You can find the french article here : https://www.fondation-mines-telecom.org/au-travers-de-shareid/
Through ShareID, we seek to defend freedom but also the right to create and manage one's online identity.
Sawsen Rezig is the CTO and co-founder of ShareID. With Sara Sebti, they received honorary loans from the IMT Numérique Fund at the end of 2021 while they were incubated at IMT Starter, the Télécom SudParis incubator and IMT-BS. At the beginning of 2023, they announced a €2 million fundraiser.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I'm Sawsen Rezig, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and co-founder of the startup ShareID. I have a doctorate in Computer Vision from Centrale Lyon, with in-depth expertise in biometrics and personal data security. My career as a researcher in various specialized laboratories and my three years at Cisco Innovation Labs have shaped my understanding of the critical issues of protecting sensitive information. These experiences guide my mission at ShareID, where we strive to redefine the future of digital authentication by combining innovation and security.
Can you tell us more about ShareID and how the startup came about?
In 2020, I joined the Entrepreneur First program of Station F, in Paris. This structure allows expert profiles in specific fields to meet. That's where I met Sara Sebti, my partner who is a financial and statistical engineer who graduated from Paris Dauphine. We launched ShareID to provide an authentication solution linked to the user's official identity. The authenticity of the identity document presented is first verified (ShareID covers more than 120 countries with a level of accuracy of up to 99.9%), then the belonging of the document to its bearer is verified and finally the living nature of the user. A reusable identity is then issued without any storage of personal or biometric data to allow the user to prove their identity with a simple smile during subsequent interactions.
Who inspired you to become an entrepreneur? Did you have role models?
For someone who comes from the academic and research world, entrepreneurship is an unknown field and so I did not consider it until the creation of ShareID. Indeed, it is my experience in an organization like Cisco Systems which made me want to create my business because I worked with former entrepreneurs there, such as my former manager who, in addition to his technical background, is a serial entrepreneur. I learned a lot from him and others around me at the time.
You received an honorary loan from the IMT Numérique fund in 2021. What impact did this loan have on your entrepreneurial project?
At the time, we were in the seed phase and we were regularly looking for financing channels adapted to our stage of development. The honorary loan allowed us to accelerate our pace and expand our team.
EDITOR'S NOTE: If you want to know more about the Foundation's 2 honor loan funds, click hither
What challenges did you face as an entrepreneur?
One of the main challenges you face when you start an entrepreneur is to build a solid team and to attract specialized profiles and get them on board with the project, especially at the beginning of the adventure. We often talk about the challenge of pitching in front of investment funds but less about the exercise of pitching to competent and often more expert profiles in certain fields.
Where are you today?
Today we have 19 employees divided between 3 departments: R&D, Product, and Business. We work with major banking groups and start-ups and we have partnerships with two major groups. We are also working to improve our product and our user experience to be even more compliant and secure.
What are your future ambitions for ShareID?
We aspire to become the equivalent of a function.” Connect with Google ” decentralized, but with the use of a sovereign identity document. We rely on our investors to support our global expansion. Our long-term vision at ShareID is to redefine the online authentication experience, offering a solution that combines ease of use and security through the seamless integration of government identity. We are committed to shaping the future of digital verification, setting new standards for a reliable and secure online connection.
What could you say to someone who is hesitant to start an entrepreneur?
You have to start without delay, but choosing the right partners is essential.
Today, start-ups can have a real positive impact on society and ecology. What are the values that you defend through your company?
Through ShareID, we seek to defend freedom but also the right to create and manage one's online identity. The aim is to restore digital trust during exchanges between individuals or in front of institutions, this involves the possibility of sharing personal information securely, and revoking it when you wish.
