Swisspreneur Show

By SwisspreneurBusiness Entrepreneurship

Swisspreneur Show episodes

November 27, 2019 EP #47 - Michael Friedrich: How To Win As An Underdog
Timestamps:
1:52 - Should making an exit always be the goal in creating a startup?
12:00 - Entrepreneurship in the medical field
22:15 - Selling a second company for $12.5 million
31:36 - Do founders grow out of their role?
36:53 - The power of a network

Biography
Michael Friedrich is the CEO of Distalmotion, a medical device company specialized in robots for minimally invasive surgery. Michael started his first venture as a 16-year-old teenager during high school. The company, Berne Byte Bears, focused on the early applications of the Internet, producing specialized software programs, websites and other web applications. Their most successful offering was an online product comparison site, komsumenteninfo.ch, which was acquired by Comparis in 2002. Michael went on to study Microengineering at EPFL Lausanne. From there, he started Aïmago, a medtech venture focused on visualizing blood flow in real time. Aïmago was acquired by its competitor Novadaq for $12m in 2014. Nowadays, Michael is CEO (and early investor) of Lausanne-based Distalmotion, a spin-off of the EPFL that has set out to make robotic surgery more accessible and establish robotics as the new standard of care in the OR via its surgical robot called Dexter.
45 min
November 20, 2019EP #46 - Cris Grossmann: Fundraising For Growth
Timestamps:
2:06 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to funding for growth?
11:43 - How to find investors
24:06 - Turning down a $ 10 million investment offer
30:47 - How to go about evaluation
40:50 - When to start the fundraising process

The Episode In 60 Seconds
The four phases of fundraising.
Phase 1: Preparation
Start preparations either in early September or in January, as to not hit the VCs’ winter or summer break.

Don’t waste your time talking to VCs which aren’t adequate for the round you are trying to raise anyway.

Use personal introductions wherever you can.
Phase 2: Pitching
Do a first screening call to gauge the general fit of the VC for your business and round.

The goal of your pitching is to get a term sheet, which equals an offer to invest from a VC.
Phase 3: Negotiating Term Sheets
Once you have (hopefully) collected a few term sheets, it’s time to evaluate and negotiate on the different offers.

When choosing an investor, the cultural fit should not be underestimated. Don’t be afraid to get references on the VC from other ventures he/she has previously invested in.

Don’t obsess too much over valuation. It is not an exact science.
Phase 4: Due Diligence
Once you have decided to go with an offer, the investor will perform his due diligence on your business to make sure your books are in order.
49 min
November 13, 2019 EP #45 - Cris Grossmann: Building the fastest growing startup in Switzerland
Timestamps:
2:40 - Running a business in Switzerland vs in Mexico
10:23 - The early days of Spocal
21:55 - Raising 50k
35:40 - Figuring out pricing
39:15 - When to scale up

Biography
Cristian Grossmann is the CEO and co-founder at Beekeeper, a software company which allows businesses to easily communicate with their non-desk workforce. Cristian was born in Mexico City, to a Mexican-Swiss family. He left Mexico as a teenager to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering at ETH Zurich and went on to complete his doctorate in Electrical Engineering. The path to Beekeeper began in 2011, when he and his co-founder Flavio started an anonymous dating app for university students called BlicKlick. BlicKlick became Spocal, a community platform for all types of interactions – not just flirting. The solution was picked up not only by university students but also by businesses trying to engage their workforce. In 2012, Swissôtel, a Swiss hotel chain, used the solution to manage communication with its non-desk workforce during a merger with two other global hotel chains. This was a breakthrough moment for Beekeper, which since then has been growing rapidly and just closed a $ 45 million series B round this year.
54 min
November 06, 2019 EP #44 - Emile de Rijk: Building A Business In Outer Space
Timestamps:
2:44 - The story behind the name "Swissto12"
7:50 - Identifying and solving problems
11:17 - Switching markets
21:00 - Convincing customers
27:04 - Emile's plans for the funds he raised.

Biography
Emile de Rijk is the co-founder and CEO of Swissto12, a high-tech company which specializes in the 3D printing of radio frequency products based on its own patented technology. The company’s technology originated from Emil’s PhD thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), in Lausanne. After initially focusing on the production of scientific equipment, the company pivoted in 2014 and since then is mainly active in the market for antennas for satellite telecommunications. Swissto12 was awarded a contract by the European Space Agency in 2015 and raised a $ 18.5m series B round earlier this year with Swisscom Ventures as one of the lead investors.
31 min
October 30, 2019 EP #43 - Nicolas Bürer: Q&A on Accelerators & Incubators In Switzerland
Timestamps
2:07 - What's the difference between an accelerator and an incubator?
3:14 - Are accelerators and incubators worth it?
4:10 - When should you reach out to accelerators and incubators?
5:55 - Do certain business types have more of a chance with investors?
7:48 - What do accelerators and incubators deliver to you as a startup?
11:11 - Do accelerators and incubators even do anything?
13:04 - Which famous Swiss companies have been part of an accelerator or an incubator?
14:19 - Where to find incubators for young Swiss entrepreneurs?
17:00 - Why choose a Swiss incubator or accelerator?
18:43 - Is their a Y combinator equivalent in Switzerland?
25:21 - Do accelerator/incubator programs demand a full-time commitment?
28:00 - How do you know if the program has been successful?
29:23 - How many customers can you except to gain with a program like this?
31:01 - Should you aim for zero equity?

Biography
Nicolas Bürer is the Managing Director of DigitalSwitzerland, an initiative of over 150 Swiss corporate companies to strengthen Switzerland’s position as a leading innovation hub. Nicolas started his entrepreneurial career as Chief Marketing Officer at DeinDeal.ch, which rose to be one of Switzerland’s most successful e-commerce sites within only 5 years. After DeinDeal, he transitioned to become Managing Director at the TV company Joiz, which had to close its doors in 2016. Nicolas is also one of the co-founders of Movu, a platform of moving and cleaning companies, which was acquired by Baloise in 2017. He holds a Masters in physics from the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and was awarded “Business Angel of the Year” in 2018.
36 min
October 23, 2019EP #42 - Andreas Fischler: How To Scale Your Company Culture
Timestamps:
1:46 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to culture?
9:01 - The difficulties of creating a culture
12:58 - Important values
20:00 - Scaling company culture: recruiting & on-boarding
35:40 - Treating people fairly

The Episode In 60 Seconds
It’s never too early
Create culture with intention from the very beginning.

Start explicitly documenting and “negotiating” your culture as soon as you grow to 10 people or more.
Scaling culture
Hiring the right people is the only way to scale culture.

Hire for values rather than skills alone.

Acknowledge that on-boarding new people requires effort from your existing employees.
The topic of salaries
Fairness and transparency are key, but don’t allow salaries to take center stage in everything you do.

Base salaries off of what people need to make a living. Allow for different compensation packages based on the risk appetite of different employees.
Letting people go
Detect and tackle problems as early as possible.

Provide open feedback and a path to improvement.

Check-in as often as necessary until the issue is resolved or you let the person go.
50 min
October 16, 2019 EP #41 - Andreas Fischler: From Consulting Partner To Startup CEO
Timestamps:
2:07 - Leaving a consulting firm
17:07 - Starting at Frontify
28:00 - Growing a company from 0 to 75k users
32:55 - Splitting development costs with his first client
36:40 - How self-explanatory products support customer growth

Biography
Andreas Fischler is the co-founder of and former CEO at Frontify, which offers cloud software for brand management. During his time at Frontify, the company grew from 2 to over 70 employees. Before joining Frontify, he was a partner at Namics and had his own project, Sakku, which produced solar-powered bags. Andreas holds a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from ETH and a Masters in Information Management from the University of St. Gallen.
50 min
October 10, 2019 EP #40 - Andri Silberschmidt: Q&A on Starting a Company in Zurich
Timestamps
2:33 - Where can I find some good templates to set up my company in Zurich?
3:30 - How do I hire someone in Zurich?
5:49 - What's the most successful startup that was started in Zurich?
7:19 - Mistakes to avoid when starting a company in Zurich
10:14 - Living costs in Zurich
11:56 - Finding co-founders in Zurich
15:13 - Affordable office space in Zurich
17:48 - Looking for investment in Zurich
19:33 - How to get advisors on board
21:46 - Why start a business in Zurich?
25:08 - How startups can cooperate with universities in Zurich
26:41 - Does Zurich promote gender equality?
28:34 - Why are there so few politicians with real startup experience?
33:44 - How can we empower more startups in Zurich?
37:58 - Do cantonal taxes constitute an obstacle to new businesses?
40:20 - Can you be a political candidate and a business owner?
42:24 - How can startups reach out to politicians?
44:29 - What challenges does Andri face as a politician?
49:37 - What are Andri's strengths?

Biography
Andri Silberschmidt is a politician, investment consultant and the co-founder of Kaisin. AG. After his apprenticeship at Swisscanto Invest, he became (and is still) responsible for the management of all quantitative equity funds that invest in developing countries. In 2017, together with friends, he founded the restaurant chain Kaisin AG, which currently operates three branches in Zurich and one in Basel. Andri Silberschmidt has been politically active since 2011 and President of the Young Liberals Party of Switzerland since 2016. In 2018, he was elected to the Parliament of the City of Zurich for the FDP (Swiss Liberal Party) and is now a candidate for the National Parliament on the list of the FDP Canton of Zurich. Andri holds a BSc in Business Administration and an MSc in Global Finance from Cass Business School.

To get in touch with Andri, message him on Instagram @andrisilberschmidt
53 min
October 02, 2019EP #39 - Estefanía Tapias: The State Of Female Entrepreneurship In Switzerland
Timestamps:
8:02 - Should military service be mandatory for women?
12:19 - Growing up with 3 sisters and an entrepreneurial mom
18:35 - The women quota
20:58 - How can men support women?
27:18 - How do we get more women in leadership positions?

The Episode In 60 Seconds
What drives inequality in Switzerland?
Historical factors such as the absence of a total war which shook up societal structures in other European countries.

Expensive childcare and unequal career development paths

Venture capital dominated by men
How can we tackle inequality?
Subsidized child care would be desirable, but is in the end a tax payer decision.

Extended parental leave for both parents

Education

Role models and communities
Quotas: yay or nay?
Quotas can be a powerful instrument if used wisely.

Quotas alone aren’t enough. Coaching and mentoring is required for those who are supposed to fill them.
Diversity matters.
A team which resembles the customer base which it builds products for will build better products.
39 min
September 25, 2019 EP #38 - Estefanía Tapias: How To Hustle In Switzerland
Timestamps:
2:26 - Why Estefania left research to start her own company
10:35 - Growing up in an entrepeneurial family
21:27 - If you're gonna fail, fail fast.
30:18 - How Estefania went about looking for a location
35:19 - How Estefania structures negotiations

Biography
Estefanía Tapias is the CEO and Co-Founder of WeSpace, a community, workspace and digital platform that nurtures female leadership and innovation, having opened its doors in Zurich in 2018. Estefanía holds a PhD in Information Cities and Urban Climate from ETH Zurich and co-developed the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) series on ‘Future Cities’ available on edX. She was also featured on the BILANZ Top 100 Digital Shapers in Switzerland as well as in Forbes’ 30 under 30.

45 min

About Swisspreneur Show

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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…