Swisspreneur Show

By SwisspreneurBusiness Entrepreneurship

Swisspreneur Show episodes

February 05, 2020EP #57 - Jutta Jertrum: How To Bootstrap
Timestamps
2:24 - Why choose bootstrapping?
16:10 - Time management
25:21 - How to frame your product
33:12 - Getting a product into stores
42:57 - Should you go for paid marketing?

The Episode In 60 Seconds
Thinking about bootstrapping? Jutta Jertrum has done it and here are some of the points to consider:
Trade-offs
Bootstrapping usually means higher independence in exchange for fast growth.

It may take longer until you pay yourself a salary, since any money comes directly out of the company’s cash flow.
Getting your partner on-board
Starting a business can strain a relationship, particularly the financial aspects. Do not underestimate this and address it with your partner early on.

In an ideal situation, a partner can provide the financial support to cover the monthly living expenses. This should however not be expected or taken for granted.
Client acquisition
Reference clients and authentic customer testimonials are some of the most powerful tools for client acquisition.

If your offer is declined, always ask why. Don’t be afraid to try again.

Awards and startup competitions are a great way to get the word out there, gain credibility and free PR.
53 min
January 29, 2020 EP #56 - Jutta Jertrum: The Eco-Friendly One Woman Show
Timestamps:
3:18 - Why did Jutta start her own business?
12:19 - How to choose the right company to work with
20:00 - Taking care of logistics
31:42 - Blacking out on live TV
39:10 - Did Jutta sign the contract with the sharks?

Biography
Jutta Jertum is the inventor and owner of Twist Out, an ecological drain cleaning device. Jutta was the General Manager at the Castle Rapperswil when she discovered that she could clean her clogged drains more ecologically and effectively using a wooden stick of a very specific shape. She then quit her job and patented the invention. In Switzerland, Jutta is best known for her appearance on the TV show “Höhle der Löwen”, where she was offered a deal which she ended up rejecting after the show.
49 min
January 22, 2020EP #55 - Thomas Brändle: Financial Advice For Later Stage Startups
Timestamps:
2:15 - The early days of Run My Accounts
11:14 - The challenges of growing organically
26:21 - Early-stage financial tasks
40:11 - What accounting software should you use?
53:20 - How does pricing affect liquidity and cashflow?

The Episode In 60 Seconds

Getting your finances right.

In the beginning:
There is no point waiting with signing up to VAT, if you go over the threshold of 150k revenue in a year, it is already too late and will be painful to catch up.

You can, however, save yourself time and effort by doing your first year end closing after 23 months instead of 12. Check the regulation of the Canton where your company is registered.

Invest some time and energy into the setup of your accounting system. Having to fix it later down the road is costly and time consuming.
Choosing a fiduciary:
Chose your fiduciary first and take the accounting software they recommend.

Use a simple system in the beginning, without subledgers.

If you switch systems, do it at the end of the financial year. Don’t import old data into the new system.

Excel is not powerful enough.
Liquidity planning:
Cash is the oxygen of your company, so better know how much you got left until you run out.

Be aware of the “hidden costs” of growth: on-boarding employees, finding additional workspace, setting up new tools and processes.

Consider the impact of your payment terms on your liquidity.

If you are ecommerce, the way you manage your stock will be significant for your liquidity. The smaller you keep it, the better.
1 hr 7 min
January 15, 2020EP #54 - Boris Räber & Alexander Eichhorn: Legal Advice For Later-Stage Startups
Timestamps
1:58 - From a legal aspect, what scaling mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly?
10:30 - Convertible loans or capital increase?
21:21 - How to handle non-compete clauses
33:10 - What startups should me more aware of
38:14 - Taxes for startups

The Episode In 60 Seconds
Just like your apartment, your company needs some basic housekeeping in order to avoid descending into chaos.
Financing rounds
It’s not advisable to negotiate your term sheet without a lawyer if you don’t have previous experience. Although they aren’t legally binding they set a strong precedent which is hard to negotiate your way out of.

By the same token, don’t use the template of your investor.

Be sure you understand the liquidation preferences you agree to

If fundraising has to be fast and determining a price is difficult, consider a convertible loan
Employment contracts
Watch out for IP (intellectual property) rights, notice period and non-compete clause (limit 3 years)

For employee incentivisation, you can decide between
Share plan: more tax friendly for your employees, usually higher administrative burden for the company
Phantom stocks: easier to administer but taxed as income
Exit
Exits usually take the form of either an M&A (Merger and Acquisition) or an IPO (Initial Public Offering)
M&As come in 2 forms:
Asset deal: meaning you sell all the companies assets, including employees to a new owner
Share deal (more common): the acquiring party buys a majority of the shares and therefore takes control of the company.

IPO: are still rare in Switzerland, mostly because they involve large costs (several $ millions) for preparing the so called “prospectus”, the document based on which the shares are offered on the stock exchange.
1 hr 2 min
January 08, 2020 EP #53 - Carole Ackermann: Q&A on How To Win Business Angels Over As Investors
Timestamps
2:00 - Why aren't business angels just called "investors"?
5:17 - What's the best time to approach a business angel?
13:50 - How to convince a business angel to invest in an early-stage idea
16:36 - The relevance of a team
21:19 - What KPI does Carole use to assess a product's market?
26:21 - Education or experience?
31:32 - How much of business decisions is gut feeling and how much comes from thorough analysis?
35:59 - How to read a business angel's intentions
39:07 - How much money do business angels invest?
40:24 - What does the investment process look like?
42:51 - How to split legal costs
48:08 - How an angel evaluates a startup
50:17 - Convertible loans: yay or nay?
55:07 - What separates good from great founders?
56:18 - How does Carole keep herself up to date?

Biography
Carole Ackermann was the president of Business Angels Switzerland (BAS) Association from 2010 to 2018. In 2007, she founded Diamondscull AG, an investment and coaching firm based in Switzerland. Through BAS and Diamondscull as well as her mandates on multiple Boards of Directors, she has acted as a startup and executive coach for many years. Carole holds a PhD in Marketing from University of St. Gallen (HSG).
1 hr 2 min
January 01, 2020EP #52 - Marc P. Bernegger: Selling 2 Companies And Doing An IPO
Timestamps
1:33 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to their exit?
13:44 - Keeping investors satisfied
22:50 - What founders get from an exit
30:57 - When should you sell your company?
33:28 - Requirements for trade sale exit

The Episode In 60 Seconds
Finding the right exit strategy for you and your company.
Getting the basics right
Look beyond Switzerland for potential buyers

If you can, get help from specialized M&A boutiques

Broaden your shareholder base to get easy access to new markets and industries
Selecting the right partner and deal
Institutional investors usually curtail the entrepreneurial freedom of the founder more strongly than non-institutional investors such as family offices.

Aggressive growth often leads to the founders being left with very small stakes in the company once the time for an exit has arrived.

Don’t select buyers based on valuation but based on their values aligning with yours. Don’t forget that most likely, you will still be obliged to work in your company for a few years after it has been acquired.

The price of an acquisition is often split in a fixed part and a variable part, called earn-out, that gets paid out on defined targets and incentives over the duration of 1-5 years.
Timing
Depends on several factors:
Can the company still realize significantly more growth in the future?

Do you still have the passion and energy to drive the business forward?
Exit options
M&A (Merger and Acquisition): Selling of the companies assets or shares. For smaller companies with revenue generally above $ 10m.

IPO (Initial Public Offering): Listing of the company on a public stock exchange. Usually not feasible for revenue below $ 200m.
50 min
December 25, 2019 EP#51 - Marc P. Bernegger: Meeting Mark Zuckerberg
Timestamps:
1:28 - Selling his first company at 28 years old
20:10 - Staying healthy while working 6 days/week
24:56 - How did Marc meet Mark Zuckerberg?
45:56 - The bitcoin crash of late 2018
49:11 - The future of blockchain technology

Biography
Marc P. Bernegger is the founder of usgang.ch, a nightlife platform, and Amiando, a ticketing system for events. Marc started usgang.ch in 1999 when he was 20 years old and sold it to Axel Springer in 2008. In 2006, he co-founded Amiando based out of Munich. Amiando was acquired by Xing in 2010. Since then, Marc has been active in the fintech space, as founder of the Crypto Finance Conference St. Moritz and of Crypto Finance AG and as a board member at Falcon Bank.
Marc holds a Masters in Law from the University of Zurich.
58 min
December 18, 2019 EP #50 - Patrick Thevoz: How To Build A Global Company From Day One
Timestamps:
3:05 - How did a corporate background help Patrick with Flyability?
8:26 - Where is the drone industry headed?
21:06 - Maintaining good communication with testing groups
32:35 - When an investor questions him/herself on what could go wrong
38:08 - How to hire the right people to grow your company

Biography
Patrick Thevoz is Co-founder and CEO of Flyability, a company specialized in commercial indoor drones. During his time at Fyability, the company grew from 2 to over 60 employees and acquired over 300 customers. The company successfully raised $11 m in 2018 with Swisscom Ventures as one of the lead investors. Before founding Flyability, Patrick worked as a strategy consultant in the life sciences industries. Patrick holds an MSc in Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL).
50 min
December 11, 2019 EP #49 - Monique Morrow: Why Trust Matters To Businesses Of All Sizes
Timestamps:
2:13 - Why leave a corporate job?
7:34 - How big players make money with your data
14:14 - When did the big breach in data protection happen?
18:58 - What is a responsible way to conduct oneself on social media?
22:52 - Are people aware of the seriousness of the situation?

Biography
Monique Morrow spent 16 years at Cisco, where she became the company’s first Services CTO and spearheaded Cisco’s transition to services as the core piece of their offerings portfolio. After leaving Cisco, she founded The Humanized Internet, a non-profit organization with a mission to provide persistent, secure, global digital identity to the world’s population.
In 2019, she joined the newly established VETRI Foundation as the president of the board and has been shaping the organization’s path towards a blockchain based personal data management solution.
Monique has several patents to her name, amongst them “Cloud Framework for Multi-Cloud Extension” and “Deep Learning Bias Detection in Text”.
35 min
December 05, 2019EP #48 - Michael Friedrich: How To Successfully Handle Competition
Timestamps:
0:33 - What mistakes do Swiss founders repeatedly make when it comes to competition?
15:54 - How to succeed in a tough competitor situation
20:00 - Getting Switzerland on the American investor map
29:03 - Two types of customers
40:46 - Knowing when to get out

The Episode In 60 Seconds
Know your competitive landscape
Keep in mind that most tech products compete on a global scale

Take a holistic view: the same needs can be met with different approaches. They are still your competitors.

Be aware when you are switching from up-start to incumbent and when it’s time to scan for acquisition targets yourself.
Why companies acquire other companies
To create synergies with, expand, improve, etc. their existing business.

To protect their existing business from competition.

The latter tends to be a stronger driver than the former.
How to approach competitors
Approach the CEO, even if it is a much larger company.

Demonstrate how you will be a threat to their existing business.

Be aware that your competitor may be facing internal resistance against an approach which was “not invented here”.
50 min

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The Swisspreneur Show is a podcast series of in-depth, candid conversations with some of Switzerland’s most successful founders, business leaders and innovators. By getting to the heart of these…