Swisspreneur podcast

About Lea Von Bidder and Ava Science

Lea is best know as the Co-founder and President of Ava Science, Inc., the company behind the Ava bracelet, the first fertility-tracking wearable device. Prior to starting Ava, Lea co-founded L’inouï, a premium chocolate production and retail chain in Bangalore, India. She also spent time working for the marketing division of Procter & Gamble in Frankfurt and for a strategy-consulting boutique in Paris. Lea holds a Master’s degree in global entrepreneurship from EM Lyon in France, Zhejiang University in China and Purdue Krannert University in the USA. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of St.Gallen and HEC Montréal in Canada. In 2017, she was recognized by the University of St. Gallen with the HSG Founder of the Year award.

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Memorable Quotes

“The startup ecosystem in Switzerland is still really young, so there’s still the chance to influence it and give it some direction.”

“The sexism in the startup ecosystem reinforces itself.”

“The more you pitch, the better.”

“If you wanna be fast, and you’re doing a consumer product, then you have to go to the U.S. It’s so much more scalable.”

“The best time to fundraise is when you don’t need the money.”

About Markus & Daniel Freitag

In 1993, graphic designers Markus and Daniel Freitag were looking for a functional, water-repellent and robust bag to hold their creative work. Inspired by the multicolored heavy traffic that rumbled through the Zurich transit intersection in front of their flat, they developed a messenger bag from used truck tarpaulins, discarded bicycle inner tubes and car seat belts. This is how the first FREITAG bags took shape in the living room of their shared apartment. Today their products are available in 29 F-STORES as well as at over 300 resellers around the world.

FREITAG lab.ag has been headquartered at the Nœrd industrial complex in Zurich-Oerlikon since 2011. In 2014, FREITAG launched a new product, F-ABRIC. These completely compostable textiles are based on bast fibers that are produced using a minimum of resources within a 2500-kilometer radius of headquarters.

FREITAG has not only committed to the circular, closed-loop economy but is also organized in circles: in 2016, the company, which still belongs to the Freitag brothers, abandoned the classical hierarchical structure and replaced it with Holacracy, a form of organization based on self-management.

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Memorable Quotes

“When you have a prototype approach, failure doesn’t feel like failure — it feels like learning.”

“Diversity is one of our core values.”

“On a global level, Switzerland is irrelevant. But as an example, Switzerland proves us that you can always do something better.”

“Switzerland needs to be more open-minded, to be less perfect.”

“Treat your co-founder as a brother.”

About Adrian Locher and DeinDeal

Adrian is best known as Founder and COO of DeinDeal.ch, an e-commerce coupons and discounts platform for products and services. Within a year of starting the business, DeinDeal.ch was the fastest growing Swiss start-up and market leader in the group buying segment in Switzerland. After 18 months, the Swiss media group Ringier bought 60% of DeinDeal.ch as a strategic investment. At that time the company was valued at CHF 30 Mio. After his exit from DeinDeal.ch, Adrian went on to start new ventures that are leveraging Artificial Intelligence.

Adrian graduated with a degree in business and economics from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), where he started his very first business as a software developer. He was awarded “HSG Entrepreneur of the Year 2012”, “Swiss E-Commerce Champion 2015” and was ranked “40 under 40” by Swiss Bilanz magazine.

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Memorable Quotes

“Swiss entrepreneurs should take the plunge as soon as possible. The earlier you start to fail, the earlier you’ll start to succeed.”

“It’s not about the idea. It’s about timing. Most businesses out there are total copycats!”

“Never try to develop a market as a startup. It’s gonna kill you.”

“Questionnaires are not valid feedback, because people don’t do what they say they do.”

“My best employees at the time were people who nowadays are founders. Out of Dein Deal, at least 20 companies were created.”

About Peter Schüpbach and SwissCommerce

Peter Schüpbach started his entrepreneurial career as a co-founder of Miracle Software AG back in 1986 and served as its Chief Executive Officer for more than 10 years. He grew the organization in 14 years to a 350 employee software company with offices in 5 countries and went public with an IPO at the Swiss Stock Exchange SWX in 1999. Today he is engaged in several start-up companies and is a member of the board of several organizations, for example SwissCommerce, an internet platform that builds and buys E-Commerce companies in special interest markets. He received the award “Business Angel of the Year” from the ASBAN (Swiss Business Angel Association) in 2005.

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Memorable Quotes

“In the middle of a technological revolution, we rocked the market.”

“Only go international once you have your own market.”

“When you create something that shifts the paradigm, timing is very important.”

About Roman Gaus and UrbanFarmers

Roman is best known as the Founder and CEO of UrbanFarmers, a company dedicated to building commercial food production systems in and around cities. Together with Andreas Graber, he has developed UrbanFarmers’ vision how food could be grown in an urban space at a large scale. He noticed the trend abroad and learned about a breakthrough Swiss technology that could make it more reliable and sustainable. Since 2011, UrbanFarmers has become a technology leader in Aquaponics, saving water, energy and nutrients to grow fish and plants in a closed-loop.
Roman graduated from University of St. Gallen with an M.A. in Accounting, Finance and Controlling. Before starting UrbanFarms, he has a worked with various large companies in the food and health sector, such as P&G, Novartis and Franke Group.

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Memorable Quotes

“Entrepreneurship is about drive and passion, but it’s also about management and leadership.”

“There’s a lot of inefficiency in agriculture. I think urban farming will play a role in fixing that.”

“I would not trade skills over passion. If someone is passionate, that goes a long way.”

“A friend of mine told me: it takes a long time to achieve instant success.”

“Having a great partner at home is a key ingredient for entrepreneurial success.”

“It’s difficult to separate your professional life from your personal one, when you’re an entrepreneur. You bring it home.”

About André Borschberg and Solar Impulse

André Borschberg is best known as the CEO, co-founder and pilot of Solar Impulse: the enterprise that, under his guidance, built a solar-powered plane that broke the world record for the longest solo flight in an airplane of any kind: 117 hours and 52 minutes. He had previously achieved recognition for the first-ever day and night flight in a solar airplane flying Solar Impulse 1 in 2010, followed by eight different world records. André led the development of the aircraft on a mission that began as the passionate vision of Bertrand Piccard more than 13 years ago, tackling numerous challenges ranging from equipment failures to major delays along the way. André graduated from the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and holds a Master’s in Management Science from the MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston. In addition, he was a partner of a venture capital firm for eight years and successfully launched two start-ups, including Innovative Silicon, a technology company in the field of microprocessor memories. Today, André contributes as a mentor and by driving initiatives as a member of the World President’s and the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). He also speaks frequently at leadership forums such as the World Economic Forum (WEF).

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Memorable Quotes

“I was never bothered when people told me ‘no’. It always made me think ‘I’ll prove you wrong’.”

“At the beginning, you don’t look for good team players. You look for people who have the talent and skills you need.”

“You have to be able to welcome the unexpected. Preparing for the worst is the way to go.”

About Alisée de Tonnac and Seedstars

Alisée de Tonnac is the Founder and CEO of Seedstars, an investment firm building and investing in tech companies in 60+ emerging markets. After traveling for a year around the world she set up the first edition of Seedstars in 2013 and grew the competition to 60+ cities around the world. Prior to founding Seedstars, Alisée worked as product manager for luxury brands at L’Oréal Group and was part of the Italian team at Voyage Privé, a leading European startup. She graduated from HEC Lausanne and obtained her Masters in International Management from the Bocconi University in Italy with highest honors. She was also a member of the Harvard Model Congress Europe where she won the Award of Excellence. Alisée is a board member of the School of Management in Fribourg, Switzerland. She was nominated top 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur by Forbes Magazine and an Innovation Fellow by Wired UK.

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Memorable Quotes

“I think that in the near future diplomas are gonna become obsolete.”

“Corporate experiences give you discipline. Sometimes, pure entrepreneurs have a lot of ego.”

“My corporate experience was great for understanding what I don’t want.”

“Switzerland is just a bit too comfortable. It’s the golden cage. That’s probably why we don’t have that many entrepreneurs.”

About Daniel Graf

Daniel joined Uber in 2015 as the Head of Marketplace, the team that works on Uber’s dynamic pricing model. Before joining Uber he did a short stint at Twitter as the Vice President of Consumer Product. Prior to Twitter Daniel was in charge of leading Google’s Maps & Local teams. After Apple ousted Google Maps from iOS in 2012, Daniel led the development of an award-winning Google mapping experience that shot to number one in the iTunes store. Fast Company recognized Daniel for this achievement as one of the Most Creative People in Business 2013. Prior to Google, Daniel was the CEO of Kyte, which he founded in 2005. Kyte became a leading platform for live and on-demand video content. Daniel sold Kyte to KIT Digital in 2011. Before Kyte, Daniel joined Philips Consumer Electronics in 2001 where he developed the world’s first Internet audio stereo system and the first wireless Home Entertainment System with Internet video services. In 1999 and 2000 he was the Chief Software Engineer of ReQuest Multimedia, an award-winning Consumer Electronics startup, based in New York. There he created the world’s first MP3 Hard Disk Jukebox, the predecessor to Apple’s “iPod”. Daniel earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Interstaatliche Hochschule für Technik Buchs (NTB) and an MS in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

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Memorable Quotes

“Sometimes naiveté allows you to just go in and overcome challenges. If you know too much, you’re paralyzed.”

“Hiring the wrong person can really throw your whole company off track.”

“In the startup world, everything looks like such a great opportunity — but if you take on too much, you do everything half-baked.”

“I would bet 90% of the challenges you face in life are related to communication: miscommunication or lack of communication.”

“Nowadays it’s easier and less capital-intense than ever before to start a technology and information business.”

About Toni Schneider and Automattic

Toni Schneider is a founding Partner of True Ventures. From 2006-2014 he was CEO of Automattic where he led WordPress.com to become a top 10 global internet destination with close to a billion monthly visitors. At Automattic, Toni also helped create a new type of startup with over 300 employees working together in an “office optional”, distributed fashion from homes and co-working spaces in over 40 countries. His career in technology began as a software engineer at Crystal River Engineering where he built 3D audio simulators for NASA and a VP of Technology at Aureal Semiconductor (acquired by Creative Labs). He joined the world of startups as the co-founder of Uplister, a venture-backed music recommendation startup in early 2000. It was his role as CEO of Oddpost, however, that may have impacted his career path most significantly. Yahoo! acquired Oddpost in 2004, which formed the basis of the new Yahoo! Mail used by over 250 million people around the world. Toni joined Yahoo! as a VP and created the Yahoo! Developer Network. While at True and Automattic, he also found time to co-found Sphere (acquired by AOL) with Tony Conrad. Voted startup CEO of the Year at the 2007 Crunchies, Toni’s leadership style is commended by many of those who have worked for or with him. When he is not running a company or advising another, you can find him in his VW van crossing the US with his family, coaching San Francisco Little League baseball, or tinkering with old cars.

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Memorable Quotes

“What made WordPress unique from day 1 was how customizable and extendable it was.”

“Our mission with WordPress was to democratize publishing.”

“Everyone who writes code should get to work directly with the customer.”

“Being a CEO is by design a lonely job.”

“The things that work in Silicon Valley are largely tied to Venture Capital.”

“Switzerland’s stability and long-term thinking can be an entrepreneurial strength.”

About Myke Näf and Doodle

Myke Näf is the founder and former CEO of Doodle, the prominent event scheduler software. He sold the company for an undisclosed amount to Tamedia in 2014. Shortly after the acquisition he left Doodle and has become an active angel investor and startup mentor in Switzerland. He’s a Venture Partner at Cavalry Ventures, a Startup Mentor at Kickstart Accelerator, and serves on a number of different boards. He’s also a Partner at Swiss Life Lab, an incubator for Fintech, Insurtech and Propertytech. Myke holds a Masters degree in Computer Science from ETH Zurich and Executive Diploma from the University of St. Gallen (HSG).

About Dania Gerhardt and Amazee Labs

Dania Gerhardt is the founder of Amazee Labs. She started Amazee.com in 2007 and successfully pivoted her startup to one of Switzerland’s premier Web services companies Amazee Labs. The company has offices in Zurich, Austin and Cape Town. In 2014 Dania moved from Zurich to Cape Town and frequently commutes between South Africa and Switzerland. Dania serves on the boards of the Swiss Internet Industry Association and Swissnex. She is also the host of TEDx Zurich since 2012. Before her entrepreneurial life, Dania was an accounting executive at KPMG in Zurich. She received a Master in Economics from the University of Basel.

About Alain Chuard

Alain Chuard is a Swiss serial entrepreneur and former professional snowboarder living in Palo Alto, California. He is best known as the founder and Chief product officer of Wildfire Interactive, the social media marketing technology company acquired by Google in July 2012. At Google, Alain was responsible for overseeing Wildfire’s strategy, integration into Google’s Display Ads Division, and external representation of the product. His early professional years were spent as a financial analyst with New York investment bank Salomon Smith Barney and as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Highland Capital Partners.  Alain is also a former world-ranking professional snowboarder who competed on the World-Cup Pro Tour. He was ranked in the top 4 in Switzerland, placed in the top 4 in the NY State qualifier for the U.S. National Championships, and is among the most published snowboard athletes in history. Alain holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (2007) and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Macalester College (1999) in St. Paul, MN.

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Memorable Quotes

“It’s important for every kid to have something at which they’re better than everyone else.”

“The easiest way to build a product fit for the market is to create something which fulfills your own needs.”

“As an entrepreneur, it’s very easy to just fall in love with your idea and not think critically about it.”