Among more than 10,000 startups worldwide, Swijin was announced in Riyadh as the winner of the Entrepreneurship World Cup, described by Yahoo! Finance as "one of the world's largest and most prestigious entrepreneurship competitions," taking home a cash prize of $250,000.
It was hard to believe we had even made it into the top 100. When the subject line "Pack your bags! You're going to Riyadh" popped up in our inbox, we reread it three times. Then came the packing: suitcases filled with mannequins, product samples, catalogues and business suits, plus the travel team: my sister Stephanie, our full-time Director of Customer Care, and my daughter Lilli, our "DOF" or Daughter of Founder.
Our mentor Susan kept repeating: "Claudia, start with your personal story." So we cut the pitch to just two minutes. Lilli and Stephanie drilled me through three rounds in the hotel corridor, timing every line. Two brilliant women pitched before me and absolutely nailed it; we watched from the side with goosebumps. Then it was Swijin's turn. Mic'd up and blinded by the stage lights, I walked out and began: "This was me at 17…" Every word felt like slow motion. I never even made it to the slide with all our athletes' smiling faces proudly wearing Swijin.
When the final five prize winners were announced, I stood on stage next to founders who were solving some of the world's most pressing problems. Fifth place was announced first, then fourth, then third. I hugged the founder next to me and we held hands as we waited. Then came the words: "And first place goes to Swijin from Switzerland!" For a second everything went quiet in my head. My mouth just fell open in disbelief.
This win signals women's pain in sport is finally being taken seriously and that a women-led team can build the solution. The prize money will go straight into what matters most: working with more athletes, extending our sizes, and building bras that let women focus on their sport instead of their pain. And truly, we would never have stood on that stage without you. The confi dence and passion the jury heard in my voice came directly from you, Swijin's community of customers, athletes and supporters.
With Love,
Claudia
