Fabio Ronga is the co-founder and CEO of beqom, a cloud-based compensation management solution. He holds a master's degree in Business Information Systems from HEC Lausanne and previously worked at Hyperion (bought by Oracle) and Outlooksoft (bought by SAP) before starting beqom in 2008.
Together with his co-founders (including Tanya Jansen and Stephan Pohl, who are still active in the company), Fabio built beqom to solve HR problems he himself had encountered earlier in his career. Serendipitously enough, someone Fabio used to know from Hyperion was on the board of a French company who had built the exact tech that Fabio and his co-founders needed, but was using it for different purposes. beqom was born out of a partnership with that company. Later on, when beqom was coming into its own, it merged with this French company.
beqom started out with Swiss headquarters and maintains them to this day. Fabio thinks this helped them be global-minded about their product building from day one: since Switzerland is such a linguistically and culturally fragmented country, Swiss founders cannot rely on their domestic market to keep them in business, like US companies can.
In 2022 beqom received a strategic investment of USD 300M from Sumeru Equity Partners. A few years prior, beqom had received another investment from Goldman Sachs, in exchange of which they promised a favorable exit scenario — this was their motivation for the 2022 Sumeru investment.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
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Priyanka Dutta Passecker is the co-founder and CEO of Healiva, a biotech startup using advanced cell therapy to treat acute and chronic wounds. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Trinity College Dublin and worked for companies like UCB Pharma, Axol Bioscience Ltd and Bioseutica before starting Healiva in 2020.
2-3% of the elderly suffer from painful venous/arterial leg ulcers and nearly 25% of diabetics may develop diabetic foot ulcers in their lifetimes. This burden is borne by healthcare systems, which spend 2% of their budgets on wound management. Worst of all, about 60% of chronic wounds remain unhealed. That’s why Healiva is such a game changer: they use 3 non-virus-based enzymes from codfish pancreas, which, due to their provenance, are quite stable at room temperature, and therefore can be stored in a liquid form and used as a spray. They’re currently getting ready for pre-clinical studies to prove the safety and efficacy of their product.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
This episode was co-produced with smzh.
Andreas Krümmel is the former CEO at Generali Switzerland and a current board member at SMZH, an independent partner in all matters related to finance, insurance, real estate, tax and law, for both private and corporate clients. He holds an MBA from HSG and spent 20 years working in insurance, for companies like Winterthur Group, AXA and Generali.
During his chat with Silvan, Andreas discussed his key leadership principles (which boil down to simplifying things to the maximum, and listening before deciding), reminisced over Switzerland’s slow digitization process from the 80s until now, and reflected on the role insurtech startups are playing in today’s landscape.
SMZH: tailor-made .holistic. for you.
smzh is an independent financial services provider who is assisting both private and corporate clients with individual advice in the areas of finance & investments, pensions, mortgages, insurance, real estate and tax & law. Through a 360° Check-Up, smzh ensures that you receive customized and comprehensive financial planning according to your initial situation and with a view to achieving your wishes and goals, as well as being accompanied by our experts during implementation.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
Alessandro Ofner is the co-founder and co-CEO of Microcaps, a startup developing breakthrough technology to naturally encapsulate ingredients and fragrances into visually appealing micro-capsules. He holds a PhD from ETH and started his company in 2018, as soon as he finished his postgraduate studies.
Microcaps’ use cases range from nutrition (natural encapsulation of nutrition products to protect ingredients and improve performance), to cosmetics (encapsulation solutions for ethanol-free perfume and serum products) and pharmaceuticals (a patented approach to sustained release with oral and injectable application). To protect their product, they’ve successfully applied for 11 different patents, which makes it so that their partners don’t have to worry about copycats.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
This episode was co-produced with the Female Founders Initiative.
Regula Buob is the founder of SoftTec, a consultancy that offers services related to both technical and soft skills. She is also a coach for early stage startups and scale-ups. Regula holds a master’s degree in Special Education and another one in Career Counseling. She founded SoftTec in 2009.
Regula went into the education field because it was a way to convince her somewhat conservative father to allow her to study at university — in this field, she could reliably make money. Her background in education is what sets her apart as a startup coach. During her chat with our co-host Merle, Regula discussed why Switzerland supports its startups well in terms of education but not in terms of funding, why she thinks we should invest 1-2% of Switzerland’s pension fund into Swiss startups, and why there is an urgent need to change the Swiss “failure culture”.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
This episode was sponsored by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
Tobias Reichmuth and Marc P. Bernegger are two serial entrepreneurs and startup investors who together have built Maximon, an incubator for impactful, science-based and scalable companies providing healthy aging and rejuvenation solutions. Tobias holds a PhD in Business Administration from EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, and Marc holds a master’s degree in Law from UZH.
Tobias’ interest in the longevity topic was first sparked back in 2016, when he was studying at the Singularity University, in California, and heard the process of aging referred to as a sickness — which, given the right tools and science, could be combatted. In 2021 he started Maximon together with his friend, Marc.
Maximon builds companies along the longevity value-chain, from enablers such as science-based supplements, genetic improvements, and personalized treatments, to necessities such as life-long learning, healthspan-insurances for centennials, to sustainable asset management solutions replacing today’s pensions and co-living for active and healthy seniors. Marc and Tobias also host a longevity conference, called Longevity Investors, which addresses the investor community and brings together science and capital.
Maximon holds substantial shares in all of their ventures. This way there is no need for hidden fees, and the incentives of both Maximon and the founders are aligned: their common goal is to increase the value of company shares as much as possible. Founders also receive funding up to Series A, as well as hands-on operational support from Marc and Tobias.
Marc and Tobias have invested CHF 10M of their own money into the Maximon fund, and they don’t pay themselves salaries. It’s the long term upside that interests them.
SMZH: tailor-made .holistic. for you.smzh is an independent financial services provider who is assisting both private and corporate clients with individual advice in the areas of finance & investments, pensions, mortgages, insurance, real estate and tax & law. Through a 360° Check-Up, smzh ensures that you receive customized and comprehensive financial planning according to your initial situation and with a view to achieving your wishes and goals, as well as being accompanied by our experts during implementation.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
This episode was co-produced by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
Aurelia Frick is an advisory and board member and the former Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein. She’s got a PhD in Law, but her journey took some unexpected turns. After working in a big law firm in Zurich, she quickly realized that the life of a lawyer wasn’t for her. She felt isolated and bored, missing the chance to interact with people and make a real difference. So she leaped into politics, where she could actually see the impact of her work.
She spent 10 years in the government, tackling everything from foreign affairs to culture, and learned a lot about navigating complex environments. Now, she’s on the executive board at SMZH, a company helping people with finance, insurance, real estate, and more. She’s passionate about supporting startups, pushing for better education, and finding new ways to solve old problems. For Aurelia, it’s all about doing what matters and making a real impact, whether it’s in the boardroom or the classroom.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
SMZH: tailor-made .holistic. for you.
smzh is an independent financial services provider who is assisting both private and corporate clients with individual advice in the areas of finance & investments, pensions, mortgages, insurance, real estate and tax & law. Through a 360° Check-Up, smzh ensures that you receive customized and comprehensive financial planning according to your initial situation and with a view to achieving your wishes and goals, as well as being accompanied by our experts during implementation.
Benni Huggel ist Gründer und Head of Sales bei der Athlete's Network, einer Organisation, die Athleten beim Übergang in ihre Nachsportkarriere unterstützt. Der ehemalige Profifussballer spielte für den FC Basel und die Schweizer Nationalmannschaft, für die er über 40 Länderspiele absolvierte. Nach seinem Rücktritt gründete er die Athlete's Network, um Sportler dabei zu unterstützen, ihre Fähigkeiten und Erfahrungen in die Arbeitswelt einzubringen.
Die Idee für das Athlete’s Network kam Beni auf einer Autofahrt im November 2019. Am nächsten Tag schrieb er einen LinkedIn Post darüber und erhielt nicht nur enormen Zuspruch, sondern fand auch seine späteren Mitgründer über diesen Weg.
Das Athlete’s Network unterstützt ehemalige Spitzensportler:innen und -sportler beim Einstieg in die Arbeitswelt nach der Sportkarriere. Mit über 2500 Athletinnen und Athleten und über 100 Partnerfirmen funktioniert das Athlete’s Netzwerk wie eine two-sided Plattform, bei der die Partnerfirmen explizit nach Spitzensportlern, weil sie davon überzogen sind, dass diese Fähigkeiten mitbringen, die man nur im Spitzensport lernt. Das sogenannte Athlete’s Mindset - Disziplin, Fokus, Ausdauer, Resilienz - ist für diese Firmen Grund genug, um über fehlende Arbeitserfahrung hinwegzusehen.
Das Titelbild wurde von www.smartportrait.io bearbeitet.
This episode was co-produced/sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
Karolis Arbaciauskas is the Head of Product & Business Development at NordPass, a password management solution and part of Nord Security, the world’s leading cybersecurity company. He holds an MA in Economics from The Berlin School of Economics and Law and previously worked for companies like L'Oréal, Nordea and Danske Bank before joining NordPass in 2020.
During his chat with Silvan, Karolis tried to dispel the myth that cybersecurity concerns are a milestone which ought only be available to developed scaleups — he thinks being safe online should be something which startups tackle from day one. He also provided insight into the main causes of data breaches, spoke about how cybersecurity and the dark web are connected and introduced the concept of Ransomware as a Service, which basically consists of more skilled hackers building and selling software that less skilled hackers can use to hack their victims.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
Samantha Anderson is the co-founder and CEO at DePoly, a cleantech startup recycling hard-to-recycle plastic. She’s originally from Canada and holds a PhD in Carbon Capture and Storage from EPFL (her studies being the reason she moved to Switzerland). Sam worked as a researcher for some years before starting DePoly in 2019.
DePoly tackles a very pressing issue: out of all plastics produced, 90% are not recycled, but instead get incinerated (resulting in atmospheric pollution), or end up in the ocean (which is how we get microplastics in our food), or simply become litter (and take 500 years to decompose). Only “easy to recycle” plastic items such as bottles or clean packaging are actually recycled.
DePoly’s cutting-edge recycling process converts plastics into high-quality raw materials without compromising their quality. Not only is it energy-efficient, but it also has the remarkable ability to handle even the most challenging streams of PET plastic and textiles, including mixed, dirty post-consumer and post-industrial waste that are traditionally considered unrecyclable.
This cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io
Silvan Leibacher is the co-founder and CEO of Eggfield, a startup replacing eggs in the food industry through plant-based and clean label ingredients. He holds a BSc in Business Management from ZHAW, and previously co-founded the bakery Leibacher Biber-Manufaktur AG in 2010 with his siblings, before starting Eggfield in 2020.
During his time at his family bakery, Silvan realized the impact that the use of animal products has on CO2 emissions. While there were well-known alternatives to dairy products, this was not the case for eggs, which motivated Silvan to search for a solution. He found it in History: back in WW2, soldiers were already using aquafaba (which is the water used for boiling chickpeas) as an egg substitute.
Together with his food engineer co-founder, Silvan decided to build Eggfield, a company selling clean label egg alternatives based on aquafaba to other companies, which then use them to bake cakes or create sauces. They are not (at least for the moment) interested in going B2C or selling alternatives to scrambled or boiled eggs.
Eggfield is currently fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. Check out their deal to learn more.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
Johannes Tiefenthaler is the co-founder and co-CEO of neustark, a cleantech startup deploying carbon dioxide removal technology. He holds a PhD from ETH and started neustark back in 2019.
neustark’s ambition is to remove one million tons of CO2 by 2030. After three years in business, neustark has 10 operational CO2 storage plants, and a dedicated team of over 50 professionals driving this mission forward. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C implies reaching net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 according to the IPCC, and next to substantially reducing emissions, this target will only be possible by globally deploying carbon removal (CDR) solutions at the scale of billions of tons of CO2.
They have received a Gold Standard certification for their CDR methodology and have raised a total of $20K in funding over 3 rounds, with Innosuisse and Technology Fund being their most recent investors.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
Christian Hirt is the co-founder and CEO of AtlasVR, a startup harnessing the power of virtual reality for vocational training. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from ETH and previously worked for Rheinmetal Air Defence and the Swiss Armed Forces before starting Atlas VR in 2022.
AtlasVR provides a solution to complement and substitute industrial vocational training, while eliminating many challenges faced by traditional training. They achieve this by harnessing the potential of virtual reality technology, which allows trainees to learn and practice industrial tasks such as operating complex production machines in an interactive virtual environment.
AtlasVR has planned to raise a total of CHF 900K in 2024, of which CHF 200K have already been closed. They hope to close the remaining CHF 700K until the end of October, and will be doing so partially through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. Click here to learn more about the deal.
Francisco Fernandez is the founder and former CEO of Avaloq, a front-to-back software provider for financial institutions around the world. He holds a MSc in Computer Science from ETH, and was CEO at Avaloq until 2017, chairman from 2018 to 2021, and has been a board member since 2021.
Avaloq develops software that can be deployed flexibly through cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) or on-premises, and they also offer Banking Operations outsourcing through their Business Process as a Service (BPaaS) model. They have 160+ clients in 35 countries and currently employ over 2500 people. In October 2020, Avaloq was acquired by NEC Corporation for $2.2B.
This episode was co-produced by the Female Founders Initiative.
Greta Preatoni is the co-founder and CEO of Mynerva, a startup developing a groundbreaking device for the treatment of neuropathy. She holds a PhD in Neuroengineering from ETH and started Mynerva in 2023, as soon as she finished her studies.
Neuropathy in general is a condition which causes both loss of sensation in the nerves and, paradoxically, chronic pain. It can be caused by diabetes, chemotherapy and even by COVID. Most of Mynerva’s patients are diabetics, who before accessing their solution were forced to rely on opioids with severe side effects. Despite relieving pain, the drugs also increased the likelihood of falls (from lack of sensation in the patient’s foot soles).
The Mynerva team created Leia, a peerless non-invasive device with a sensorized insole that captures the information from the foot-ground interaction and translates it into electrical impulses delivered on the skin. The optimally designed electrode placement and shape, together with AI-based algorithms, are able to directly target the nerves and reduce neuropathic pain. All health-related parameters are collected by the sensorized insole and a wearable bracelet to drive data-driven individualized therapies.
At present, Mynerva is actively focusing on obtaining the necessary certifications for their medical device.
James Rilett is the CPTO at Open Mineral, a startup offering metal commodity trade solutions enabled by a commercial and market intelligence platform. He holds a BA in International History from The London School of Economics and Political Science and previously worked as a consultant and derivatives trader before joining Open Mineral in 2022.
Open Mineral advances the trade of base metal raw materials and secondary products using technology and analytics. They are based in Switzerland but operate worldwide, and have so far raised CHF 40M in funds. They mainly trade in copper, zinc, lead and gold, which are crucial for the current energy transition. They also take care only to work with reputable providers who follow the strictest ESG guidelines, so as to avoid things like arsenic poisoning for the people involved in the transportation of these metals.
Aurelio Perucca is the co-founder and CEO of Splint Invest, an alternative investment platform. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bern and previously worked for companies like Stryker and PwC before starting Splint Invest in 2021.
Splint Invest’s mission is to make it possible for all private investors to invest in alternative assets, (almost) regardless of personal wealth. Alternative investments are all investments that are not in stocks, bonds or ETFs, i.e. investments in highly illiquid assets like real estate, crypto, collectibles and luxury items like paintings, cars and wine.
Since alternative investments have a low correlation to the global economy (meaning they perform well in recession phases, as well as during economic booms), they are a good choice to diversify your portfolio and make it more resilient. You should, however, be very careful about which alternative assets you invest in, as there is low transparency in the market. Splint Invest can help you there by doing all the due diligence work for you.
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
Jessica Farda is the co-founder and CEO of noriware, a cleantech startup producing sustainable packaging materials based on seaweed. She holds a BA in International Affairs from HSG and founded her company in 2021, straight out of university.
The noriwear idea came during a trip to Mexico, where Jessica for the first time found herself thinking more deeply about seaweed and its possible applications. Later on her research led her to discover plenty of interesting facts about this marine plant, such as that there are over 12’000 species of seaweed, that seaweed are divided into reds, greens and browns (which grow in different parts of the planet), and that some types of seaweed grow 1 meter per day without any need for freshwater, fertilizer or land. Further research then led Jessica to discover that polysaccharides can be extracted from seaweed, with which plastic granules can be made.
At first, it was difficult to be taken seriously in the biotech/cleantech world, considering her background was in business and international affairs — but Jessica persisted, speaking to research paper authors, ETH professors and just about anyone she could find, until she was serendipitously connected to a polymers engineer, Stefan, who later became her co-founder.
Nowadays noriwear produces norifilm, a flexible packaging material that can be used for dry goods of any kind. It offers the texture and stability of a conventional plastic film, but differs in its durability and footprint on the environment. It also becomes entirely transparent when placed on an object, and after usage decomposes like a fruit, leaving no residual waste. While the noriwear team plans to expand their technology to other applications in the packaging industry, their focus now is on reducing the waste generated by plastic cups and packaging films.
Kevin Baxpehler is the managing partner at Remagine Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on media related technology investments in Israeli startups. Diego Braguglia is the managing partner at VI Partners AG, a Swiss venture capital firm focused on healthcare and technology ventures. Harald Nieder is a general partner at Redalpine Venture Partners AG, a sector-agnostic Swiss venture capital firm. Mike Hobmeier is the CIO at Verve Ventures, a network and technology-driven venture capital firm headquartered in Switzerland.
During their chat with Silvan, these four VCs discussed how startups can know if they’re ready to raise VC money, what motivates investors to bet on companies before they have a proven track record, as well as the sectors for which Switzerland is famous, and where Swiss innovation truly comes from.
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
Tillmann Lang is the co-founder and CEO of Inyova Impact Investing, an investment platform that enables you to achieve your financial goals by investing your savings in a way that is 100% consistent with your values and lifestyle. He holds a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Heidelberg and founded the Sustainability in Business Lab at ETH Zurich and Clean Peak Solutions before starting Inyova in 2017.
Although not a perfect system, capitalism is, in Tillmann’s opinion, the best economic system there is, in terms of correctly and efficiently allocating resources. But the free market is, of course, not enough — social progress has been achieved through regulations.
At Inyova, he helps people make sure their money is going into causes they believe in, not helping to fuel unethical businesses. Customers can completely personalize their investment portfolio up to the single stock level, or they can simply choose to blacklist a number of companies, or they can leave it up to Inyova. Inyova is fully regulated in Switzerland and Germany.
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
Enzo Wälchli is the CCO at Anybotics, a company providing autonomous robotic inspection solutions, and LinkedIn’s #1 Swiss voice in robotics. He holds an MA in Accounting and Finance from HSG and previously worked at Sulzer and Hilti Schweiz before joining Anybotics in 2021.
Enzo has 70K+ followers on LinkedIn, where he posts cool robotics content and also shares some insights into Anybotics’ journey. He’s firmly convinced that every salesperson should be using LinkedIn to connect with prospects. This doesn’t mean that you need to go around shooting connection requests and sending cold messages — on the contrary, if you post interesting content consistently, prospects will come to you, which is of course a much better starting point for a sales discussion.
Enzo thinks making it big on LinkedIn is relatively simple. Considering that the vast majority of LinkedIn users don’t post anything but merely consume content, if you start posting, you’re already one step ahead. And then you just need to keep posting, consistently, every day. It doesn’t matter if at first you post low quality content, because any piece of online content gets forgotten after a week anyhow: it only matters that you stay consistent and improve over time. If you can find a niche topic like robotics, all the better.
Enzo also recommends striking a balance between highly viral content (like cool robot videos) and actually meaningful content (such as his behind-the-scenes perspective on Anybotics). A viral post might have incredible stats, but it probably won’t get people to follow you, whereas consistent meaningful content will.
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
Marcel Salathé is a professor at EPFL, startup founder and investor, as well as a digital epidemiologist. He holds a PhD in Biology and Environmental Sciences from ETH, and has taught at Stanford and Penn State. He is the founder of the EPFL Extension School and AIcrowd, an AI challenge platform at EPFL.
When founding the EPFL Extension School, Marcel’s goal was to fulfill EPFL’s mandate of not only educating its students but the Swiss population at large — he believes the current educational system, which restricts education to childhood and adolescence, is outdated, and that Swiss people need to be learning continuously, especially considering the rapid acceleration of technological development. Self-learning has played a big role in Marcel’s career, who originally studied Biology but has since branched out to machine learning and generative AI.
During his chat with Silvan, he further argues that although Switzerland has done a great job in connecting innovation centers (such as universities) with the private sector, it’s done terribly at channeling this innovation towards the public sector as well, which is why this sphere seems to be 20 years behind the curve. Marcel thinks there must be a structural push towards this, just as there was a concerted political effort before to connect universities with the private sector. He is strongly against the recent budget cuts for education and innovation, because he considers this to be the “magic sauce” of Switzerland’s prosperity.
Thomas Crawford is the co-founder and CEO of Bind, a startup providing AI-powered insurance targeting. He holds a BA in Geography and Economics from Durham University and previously worked for Zurich Insurance before joining Bind as a late co-founder in 2024.
Daniel Delouya is the co-founder and COO of Bind. He previously co-founded two companies, the social discovery app Blume and the smart home automation platform G13, before starting Bind in 2022.
Bind makes it easy for businesses to better understand and target customers with relevant insurance products at scale. Their proprietary AI technology is wrapped in a simple-to-use API that businesses can implement with ease. They strategically leverage Switzerland's central location to facilitate seamless access to global markets.
Bind is currently raising CHF 1.5M, part of which is being done through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. Check out our dealflow page to learn more about the deal.
Viktor Calabro is the founder and former CEO of Coople, Europe's largest digital staffing platform. He previously worked for companies like Trivadis AG and Erlebniskultur GmbH before starting Coople in 2009.
Coople matches flexible workers to short- and long-term assignments in various roles in office, retail, logistics, hospitality, events and hotel. They increase their clients’ revenue by adjusting their team in real-time to match fluctuating demand, and reduce their client’s costs by outsourcing admin and payroll.
One challenge that Viktor had to face during his time at Coople was finding out that they had scaled too early, before actually achieving true product-market fit, and seeing themselves being spread too thin. This, paired with the fact that Victor had been going all-in for Coople for almost a decade and no longer had the energy to meet the needs of his role, made him step down as CEO role in 2018. Nowadays, his focus is on coaching, training, and investing, as well as on spending quality time with his family and friends.
Sean Wassermann is the CTO at Kidemis, a Swiss feedtech company that applies mycelium-based fermentation to upcycle low-value side streams into high value protein for various industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts and was previously CTO at companies like Cibdol and Aquanta before starting Kidemis in 2022.
Constantin Marakhov is the CEO at Kidemis. He holds an MBA from the University of Oregon and a PhD in Finance from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and previously worked as a business school professor and as head of business development at the WEF before starting Kidemis in 2022. He is also the CEO and founder of Hempfy, a Swiss cannabis startup.
Kidemis' solution is to use mycoprotein as a partial or complete replacement for fishmeal in aquafeed. Mycoprotein is a sustainable alternative to fishmeal and fish oil because it is produced from renewable resources. The fungi that are used to produce mycoprotein can be grown on a variety of substrates, including agricultural sidestreams. This means that mycoprotein will be produced without putting a strain on global fish stocks or the environment. In addition, mycelium’s immune-stimulating properties could decrease the usage of antibiotics.
Kidemis is currently raising a CHF 1.5M seed round, 30% of which have already been committed. Part of these funds are being raised through the Swisspreneur Syndicate — click here to find out more.
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
Yves Béhar is a venture designer, the founder of the fuseproject, co-founder of TELO, August, and Canopy, and Chief Creative Officer at Jawbone, August Home, and TELO. He holds a BSc in Industrial Design from the ArtCenter College of Design (in Pasadena, California) and worked in consulting for many years before starting fuseproject in 1999.
fuseproject was born out of a wish to create an integral version of design: not just designing something within the boundaries of the industrial design discipline, but actually thinking about branding and about creating an experience as well.
Yves is a big believer in working tirelessly at your dream even if you don’t show impressive amounts of native talent. He recalls that from his friends at ArtCenter, he was the worst draftsman, but his idea for what he wanted to do with design and his tireless work carried him far regardless. Yves thinks suffering is part of the creative process, and that it is worth pushing through, because pain is temporary, but “suck” is forever.
Out of his wish to work long-term with resource-strained startups came the concept of “venture designing”: instead of charging startups like a consultant, he co-founds their ventures. Throughout the years he’s worked with 90+ startups. He believes this is the most mutually beneficial form of collaboration, since excellent design is usually the product of long term work and coexistence.
This episode was co-produced by the Female Founders Initiative.
Myriam Lingg is the co-founder and CEO of macu4, a startup creating empowering ortho-prosthetics for the forearm and hand. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and previously worked for the European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine and the think tank W.I.R.E before starting macu4 in 2020.
macu4 prosthetics are lightweight, breathable, affordable and individually tailored to the needs of people with a missing or limited grip function of the hand, thanks to their innovative modular design. macu4 is a for-profit venture, but is highly committed to manufacturing affordable prosthetics through their smart design and 3D printing technology.
Fajer Mushtaq is the co-founder and CEO at Oxyle, a cleantech startup with a game-changing water remediation technology. She holds a PhD in Micro- and Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation from ETH and previously worked there as a BRIDGE Proof-of-Concept Fellow, before starting Oxyle in 2020.
When we usually think of water pollution, we think of things like cigarette butts, plastic bags, or perhaps even bacteria or viruses. But what most of us fail to consider are micropollutants (like hormones, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial waste, etc…), so called not because they’re found in small amounts, but because a small amount is enough to have a carcinogenic effect, or cause infertility or birth defects. 1 nanogram per liter (which is the equivalent of 1 drop in 20 Olympic-sized pools) is concentration enough to cause humans and their ecosystems harm. What’s more, these micro-pollutants are bioaccumulative (meaning if you keep drinking them, they keep increasing in concentration in your blood), and stay in bodies of water for decades on end unless treated appropriately.
That’s where the ETH spin-off Oxyle comes in. Oxyle works at the last stage of water treatment to remove these micro-pollutants through their innovative nanotechnology. They do so in a sustainable, scalable manner by getting in touch with big companies looking to remediate the harm they’ve caused and prevent any more harm from being done. This is equally as important in Switzerland as it is in other places: the water Swiss people drink has 17x the amount of carcinogenic pesticides that is safe to consume.
Fajer strongly believes that fighting climate change is done not only through innovative startups like Oxyle, but also through regulation. We need to hold polluters responsible, and nowadays, due to the growing sophistication of water analysis techniques, we definitely can. This way we can both remediate the harm that’s already been done, and stop future pollution at its source.
This episode was co-produced with Switzerland Global Enterprise. Click here to learn more about the Swisstech pavilion at CES 2025, mentioned at the start of the episode.
Céline Udriot is the COO at Largo.ai, a startup providing next-generation storytelling tools for the audiovisual industry using artificial intelligence. She holds an MBA from Vatel Switzerland and worked in the hospitality industry before joining Largo.ai in 2022.
Karine Jeanmonod-Wittmer is a trade commissioner in charge of Startup Ecosystems & Partnerships at the Swiss Business Hub USA, which represents Switzerland Global Enterprise in the US. She holds a master's degree in Economics & International Relations from the Geneva Graduate Institute, and had been working in the US for 14 years before joining Swiss Business Hub in 2018.
During their chat with Silvan, Céline and Karine discussed entering the US market as a Swiss startup, both from a founder’s perspective and from SBH’s perspective. Among other topics, they elaborated on why the US’ size, affluence and political stability make it the most attractive market for startups still today, and mentioned some of the challenges of breaking into this new market as a Swiss startup, namely networking “cliques”, unexpectedly high expenses, and cultural differences regarding the level of ambition.
Liliane Ableitner is the co-founder and CEO of Exnaton, a software provider for energy communities, allowing neighbors to trade renewable energy amongst each other. Before starting Exnaton, Liliane was a Doctoral Researcher at the Bits of Energy Lab at ETH Zurich.
She met her two co-founders, Arne Meeuw and Anselma Würner, during her work on the research project “Quartierstrom“, funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The project resonated well with all stakeholders involved and the three PhD students decided to spin it out into an independent company in 2019. In December 2020, they won the Investor’s Choice award at Energy Startup Days, which helped the company to gain exposure amongst relevant stakeholders.
Contrary to some of their competitors, Exnaton doesn’t sell their software to end consumers. Rather, they cooperate with local utility companies and allow them to white label their solution and distribute it to their customers. Exnaton is greatly benefiting from the liberalization of European energy markets because it has been driving competition for innovative products between utility companies. They are hoping to further benefit from an opening of the Swiss market, which has traditionally been very protected.
Matthias Heuberger is the founder and CEO of BreezeLabs, a startup developing a new way to track sports performance. He holds an MA in International Affairs from HSG and previously worked for Zurich Insurance Company and CSS Versicherung before starting BreezeLabs in 2022.
By using the built-in microphone in your headphones to record the audio signal during your runs, BreezeLabs delivers breathing rate tracking without any additional hardware. Their sophisticated AI models are capable of groundbreaking precision and accuracy in detecting breathing signals, which enables you to match your training plan precisely with the state of your body, thereby maximizing training efficiency and bringing you closer to achieving your ultimate performance goals.
They’re currently raising a maximum of CHF 500K through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. Check out our dealflow page to learn more about the deal.
Diese Folge war ursprünglich ein Live-Gespräch, das bei einer Veranstaltung des Sport and Business Network im Oktober 2023 aufgezeichnet wurde. Die Episode wird gesponsert von Properti.
Ben Küffer ist der Mitgründer der Schweizer Uhrenmarke NORQAIN. Zuvor arbeitete er fast 12 Jahre lang als Brand Manager bei Breitling. Der junge Visionär hatte die Idee, eine neue Uhrenmarke zu gründen, als er feststellte, dass es in der Branche an erschwinglichen und qualitativ hochwertigen Zeitmessern mangelte. Im Jahr 2018 gründete er NORQAIN und stellte ein bemerkenswertes Team zusammen. Ted Schneider, ein Mitglied der Familie, die fast 40 Jahre lang Breitling besass, und die Schweizer Eishockey-Legende und Stanley-Cup-Sieger Mark Streit stiessen als Mitgründer und Mitglieder des Verwaltungsrats dazu.
Mark Streit ist ein ehemaliger Schweizer Eishockeyspieler und Mitbegründer von NORQAIN. Der Verteidiger spielte insgesamt 820 Spiele für die Montréal Canadiens, die New York Islanders, die Philadelphia Flyers und die Pittsburgh Penguins in der National Hockey League und gewann 2017 mit den Penguins den Stanley Cup.
This episode was co-produced with Switzerland Global Enterprise. Click here to learn more about the SWISS Pavilion at Singapore Fintech Festival 2024, mentioned at the start of the episode.
Elena Maran is the Global Head Financial Services at Modulos AG, an ETH spin-off developing and operating AI products and services in a new regulated environment. She holds a MSc in Finance from Università Bocconi and previously worked at banks like Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Citi Group before joining Modulos in 2022.
Angela di Rosa is the Senior Consultant Southeast Asia and Fintech Internationalization Expert at Switzerland Global Enterprise, the official Swiss organization for export and investment promotion, which supports Swiss SMEs in their international business, and helps innovative foreign companies to establish in Switzerland.
Modulos offers a Responsible AI Platform that seamlessly integrates AI governance, risk management, and data science, ensuring that your organization remains compliant while innovating. Platforms like these have become increasingly relevant ever since the passing of the EU AI Regulation Act back in March 2024. This AI Act is the most comprehensive effort at regulating AI so far, and punishes failure to comply with its requirements with a fine of up to 7% of a company’s annual turnover. Although Switzerland is not part of the EU, any Swiss company that deals with EU customers will be forced to comply with this new piece of legislation.
Click here to apply to join our Founders Slack.
Franz Bittmann is the founder and CEO of namuk, the Swiss premium-quality and sustainable outdoor clothing brand for children. After his Matura, Franz started his first clothing brand, eleven GmbH, back in 1998, which lasted until 2011. He then worked in consulting for 5 years before starting namuk in 2016.
namuk was born out of a personal problem: Franz’ rambunctious, outdoorsy son would time and time again tear through his clothes and stay out in the rain for long periods of time. Franz quickly came to the conclusion that kids’ clothes were very cheaply made, and that he himself, as a tailor, could do much better. He was also rather concerned about the highly regimented routines of kids nowadays, which allow for very little play time outside. So he set out to make a kids’ clothing line which was both durable and outdoor-proof.
namuk clothes are breathable, durable and water-proof (while still avoiding unsustainable chemicals like PFCs), and come with neat additions like integrated suspenders and toilet zippers. To prevent mountains of trash made of fabric remnants, namuk uses recycled materials. The annual, limited upcycled collections are made completely out of fabric remnants from previous production. They’ve also launched their own repair service and provide a market for second-hand namuk clothes on their ReUse platform. That’s why every product features three name tags: each child who wears a piece of namuk clothing can leave their name and know other children will be able to inherit this wonderful product.
Lea von Bidder is the co-founder and former CEO of AVA Women, a femtech startup advancing women’s reproductive health by bringing together artificial intelligence and clinical research. Since 2022 she’s also the founder and CEO at expeerly, a startup which makes it easy and efficient for companies to leverage the power of video without the hassle of production, editing, and distribution. She holds a MSc in Global Entrepreneurship from Emlyon Business School and Zhejiang University.
AVA Women garnered much fame and success in Switzerland from 2015 up until 2021 (more on that in Lea’s former episode with us), but unfortunately in 2021 they had their leading investor back out of their Series C round, which made the whole fundraising round fall apart. Since they did not have the money necessary to carry on for another 6-12 months, which would have been the time necessary to set up a new fundraising round, Lea and her co-founders decided to sell the company, and contacted CEOs they were personally acquainted with.
Out of many potential buyers, they chose FemTech Health, because they believed in their vision to unite the fragmented femtech market. Sadly, FemTech didn’t not follow through with the promises they had made post-exit, and even stopped paying vendors and employees, resulting in a round of layoffs. At this point, Lea left the company herself.
She has since begun a new venture, expeerly, which she is bootstrapping.
Catarina Dahlin is the co-founder and managing director of Dagsmejan, an innovative and sustainable sleepwear brand. She holds a MSc in Business Administration from Lund University and previously worked at Oriflame Cosmetics and Yves Rocher Group before starting Dagsmejan with her husband, Andreas Lenzhofer, in 2016.
In Catarina’s opinion, the greatest advantage of starting a business with your romantic partner is that you gain a co-founder who truly knows you — who’s right there beside you during the highs and the lows, and who understands your “obsession”. The disadvantage, however, is that if you don’t set up proper boundaries, it can sometimes feel like there’s no escaping the business. That’s why Catarina and Andreas occasionally make it clear that they want to steer clear of business topics at home.
On the first day they met, Catarina and Andreas discovered that they shared the dream of someday starting a business. Years later, they took the plunge, and Dagsmejan was born. Their sleep products are based on natural materials, enhanced with technology to give it unique functional properties, namely dual moisture management: evaporative cooling to cool us down and moisture wicking to keep us dry. Thus, they tackle a very important factor when it comes to sleep quality: temperature! Other factors include our stress levels, whether we just ate a heavy meal, how much we exercise, alcohol consumption, and whether we use the computer just before bed.
Dagsmejan is currently present in Switzerland, Germany, the US and the UK.
This episode was co-produced with UBS and ETH Zurich, as part of the Entrepreneurial Backpack Series.
Flavio Rump is one of the co-founders of DeinDeal, the famous Swiss eCommerce scaleup acquired by DeinDeal in 2011. He’s also a startup investor, board member and growth expert. He holds a BSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from ETH and has co-founded companies like Pigeon Apps Inc, Blue Chocolate Inc, and Bio2040.com, and the Student Biolab Zurich.
He credits DeinDeal’s success and quick growth to their early realization that sales do not equal profits, and to the fact that their team possessed a large number of extremely competent “specialists”. Here is a summary of some of the sales and marketing tips that he shared with our host Silvan:
Miller Mendoza Jiménez is the co-founder, CTO and Latin America Regional Manager at Grundo, a technology advisory and analytics startup aimed at tackling sustainability challenges globally that can be solved using open data systems, technology-based tools, and services. He holds a PhD in Physics from ETH and worked there as a research assistant, senior research scientist and lecturer before starting Grundo in 2020.
Grundo aims to solve the issue of food security, which will become more and more relevant in the coming years due to climate change. This is because changes to the climate equal extremely unpredictable weather, ranging from heavy rains to heavy draughts. Weather instability is in general bad for crops, and heavy rains in particular damage the fertility of soils through erosion. Add to that the population increase, and it is estimated that by 2050, we will need to increase the agricultural output between 50-70% to have enough food for the global population.
Grundo answers critical food security questions like “How much wheat and corn can we expect from Germany in three months? How about in Europe, Asia or Africa?” They uncover the answers by building AI algorithms and using satellite data to provide insurance companies with data on which to tailor premiums for crop insurance, and to provide governments with data which enables them to efficiently subsidize sustainable farming practices.
Click here to enjoy three months of NordPass Business for free with the code “swisspreneur”.
Jonas Karklys is the co-founder of Nord Security, and the CEO of its password management company NordPass. He holds a BA in Business Administration and Management from Vilnius University, but before his university studies he was already an accomplished race car driver and had also run Infosport, a Lithuanian sports news website. After university, Jonas went on to co-found 50Garage and invest in F-1.LT before co-founding Nord Security and launching NordPass.
NordPass is a password management solution, part of Nord Security, the world’s leading cybersecurity company and the creator of NordVPN, NordLayer, NordLocker, and other well-known products in the market. Currently with offices/representatives in 26 markets, Nord Security offers its services globally, and is Lithuania’s second unicorn.
Danny Chatziprodromou is the founder and CEO of REOR20, a company developing the next generation of models providing highly accurate flood hazard information at a significantly lower cost. He holds a PhD in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Mechanical Engineering from ETH. He worked for companies like Swiss Re and SAM Sustainable Asset Management before starting REOR20 in 2017.
The model Danny’s team developed is 100 000 times faster than traditional models, and his realization that the typical models were that simplified was precisely what motivated him to look into the issue. He also claims that his long and uneventful stay in corporate gave him the arrogance needed to believe he could build a business by himself. Reality, as it turns out, was more challenging, but REOR20 managed to be successful regardless.
Gaël Riesen is a co-founder and the Head of Production/Distribution at Gratiswasser, and his co-founder Christoph Bertschy is the owner of the company. Gratiswasser is a startup placing ads in free water bottles to be distributed in stores, at festivals, cafés and in general around town. They aim to offer companies a cost-effective advertising opportunity that also has a positive impact on the community.
Gaël and Christoph were motivated by the belief that water as a commodity should be free, but were also determined to make this possible in a market economy: so they decided to use water bottle labels as advertising slots! One of their partners, VIU eyewear, receives the water bottles at their stores and distributes them to customers who drop by.
Placing ads in free water bottles has the benefit of associating the advertisement to the positive feeling of getting free stuff, instead of to the frustrating 30 second wait before you can watch a video on Youtube. It also is a more trustworthy form of advertising than online advertising, which nowadays seems to have become riddled with deepfakes and other shady ecommerce practices.
Gratiswasser is currently fundraising CHF 500K, part of which is being done through the Swisspreneur Syndicate (the 2M mentioned in the episode is a goal for future funding rounds). Click here to learn more about the deal.
Click here to enjoy three months of NordPass Business for free by using the code “swisspreneur”.
Matthias Bryner is the founder of findependent, an app to make investing transparent, easy and beneficial for everyone, regardless of prior knowledge. He holds an MA in Banking and Finance from HSG and interned at Credit Suisse and at neon before starting findependent in 2018.
findependent allows you to open an account online within approx. 15 minutes, easily select an optimally-tailored investment solution and get started with as little as CHF 500. Thanks to their investment app, findependent users are always informed transparently about their investments, earnings and fees.
But first things first: why should you start investing? Basically, because of inflation and the compounding effect. Inflation rises at least 1% or 2% every year, which means that over the long run your savings will be significantly devalued. Similarly, if you start investing now, even if you invest only a little bit each year, this compounds over time and will make a significant difference in your life later on.
findependent encourages its users to invest in ETFs, which is basically like buying a very small percentage of the world economy, instead of investing in a specific stock. This derisks your investment. And even if the numbers in the market fluctuate daily, their overall historical tendency is upwards, so you can rest assured that your money is being put to good use. findependent currently has 12'000 customers.
This episode was co-produced with CONDA.ch. If you want to invest in CONDA.ch with preferential conditions, contact them at investor@conda.ch.
Pedro Schmidt is the founder and CEO of KaEx, the world’s first sports-recovery drink to significantly reduce the stress hormone. He holds a MSc in Management, Technology and Economics from ETH Zürich, and previously worked for companies like Siemens Management Consulting, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Teva Pharmaceuticals before founding KaEx in 2016.
Linus Gabrielsson is the managing director at CONDA.ch, the leading platform providing Swiss startups access to crowd investment capital as well as community building and campaigning opportunities. He holds a MSc in Technology Management from ETH and previously worked for companies like IBM Business Consulting Services, PwC and HSBC Private Bank before founding CONDA.ch in 2021.
KaEx was the result of many years of research for Pedro, whose undergraduate education is in Pharmaceutical Sciences. He originally branded it as a hangover remedy, and that’s how it began to be sold in pharmacies and at Coop supermarkets. At some point, Pedro and his team started getting messages from people who swore on the benefits of drinking KaEx post-workout. Pedro ignored these messages at first, since as a resource-constrained founder he couldn’t afford to split his focus — but then pro-athletes started contacting him as well, asking if drinking KaEx could be considered doping (which it couldn’t). This made Pedro and his team seriously question whether they should pivot their product’s branding and focus. They eventually did do so, and nowadays KaEx is known primarily as a sports drink, though it is of course also useful for hangovers or after a particularly stressful day.
In 2021, CONDA.ch was already one of the most successful crowdfunding platforms in Austria and Germany. Rather than try to compete with them, Linus and his co-founder Christian Klumpe decided to strike a franchising deal with their DACH counterparts in order to bring CONDA to Switzerland. As a crowdfunding platform, they focus on startups, SMEs and real estate, and allow users to invest as little as CHF 100. CONDA.ch always runs a 2 week pre-round with preferential conditions open only to VIP investors: that way, when the deal goes public, it never starts at 0, which helps it gain momentum.
KaEx has crowdfunded on CONDA.ch several times.
Check out the LinkedIn event for our livestream with Aurelio Perucca on May 22nd.
Stefanie Flückiger-Mangual is the co-founder and CEO at TOLREMO Therapeutics, a biotech startup on a mission to prevent non-genetic cancer drug resistance. She holds a PhD in Molecular and Translational Biomedicine from ETH and worked there as a Postdoctoral Researcher before starting TOLREMO in 2017 together with Wilhelm Krek, who has since tragically passed away.
There is no shortage of cancer therapies in biotech and medtech, and one common problem that they face is drug resistance: even if a certain therapy is at first successful in reducing the tumor’s size, patients sometimes develop a resistance to it, whether it be genetic or non-genetic, and the therapy stops working. To use a tech metaphor, genetic drug resistance is akin to a hardware problem, whereas non-genetic drug resistance is more similar to a software malfunction. Since non-genetic resistance is much more dynamic, it’s harder to measure and combat — this is what Stefanie and her fellow researchers have been studying for the past few years. They discovered a pivotal mechanism that governs critical transcriptional resistance pathways, i.e., that stops cancer drug resistance as it emerges without interfering with cancer-unrelated pathways.
TOLREMO recently completed its Series A financing, bringing their total amount raised to USD 39M. Their ultimate goal is to prove the efficacy of their treatment and join forces with a larger pharma company.
Click here to apply to join our 2024 Lausanne Scaleup Cruise.
Eric Laudet is the founder and CEO of Holistiq, a startup offering an organic and personalized approach to healthcare which aims to solve health issues at their root, instead of just treating symptoms. Eric holds a master’s degree in Business Management from HEC Paris, and previously co-founded Batmaid and was active for 6 years as its CFO before starting Holistiq in 2022.
Holistiq’s approach combines different healing systems to create natural therapies that are tailored to the needs of patients and backed by research, lab tests and data science. They operate a digital platform and urban health centers with a team of complementary medicine therapists, life & health coaches, nutritionists, and functional medicine doctors, to support the healing of chronically-ill patients and help others find optimal health.
During his chat with us, Eric placed Holistiq’s offering between that of regular doctors, which are in his opinion currently better suited to treat acute disorders than chronic disorders, and the offering of longevity startups, which often only help people with the prevention of disease, not with treating existing diseases. He also criticized longevity startups for sometimes tracking biomarkers which do not move the (health) needle, merely for publicity’s sake. Eric added that Holistiq’s offering is partly covered by health insurance, and is meant for the masses, not just for the wealthy few.
Despite being in operation for only 2 years, Holistiq already has impressive traction: CHF 400K in revenue (with a 50% gross margin), 1000 paying patients, and both offline and online offerings. They are currently raising a seed round of CHF 3M, CHF 250K of which they’ve already raised from business angels, and CHF 250K which they expect to raise through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. The remaining CHF 2.5M will be raised from healthtech VCs. Click here to learn more about the deal.
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, current livestock farming practices were great for the meat industry, since they 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.
This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 30th 2024. Click here to purchase your ticket.
Adrian Riedo is the founder and owner of RNX, short for Riedo Networks, a provider and distributor of energy monitoring and control solutions which began back in 2005. Matthias Kaech is a Senior IP Trainer at the Institute for Intellectual Property.
Matthias and Adrian have a few IP recommendations for startup founders:
Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest with code Dali24: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod
Anina Lutz is the co-founder and CEO of Calingo Insurance AG, a digital insurance company. She holds a MSc in Business & Economics from the University of Basel and previously worked at Helvetia before starting Calingo in 2020.
As a digital insurance company, Calingo offers personalized insurance coverage at the point of sale in a hassle-free and digital way, for your home, your pets or your business. Their home insurance offer is 25% cheaper than market average, since they do not charge high commissions and have easy, low cost operations. Their pet insurance comes at a higher price at first, but since the premiums remain constant regardless of the pet’s age, the lifetime value ends up cheaper than other pet insurances.
They’ve partnered up with insurance companies like SwissRe to have them as risk carriers. Thus far they’ve decided not to delve into health insurance, since it is a rather saturated market. Instead they plan to use next year's series A funds (provided that the round closes successfully) to set up a system of vet video calls and bring their services to Germany.
Click here to apply to join our Founders Dinner in Bern on May 30th.
Denis Widler is the co-founder and Head of Business Relations at Flappie, a startup building an AI-powered cat door with integrated prey detection. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Innovation from HSG. Oliver Widler is Denis’ twin brother and the co-founder and Head of Technology at Flappie. He holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from ETH.
Denis and Oliver started Flappie together in 2022 motivated by their personal experience growing up with furry friends who would bring “gifts” home. This got them thinking about a product that could prevent such unpleasant surprises, and with his engineering background Oliver devised a cat door which immediately recognizes when your cat tries to bring presents (e.g., mice, birds) into the house. Once recognized, the cat door locks automatically, and the cat (including the prey) stays outside until it returns with no prey.
The Widler brothers think the time is ripe for their product, considering that ⅓ of households globally have cats and that 81% of Gen Z live with cats. It seems they’ve been proven right: their product has been featured in over 200 media outlets since inception.
They’re currently raising CHF 1M in funds, 500K of which they already have in soft commitments, and 50K of which are being raised through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. Check out our deal flow page to learn more.
Click here to apply to join our Founders Dinner in Bern on May 30th.
This episode was co-produced by the Female Founders Initiative and recorded at the Female Future Festival.
Melanie Kovacs is an award-winning entrepreneur, business coach, TEDxspeaker, and startup trainer, dedicated to supporting people to find and not lose joy on their entrepreneurial journeys. Through her podcast “The Joypreneur” she encourages entrepreneurs to do their thing, thereby making a positive impact.
Previously, she created the Joy Accelerator program, a 12-week course for women aspiring to build sustainable businesses without burning out. Prior to this, she founded Switzerland's first coding bootcamp, Master21 Academy. Melanie studied International Management, Human-Computer Interaction Design and Creative Leadership.
During her chat with our new host, Merle, Melanie shared some of the insights that she provides her coachees, ranging from identifying the critical voices in your head, to exploring your fear of failure, to adequately valuing your time, resources and intuition.
For more information about Melanie and her work, visit her website.
