personal alignment, clarity on the desired future for the company and its teams appear to be more reliable benchmarks than market injunctions. “The number one signal is what do we want to do with our business. »
In the case of AB Tasty, the opportunity became apparent over time. “Once we had the opportunity, it became very obvious to us. »
One word recurs throughout the interview: the obvious. The one which cannot be decreed, but which is built, at the crossroads of a trajectory, a market and an assumed ambition.
