Women entrepreneurs – meet Séverine Chardonnens of IDUN Technologies
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With a background in engineering, Séverine has been studying surface architecture of soft conductive polymers for the past couple of years at the ETH Zurich. That’s where she met her future co-founder Simon Bachmann. Together, inspired by their work in bioengineering, they developed soft, stretchable and highly conductive biosensors mimicking the structure of grasshoppers’ feet - a revolutionary approach on biosensors, providing a glue-free adhesion solution for wearable devices.
Since then, their innovation has been featured on the SRF Tagesschau and the startup has won many prizes including Venture Kick and the IMD Startup Challenge. Heading the technological development and industrialization of the electrodes, Séverine describes herself as a “CTO with people skills”. Her own entrepreneurial journey let her to be featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Switzerland.How did you first get started with IDUN Technologies and what led you to work on biosensors?
Simon and I met during our studies at ETH Zurich between the bachelor and the master. We both had the will to build our own company. We took the "Business Idea" course from startup campus and that's how we started with the vision of revolutionizing biomonitoring. We then spent most of our master's credits on developing the sensors.
What do you love about your job? Why do you do what you do?
We are developing sensors that are needed and demanded in the market, which is quite nice because the purpose of your job is made clear by the customers. As an engineer, I love being in contact with highly innovative companies creating the hardware and the software of tomorrow's biomonitoring - we have very interesting customers. As an entrepreneur, I love growing our team and having highly motivated people working together to bring our sensors to market. As a person, I enjoy 98% of what I do because I am surrounded by great people, great minds with constructive energy and it makes the path towards "success" (however you want to define this) very fulfilling.
What’s been your experience as a woman in your field? Have you faced any specific challenges? What was your first break? What are your hopes for the future?
Quite neutral, but I wouldn't know for sure because I haven't experienced something else than being a woman in technical fields. I think that engineers connect at a level that is beyond the body, so I hope that it doesn't make a difference. At least, it doesn't for me. Also, I'm backed up and acknowledged by great men in my team. It might be different if we were only women. F.e., it is a known fact that women leading startups raise less money...Maybe we would have raised more if I were a man, but I wouldn’t know for sure. I hope to see more women investors and more women daring to launch their own company in the future.
Why is the lack of women in tech or in science in general a problem? How do you explain it? What does society miss out on when the industry is so unbalanced?
It's important to be creative in science, to find new solutions; diversity in a team helps the matter. I also experienced a general calmness and respect when the teams are mixed. However, I think the reason why there are fewer women in tech can be found earlier in education. In maths, physics, geometry...you need to train your brain for it, even if you have a special talent and you might hear this "oh it's difficult, i don't get it but that's normal I’m a girl" sentence that keeps many of us away from even trying to understand and master the problem... I really think that it all starts early in education.
Who were your mentors along the way?
I had great men believing in me...but my big brother was the one building up my self-confidence in science, sport and in entrepreneurship. He was always helping me to do my maths exercises, taking me skiing with the big boys out on the slopes and always being very proud of me. My co-founder Simon has always respected and trusted me a lot...this was and still is very important for me as a tech company builder.
What advice do you have for women who want to launch their company in high-tech?
Find your "partners in crime" and do what is best for the company. I believe this means to do what you can do best and let other people be the best at what they are better at.
Your company has achieved a lot of milestones this year with participating in Venture Leaders Life Sciences in Boston and winning CHF 130,000 at the Venture Kick final. How did these experience help develop IDUN Technologies? What did they bring to your company and to you as entrepreneur? How did you decide among your team who would participate in which program?
The CHF 130,000 of Venture Kick were a great media boost and a confirmation for us that we had moved forward between the stages. Venture Leaders in Boston was a great opportunity for IDUN as a lot is going on regarding biomonitoring in America. Several contacts were made there and converted into projects. As Simon is the CEO of the company and Boston was also packed with VC, it was quite clear he was the better fit. He is really good at presenting and building first customer contacts.
Yourself were featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Switzerland, what does this recognition mean to you?
I am very honoured to be featured in the Forbes list. I really love what we do at IDUN but this is crazy when people at Forbes think that what we do is so great we belong on the list. It's a real acknowledgment when what you do matters to others and not just to yourself.
