Beyond the Trophy: What Women Founders Actually Compete For

This week, ENDOless won the Prix de l’Entrepreneuriat au Féminin at the Made in 92 demi-finale, organized by Grand Paris Seine Ouest.

Let me say this first:
I’m grateful. I’m proud. And I showed up fully for that moment.

Now let me say the part people don’t always like.

I didn’t win the competition.
I won the category.

And that difference matters more than we’re willing to admit.

The Trophy and the Ceiling

When my name was called, I was the only woman awarded that night.
In the women’s category.

It’s a celebration.
It’s also a boundary.

Because ENDOless is not a “women’s project.”
It’s AI.
It’s health data infrastructure.
It’s regulatory-grade evidence pipelines, research systems, and clinical-facing technology.

We don’t compete for symbolism.
We compete for market dominance, scientific legitimacy, and institutional adoption.

So here’s the uncomfortable question I carried home with me:

Do I want to be exceptional inside a box — or competitive in the real arena?

The Line That Never Left Me

As a child, I watched a cartoon about musketeer dogs.
One sentence burned itself into my memory:

“Do you want to be the best of the worst… or the worst of the best?”

I’ve always wanted to stand with the best — even if it means losing, learning, and fighting my way back up.

Because that’s where real companies are built.
Not in categories.
In markets.

Let’s Talk About the System, Not the Feelings

In France today:

• ~30% of founders are women
• Less than 10% of venture capital funding goes to female-founded startups
• In AI and deep tech, that number often falls below 5%
• Women-led startups are more likely to win awards and grants
• They are significantly less likely to close growth rounds

What does that mean in practice?

Women are often celebrated.
Men are often financed.

Credit Where It’s Due

Let me be clear about something else.

That room was not full of “projects.”
It was full of builders.

Women who are turning craft into brands, care into companies, and conviction into real economic value.

I want to name a few of them — because none of us should be climbing alone:

• Ma Face Gym — transforming facial fitness into a structured, accessible wellness practice
• Lait Sauvage — uniting ethical sourcing, gastronomy, and entrepreneurship
• Pousses et Plantes — bringing sustainable cultivation and local ecosystems to everyday life
• Ycao — blending creativity, craftsmanship, and commercial ambition

These founders aren’t competing for a category.
They’re competing in the economy.

And they deserve to be seen that way.

Why This Award Still Matters

This demi-finale win isn’t a finish line.

It’s a signal flare.

It says:
“You’re visible now. The real test starts here.”

Because the next rooms I want ENDOless in are not asking:

“How does it feel to be a woman founder?”

They’re asking:

“How defensible is your data?”
“How fast can you scale across health systems?”
“What makes your AI clinically and regulatorily unavoidable?”
“Why will institutions choose you over global platforms?”

That’s the game I’m training for.

Gratitude — and a Promise

To Grand Paris Seine Ouest and Made in 92: thank you for putting ENDOless on that stage. I don’t take that lightly.

But I didn’t start this company to win a category.

I started it to help build health infrastructure that Europe can’t afford to ignore.

So yes — I’ll take the trophy.

And then I’ll take my seat in the harder room.

The one where there are no labels.
No special lanes.
No symbolic wins.

Only competition, capital, and impact.

That’s where ENDOless is going.

For the curious — this is the cartoon that planted that line in my head all those years ago:
Pup in boots (1981) — the musketeer dogs who taught me, very early, that the real fight is always in the main arena.