Maximilien Grolier: “I left Paris for Phnom Penh — and I never looked back”

A telecommunications engineer turned digital entrepreneur, Maximilien Grolier founded TechFlow Agency in Phnom Penh after a career in product management across Parisian startups and large corporations. Web design, web development, automation, and artificial intelligence: his agency supports French and local micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises with a hybrid Franco-Cambodian model.

Maximilien Grolier

Meeting with an entrepreneur convinced that Cambodia is a high-potential territory, still too little known among French companies.

Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

My name is Maximilien Grolier, and I am the founder of TechFlow Agency, a digital agency based in Phnom Penh. We support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, mainly French and local, across three main areas: web design (branding, UX/UI), web development, and automation and AI. Concrete projects serving real business objectives.

I joined French Tech a few months ago to meet other professionals working in the tech ecosystem and passionate about it.

Tell us about your academic background

I hold a telecommunications engineering degree obtained in Paris, but honestly, my real education in web development started long before I finished my studies. As early as high school, I was building my first websites—not out of obligation, but out of passion.

What fascinated me was both the technical dimension and the design aspect: how to solve a problem elegantly, how to ensure an interface meets a real need. I have always seen digital not as an end in itself, but as a powerful means to achieve objectives—for a company, a user, or a project. This conviction still drives every mission we carry out at TechFlow today.

Tell us about your early professional experience

I began my professional career in 2011 in Product Management. For those unfamiliar, the role of a Product Manager is somewhat like that of a conductor for a digital product: you stand at the intersection of design, development, SEO, marketing, and business challenges. You don’t necessarily code or design, but you must understand everyone, arbitrate, prioritize, and ensure every decision serves a concrete objective.

This multidisciplinary dimension immediately fascinated me—being at the crossroads of all these areas of expertise, always with a clear business focus.

I started in Parisian startups, in an environment where everything moves fast, where you learn by doing, and where you wear multiple hats. Then I joined a large company, Solocal, where I had the opportunity to manage product, design, and development teams on more structured projects: platforms, internal tools, and large-scale digital products.

That’s where I truly learned how to manage complex projects, handle competing priorities, and work with very diverse profiles. It was also in this context that I had my first concrete exposure to tech outsourcing in Asia—our company worked with a provider in Vietnam—and began to see the potential of the ASEAN region, long before moving there.

Tell us about your connection to Cambodia

My story with Cambodia began in 2014, during a first trip that left a strong impression on me. I returned in 2018 for exploration, with an idea starting to take shape. What struck me was the country’s trajectory: between 2015 and 2022, Cambodia recorded remarkable growth rates. When I started taking a closer look at the local ecosystem—university training in digital fields, the English proficiency of young talent—I realized the timing to relocate was right.

The French ecosystem was present, and the connections with France and other countries in the region seemed very promising.

In 2023, I took the leap. The promise was fulfilled. From the moment I arrived, I was able to meet many entrepreneurs and country managers based in Phnom Penh—profiles from all over the world with a shared goal: to take part in the growth of this ecosystem and contribute to Cambodia’s international visibility.

These human and professional encounters reinforced my decision.

Maximilien Grolier

How did you come to join French Tech Cambodia?

After nearly two years here, focused on our projects and my company, I felt the need to step back from day-to-day operations. Joining French Tech Cambodia was an obvious choice: it provides the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs and executives, attend events, and exchange with inspiring individuals—whether long-established here or newly arrived.

I had attended a few conferences over the past two years and enjoyed them. With the 20th Francophonie Summit scheduled to take place in Cambodia in November 2026, it is also an important moment to represent our community and highlight what the local ecosystem has to offer.

What are your ambitions within this structure, and what do you expect from it?

I genuinely believe that French Tech can play a catalytic role. It can help raise awareness of Cambodia among French companies, which are still too often held back by misconceptions. There is real potential to encourage the outsourcing of Cambodian tech teams to French companies. The talent here has much to offer: rigor, passion for digital, curiosity, and a strong command of English.

And contrary to what one might think, the 5 to 6-hour time difference is actually an advantage: both teams can deliver continuously, with one taking over when the other stops.

Cambodia works while France sleeps, and vice versa. It is a significant productivity lever that remains largely underappreciated.

Describe your professional activities

TechFlow Agency is a full-service agency designed for companies that want to move fast, efficiently, and without getting lost in technical complexity. We operate across three main service areas.

The first is Design (Branding, UX & UI). We create interfaces that make sense: visually refined, but above all designed for the user and for conversion. We work on showcase websites, landing pages, and platforms, with a strong focus on brand consistency and user experience.

The second is Web Development—not just simple websites. A large part of our work involves complex web platforms whose business model is entirely based on the digital product itself.

For example, we have developed online training platforms, comparison and booking tools for retirement homes, as well as marketplaces and custom business applications. These are projects where the platform is not just a communication tool, but the core of the business. Technically, we often work with Webflow or Next.js depending on needs, using headless architectures for projects requiring flexibility and scalability.

We also develop APIs to connect different information systems and structure CRM systems to help our clients better manage their customer relationships.

The third area—and currently the fastest growing—is Automation and AI. We support companies looking to integrate artificial intelligence into their processes, not in a superficial way, but with real operational impact. This can take several forms: automated workflows connecting tools, AI agents capable of executing tasks autonomously, or data-driven email campaigns.

The goal is always the same: save time, reduce repetitive tasks, and allow teams to focus on what truly adds value.

What sets us apart is our hybrid model: our project managers are French-speaking, which greatly facilitates communication with our French clients, while our designers and developers are Cambodian and international—rigorous, passionate professionals with excellent English skills and a strong interest in emerging technologies. This combination allows us to deliver European-level quality with the agility and cost efficiency of a team based in Southeast Asia.

Describe one of your projects

A project that illustrates our approach well is our work with Kretz Club, the real estate investment club of the well-known Kretz family in France. A demanding client we have been working with for over a year, with real business challenges and a technical stack that needed deep restructuring.

We intervened at multiple levels. First, the migration and complete restructuring of their CRM. A poorly structured CRM leads to unusable data and teams operating blindly. Once this solid foundation was established, we deployed high-performance email campaigns with lead scoring, cohort analysis, and personalized communication based on each prospect’s profile and behavior.

We then integrated AI at several levels of their stack: automatic transcription of sales calls combined with analysis of insights drawn from call volumes—a powerful tool to better understand recurring objections, buying signals, and refine customer knowledge. We also developed an AI agent for reporting generated leads, broken down by acquisition channel, allowing real estate agents to know in real time which prospects to prioritize—making them far more responsive and effective.

The result: a better-equipped sales team, more relevant communication, and the ability to make decisions based on real data rather than intuition. What I like about these projects is that they have an immediate and measurable impact on teams’ daily work. We do not sell dreams—we deliver concrete results.

What do you do outside of work?

Travel above all—I try to explore all regions of Cambodia and neighboring countries whenever I can.

And photography, which I have been practicing for fifteen years. The region is perfect for it: there is a unique light and a diversity of faces and landscapes. It is a way for me to stay connected to what matters, step away from screens, and maintain a curious perspective on the world around me.

What do you like most and least about Cambodia?

What touches me most is the quality of human relationships. There is a warmth and kindness in everyday interactions—with colleagues, shopkeepers, and people you meet—that is rare and valuable. We have a real, tangible impact on a human scale, and that gives special meaning to what we build here.

What weighs on me the most? Honestly, almost nothing—but if I had to choose, I would say the persistent stereotypes about Cambodia. Many still imagine it as a poorly digitalized or underdeveloped country. The reality is quite different: it is a country in full momentum, with an ambitious youth, a rapidly growing tech scene—especially in major cities—and a palpable entrepreneurial energy. Cambodia deserves to be better known, and that is also why I am here.