Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps

7:45 - What André learned from being a fighter pilot in the Swiss army

11:26 - What young people should do to prepare for an entrepreneurial career

19:24 - What a great team looks like

28:48 - How to deal with risk

31:17 - Dealing with crises

Biography

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).

Timestamps

0:40 - The concept of Seedspaces and co-habitation

14:23 - Things to consider when picking a co-founder

17:09 - The importance of recruiting

22:43 - Operating across different cultures

31:45 - Advice to female entrepreneurs

Biography

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.

Timestamps:

8:46 - Launching a startup in 11 months

22:39 - Working at Google

32:26 - How to drive the company's culture as a CEO

37:51 - What Switzerland can learn from Silicon Valley and Berlin

41:32 - What it takes to start a company nowadays

Biography

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).

Timestamps

15:46 - How to build a company on open source

22:40 - Scaling Automattic with a distributed team

36:20 - Having a long-term view of your startup

44:18 - Loneliness as a startup CEO

51:13 - Creating feedback loops

Biography

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.

Timestamps

10:35 - Early days of Doodle and taking risks

16:21 - Managing growth and culture

25:18 - How to manage a product backlog

27:35 - On launching early

38:20 - Myke's productivity tips

Biography

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).

1:06 - Why open offices in Zurich, Austin and Cape Town

5:54 - Why studying economics aids you as a CEO

21:55 - Dealing with critics

32:03 - Knowing it's time to pivot

46:25 - Founding a company with your husband/wife

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.

Timestamps

18:15 - How to make it work when your co-founder is your wife

28:39 - How to find product-market fit

36:24 - Selling his company Wildfire to Google

41:45 - What it's like working for Google

47:14 - The Swiss startup ecosystem

Biography

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.