How Fanny Péchiodat’s Curiosity Built a Multi-Million Euro Dream
Fanny Péchiodat didn’t start with a corner office. She didn’t have a fat bank account or a famous last name. She had a cramped Paris apartment, a laptop, and a nagging itch to share what she loved about her city. It was 2008. Paris hummed outside her window—croissants, cobblestones, secrets. Fanny, then 30, wasn’t a tech whiz or a business mogul. She was a dreamer with a day job in publishing, a woman who saw magic in the everyday. This is her story—unpolished, real, and a quiet roar for women in business in 2025.
A Whisper That Grew Loud
Fanny loved Paris. Not the tourist traps—the hidden gems. A café with mismatched chairs. A florist doubling as a speakeasy. She started typing. An email to 50 friends. “Here’s what I found this week,” she wrote. Short. Sweet. No plan. Just a list of spots she’d stumbled into. Her friends loved it. They forwarded it. Then their friends did too. Six months later, 10,000 people were reading her notes. Fanny blinked at her inbox. This wasn’t a hobby anymore—it was alive.
She didn’t quit her job. Not yet. She roped in her sister, Amandine. They called it My Little Paris. A newsletter born in a living room. No funding, no fancy tools—just two women, a keyboard, and a hunch. Fanny’s words were simple. Her finds were quirky. Parisians ate it up. By 2010, her list hit 100,000. She wasn’t selling anything—just sharing. But the spark was lit.
Chaos and Coffee
Fanny wasn’t ready for this. Emails crashed her inbox. She juggled her 9-to-5, bleary-eyed. Nights bled into mornings. Coffee fueled her. She hired friends—Anne-Flore, Céline, Kanako. A tiny team, all women, crammed in her flat. They wrote. They scouted. They laughed. Mistakes piled up too. A typo here, a wrong address there. Fanny didn’t flinch. She fixed it and kept going. Paris noticed. Brands knocked. “Advertise with us,” they said. She paused. Money sounded nice. But she wanted control. So she said yes—on her terms.
The cash trickled in. My Little Paris grew claws. Fanny quit her job in 2011. Scary? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely. She moved the team to a real office—a rickety space with charm. They hired more. Artists. Writers. Dreamers like her. The newsletter hit 1 million subscribers. Then 2 million. It wasn’t just a list now—it was a voice. A love letter to Paris, signed by Fanny.
Fanny Péchiodat Stumbles in the Spotlight
Growth hurt. Servers crashed. Deadlines loomed. Fanny’s team scrambled. She doubted herself. Was she enough? Paris watched—judging. Big companies circled—L’Oréal, Guerlain. They paid for ads. My Little Paris wasn’t small anymore. It was 2013. Fanny launched My Little Box—a subscription with trinkets, beauty bits, and Parisian flair. Risky. Boxes stacked in her office. Would they sell? They did. Fast. Japan wanted in. Then Germany. Her idea crossed borders. She wasn’t ready. But she said yes anyway.
Critics sniped. “It’s shallow,” they said. “Just fluff.” Fanny shrugged. She wasn’t here to please everyone. She was here for the women who got it—the ones who smiled at her finds. Revenue climbed—€10 million by 2015. She sold a chunk to Aufeminin Group for €40 million. Kept a piece. Stayed the boss. Her team hit 130. A restored carousel factory became their HQ—overlooking Sacré-Cœur. Pinterest-perfect? Sure. But it was hers.
The Woman Who Stayed True
Fanny’s not loud. She’s not a suit. She’s got ombre hair, a soft smile, a steel spine. Paris shaped her—its chaos, its charm. She failed plenty. Lost sleep. Lost battles. Her dad died young. That cut deep. Pushed her harder. She gave back—mentored women, built a villa for creatives to crash and collab. In 2025, she’s on Shark Tank France, betting on others’ dreams. My Little Paris? Still hers, still growing—€50 million in value now, 4 million fans strong.
She’s real. Spills coffee. Laughs loud. Doubts herself still. But she’s proof—women in business don’t need a script. Fanny didn’t. She saw Paris her way. Shared it. Built it. Fell. Rose. Her journey’s messy, human, alive.
Lessons From Fanny Péchiodat Hustle
Her path whispers to you—women in business in 2025, listen up:
- See what others miss. Fanny found the odd, the overlooked. You can too.
- Start small. An email. A hunch. That’s enough.
- Say yes, then figure it out. She did. It worked.
- Own your weird. Her quirks sold—yours might too.
- Keep moving. Failure’s just a bump. Step over it.
A City, A Woman, A Fire: Fanny Péchiodat
Fanny Péchiodat didn’t chase a throne. She chased a feeling. Paris was her muse—flawed, loud, hers. My Little Paris isn’t just a success story—it’s a heartbeat. From a living room to a global stage, she turned curiosity into cash. In 2025, she’s still here—real, relentless, a woman who made Paris hers, then gave it back. Your turn. What’s your city? What’s your spark? Light it up. Tell me below.
Image source: ©DR/Cosmetiquemag
