Gwenola Beautru sees the yellow rooster as a personal and professional symbol of achievement. For her, the flag of the Coq Créa community represents pride and has come at a significant time in her career. She began her journey at L’Atelier du Siège in 2009 as an employee, eventually becoming the general director before taking over the Nantes-based company, which specializes in general saddlery and furniture upholstery, in October 2025. The award she received at the third edition of the "101 Femmes Entrepreneures" competition carries special significance. The event is organized by the French government and Bpifrance, with support from 25 networks of the Cap Créa collective, professional networks, the Caisses d'Épargne, and BNP Paribas. The competition recognizes women who are at the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey—whether as project creators, business founders, or acquirers of a company within three years. On September 7 and 8, the 101 participants gathered in Paris for a two-day bootcamp organized by Bpifrance with its partners. The program included workshops, mentoring sessions, training, financial advice, networking, and meetings with experienced entrepreneurs. Gwenola Beautru was particularly struck by the strong sense of solidarity among the participants. "What impressed me most was this incredible female solidarity," she says. The 101 women, who had not known each other before the event, quickly formed a close-knit community, often communicating through a shared WhatsApp group. "There were mothers with five children launching or acquiring a business," she notes. Gwenola Beautru’s path to taking over L’Atelier du Siège was carefully planned. After studying visual arts, she began her career in the restaurant industry and obtained a CAP (a French vocational qualification). She worked at places like Courtepaille, where she gained her first experience in management, administration, and commercial relations. After three years, she sought a better balance between her personal and professional life. In 2009, she joined what was then known as the Sellerie Forge, now L’Atelier du Siège, as a commercial assistant and quality-environment officer. She learned much of her profession on the job, and over the years, her responsibilities grew. She developed the company's communication strategy and, in 2021, completed a ten-month training program in human resources development in Nantes. This experience led her to reassess her role in the company, eventually moving into general management. Three years later, she took the next step: acquiring the company. "I benefited from a gradual, slow, comfortable, and kind handover with the manager," she explains. He introduced her to clients and supported her in building her skills before the transfer. At 41, and the mother of two children, Gwenola now runs a company she has been familiar with for more than fifteen years. L’Atelier du Siège, based in Nantes, is a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employing around a dozen people. It is certified under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and works for both individuals and companies. The team can embroider motorcycle saddles, restore chairs, manufacture medical chairs, produce car seats in series, or create parts for industry. The company blends craftsmanship, prototyping, and semi-industrial production. Some of its products, such as flexible doors for forklift trucks, are sold in Italy, Belgium, or Japan. This diversity presents a development challenge for Gwenola Beautru. Until now, the company largely operated through its existing client portfolio, with busy periods followed by planning gaps. "My current concern is to pursue commercial outreach to improve our visibility in the planning," she explains. Gwenola Beautru’s journey reflects the broader goals of a new framework agreement in favor of women's entrepreneurship, renewed during the bootcamp between the government and Bpifrance for the period 2026–2028. This agreement includes commitments from major banking partners like BNP Paribas and the Caisses d'Épargne. In effect since 2012, the agreement continues to support business creation but now places greater emphasis on post-accompaniment and acquisition, aiming to secure the paths after the initial creation phase and help more women take over existing businesses. This evolution aligns with an economic observation: according to the OECD, France could gain an additional 0.4% annual growth if as many women as men created their own businesses.