A Man Sold Ad Spots on His Wedding Suit to 26 Different Startups
Weddings are spectacular events, and some of them have flower walls, drone shots, or a not-so-funny uncle who insists on giving a stand-up routine. This one had something never quite seen before. A groom walked into his ceremony wearing a suit that attracted a lot of attention, and not because of bold tailoring choices. The reveal came one detail at a time, and the result looked nothing like the polished Pinterest boards most couples follow.
How A Joke Became A Strategy
The idea took shape in July when Dagobert Renouf, a French salesman with a startup background, found himself out of options financially. He still wanted the wedding he had imagined, but the numbers didn’t add up. As a long shot, he posted a lighthearted offer online telling companies they could place ads on his tuxedo. Someone jokingly replied with a €500 offer, and that small nudge made him wonder if the idea could actually work. More founders joined in, the requests kept coming, and what started as a throwaway joke quickly turned into a workable plan.
He launched a simple website that sold placements, each slot priced according to visibility. Spots on the outside of the jacket cost between $300 and $2K. A $100 tier had printed logos on the inside lining. The deal included wedding photos and videos shared to his more than 116K followers. No refunds. Thus, he partnered with a tailor and sent the suit off for stitching once the grid of sponsors filled up.
The Suit That Carried A Startup Crowd
By October, 26 startups had bought in. The list included industries like AI, automation, software tools, and productivity platforms. His own employer, Comp AI, also joined. The tailor transformed a dark green jacket into a patchwork of logos, each patch competing for space like a tech version of NASCAR branding.
When the wedding finally came around on October 25 in Lille, he walked in wearing a tux covered in startup logos, and the room went still for a moment. Sixteen guests were there, and even his mother-in-law, who had been unsure at first, ended up smiling once she saw how neatly everything came together. Online, people had plenty to say. Some loved the creativity, others made jokes about him being locked into lifetime sponsorships, and a few insisted he should auction the suit now that it had its own story.
The Math Behind The Buzz
Image via X/Dagobert – Corporate sellout
Dagobert’s posts quickly went viral. He shared the numbers openly: approximately $ 10,000 earned, $ 2,500 paid in taxes, and a suit cost that ultimately increased to $ 5,200. Instead of pocketing a huge profit, he ended up with a free tuxedo and roughly $ 2,000 left. He also hired a videographer to create sponsor-friendly content, which ate into the remaining budget. The stunt appeared profitable at first glance, yet the real gains were found elsewhere.
That extra payoff started when one startup founder noticed how quickly he sold those sponsorships. The hustle made an impression. Dagobert received a job offer at Comp AI, a growing company based in New York. He accepted, calling it a dream position that came directly from the attention the suit generated.
A Community Project With A Wonderful Ending
The wedding itself was small, but the story went viral. Dagobert and his partner Anna Plynina met in 2024 and supported the project together. She requested only two conditions: that he stick with independent companies and that her white leather Prada heels be part of the agreement. Once she saw the enthusiasm around the idea, she leaned into it, treating the whole thing as a group celebration for the online community he had built.
They now plan to auction the jacket by the end of the year and donate the proceeds to an epilepsy charity in honor of Anna’s father. It adds a sentimental thread to a stunt that began with financial stress and ended with a wedding, a new job, and a tuxedo that doubled as bill payment and social experiment.