With Damae Medical, Anaïs is revolutionizing the detection of skin cancer. - 20 minutes

  • Anaïs was 22 years old and was still in engineering school when she founded Damae Medical, a start-up that is developing an imaging solution that allows cancer to be detected non-invasively, and at a very early stage. skin.
  • She knew that she did not want to be an employee in a traditional company and wanted to give meaning to her job. As a young business engineer, she had to fight against clichés, but is optimistic about the place given to young people in general and to female engineers in particular.
  • It has developed a management method which gives more autonomy to its employees. According to her, we trust young people more and more thanks to their mastery of new technologies.

They are still students or already in working life, volunteers, researchers, employees, on their own, have set up a company or an association. Thanks to them, the future will be better. 20 Minutes has decided to give a voice to young people under 30 whose actions have a beneficial effect on the world of tomorrow. Fifth part of this series with Anaïs Barut, 28, president of Damae Medical, a start-up that is developing an imaging solution that allows non-invasive detection, and at a very early stage, of skin cancer .

In 2015, MIT recognized her as one of the top ten French innovators under 35. Anaïs was 23 at the time and her start-up was barely a year old. Damae Medical has one goal, to revolutionize the detection of skin cancer with a non-invasive solution. “We have developed an imaging system that allows, much like an ultrasound, to visualize the inside of skin tissue,” explains the young woman. This avoids having to take a biopsy and can spot cancer cells that are not yet visible to the naked eye on the surface of the skin. "

Anaïs was still a student at the Institut d'Optique Graduate School, an engineering school near Paris, when she co-founded Damae with David Siret, another student, and Professor Arnaud Dubois, the originator of the imaging solution. A meeting made possible thanks to the entrepreneurship sector of his school. “I've always known that I didn't want to be an employee,” says Anaïs. I wanted to be free, go at my own pace, be autonomous and empowered. In traditional businesses, we are stuck in boxes. As a junior we have to do that and no more. It was hard to hear for me. "

Make sense of your profession

For a time attracted by studying medicine, Anaïs kept this desire to make sense of her profession. “I have always tried to do something ethical. From the perspective, the number one outlet is Defense. But for me it has always been a pretty straightforward no, because I found it lacking in clarity. »Anaïs will therefore not be a doctor, but works for and with them. “I am very proud to be one of the building blocks in the fight against cancer. We are not replacing dermatologists, but we are helping to recreate a more virtuous health system. "

Today, twenty machines developed by Damae are present in hospitals in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Spain. "We hope for forty more next year and we are looking to deploy in the United States, Australia and Japan," she says.

Fighting against clichés

A success as formidable as it is promising, but which did not come without difficulty. Because a young engineer and manager of a company under 25, it detonates with investors. “Of course, at the beginning I had to fight against clichés, remembers Anaïs. I came to meetings where I was asked if I was the intern. Or, we were only addressing the senior men in society. It's a real problem, but I think things have really changed since then. There are more and more start-ups, and therefore more and more young people at the head of a company. Also more and more girls in engineering schools. I might be too idealistic, but I really think it's moving in the right direction. "A pioneer, Anaïs has forged a character to claim her position:" From the start of the meetings, I recalled everyone's position at Damae and I tried to show natural leadership. "

At the head of around twenty employees today, the young president admits “having grown very quickly thanks to this company. It is a very rewarding adventure. I have developed my skills on many subjects and I have learned a lot from others. It was a big risk-taking, I didn't pay myself for two years, but I'm free. "

The strength of youth

But when you didn't want to work in a traditional company, how do you position yourself as a boss? “With David, we thought a lot about the management we wanted to put in place. We offer a lot of autonomy and accountability to our employees and do very few physical meetings. Support is individualized, with six months training upon arrival. "

Find all the articles in the series

Average age of the company? 28 years. And a great strength, in addition to the high degree of innovation: “The speed of design of our prototypes. At one point, we were leaving one almost every two months. Doctors love to work with people who can go so fast. We trust young people more and more, in part because we have a better command of new technologies. “Next step for Damae? It is precisely to integrate artificial intelligence to make the diagnoses more readable. And ultimately attack other types of cancer.

Society

With the Aïda association, Léa hires young people to serve other young cancer patients

  • 20 minutes video
  • Cancer
  • Skin cancer
  • Youth
  • They make the world of tomorrow
  • Society