From SKEMA to combat sports: Louis Valentin develops Protooth alongside French champions

Protooth’s story began modestly, with no premises, no investors and no network in elite sport. But the two founders shared a strong conviction, drawn from their own experience of combat sports: the mouthguards available on the market did not meet athletes’ needs. They decided to create a bespoke solution, made from an individual dental impression and designed to preserve breathing, communication and comfort during exertion.

“Louis was able to start from a specific need, observed through the practice of combat sports, and build a clear and distinctive offer”

Two years later, Protooth was born. Today, the brand already equips several major figures in French sport, including Ciryl Gane, UFC mixed martial arts (MMA) champion; Bakary Samaké, world boxing champion; Djamili Aboudou, Olympic boxing medallist at the Paris 2024 Games; Davit Niniashvili, a rugby player who has played for LOU and Stade Rochelais; Mathis Dossou-Yovo, a basketball player for Nanterre 92 and the French national team; and Jordan Zebo, Arès mixed martial arts champion. The brand already claims to have equipped more than 2,200 professional and amateur athletes. It has also signed a recent partnership with the French Boxing Federation.

A brand thrust into the spotlight

This momentum has gained a further media dimension through Ciryl Gane, whom Protooth is supporting ahead of his next UFC fight, announced at the White House on 14 June. For the young French brand, this exposure in the presidential gardens marks a symbolic milestone: a product born from real sporting practice is now associated with one of the most recognisable faces of French MMA on an international stage.

A project aligned with the spirit of the MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Before co-founding Protooth, Louis Valentin studied SKEMA Business School’s MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation, directed by Nicolas Servel. The programme supports students in structuring entrepreneurial projects, from identifying a market need to building an offer, a business model and a development strategy.

For Nicolas Servel, Louis Valentin’s journey illustrates the ability of students on the programme to turn a field-based intuition into a concrete entrepreneurial project. “Louis was able to start from a specific need, observed through the practice of combat sports, and build a clear and distinctive offer. With Protooth, he did not simply create a product: he developed a value proposition, a brand, a customer experience and a growth strategy. This is exactly what we aim to pass on through the MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation: helping students move from idea to market, with method, standards and ambition.

“Louis also has fundamental qualities that are addressed throughout the year. First, his ambition and perseverance, which have enabled him to start from nothing and sign with such prestigious partners. Then, his strategic vision: Protooth does not intend to stop at this success. The team now wants to become the first French company to design and manufacture connected mouthguards,” he says.

A discreet product, a major performance issue

In combat and contact sports, the mouthguard is an essential piece of equipment. It protects the athlete, but can also hinder breathing, communication or comfort when it is not adapted. Protooth aims to address this limitation with a product designed individually, according to dental morphology, the sport practised and performance requirements.

With Protooth, Louis Valentin embodies a concrete entrepreneurial path: identifying an under-addressed use case, building a tailored response and establishing a French brand in the demanding world of combat and contact sports.