Sarah Harbarth is the co-founder and CEO of kuori, a B2B enterprise providing eco-friendly alternative-plastic granules for fashion, outdoor equipment, tools, and toys. She holds a BA in Industrial Design from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, and was working there as a research assistant when she started kuori in 2021.
The idea for kuori arose out of a need to combat the issue of microplastics, which are non-biodegradable materials that pollute our waterways and end up in our food, while also tackling the problem of food waste. And so Sarah had the idea to upcycle food byproducts, like banana peels and walnut shells, to build plastic alternatives that are 5x more ecological while also preserving elasticity.
Since the start of the project, kuori has closed €2.3M in financing, which allowed them to upscale their production and their team. They are currently raising their next round, looking for 1.5M in dilutive money. Part of this money is being raised through the Swisspreneur Syndicate.
Markus Witte is the chairman and co-founder of Babbel, the market leading app for language learning, as well as a partner at Wachstumsbegleitung, which offers coaching and consulting for scaling startups. He holds an MA in Cultural Studies from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and previously worked as a university professor in Germany and the US before founding Babbel in 2007.
In his second conversation with our host, Silvan, Markus shared his thoughts on co-founder relationships and managing an early stage startup. Here is a summary of his takeaways:
Marco Rodzynek is the founder and CEO at NOAH Conference, an annual event with an unique line up of digital champions and sustainability market leaders. Marco previously worked at Lehman Brothers, where he was involved in 90+ M&A deals, before starting NOAH Conference and NOAH Advisors in 2009. NOAH Advisors is a European leading corporate finance boutique focused on digital growth and sustainability companies.
The next NOAH Conference is scheduled for the 13-14th of December 2023 in Zurich, hosting 350 digital growth and sustainable companies to meet with over 500 unique investment funds.
Sophie Lamparter is the co-founder of DART Labs, an international fund investing in early stage Swiss climate and health tech startups to accelerate them on the US market. She holds a degree in Communication and Media Studies from ZHAW.
During this episode with us she discussed the current fundraising environment, which is looking very much like an uphill battle not only at the Swiss level but worldwide. There’s less capital available, investors are favoring caution, and companies are doing bridge rounds, because they’re not quite ready for the next round. But Sophie thinks we would do well to remember the time scale at hand: the average fund duration is 10 years, as is the average founder journey — by comparison, a rough 2023 is just a blip in the startup universe. In fact, Sophie argues that now is the smart time to invest, since valuations are down and we know from past startup history that the best companies are forged during crises.
In 2022, the industry which received the most investment in Switzerland was fintech, closely followed by climatetech. Sophie and DART Labs are placing their bets on climatetech in 2023 for several reasons:
DART Labs is currently raising USD 20M, and is still considered an emerging fund. Their investment strategy is health and climatetech early stage Swiss companies looking to enter the US market. Whether you are an investor looking to finance DART, or a startup aiming to be financed by DART, click the link above to head to their website and find out more.
Arijana Walcott is a co-founder and managing partner at DART Labs, together with former Swisspreneur guest Sophie Lamparter. DART invests in early stage startups from Switzerland and Europe and helps them test and scale their ideas in San Francisco. Arijana holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in General Management from HSO and previously worked as VP Innovation & Technology at Swisscom.
At DART Labs, she interacts with dozens of startups on a weekly basis, and during her chat with us she summarized some of the lessons she’s learned so far.
Is your startup VC-backable?
That depends on how fast you’re willing to go. The question in any investor’s mind, when deliberating whether or not to invest, is “Can this investment provide a return for the entirety of the money this fund has invested thus far?” If you’re not willing/able to grow your valuation 3x every 12 to 18 months, VC money is probably not the right choice for you. Growing at this rate is not the right option for every startup necessarily, but it is very much the type of thing VCs want. For instance, at DART Labs, Arijana and Sophie ask startups whether within 5 years they will be able to reach 50M in revenue, or be acquired for 50M.
Should you go for VC money or business angels?
That depends on the stage of your company. If you’re at a pre-seed stage, you’ll probably only be able to convince business angels. At seed stage, your investor pool might look like a mixed bag. From Series A onwards, you’re much more likely to captivate VCs, and may perhaps start relying more on them than on angel money.
How should you best approach a venture capitalist?
Arijana recommends that you structure your fundraising timeline around upcoming milestones which impact your valuation. She also urges you to make sure you have enough runway. 6 months for fundraising and 7 months of runway… is a recipe for disaster.
What are VCs thinking about during the first intro call?
In future calls, you’ll discuss things like the business model, your sales pipeline, etc.
What makes a good pitch deck?
Georg Hirschi is the co-founder and strategy lead at FOUND, a startup bringing the digital consumer revolution to hiring. He holds an MA in Applied Sciences, Commerce & Business Administration from UZH, and previously worked at companies like PeopleScout and Lee Hecht Harrison before starting FOUND in 2022, together with his co-founder Ranjit de Sousa.
Despite the COVID pandemic having turbocharged digitization in companies across the globe, hiring has remained immune to innovation for the past few decades. Employers and job searchers alike are overwhelmingly unhappy with the hiring process, whether that be with or without the services of recruiters.
FOUND turns the tables and has employers pitch opportunities to top talent. AI-based matching and gamified assessments make every interaction worthwhile and keep everyone happy. Of course, FOUND only works with fast growing companies committed to providing a great employee experience, and they only accept top talent onto their platform.
Here’s what sets the FOUND talent community apart:
FOUND’s services are free for talent, and free for employers as well right up until an employment contract is exchanged — then they pay a fixed fee. This way, it’s a 0 risk proposition for both the employer and the employee.
"We want to simultaneously solve the skills gap for employers and get people jobs that they really love."
Anna Grassler is co-CEO at FELFEL, a company changing the way people eat at work. She holds a masters in Management & Social Entrepreneurship from ESCP Business School and previously worked for companies like L’Oréal and Gärtnerei before joining FELFEL in 2022.
Cristian Grossmann is the co-founder and Head Bee at beekeeper, the well-known Swiss frontline operating system. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from ETH and worked for companies like ChromaCon and Accenture before starting beekeeper in 2011.
Sven Jakelj is the co-founder and CEO at feey, an online shop for house plants. He holds an MA in Economics from UZH and previously worked for Deutsche Bank and PROCIVIS before starting feey in 2019.
As both external CEOs and founders, this trio had a lot to say about shaping and trimming your company culture. They agreed that “culture” can best be defined as the shared set of values that is reflected in every interaction each employee has with the company. This means that once you’ve defined your company values, it isn’t enough to create posters stating these and hang them around the office: you’ve got to live them out during hiring, during performance reviews, at lunch time — all the time!
Which is not to say that as your company scales, your values can’t evolve as well. At beekeeper, for instance, their values used to be described by their stakeholders as very “kumbaya”, but as this Swiss company grew, these values adapted to withstand bigger and tougher challenges, and a clear reflection of that change was that their performance reviews became stricter.
Check out Silvan’s conversation with these 3 entrepreneurs to learn more about how to set the right values, how to make sure the culture reflects them, and how to tell the difference between letting your values evolve and letting culture get out of hand.
"All the jobs I’ve had I liked at the beginning, but eventually got bored with." (Sven)
"Don’t hire 'maybes' out of desperation. You will regret it, and you will have lost time." (Anna)
"Our values have stayed constant, but our culture has changed."(Cris)
Nikos Kariotoglou is the co-founder and CEO at Seervision, an industry pioneer in AI-driven camera automation software to enable effective hybrid collaboration in corporate boardrooms or lecture halls. He holds a PhD in Control Engineering from ETH and a M.Eng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College London, and worked as a post-doc researcher at ETH’s Automatic Control Laboratory before starting Seervision in 2016.
Seervision is a provider of AI-powered camera automation software to streamline video production workflows. Seervision improved on the existing surveillance-type automated cameras, which were only able to detect objects, by adding the ability to predict the object’s behavior and move based on this prediction. Their initial project was recording lectures at ETH, but nowadays offer their services for a wide range of applications, such as videoconferencing and live presentations. Their software requires robotic cameras to run, so Seervision sells customers the cameras and then a software subscription as well.
In June 2023 Seervision announced they had been acquired by California-based Q-Sys. Nikos remains active in the company.
"The gap between research and practice is 10+. So research can never come too early out of the lab. If you have a hypothesis, go for it."
"You’ve built a product. But you’re not just selling that: you’re selling the service, and tailoring it to the customer."
Sophie Lamparter is the co-founder of DART Labs, an international fund investing in early stage European climate and health tech startups to accelerate them on the US market. She holds a degree in Communication and Media Studies from ZHAW. Daniel Gutenberg is a business angel and entrepreneur, having founded Gutenberg Communication Systems AG at 25 and sold it 5 years later, in 2000. He holds a diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Ecole Technique Supérieure. Christina Vallgren is the co-founder, CEO and President of Terapet SA, a medtech startup based in Geneva. She holds a PhD in Applied Physics.
Coming in with the American perspective, Sophie Lamparter shared that the biggest difference between the Swiss and Silicon Valley ecosystems is culture: in California, every conversation starts with a yes, and you then figure out whether it stays a yes or turns into a no; in Switzerland, conversations start with a no, and then maybe, after the arduous process of building trust, this no can turn into a yes. For startups to thrive, a yes-culture is obviously more beneficial.
Other topics discussed during this episode include the preparation founder teams must make before they raise funds, how to raise money in uncertain times, what the ideal runway is to start fundraising, and what makes a great pitch deck. Listen to the episode to find out what our guests have to say on these topics and check out Swisspreneur’s free fundraising masterclass (which includes Sophie!) to learn more.
"Next year, we’re going to be looking back at 2023 and saying ‘Boy, 2023 was easy!’" (Daniel Gutenberg)
"As a CEO, you have to build momentum around your company all the time." (Sophie Lamparter)
Tanja Koch is a co-founder at Amplo, a no code platform that makes AI easy and accessible to service and operation departments. She holds a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zürich and previously worked for companies like LEVITRONIX and 9T Labs before starting Amplo in 2021.
When it comes to finding the right co-founders, Tanja has some advice to give:
Amplo raised a CHF 1.6M pre-seed round back in September 2022, in the midst of a complicated fundraising environment. This is Tanja’s advice on pulling a round like that off:
"Ask your existing investors who they know who could invest in your following rounds."
Urs Hölzle is SVP of Engineering at Google, having started there in 1999 as their first Search Engine Mechanic and altogether 8th employee. Prior to Google, he started his own company Animorphic LLC in 1994 following the completion of his PhD in Computer Science at Stanford, and later worked as an Associate Professor at UC Santa Barbara and a consultant at Sun Microsystems.
Having watched Google grow from a tiny company to the megalithic enterprise it is today, Urs had a front row seat to the development of its culture, and played an active role in shaping it. Here’s his advice for other scaling ventures:
"Right place, right time is not something you can force."
"I think the #1 reason companies fail is not being mindful enough about scaling well."
"Sometimes the most dangerous thing is to be the smartest person in the room, because it means you stop learning."
Rodrigo Fraga-Silva is the co-founder and CEO at Comphya, a Swiss medical device company and EPFL spin-off with the mission to help patients overcome erectile dysfunction through an innovative neurostimulating implant. He holds a PhD in Pharmacology from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and was previously a Postdoctoral Researcher at EPFL and scientist at the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering before starting Comphya in 2017.
The problem Comphya solves is clear: whether because of spinal cord injuries, prostatectomy (the removal of the prostate) or other causes, there is a percentage of men who struggle with erectile dysfunction, and of these men, 30% do not respond to oral drugs like Viagra. Their traditional alternatives are injections or prosthetics, both of which are painful and decrease their quality of life.
This is where Comphya comes in: the team has developed a neurostimulator which can be implanted in the patient’s pelvic floor through a minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, and which responds to a wireless remote control to provide patients with self-controlled stimulation. Comphya is currently at the pilot clinical trial phase, and so far implantations have gone extremely well, with no side effects and with patients going home the next day.
Comphya is currently raising a bridge financing round through the Swisspreneur Syndicate, to fill a ticket of CHF 500K. Check out the Swisspreneur Syndicate’s deal flow page on notion to find out more.
"30% of the men with erectile dysfunction don’t respond to oral stimulants."
Herbert Bay is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and board member. He co-founded the image-recognition platform kooaba, the AR company Shortcut and the mental health tracker Earkick, where he is currently still active. He holds a PhD in Computer Vision from ETH Zurich and is the original author of the SURF algorithm, used for various Computer Vision and AR applications such as object recognition, image registration, classification, 3D reconstruction etc.
Throughout his decades of experience, Herbert has learned from his mistakes as a product builder, and shared some of his takeaways with us. The following points are advice that he finds universal for all entrepreneurs:
Speaking of startup ideas, the ideation stage is full of potential traps:
How can you choose between ideas? Reduce each of them to an MVP and test them. Then check which one has the highest conversion rate.
How do you know if you’ve reached product-market fit? Herbert likes Sean Ellis’ “product-market fit score”: ask your users how they would feel if they could no longer use your product — “not disappointed,” “somewhat disappointed,” “very disappointed.” If 40% or more answer very disappointed, then you’ve reached product-market fit.
When it comes to perfecting your product, Herbert is no fan of user testing (i.e., paying people to test your product), because the payment factor conditions people to be nicer to you than they otherwise would be, and because these people are most likely not regular users of your product. He recommends getting in touch with your actual users through surveys, cold outreach, etc. Set up a call, go into detail!
Any idea that is truly disruptive will have a lot of people against it. Ignore those people and listen to your customers."
Canay Deniz is the co-founder and CEO at Ren, the intelligence tool that alerts you of actionable news about clients, prospects, and key contacts and helps you reach out in a timely and meaningful way. Canay holds a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering & Business from ETH, and previously worked at the data intelligence company Teralytics before starting Ren in 2019.
His startup, Ren, which aims to systematize serendipity, was itself born out of a lucky coincidence: a friend of Canay introduced him to his now co-founder, Lionel Hertig, and this encounter led him to take the entrepreneurial plunge.
What is serendipity, you may ask? Generally, it’s defined as a happy coincidence, but for Ren’s purposes the concept (at least when applied to the business world) can be broken down into 3 main elements:
Ren’s goal is to give sales a human face and make it pertinent and beneficial for all parties involved. And it’s not just useful for sales people: the fundamental act of selling is a skill required for many aspects of a company’s operations, like hiring and fundraising. Currently Ren is focused on the English-speaking market, which they feel is big enough (at least for now), and their target customer is a relationship-based senior professional handling big deals in their day to day.
“A random email from a buddy led me to becoming CEO of Ren.”
“Perfect is the enemy of done.”
“We need to be very careful not to confuse traction with being pulled in 5 different directions.”
Roland Brack ist Gründer des Onlinehändlers Brack.ch sowie Gründer und Inhaber der Firmengruppe Competec.
1994 gründete er studienbegleitend die Einzelfirma Brack Consulting. 1997 lancierte Brack unter brack.ch seinen Onlineshop, der sich in den folgenden Jahren zu einer der umsatzstärksten E-Commerce-Plattformen der Schweiz entwickelte. 2007 gründete Roland Brack die Competec-Gruppe, um bestehenden Tochtergesellschaften und künftigen Akquisitionen ein Dach zu geben. Zwischen 2007 und 2018 fungierte Brack als CEO der Competec-Gruppe. Aktuell ist er Präsident des Verwaltungsrats.
Die Förderung des Unternehmertums liegt Roland Brack stark am Herzen. Er betätigt sich seit längerem als Investor, Berater und Verwaltungsrat bei diversen Jungunternehmen. Seit 2019 wirkt er als Investor in der Schweizer Ausgabe von Die Höhle der Löwen mit. Sein Ziel ist es, Unternehmertum einer breiten Öffentlichkeit, insbesondere auch einem jungen Publikum als etwas Erstrebenswertes darzustellen.
Seit 2002 ist Roland Brack ein leidenschaftlicher Offroad-Rallyefahrer. Er erreichte mit seiner langjährigen Beifahrerin Carmen Hrup und seinem Team outofcontrol diverse Podestplätze bei Veranstaltungen in Europa und Nordafrika. 2013 hat das Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen in einer TV-Dokumentation Roland Brack an einer Rally in den Karpaten begleitet.
„Wenn der Kunde zufrieden ist, kommt Umsatz und Wachstum von alleine.“
„Wir waren die ersten in der Branche, welche die Lagerbestände öffentlich gemacht haben. Alle haben gesagt: „Spinnst du eigentlich?“
„Wenn das Glück vor der Türe steht, muss man bereit sein die Türe zu öffnen.“
Adrian Krebs is the co-founder and CEO at Kadoa, a SaaS company providing AI-powered data extraction. He holds a MAS in Information Technology from Berner Fachhochschule BFH and previously built the shopping guide Looria.
Together with his co-founders, Johannes Engler and Tavis Lochhead, he created Kadoa in 2023 to address a pressing issue: the hours upon hours of tedious, manual data extraction work performed by freelancers across the globe. Kadoa’s AI technology lets you build data extraction workflows on autopilot, without fighting scrapers, mappers, or APIs. They launched it this year to take advantage of three converging factors:
After building their product in 8 months and reaching CHF 100K ARR, the Kadoa team has a full sales pipeline. Their only bottleneck is human capital: there’s still only 3 people on the team. That’s why they’re raising CHF 1.5M, part of which through the Swisspreneur Syndicate, for a 24 month runway. With these funds the Kadoa founders intend to achieve product-market fit, acquire 30 new enterprise customers and reach break even. Check out the Swisspreneur Syndicate’s deal flow page on notion to find out more.
"80% of all data is unstructured, and 80-90% of all data worldwide was produced within the last 2 years."
.png)
Tim Beck is the co-founder at BLP Digital, an ETH and HSG spin-off that uses AI to automate ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) processes. He attended both RWTH Aachen University and Georgia Tech. Before starting BLP Digital, he worked as a strategy consultant and specialist in digital business models and automation in the manufacturing industry. He has also successfully founded and managed three other startups, including the augmented reality startup CLIPTHIS.
Tim's entrepreneurial journey was shaped by his family background; his parents were both entrepreneurs, leading to daily exposure to business discussions, and it was a path that felt natural for him to follow. Despite this, he was not pressured to take over the family business and chose engineering and strategy consulting as his path.
BLP Digital, co-founded by Tim and his brother Sven, started with a sound footing because of the deep industry connections and technical expertise that came fromtheir parents being a part of the same industry. They initially focused on product development and engineering, bringing in co-founders with complementary skills to expand their market presence. BPL Digital's core offering revolves around machine learning to automate ERP processes, particularly document sharing between companies. They emphasize customer satisfaction, offering clients proof of concepts with actual data before committing them to services.
BPL Digital maintains control over its growth trajectory as a bootstrapped company, incentivizing employees with shares to foster a sense of ownership. Their ambition is to move from ground zero to an eventual IPO, reflecting an exciting journey ahead for the company. This episode sheds light on Tim Beck's entrepreneurial path, BPL Digital's unique approach to solving industry challenges, and their vision for the future.
“Bringing in 2 more CEOs later made sense for us when we wanted to enter the market, and find people with more valuable skills in this area”
“We consider ourselves a kind of a chat GPT for documents, as our system can read things it has never seen before.”
This episode was sponsored by quitt.business.
Tim Duehrkoop is the co-founder and CEO of Xilva, a cleantech startup building the digital infrastructure for forestry investments with a focus on enabling funding through holistic project assessments. He received a PhD from HSG in Business Administration and attended Stanford for an executive program for growing companies. Once he completed his studies, he joined a startup called Namics, where he worked for 24 years. During this time he witnessed the growth of this small venture into a corporate powerhouse with 500 employees, as well as its successful exit, which left him pondering his next move within the Swiss entrepreneur ecosystem. Driven by a profound passion for addressing climate issues rather than solely pursuing profits, he is set out to make a meaningful impact.
His path converged with a co-founder specializing in forestry, leading them to tackle climate change by addressing market inefficiencies within the Swiss startup network. Their action was motivated by increased feelings of climate grief, and by wanting to actively do something about it. They recognized reforestation as a highly scalable, proven solution for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. During his episode with us, Tim discussed the evolution of the Swiss investment market and the challenges faced by startups within the Swiss startup network seeking funding, particularly in Series A and Series B rounds. Despite the current funding climate presenting difficulties, he has remained optimistic, anticipating improved conditions in the near future for Swiss entrepreneurs.
Startups can play a pivotal role in the climate tech sector, and while acknowledging that startups alone cannot solve the climate crisis, Tim argues that they serve as crucial laboratories for discovering effective solutions within the Swiss entrepreneur landscape. Additionally, he discussed strategies for enhancing startup operations in this space, such as creating favorable tax environments, establishing grant programs, engaging with governmental support and how they target angel investors.
“Startups can do many things but they can’t solve climate change. However they are important elements to find out what works in order to make an impact, and they help to facilitate and further develop new solutions.”
“Green washing is committing to something but then it’s not really helping the environment. Green hushing means you don’t commit to anything and hope nobody notices, and Green waiting is waiting for an initiative to come along but then not spending anything in the meantime.”
.png)
Simon Krähenbühl and Silvia Nadenbousch are the co-founders of ILEVE OPTICS, an eyewear brand which consists of two separate lines: LARS Brillen, a prescription and sunglasses B2B brand sold to opticians across Switzerland, and ILEVE DISTRICT, a cycling eyewear brand sold directly to customers and through selected retail stores. Simon is responsible for Design and Product Development and holds a master's in Innovation, Industrial and Product Design, and Silvia is the Communications and Marketing head, with a master's in Business and Economics.
The idea for ILEVE came from Simon’s personal experience as a glasses wearer: his glasses kept sliding down his nose, so he decided to develop an innovative glass hinge which prevented this from happening. His hinge patent was the first technical development in terms of glasses hinges in decades, and that is why he and his co-founder Silvia don’t feel threatened by the amount of other eyewear brands out there. Most brands, say the co-founders of ILEVE, innovate only in terms of colors and shapes, whereas this Swiss-made brand brings true added value to the wearer.
If eyewear is a market with plenty of competition, it also has a never ending stream of customers: as people age, most develop a need for glasses, and with the pervasive and constant use of mobile devices nowadays, short sightedness is equally on the rise.
ILEVE eyewear is designed, 3D-printed and assembled in Switzerland. Simon and Silvia have found this to be a valuable USP for their brand, since the association with the idea of Swiss-made quality really helps to build trust and convert people into buying customers.
ILEVE is currently raising a CHF 800K seed round, CHF 100K of which is being raised through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. The funds will be used to grow their team, fuel their expansion to Germany and a select number of European cities, and achieve the coveted B Corp certification. Check out the Swisspreneur Syndicate’s deal flow page on notion to find out more.
"We know we can’t save the world with glasses. But we want to take responsibility for the sustainability of our products." Simon Krähenbühl
"Building a sustainable B2C brand with a low budget is definitely a challenge, but at the same time it keeps us creative." Silvia Nadenbousch
.png)
This episode was sponsored by quitt.business.
Daniel Meyer and Marie So are the co-founders and CEO and CSO, respectively, of EGO Movement. EGO Movement was founded in 2015 and provides smart, connected mobility solutions that are stylish, sustainable, and affordable. Daniel has a master's degree from ETH in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and founded his first startup during university. He later spent 8 years in Hong Kong, Vietnam and China in various senior management positions for Swiss multinational DKSH, and his last role was as Vice President of their second largest business in China. Daniel also was the Chairman of the Swiss Chinese Chamber of Commerce for 2 years and member of several board of directors in China and South East Asia. Marie graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School with a master's degree in Public Administration and International Development, and a bachelor's degree in Economics, Engineering and Management Science from Northwestern University. She also attended the United World College of the Pacific (UWC). She previously co-founded Shokay and Ventures in Development, a non-profit that catalyses the creation of social enterprises in the greater China region. She also previously worked for the United Nations Development Programme, Dubai Development and Investment Authority, Procter & Gamble and Merrill Lynch. Marie is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader as well as an Echoing Green Fellow 2008 and Asia 21 Young Leader 2008.
They are also romantic partners and share their experience of running a business together since 2015, highlighting how their differing skills and personalities complement each other. They blur the line between personal and professional life, constantly brainstorming new ideas and improvements for their brand.
Ego Movement stands out in the market with its fusion of lifestyle and technology in e-bikes, featuring GPS and remote unlocking via an app. Sustainability is at the forefront, as they showcase how e-bike users save 275kg of CO2 equivalents per year, making it an eco-friendly choice. They give insight into their pricing strategy, emphasizing affordability compared to cars and their commitment to a sustainable supply chain. Marie and Daniel sold their majority shares in 2021 to TVS, one of the 5 largest 2-wheeler manufacturers globally, paving the way for rapid growth and international expansion, with a focus on making e-bikes not just a mode of transport but a lifestyle choice.
“We have very different personalities and skills, but they complement each other, as well as a strong trust - that is very special because not every couple can do it.’
“Customer experience is very important for us, so opening a flagship lifestyle store was a step we felt was beneficial for the brand, which not every business considers a risk worth taking.”
.png)
Jon Eisler is the co-founder & CEO of Everyman, who are improving access to men's health through digital innovation. Jon received a BA in Business Administration from St.Gallen. After that, he went to LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science), where he completed a master's in finance and private equity. He also did an MBA at Stanford.
Jon's entrepreneurial journey began with a deeply personal experience during his late teens. Struggling with sexual health issues and a distorted view of masculinity, he recognized the need for a stigma-free space to access medical information and treatment remotely and decided to start Everyman. Their purpose is to provide individuals with secure and comfortable access to healthcare, especially for more awkward medical conditions.
Jon identifies two key factors contributing to their success. Firstly, the digital transformation accelerated by COVID-19 has made telemedicine more accessible than ever. Secondly, Everyman introduces a flexible telemedicine model that eliminates traditional healthcare constraints, aligning with shifting consumer preferences.
Within six months, they launched the platform and initiated sales, seamlessly connecting patients, doctors, and pharmacies. Their approach bridges the gap between telemedicine and online pharmacies, setting them apart in the Swiss market. While Everyman faces the challenges of navigating strict healthcare regulations, they remain confident in their technological prowess and adaptability as they expand into new markets. Having raised 900,000 CHF and seeking an additional 300,000 CHF, Everyman aims to strengthen their positioning in Switzerland and later branch into various other vertical markets like hair loss treatments, skin care, weight loss, and hormone therapies.
“The purpose of our company is to change the distorted image men often have of sexuality and provide a safe and accessible environment to talk about these normal but awkward issues.”
“We wanted to create a fully integrated platform between doctors, pharmacies, and patients, and that is something that does not yet exist in Switzerland in a synchronous way.”
.png)
Loulia Kassem is the co-founder and CEO of Rea Diagnostics, a medtech company that created a device to help pregnant women and their doctors monitor the risk of pre-term birth. Originally from Syria, she received a bachelor's degree from Arab International University in Pharmacy. After that, she started her first company at 21 in Damascus called BMP Pharm, which distributed essential medicines and nose sprays in Syrian hospitals. Unfortunately, the Syrian war meant that she could not continue her business, so Loulia chose to leave the country and pursue a master's abroad. She received a master's degree in pharmaceutical biotechnology from the University of Bologna and did her thesis through EPFL, which inspired her to move to Switzerland.
Loulia's entrepreneurial drive finds its roots in her family's legacy of entrepreneurship. Her father, in particular, was pivotal in nurturing her entrepreneurial spirit. This early exposure gave her the confidence to become an entrepreneur at such a young age, and instilled in her the belief that she could always be active and productive in making a positive difference in the world.
After moving to Switzerland and meeting her co-founder while completing her thesis, she knew it was the place she would call home and where she could start REA Diagnostics. REA Diagnostics has developed a unique approach to address pre-term birth, detecting specific biomarkers in a woman's body during pregnancy. These biomarkers are proteins that can indicate the likelihood of pre-term birth. Traditionally, biomarker testing required invasive procedures, often administered in a hospital setting, limiting accessibility and convenience. REA Diagnostics is committed to making these diagnostic tests accessible from the comfort of a woman's home.
By giving women the means to monitor their pregnancy health quickly and precisely, REA Diagnostics' product acts as a crucial red flag, alerting patients and doctors to potential risks. This early detection can significantly increase the chances of a safe and healthy pregnancy, ultimately leading to a brighter future for mothers and their newborns. They are still in the process of being approved to perform clinical trials and testing the device. However, they hope to get it to market as soon as possible and into pharmacies and hospitals all over Switzerland and beyond.
“It’s very rewarding to create something from scratch, especially something that has the potential to change people’s lives.”
“People don’t talk about how difficult it is to have a pre-term birth. If the child survives, they have life-long complications, and even one extra day in the womb can cause a host of issues if the patient is unaware.
.png)
Carlo Badini is the founder and CEO of Pabio, a company that gets your apartment fully furnished by a professional interior designer and rents high-quality furniture on a monthly subscription. He has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Bern and participated in the Y combinator startup accelerator program.
Jeremias Meier is a partner at session.vc and co-founded bexio, which streamlines administration services. He has a degree in Business Administration from St.Gallen.
Flavio Pfaffhauser is co-founder and CIO at Beekeeper, an all-in-one frontline success system. Flavio received both his qualifications from ETH, a bachelor's and a master's in Computer Science.
Lastly, Aileen Zumstein is a co-founder and board member at v-oice, a company for new and innovative business ideas. She studied economics at the University of Basel and has a master’s from the University of Zurich in communications.
The group delved deep into the often lonely entrepreneurial journey, filled with both triumphs and tribulations. Our guests shared their vulnerabilities, highlighting the challenges they faced when they embarked on their respective ventures. While building his business in Zurich, Jeremias felt isolated as his friends pursued prestigious consulting and banking careers, questioning his choices. Aileen spoke of the struggle to establish the value of her communication company, dealing with doubts, and the intensity of partnerships. Flavio discussed his initial hesitation about his dating business and the impact of his father's failed business venture on his decision. Carlo emphasized the constant need to address problems as a CEO and the associated loneliness.
The other main point during the discussion was how successful entrepreneurs cope with the persistent fear of running out of money. Carlo experienced many sleepless nights worrying about this issue, describing the ceaseless problem-solving that comes with being a CEO. Flavio added impatience to his sense of isolation, especially during the search for product-market fit. Despite her support network, Aileen admitted feeling lonely, particularly during tough decisions, like parting ways with a business partner. She emphasized the need for alone time to balance her energy. Jeremias felt isolated from his non-entrepreneurial friends, who couldn't fully grasp the startup journey's ups and downs.
This episode was created in cooperation with EO Zurich.
“Being humble is a virtue — you aren’t as important as you believe, and most things are out of your control anyway.” - Carlo Badini
“It can feel really lonely to never be asked how you are, because people assume professional success means personal well-being.” - Aileen Zumstein
.png)
Philipp Stauffer is the co-founder and Managing Director of FYRFLY Venture Partners, an early-stage technology venture firm. Myriam Locher is the co-CEO of Locatee, a workplace analytics solution that transforms complex data into space utilization insights. Flavio Pfaffhauser is the co-founder and CIO at Beekeeper, which is changing how frontline businesses work. Philipp has a degree in Microeconomics from the University of Applied Sciences Zurich and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School. Myriam has a bachelor's in Economics from St. Gallen, and Flavio received both his qualifications from ETH, a bachelor's and a master's in computer science.
Our guests gave great insights into managing a startup, even during difficult times, and ways to navigate uncertainty, achieve profitability, take care of employees during challenging times, and adapt to changing growth patterns. They all stressed the importance of adaptability and customer-centricity, and spoke of the resilience of Swiss startups.
Phillip's main insights involve the experience of transitioning from being a co-founder to becoming an investor, and he highlights how investors are not moving to the "dark side" by moving away from building the company, but instead shifting their perspective of the business world. He is now based in California with FYRFLY.
Myriam, who has been involved with several startups, including DeinDeal and Star Global, has a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship. She talks about the evolving trends in the past two decades, particularly the growing necessity to seek US investments and relocate intellectual properties due to resource limitations in Switzerland, and underscores their global reputation for precision and thoroughness.
Lastly, Flavio sheds light on why Switzerland is an ideal home base for entrepreneurs. He cites excellent customer referrals, access to top talent, abundant capital, and of course, Swiss chocolate!
"During hard times, having a good trustworthy team is the most important thing, and with them you should never sugarcoat the truth” - Philipp Stauffer
“Taking time to listen is difficult: it always feels like there is never enough time. But this is something you have to prioritize in order to optimize your work environment.” - Myriam Locher
.png)
Raffaello D'Andrea is the co-founder and CEO of Verity, a robotics company specializing in self-flying drones that conduct warehouse inspections. He was born in Italy but moved to Canada during his childhood and, later in life, completed all his studies in North America. Starting with a BSc in engineering from the University of Toronto and, after that, a Masters' and a PhD in electrical engineering, both from Caltech. After his PhD, he started teaching at Cornell, which paved the way for his leap into entrepreneurship with his first startup, Kiva.
During a sabbatical from MIT, where he also taught, he met a fellow entrepreneur with an idea for a robotics-focused venture. It ignited their fire to start designing the software for how these drones would work, and Kiva was born and would inform the idea for Verity as well. While they have a faction of the business focused on live events, their main focus is warehouse inspection.
Kiva was bought and rebranded by Amazon, changing its name to Amazon Robotics, and Rafaello was thrilled with the outcome, but he was also ready to move onto the next project and build something new, and discovering how much potential there was in the warehouse inspection space was a game changer. As a leader in autonomous systems, Verity transitioned from hardware-heavy operations to software-based subscriptions, maintaining its hardware capabilities but streamlining its implementation. As the company focuses on expansion and perhaps eventually gaining an IPO or an exit, Raffaello is just enjoying the process of building and being a part of Verity.
"Failure not being an option is a value that is relevant no matter what part of the business it is applying to, whether an inspection or live event.”
“After selling Kiva to Amazon, I could have gone back to teaching, but making an impact is my biggest focus and made me want to continue on an entrepreneurial path."
.png)
Fred Destin is the founder of Stride Venture Capital, an artisan venture capital fund focused primarily on the U.K. and France. He received his Master's from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and later got his MBA at HKUST Business School in Hong Kong. Starting his career at J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs after that, in an associate and executive director role respectively, gave him solid foundations for the rest of his career, and he has been a board member and investor for many different startups.
Drawing from a Samurai's meditative approach, he emphasizes the art of handling chaos and making high-speed decisions while staying grounded in your startup's mission. Navigating co-founder dynamics and instilling well-defined company values becomes paramount as Fred shares insights on building robust teams and fostering a culture of openness.
He reminds us that true impact comes from honest conversations and dissent, the mantra of Strive V.C., and underscores the significance of co-designing products with customers to avoid assumptions that can lead you astray, as well as the importance of always speaking up. Fred's advice extends to embracing curiosity over stress, safeguarding against burnout, and recognizing the crucial role of mentors during tough times. Strive is raising their second fund after the first raised £124M, and it’s only up from there.
“With a co-founder, you need to get to know each other on a deep level so that you know you will be able to handle whatever situation the company faces.”
“I can’t repeat this enough - we should design alongside our users and customers as closely as possible to find out what they need, versus what we think they need.”
Judith Häberli is the co-founder and COO of Urban Connect, which offers low-emission shared mobility solutions for companies. Judith's path to entrepreneurship was nonlinear: she first studied acting at the European Film Actor School but later ventured into Economics and completed a degree at the University of Zurich. Urban Connect started as a side project while she was studying, but the team soon identified the potential of outsourcing e-bike services and knew they needed to make the company their full-time job.
30% of emissions in Switzerland come from auto traffic, and Urban Connect's mission to combat climate change through low-emission mobility solutions for companies is the way they want to help make an impact. Their primary focus is on e-bikes, but they also provide e-cars as a solution. If a company already has a fleet of vehicles, they try and advise them on more sustainable mobility choices. Google was one of their first clients, which was a significant first step to creating a respectable and trustworthy reputation.
While starting the company she had 3 children with her husband and fellow co-founder, and in her episode with us Judith shared insights about that time, which was often stressful and challenging. Still, they were lucky to receive invaluable support from family and friends so they could also focus on building their business and maintaining some work/life balance. Now, she stepped down from the position of CEO to focus more on general management as COO, and her husband, Robert, has taken over the position of CEO.
“It’s good to have common goals in both your personal and business relationship - it makes it easier to switch off and remind ourselves we’re also a family, and not just a business.”
“30% of emissions comes from auto traffic in Switzerland, so convincing companies that this is an important service to subsidize for their employees is not as challenging.”
Marc Seidel is a co-initiator & strategy manager at AltAlpha Strategies, which provides innovative and effective alternative investment strategies and advisory services. He has a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Zurich, and a Masters' in Business Innovation from St. Gallen, as well as additional qualifications as a visiting graduate from Oxford and Stanford, in politics and management sciences, respectively.
Crypto is an alternative investment, alongside other assets like art and real estate, and it has the appealing and captivating angle of being decentralized. Marc highlights the recent implosion in the volatile crypto market as a cautionary tale for investors and emphasizes the importance of understanding the risks involved. He also discusses the significance of uncorrelated assets in portfolio construction, showcasing the incredible performance of commodities and the diverse landscape of alternative investments.
He explores the evolving segments within the crypto space, including decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming, while delving into the potential of stablecoin in promoting financial inclusion. Marc emphasizes the need for active management in the crypto market and discusses AltAlpha Strategies' upcoming low-fee early investment fund, which aims to align incentives for investors. He provides valuable insights into alternative investments and cryptocurrencies, guiding investors to understand the potential opportunities and risks in this dynamic and ever-evolving landscape.
“The great thing about alternative investments is that they are not correlated to stock exchange fluctuations. You don’t want all the assets in your portfolio to go up/down simultaneously, you want a balance that lets you cover your losses.”
“Alternative investments are things like real estate, art, commodities, and blockchain assets, so pretty much anything other than your run of the mill stocks and bonds.”
Tigran Petrosyan is the co-founder and president of SuperAnnotate, an end-to-end platform to annotate, version, and manage data for your AI. He spent much of his life in academia, starting with a Bachelor's in Physics from Yerevan State University in his home country, Armenia, followed by a Master's in Physics from ETH and then a PhD in Biomedical Imaging from the University of Bern, but dropped out shortly before finishing it to start SuperAnnotate with his brother, Vahan.
He was drawn to Switzerland for its exceptional study opportunities and found his passion for AI during his time at ETH Zurich. While he was doing his PhD, Tigran and his brother entered an expo with an early prototype of the SuperAnnotate management system, where they not only won but gained investment traction, which clearly signaled to Tigran that they needed to start a company as soon as possible, even if it meant not completing his PhD.
Being brothers and co-founders, Tigran and Vahan emphasize the advantages of their strong bond and collaborative decision-making. Today, their company caters to key industries such as healthcare, big tech, and robotics. They want to continue driving innovation in AI data management, and their goals for expansion are ambitious.
“When you get so excited about the tech that you don't even finish your PhD in order to start the company, investors can see how committed you are to it”
“Just because your business starts off with hype, doesn’t mean you are guaranteed success. That was a really humbling experience for us.”
Omar Bawa is the co-founder and COO of Goodwall, whose mission is to level the professional playing field for youth globally, helping 2m+ young talent in 150+ countries develop skills, showcase skills, and connect to opportunity. He received a law degree from the University of Geneva and also completed a qualification in product design and innovative thinking from Stanford University.
Growing up, Omar had diverse career aspirations, initially in particle physics, but a teacher later inspired him to pursue law instead. With a vision to make a difference in the world, he co-founded Goodwall with his brother Taha Bawa, driven by their upbringing in a humanitarian family. They would often spend summer vacations visiting refugee camps with their parents, which exposed them to a very different way of life compared to their experience of growing up in Switzerland.
Goodwill aims to level the playing field for youth globally by providing a platform that educates and mobilizes students to address global issues. The unique blend of LinkedIn and TikTok resonates with Gen Z and empowers them to showcase their skills and connect with job opportunities at established companies. Most importantly, Goodwall equips young people with transferable skills through skill development programs to navigate an evolving job market. The company's push for international expansion reflects its global vision, while the team remains grateful for its support from the Swiss ecosystem.
Despite the option to establish a non-profit, Omar chose a for-profit model, leveraging the power of technology and social networking to scale their impact. Sharing this same perspective and values with his co-founder and brother Taha, they have created a strong business partnership that keeps them driven and excited to continue expanding globally and making a meaningful impact.
“Trust is key to running a business, and working with my brother gives me confidence and the peace of mind of knowing that he always has my back.”
“Building a social enterprise to help people is what drives us, but ultimately ROI is the way to create a sustainable business model, and the reason we chose the for-profit model.”
Deana Mohr-Haralampieva is the CEO & co-founder at MUVON Therapeutics, a groundbreaking startup developing a therapeutic platform for the regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue. With a background in radiopharmaceutical sciences, tissue engineering, and STEM cell therapies, Deana has extensive research experience, including a Master of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Konstanz, and she continued to focus on tissue repair therapy with a Ph.D. from ETH.
She boldly transitioned into the startup world, driven by her passion for bringing innovative solutions to life. MUVON Therapeutics was originally a life science spin-off from the University of Zurich developing a therapeutic platform for regenerating skeletal muscle tissue based on autologous cells, repairing damaged tissue, and increasing the regenerative potential of weakened muscles. Their initial area of focus was the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women, supporting them respectfully throughout their journey to a healthier and better quality of life.
The societal challenges surrounding women in STEM fields are a constant obstacle for female founders in these fields. The need for increased female representation and dispelling stereotypes is as relevant as ever, as Deana herself has encountered misconceptions about her work, but she has also experienced firsthand the progress made in this regard, witnessing a positive shift in the number of women joining STEM courses.
The goal for MUVON Therapeutics is to continue making strides in regenerative medicine and open up trials for more varied groups of women to have access to this therapy, and to also make it accessible for men. The long-term goal would be international reach by expanding to the US and the rest of Europe.
"Pharma can be a scarier world than the startup world, but our project was already on the go, so we decided to stay onboard and see it through: and here we are!"
"Seeing the muscle fibers twitching in the lab, I knew this would work, and we decided to make it happen."
Péter Fankhauser is the CEO and co-founder at ANYbotics, a robotics company that develops autonomous robots for industrial inspections. He started his robotics journey at ETH Zurich, receiving a Master's and Ph.D. in Robotics. The idea for the company was ignited by a project he worked on during his time at ETH.
ANYbotics has crafted two types of business models: the first is Robots as a Service (RaaS), which allows customers to hire a robot with comprehensive hardware, software, and service support within the inspection space, and the second is for customers who opt to purchase the robot and software as a lifetime license. This approach varies based on geographical factors and budget allocation strategies. Regardless of the chosen model, ANYbotics focuses on enabling customers to optimize their workforce and allocate human resources to value-adding, creative, and decision-making activities. Notably, the concern that robots will replace the human workforce is not really relevant in this specific industry, since the jobs performed are so hazardous that not many human workers are currently willing to perform them at all. An added benefit to switching to robots, besides human safety and well-being, is the improved accuracy in gathering data.
ANYbotics' customers have discovered another unexpected benefit of incorporating robots into their operations – recruitment. By showcasing their use of cutting-edge robotics, companies attract young talent by offering the opportunity to become plant operators and robotics operators. This unique selling point highlights the innovative nature of the work environment and adds an attractive dimension to the job. It's a testament to the fact that robotics is not about replacing people but empowering and collaborating with them.
Péter and his team at ANYbotics recognize that their vision has a global reach. With the high entry barriers and immense potential of the robotics industry, their ambitions lie in becoming international leaders in the field. By striving to be the best globally, ANYbotics aims to drive down costs, expand its reach, and support customers globally. The goal is to establish a sizable company capable of meeting the demands of thousands of robots, ultimately positioning ANYbotics as a world leader in the industry.
From robotics as a service to attracting talent through its cutting-edge technology, ANYbotics continues to disrupt the industry while maintaining a robust partnership approach, hoping to witness international success and perhaps even do an IPO.
“We decided we wanted to be a product and robotics solution company versus a research company, and part of that is really understanding the customer problem.”
“I was always building things when I was a kid, and all I would think was, ‘how can I help people with this, market this and get it out into the world?’ ’’
Cédric Waldburger describes himself as a startup investor, an essentialist, and an explorer, and from a young age he knew he wanted to start his own ventures: his first was at 14. He went on to get a degree in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zurich. He has built and sold companies in various creative, consumer, and blockchain spaces, giving him a wealth of experience. In 2020 he co-founded Tomahawk, which provides early-stage venture investments to Web3-focused entrepreneurs.
A true digital nomad and adventurer at heart, Cédric decided to fulfill his childhood dream: after spending a lot of time reading the Guinness world book of records, he set his sights on one of the challenges, which was to travel to as many countries as possible in 24 hours. He succeeded by going to 32 countries. This adventurous but calculated spirit comes across in his investment style, which follows a system that values consistency and structure, and always investing with intuition versus emotion.
He is continually assessing the markets and predicting where he can. Still, he doesn’t let it worry him anymore – he focuses on building long-term and trusts that keeping an eye on things, building relationships, and trusting his gut is enough to manage his investments well and hopefully get into real estate in the future. Real estate excites him because the investment opportunities are always increasing and rarely decrease, and thus it’s an industry that’s fundamentally longer term.
“It can be dangerous to get FOMO when you’re an investor.”
“Avoid buying when prices are high and selling when they’re low. Don’t let emotions distract you.”
Jan Lichtenberg is the CEO and board member of InSphero, a medtech company specializing in 3D printed models used for in vitro testing with easy-to-use solutions for producing, culturing, and assessing more organotypic 3D cell culture models. He has a solid scientific background of 10 total years of study, beginning with an MS in Microtechnology from the University of Bremen, followed by a Masters in Microelectronics from EPFL, and then completing his Ph.D. at Université de Neuchâtel in Microtechnology and Microfluidics.
It took 10 years to develop the InSphero 3D model, from conception to iterative research, to finally creating the in vitro tissue. The company came to fruition shortly after the 2008 financial crash, but this was nonetheless the right time for the InSphero team, as pharmaceutical companies desperately needed new and innovative ideas to rejuvenate their brands in those challenging times.
One of the company's main goals is to play a part in eradicating animal testing, for both ethical and reliability reasons. This will take many years, but offering alternative solutions like their 3D in vitro models is a start in allowing for more accurate testing and preventing unnecessary harm to animals. This is all the more important considering that animals often do not biologically react in the same way as humans, and so that animal testing is actually not that reliable.
Their business model is twofold: on one hand, they provide their 3D models to clients who do their own in-house testing, and on the other hand, they also provide them to clients who prefer to conduct testing at the InSphero labs. Correctly transporting tissue is tricky, so conducting research in-house has the added benefit of eliminating the possibility of compromised tissues. Currently InSphero is leaning strongly towards the US market, and Jan travels there every 6 - 8 weeks to keep his ear to the ground. For now, their main priority is the company's growth and expansion, but they hope to one day do an IPO.
“When starting a company, you have to either do it on a shoestring or go all in, but you need to decide that beforehand.”
“It’s not about the money in the bank, but about the interest customers have in your product.”
As a serial entrepreneur, investor, and coach, Frank Floessel has had a rich and wide-ranging career, starting from his university days at ETH Zurich, where he received a Master's in electrical engineering and co-founded and was the first president of ETH Juniors, which has been helping university graduates and students with part-time project work. He extended this idea and founded a second venture, Tempobrain AG, an HR company for InhouseOutsourcing and Salesforces in retail. He is an alum of MIT's Birthing of Giants leadership course. Now he has taken a step back from being an associate Partner at the Austrian VC company Venionaire Capital to return to his Alma Mater as the Head of ETH Entrepreneurship.
His focus on the importance of company values is a huge part of his ethos. It is how he has coached other CEOs to run their companies in similar ways, especially by giving insight into mistakes he made during his career that were huge lessons, as well as sharing other things he is proud to have implemented, like hierarchical dynamics. Values are core to having employees who enjoy working at your company, feel you are transparent, and think you live up to your word. These are essential lessons he wants to share with other CEOs, and he also encourages them to maintain a healthy work/life balance, which he admits can be challenging to do in the early stages of your career.
Now that his focus has shifted to his new role at ETH as Head of Entrepreneurship, he can contribute to helping foster the next generation of entrepreneurs.
“I think entrepreneurship is kind of magic: you have an idea, you make a business plan, and in the end somebody is willing to give you money for that.”
“Two of the key lessons of entrepreneurship are that failure is not an option, and that timing is really important.”
The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway interviewing Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky
Cédric Waldburger describes himself as a startup investor, an essentialist, and an explorer, and from a young age he knew he wanted to start his own ventures: his first was at 14. He went on to get a degree in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zurich. He has built and sold companies in various creative, consumer, and blockchain spaces, giving him a wealth of experience. In 2020 he co-founded Tomahawk, which provides early-stage venture investments to Web3-focused entrepreneurs.
A true digital nomad, Cédric has decided to move to Dubai with his family to connect with fellow crypto entrepreneurs, seek new business ventures, expand on new and current investments, and spend less time thinking about taxes.
He is continually assessing the markets and predicting where he can. Still, he doesn’t let it worry him anymore – he focuses on building long-term and trusts that keeping an eye on things, building relationships, and trusting his gut is enough to manage his investments well and hopefully get into real estate in the future. Real estate excites him because the investment opportunities are always increasing and rarely decrease, and thus it’s an industry that’s fundamentally longer term.
"It is always good to remind yourself that no reward is risk-free."
"I am more interested in working with people who want to build and create something, rather than achieve short-term financial gains."
Alexander Limpert, the co-founder and CEO of GuestReady, a tech-driven accommodation brand focused on short-term rentals, has had a diverse and exciting career, including working in Taiwan and the Philippines. He has a BA in Business Administration from the University of St.Gallen and received an MSc with Distinction in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.
He stayed in London after finishing his masters, and as many of his peers did, began a career in consulting — he worked as a management consultant at Oliver Wyman, advising leading companies across various industries, and was active in eight different countries during his time there. After a few years, he was looking for a new, more entrepreneurial challenge, and decided to look into positions overseas: he soon began work at Rocket Internet as its country managing director in Taiwan and the Philippines.
After his time in Asia, he returned to London and connected with his future co-founders, Patrick and Chris, whom he studied with at LSE, and in 2014 they founded Guest Ready. The idea for the company was spurred by their collective travel experiences, which they had frequently in their careers, and their thoughts on what would have elevated their accommodation experiences. They shared an interest in having a more local, authentic experience when staying in accommodation, especially for slightly longer stays, and so they wanted to combine the consistency and quality of a hotel stay within a host's home with the added layer of helping hosts manage this level of quality.
GuestReady continues to grow and expand, currently having over 4500 listings in 10 countries. They have found a comfortable place in the market, as their business model typically charges a bit less: booking.com or Airbnb will charge around 15 to 18%, whereas they charge about 12%, making it a win-win for everybody. They get 12% extra, and the owner pays less, as does the guest. Another vital part of their business is their in-house software, which has not only been a game changer in being able to scale as steadily as they have, but has also been shared as a product with smaller property management agencies. The future is bright: they could expand, be acquired, go public (although probably at another stage) ... there are many opportunities for GuestReady.
“Creating a good customer experience is about thinking of every aspect of the value chain to make customers’ lives easier.”
“There are many benefits to creating your own in-house tech, not only to redefine yourself as a tech oriented business but also to have a product to sell, as well as a service.”
Alexander Ciritsis is the co-founder and CTO at b-rayZ, an AI medical software for breast cancer early detection. He holds a PhD in Medical Science from RWTH Aachen University and was a researcher at University Hospital Aachen and Universitätsspital Zürich before starting b-rayZ in 2019.
During his time as a research scientist in the medical field, Alexander Ciritsis noticed a clear gap in the radiology market: not only is there a lot more data for radiologists to analyze nowadays (a CT scan takes 12 secs to give you 128 slides, whereas 10 years ago it took 5 min to provide 30 slides), but only 10% of radiologists and radiographers are breast imaging specialists, in spite of the growing number of exams performed globally (270M+). Add to that the fact that breast density (a factor which varies naturally from person to person) makes catching lesions and cancer more difficult, and that it’s up to the physician to determine whether or not the breast is dense enough to warrant further testing, and you’ve got a perfect storm for malpractice suits.
b-rayZ offers an AI solution that provides standardized, reproducible and real-time classification of breast density with a proven accuracy of 93%. This means that people with dense breasts are more likely to be directed towards further testing, and so the likelihood of breast cancer being detected early on and successfully combated by cancer treatments increases. b-rayZ does not claim to diagnose cancer themselves: they simply help smooth and improve the workflow that does detect it. They haven’t patented their code (since people could code around the patent anyways) but they have patented the process of training and developing their AI software.
Currently they are looking forward to expanding into the US market, and in 2022 they raised a CHF 4 million round partially funded through the Swisspreneur Syndicate.
"Outsource as little as possible. Your IP is your most precious asset, and you need to protect it."
"You need to find the tedious tasks in a department which can and need to be standardized — then AI is your friend."
.png)
Andreas Schollin-Borg always knew he wanted to become an entrepreneur. At the age of 16 he began a small business selling caps, and the bug bit. Due to his father’s insistence, he obtained a finance and ship trading degree from HEC Lausanne and a Master's from the University of Geneva, and even went on to study at NYU, all the while trying out different entrepreneurial ideas in his mind — fast forward to the present, he is the co-founder of Batmaid, and the CEO of Batgroup, the parent company of Batmaid, Batwork, and Batsoft.
Back in 2014, he initially wanted to start a shoe business while in New York and was actively studying this industry. While doing this, his apartment was a mess and difficult to work in, so he found a locally-based app to book a housekeeper to do some cleaning. It was such a good experience, and he loved the idea so much that he decided to take it back to Switzerland with him.
However, he knew he would need support and partnership, and found it one night at a beer pong tournament where he met his future partner, Eric Laudet. They have only grown from there: Batmaid has become the Batgroup, including Batmaid, Batwork, and Batsoft, which all combat different areas of the cleaning business, and it has expanded to other regions of Switzerland and 8 countries around Europe. Initially, it was challenging to convince investors to give capital to the company because people-based businesses are often seen as unreliable, but Andreas proved there was a demand for this service, and with some significant branding initiatives, a partnership with Onet (one of the biggest facility management companies in Europe) and some damn good tech, investors became convinced.
An essential part of their business is the social mission of combating the black market and giving their staff rights, legal agency, and financial and emotional support. Having a constant fear of going to work in the case that somebody asks for a social security number, or simply not getting a retirement package, is a reality for many of the cleaning staff, and it is Batmaid's goal to improve that experience, to be a safe environment fueled by trust between the employer, the employee and the client.
For the next 12 months, Andreas is taking a brief pause on growth and focusing on profitability, while also working towards improving their service. He would love Batmaid to be something that is accessible to everybody in any part of Switzerland, and for it to be the number one tech-based cleaning company in the world.
“Bringing the supplier and user together, it’s the chicken and egg problem – you need the supply before the demand, because if you have no supply, demand will never come.”
“When you’re in a startup or scaleup, the problems don’t get simpler, they just get more complex.”
Laurent Decrue is the co-founder of the moving company MOVU and the software company Holycode, and the former CEO at Bexio. Currently he is active as CFO and co-CEO at Holycode. He holds an MBA from the University of Basel and previously worked at DeinDeal.
Throughout his time at MOVU, Bexio, DeinDeal and Holycode, Laurent observed time and time again the following product building mistakes:
What do all great products have in common, regardless of industry?
When it comes to KPIs which can keep product iteration on track, Laurent warns you not to focus too much on stuff like revenue or absolute number of users, but instead conversion rate, which points to stumbling blocks along your funnel regardless of your user scale.
What are 4 key sub departments in a product team?
How can you cultivate a strong culture not only within the product team, but the whole team overall?
"Values have to come from the founders. Otherwise it doesn’t work."
"You have to be naive when starting a business. If you actually knew how hard it was going to be, you simply wouldn’t do it."
Nathalie Moral is the founder and CEO of Clima Now, a foundation that finances and invests in climate solutions She received a degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen and a certification in business and climate change, from both ZHAW and Cambridge. She followed a career in consulting, working at companies like PwC, but soon realized she felt like she had a bigger purpose and wanted to make an impact, and to do something she would be proud to tell her children about one day.
Born in Switzerland, her family unconventionally spent the first few years of her life in India, and upon moving back to Switzerland, she was confronted with how different the experiences were between the two places. She gained awareness early on in life of the privileged bubble that Switzerland can be and became cognizant of the experiences of others. That is what got her interested in helping to fight climate change, and her optimistic outlook has often infectiously inspired other people. She tries not to focus on the pessimistic aspects when thinking about climate change but rather to be aware of the fantastic work people are doing around her to make a difference in this pressing issue – she believes the future is bright.
The combination of impact and investment is one of the best ways she sees to make real change, as in this capacity you can get involved with political movements which are focused on the climate, and not just their own political agenda. She has a goal to get 100k signatures for Clima Now’s initiative, Spotlight, which allows communities to submit climate-conscious ideas that are then voted on by the public at large. Since in Switzerland 100k is a large enough number of signatures to change the law, hitting this milestone would be a huge stride for the organization.
Switzerland being one of the world’s wealthiest countries, it is often thought that we are already doing enough to be carbon neutral, and we are, in fact, doing many positive things. However there are still areas where improvements can be made and it is largely to do with aligning political agendas, because climate consciousness should not be a political strategy, and neither should taking responsibility and providing support to the Global South.
Clima Now’s future focus will be on the youth aged 18-35, which is the generation that climate changes will affect the most, and they will as well be focused on climate-positive food security sourcing and how people think about what they eat, and where it comes from. Like any venture, there has to be a focus on the finances, and there is a hope to raise between 50 and 100 million Swiss francs in the next few years to be able to invest in even more projects. They want funders to see this investment as a climate return, more than a financial one.
“Getting a seat at the table, and then changing the role that people have for you, is where the true shift for women begins.”
“Challenges for startups will always come up both when you have money and when you don’t have it.”
Dennis Just is a serial entrepreneur and the former CEO at smallpdf, the rapidly growing and fully bootstrapped PDF powerhouse. He holds a BSc in Economics and Engineering from the Technische Universität Berlin and previously founded companies like dSLASH.de, compreo.de, TopFachhandel.de, Numbrs, and Knip AG, and also worked at the famous scaleup DeinDeal. Currently he’s active as a venture partner at the European venture capital group 3VC.
Dennis was CEO at smallpdf from 2019 to March 2023, and during his time there the company acquired PDF Tools AG (2022) for $30M. He advises founders to cultivate a strategic mindset before even beginning the acquisition process: you need to make sure you have both the revenue and the talent to support the massive growth that acquisition implies.
When trying to identify acquisition targets, Dennis suggests liaising with the competitors in your market from early on. Find out who’s who, where they’re headed, whether or not they’re your 1:1 competitors, and, if they’re not, whether it would make sense to join forces with them. In smallpdf’s case, since they’re a bootstrapped company, it didn’t make sense for them to look for companies backed by VCs, since investors tend to have demands which bootstrapped buyers (with building generational, sustainable businesses in mind) typically cannot meet. So instead they looked for bootstrapped companies with a track record of organic growth.
Something that’s also crucial is to assess the cultural fit, and that’s why having a long-term relationship with these companies comes in handy. But regardless of how long you’ve known them, a due diligence process should always include cultural assessment interviews with all employees. It’s important to set clear standards for what you want the culture to be, even if that means losing 30% of the people from the company you acquired.
"The due diligence process should include cultural assessment interviews with every single employee from the company you’re considering buying."
Dominik Megert is the founder and CEO at offerz, a company which provides the largest assortment of digital vouchers and gift cards in Switzerland. He studied Retail Trade at the Business School Thun and started offerz when he finished his studies, in 2015.
Whether it’s credit for gaming services (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Blizzard, Steam), vouchers for entertainment ( Spotify, deezer, Google Play), gift cards for everyday needs (Coop, Manor, Lidl, MediaMarkt, Zalando, Just Eat) or prepaid mobile top-ups, offerz has it available at any time and printable as PDF. They also allow you to personalize your gift card with text, image or video. In return for promoting the gift card issuing companies, offerz receives a commission between 2% and 20%, depending on how well the card typically sells.
Though the average gift card sale in Switzerland is twice as high as in other European countries (due to the higher purchasing power and stronger currency), gift card issuing companies don’t usually go for Switzerland, because of its small size and multilingualism.
However, offerz’ innovative solution seems to have convinced a number of them, and they feature offerz’ logo on their online shops. This helped offerz build up trust with potential customers, and for that same purpose they also upgraded the look of their own website and logo and invested in building a strong customer support team.
"If your online shop looks ugly, that certainly won’t help build trust with customers."
Pascal Bieri is the co-founder of Planted, a startup creating healthy plant-based meat alternatives. He holds an MA in Informations-, Media- and Technology Management from the University of St Gallen, and previously worked in companies like SweetWorks Confections and DeepTech Capital AG before starting Planted in 2019. He also co-founded the Green Liberal Party in Lucerne when he was 21, but the slowness of politics soon dissuaded him from getting further involved.
So what’s wrong with livestock farming?
From a cold, technocratic point of view, not taking into account the environment, animal well-being or workers’ rights was great for the meat industry, since it allowed it to achieve a fantastic production ration, super efficient supply chains, pay almost no taxes and deliver very low margins to everyone involved. Meat became cheap and accessible to almost everyone. However, this came at the cost of…
Planted makes meat alternatives mainly out of pea protein, which can be grown locally and gives great taste. In 100 g of planted.chicken Nature, for example, there is 23.7 g of protein, which is about the same amount as found in conventional chicken meat. planted.chicken Nature consists of no more than four natural ingredients and a healthy portion of vitamin B12. What scares Pascal in the meat alternative market is not companies trying to produce equally healthy and tasty alternatives, but the companies making unhealthy products that taste terribly, which deter people from ever trying out a vegan product again.
Planted products are available in supermarkets but also in certain restaurants, and the menus in these restaurants clearly state that they use planted products. This was intentional on planted’s part, in order to build trust with their future customers. Their goal, eventually, is to become cheaper than animal meat.
"We’re hiding from climate catastrophe behind our own plates, because we’re so attached to eating meat."
.png)
Andrea Belliger is the director of the Institut für Kommunikation und Führung, Switzerland's leading educational research and consulting institution. She studied at the University of Lucerne, majoring in theology, philosophy, and history. She also completed two post-doctorates, one at the University of Zurich in Classical Studies and Law, and the other at the University of Athens, focusing on ancient church history. She joined IKF in 2005, and is involved with many of the courses' conceptual structures. Her other job titles include professor, scientist, author, speaker, and board member.
A significant focus of IKF is teaching communication, management, and personal leadership skills, and helping to encourage. You can find your career path by embracing change and taking inspiration from your American counterparts: it is important to be bold and not shy away from failure! Foundations play an important role in Switzerland's entrepreneurial make-up and help to bring into existence projects which may not otherwise have had the necessary financial means. To provide this support is one of the main focuses of IKF, and to do so in a variety of industries, including e-learning, e-health, and e-government.
Andrea also gives some tips on working more thoughtfully by focusing on your strengths and improving your work culture. She recommends questioning yourself to ensure you're on the right path and in the right seat, because you sometimes need to come to terms with the fact that you may not be satisfied in your career. Lastly, we talk about how wealth in Switzerland doesn't always help society make the changes it needs, and point to the importance of shifting mindsets and having ideas worth the funding available.
"Wir sind veränderungsresistent, weil es uns sehr gut geht."
Ulrike is the co-founder and Head of Science and Development at rrreefs, a startup rebuilding coral reefs to restore marine biodiversity and protect coast lines. She holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics/Experimental Bioinformatics and was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow of Biological Oceanography at ETH, before creating rrreefs in 2020.
What causes damage to coral reefs?
It’s estimated that we’ve already lost 50% of all coral reefs on planet Earth. This is truly tragic, because they harbor ⅓ of all species that exist in the ocean, and are essential for industries like pharma, beauty, etc. In the pharma industry, for example, byproducts of the coral reef ecosystem are used for drugs against bacteria, viruses, pain, and even cancer.
rrreefs tackles this issue by building modular systems of 3D-printed terracotta bricks which, when “implanted”, create a new habitat for about 20000 reef animals smaller than 0.5mm for each m3. Every reef is built in collaboration with local stakeholders and all reef material is 100% plastic free and free of additives. Their reefs are proven to increase fish abundance and diversity by providing shelter for adult and juvenile fish, and the rrreefs team continuously integrates results from scientific experiments to improve their reef system.
rrreefs began their operations by crowdfunding, and after that accepted donations from companies and grants from foundations. In 2023, the rrreefs foundation is becoming an AG and starting to raise capital, targeting companies that want to foster a reef as part of their sustainability portfolio. Why just plant trees, when you can also foster coral reefs? Companies can sponsor their very own reef or sponsor part of a communal reef, and they can also add on a data & storytelling subscription to know how their reef is evolving. rrreefs’ medium to long term goal is to eventually create reef credits which will be tokenized and work as financial assets.
"We’ve probably lost around 50% of all coral reefs already. These reefs harbor ⅓ of all species that live in the ocean."
The daughter of a Namibian diplomat, Hilda Liswani has lived in many places, including South Africa, Ethiopia, and the UK. The experience of always being an outsider looking in has shaped her perspective toward diversity and inclusion: she was made to realize how boundless the world is, and how opportunities present themselves to you once you change your mindset. Hilda has a degree in International relations from the Nottingham University of Trent and an MSc from the University of London in Migration Mobility development. Nowadays she is the CEO and founder of WeBloom, a non-profit focused on building gender equality in Switzerland within policy making and institutions.
WeBloom is a non-profit association based in Zurich, Switzerland, whose focus is to adopt inclusion and sustainable methods towards diversity in Swiss work environments, specifically within the tech industry, with a focus on venture capital, academic institutions, founders and corporates to address systemic challenges within technological innovation. According to research WeBloom conducted in 2022, only 1.9% of seed funding only went to female founders — this shows us where change most needs to take place.
Hilda believes that Switzerland is already bridging the diversity gap and is further ahead than many other European countries. However, there is still a way to go, and what will ignite that change is economic inclusion and actively changing people’s mindsets, especially for women and minorities, to shift their internalized cultural perspectives. WeBloom conducted another study where they found that 17% of Swiss people have negative feelings towards black people, and 21% towards Muslim people, which naturally is also felt in the workplace. Policy makers and employers should not attempt to fix this issue through setting quotas, because making people feel like they’re a quota hire is both disheartening and unsustainable in the long-term. Instead, employers should look to improve their unbiased hiring practices, to ensure preconceived notions of “the other” do not prevent them from hiring the best person for the job.
Some additional solutions Hilda suggests are prioritizing financing female founders and integrating DAI (Diversity and Inclusion) initiatives in the workplace that provide clear and actionable information.
“Diverse teams yield about 32% more financial returns in terms of profit and are also more effective in avoiding harmful design and development.”
“Only 20% of entrepreneurs in Switzerland are female, and only 10% of those are in tech. Things are not faring so great right now, but a lot of opportunities are available for change.”
This episode was co-produced by Startup Days 2023. Click here to purchase your ticket now.
.png)
Pascale Vonmont is the director of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung, which funds innovative Swiss university projects. She is also a board member at Swiss Foundations, VentureKick and the Swiss National Science Foundation, and a jury member of EY “Entrepreneur of The Year” Switzerland. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from ETH Zurich.
Founded in 1999, Gebert Rüf is the largest private science and innovation-funding foundation in Switzerland, with the objective to promote «Switzerland as a top location for business and as a place to live». As a private funding agency guided by its mission statement «making science effective», it supports entrepreneurial projects which are committed to achieving an impact. They’re supporters of known Swiss projects like InnoBooster and Venture Kick.
Pascale Vonmont manages the operational side of the foundation. She supports the board of trustees in its strategic activities, manages the foundation's support programmes, and networks the foundation's activities with central partners.
Pascale’s decades of experience have taught her that foundations should make a priority out of transparency and approachability, and need to recognize that innovation is a risk which sometimes necessitates failure, but failure doesn’t mean that the work wasn’t worthwhile. Gebert Rüf also helped create Swiss Foundations, a “voice” for foundations in Switzerland which offers practical advice and educates foundation bodies.
Gebert Rüg’s funding strategy has 4 main pillars:
Pascale advises startups thinking about applying for a Gebert Rüf grant to first get in touch with them by calling or emailing, so that both parties can make sure that the startup’s area of activity falls within the foundation’s scope.
Gebert Rüf is currently celebrating their 25th anniversary, which prompted them to co-produce a bonus series with us early this year celebrating the role of foundations in entrepreneurship.
"The key role of every foundation is to do impactful funding. No matter how small they are, there will be a gap in the market requiring their funding."
.png)
After getting his degree in Computer Science from ETH Zurich and having a background in highly competitive sports, as his mother and grandfather were competitive endurance athletes, Fabian Mächler figured out early on that sport as a career was not for him. However, he found that startups gave him the same need to perform. Fabian has participated in various startup initiatives, like startup days, Startup INVEST, and Sigma Squared Society, and previously worked as a software and electrical engineer. Now, he’s the co-founder of grape, a digital employee insurance that improves team health by integrating software, health, and insurance to work synchronously.
Founded in Zurich in 2021, grape has grown from strength to strength, having raised 1.7 million Swiss Francs in the first-seed stage and recently made 7 digits in premium volume. Employee health care is a requirement in Swiss companies, which means an open landscape of ideas for this necessary service. They provide their services to companies as small as 50 employees and up to 4000, and it is the integration of automation software, combined with health and insurance, that has allowed them to have this kind of reach. It is also vital to grape that their product alleviates the pressure for both employees and managers to take on administrative responsibility. The grape insurance model can step in and handle a large amount of it, and a completed report gets to a manager and allows them to give more support to their colleagues.
Significantly, when trying to start grape, Fabian and his team’s research process went through many validation stages. grape as we know it today is the result of 6 or 7 tries, and the iteration process allowed them to realize that they did not necessarily need to create an insurance platform from scratch, but would do better to focus on being the agent who brings the 3 phases of healthcare together. Through their research and user testing, they discovered how short-term absenteeism (1 - 30 days absence period) is the most common symptom of workplace dissatisfaction regarding health and wellness. Another vital aspect that they were focused on was making sure their product was available to everyone, and not just people who are already in good health. This keeps them active in the preventative care space while acknowledging the importance of reactive care, which often receives the most attention in any case, but also usually has the most impact.
Fabian has slowly begun to find some work-life balance, prioritizing sleep and continuing to focus on sports, spending time with family and friends, and occasionally fasting. The grape team wants to reach some big revenue milestones in 2023, which they cannot disclose too much about just yet. We’ll just have to wait!
"Startups are the Olympics of the professional world."
"We have chosen to offer insurance that has the best options for employees, not the lowest price."
This episode was co-produced by Startup Days 2023. Click here to purchase your ticket now.
Flavio Pfaffhauser is a co-founder and CIO at Beekeeper, a frontline operating system which helps companies ditch paper and manual processes to improve employee engagement, retention, and performance. Tobias Gunzenhauser is the co-founder and CEO at yamo, an omnichannel FoodTech company creating the healthiest and tastiest products good for people and planet. Léa Miggiano is co-founder and CMO at Carvolution, the biggest car subscription service in Switzerland.
All agree that when going international, branding is very important, because:
What differentiates success in the US market and success in the Swiss market?
Flavio and Tobias recommend not to compromise on the hiring process when going international. They advise you to actively look for people at recruiting fairs, LinkedIn, or even by browsing through master’s theses and contacting the authors whose work most closely relates to your industry. Tobias also adds that at this stage, you should both hire and fire fast.
"I don’t think there’s such a thing as feeling ready for the next step, in a startup context. Running a startup means being constantly out of your comfort zone." (Tobias)
"The war for talent is on fire, regardless of where you hire." (Léa)
"It’s always good to have a plan, but sometimes you have to take the opportunity when it presents itself." (Flavio)
