Swisspreneur Show

Urs Hölzle, SVP of Engineering at Google, discusses when Swiss startups should go to the US, meeting the Google founders, scaling culture, current AI developments, and leaving Silicon Valley.

Rodrigo Fraga-Silva, CEO at Comphya, discusses their innovative solution for erectile dysfunction through a neurostimulating implant. They highlight the problem of erectile dysfunction, the limitations of current solutions, and the pilot clinical trials. They also talk about the competition for true innovators and fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate.

Herbert Bay, serial entrepreneur, angel investor and board member, shares valuable lessons for product builders. Key topics include the importance of customer feedback, uniqueness, value generation, and trial and error. They discuss idea validation, user acquisition, and understanding the problem rather than the solution.

Timestamps: 11:31 - How taking a break helps you have new ideas 21:20 - AI’s role in Ren 27:38 - From Switzerland to the US 34:18 - Iterative product-market fit  41:31 - Acquiring Fortune 500 companies as customers About Canay Deniz: Canay Deniz is the co-founder and CEO at Ren, the intelligence tool that alerts you of actionable news about clients, prospects, and key contacts and helps you reach out in a timely and meaningful way. Canay holds a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering & Business from ETH, and previously worked at the data intelligence company Teralytics before starting Ren in 2019. His startup, Ren, which aims to systematize serendipity, was itself born out of a lucky coincidence: a friend of Canay introduced him to his now co-founder, Lionel Hertig, and this encounter led him to take the entrepreneurial plunge. What is serendipity, you may ask? Generally, it’s defined as a happy coincidence, but for Ren’s purposes the concept (at least when applied to the business world) can be broken down into 3 main elements: Finding the right people: Usually instead of 1 database, we have several, stored in a bunch of different places. Ren helps you centralize your contacts and prioritizes different types of people based on your personal goals. If you regularly cold email C-level people, then Ren will know that a contact’s job position is an especially relevant piece of information to consider.   Reaching out to people at the right time: We have access to an unprecedented amount of information, but you can’t read everything all the time — it’s impossible to monitor the entire world. That’s why Ren has partnered with media organizations and built an AI that reads all the news for you. It selects news not based on your interests, but on your prospects’.  Reaching out in the right context: It’s always best to sound like you have a pertinent reason to reach out to people, and aren’t just trying to land a quick sale. But how do you, for instance, find the news that impacts the company you care about but doesn’t directly mention it? Ren’s AI does it for you, and it also summarizes what happened and how it impacts your prospect.  Ren’s goal is to give sales a human face and make it pertinent and beneficial for all parties involved. And it’s not just useful for sales people: the fundamental act of selling is a skill required for many aspects of a company’s operations, like hiring and fundraising. Currently Ren is focused on the English-speaking market, which they feel is big enough (at least for now), and their target customer is a relationship-based senior professional handling big deals in their day to day. Memorable Quotes: “A random email from a buddy led me to becoming CEO of Ren.” “Perfect is the enemy of done.” “We need to be very careful not to confuse traction with being pulled in 5 different directions.” If you would like to listen to more episodes on sales, check out our latest conversation with Lars Mangelsdorf. Don’t forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners!

Roland Brack, founder of Brack.ch and owner of the Competec group, discusses the start of his online shop, the acquisition of Alltron, the new logistics center of Brack, the lack of risk-taking in Switzerland, and why he chose to go solo as an entrepreneur.

Timestamps: 2:36 - Rapid growth in unstructured data 6:53 - Reaching CHF 100K ARR in 8 months 8:48 - The competitor landscape 12:53 - Facing the diversity of data structures 13:57 - Kadoa’s deal on the Swisspreneur Syndicate About Adrian Krebs: Adrian Krebs is the co-founder and CEO at Kadoa, a SaaS company providing AI-powered data extraction. He holds a MAS in Information Technology from Berner Fachhochschule BFH and previously built the shopping guide Looria. Together with his co-founders, Johannes Engler and Tavis Lochhead, he created Kadoa in 2023 to address a pressing issue: the hours upon hours of tedious, manual data extraction work performed by freelancers across the globe. Kadoa’s AI technology lets you build data extraction workflows on autopilot, without fighting scrapers, mappers, or APIs. They launched it this year to take advantage of three converging factors: Tech breakthrough: It wasn’t possible to automate such large extents of unstructured data until now, and it was very expensive and tedious to process it.  The boom in (unstructured) data: 80% of all data is unstructured, and 80-90% of all data worldwide was produced within the last 2 years.  During uncertain times, companies look for ways to cut costs.  After building their product in 8 months and reaching CHF 100K ARR, the Kadoa team has a full sales pipeline. Their only bottleneck is human capital: there’s still only 3 people on the team. That’s why they’re raising CHF 1.5M, part of which through the Swisspreneur Syndicate, for a 24 month runway. With these funds the Kadoa founders intend to achieve product-market fit, acquire 30 new enterprise customers and reach break even. Check out the Swisspreneur Syndicate’s deal flow page on notion to find out more.  Memorable Quotes: "80% of all data is unstructured, and 80-90% of all data worldwide was produced within the last 2 years." Don’t forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly give-aways or founders dinners!

Tim Beck, co-founder at BLP Digital, discusses using AI to automate ERP processes. Topics include employee ownership, automation strategies, bootstrapping, and validating business ideas.

This episode was sponsored by ⁠⁠quitt.business⁠⁠. Timestamps: 06:07 - How Swiss investment markets have changed 9:16 - Why Tim chose forests 15:59 - How startups can operate better in the climate space 20:46 - Explaining ‘Green’ terms 29:27 - Who are Xilva’s competitors? About Tim Duehrkoop: Tim Duehrkoop is the co-founder and CEO of Xilva, a cleantech startup building the digital infrastructure for forestry investments with a focus on enabling funding through holistic project assessments. He received a PhD from HSG in Business Administration and attended Stanford for an executive program for growing companies. Once he completed his studies, he joined a startup called Namics, where he worked for 24 years. During this time he witnessed the growth of  this small venture into a corporate powerhouse with 500 employees,  as well as its successful exit, which left him pondering his next move within the Swiss entrepreneur ecosystem. Driven by a profound passion for addressing climate issues rather than solely pursuing profits, he is set out to make a meaningful impact. His path converged with a co-founder specializing in forestry, leading them to tackle climate change by addressing market inefficiencies within the Swiss startup network. Their action was motivated by increased feelings of climate grief, and by wanting to actively do something about it. They recognized reforestation as a highly scalable, proven solution for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. During his episode with us, Tim discussed the evolution of the Swiss investment market and the challenges faced by startups within the Swiss startup network seeking funding, particularly in Series A and Series B rounds. Despite the current funding climate presenting difficulties, he has remained optimistic, anticipating improved conditions in the near future for Swiss entrepreneurs. Startups can play a pivotal role in the climate tech sector, and while acknowledging that startups alone cannot solve the climate crisis, Tim argues that they serve as crucial laboratories for discovering effective solutions within the Swiss entrepreneur landscape. Additionally, he discussed strategies for enhancing startup operations in this space, such as creating favorable tax environments, establishing grant programs, engaging with governmental support and how they target angel investors. Memorable Quotes: “Startups can do many things but they can’t solve climate change. However they are important elements to find out what works in order to make an impact, and they help to facilitate and further develop new solutions.” “Green washing is committing to something but then it’s not really helping the environment. Green hushing means you don’t commit to anything and hope nobody notices, and Green waiting is waiting for an initiative to come along but then not spending anything in the meantime.” Don’t forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly give-aways or founders dinners!‍

Timestamps: 3:20 - Competitor quality vs quantity 6:06 - The ILEVE founding team 11:07 - Standing for Swiss quality 16:58 - The growing pains of startups 20:04 - The ILEVE deal on the Swisspreneur syndicate About Simon Krähenbühl and Silvia Nadenbousch: Simon Krähenbühl and Silvia Nadenbousch are the co-founders of ILEVE OPTICS, an eyewear brand which consists of two separate lines: LARS Brillen, a prescription and sunglasses B2B brand sold to opticians across Switzerland, and ILEVE DISTRICT, a cycling eyewear brand sold directly to customers and through selected retail stores. Simon is responsible for Design and Product Development and holds a master's in Innovation, Industrial and Product Design, and Silvia is the Communications and Marketing head, with a master's in Business and Economics. The idea for ILEVE came from Simon’s personal experience as a glasses wearer: his glasses kept sliding down his nose, so he decided to develop an innovative glass hinge which prevented this from happening. His hinge patent was the first technical development in terms of glasses hinges in decades, and that is why he and his co-founder Silvia don’t feel threatened by the amount of other eyewear brands out there. Most brands, say the co-founders of ILEVE, innovate only in terms of colors and shapes, whereas this Swiss-made brand brings true added value to the wearer.  If eyewear is a market with plenty of competition, it also has a never ending stream of customers: as people age, most develop a need for glasses, and with the pervasive and constant use of mobile devices nowadays, short sightedness is equally on the rise. ILEVE eyewear is designed, 3D-printed and assembled in Switzerland. Simon and Silvia have found this to be a valuable USP for their brand, since the association with the idea of Swiss-made quality really helps to build trust and convert people into buying customers. ILEVE is currently raising a CHF 800K seed round, CHF 100K of which is being raised through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. The funds will be used to grow their team, fuel their expansion to Germany and a select number of European cities, and achieve the coveted B Corp certification. Check out the Swisspreneur Syndicate’s deal flow page on notion to find out more.  Memorable Quotes: "We know we can’t save the world with glasses. But we want to take responsibility for the sustainability of our products." - Simon Krähenbühl "Building a sustainable B2C brand with a low budget is definitely a challenge, but at the same time it keeps us creative." - Silvia Nadenbousch Don’t forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly give-aways or founders dinners!

This episode was sponsored by quitt.business. Timestamps: 02:18 - Their career backgrounds 06:25 - Starting a company with a romantic partner 12:57 - Convincing customers to buy their product 20:37 - Importance of customer experience 30:17 - How did acquisition change their view on growth? About Daniel Meyer and Marie So: Daniel Meyer and Marie So are the co-founders and CEO and CSO, respectively, of EGO Movement. EGO Movement was founded in 2015 and provides smart, connected mobility solutions that are stylish, sustainable, and affordable. Daniel has a master's degree from ETH in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and founded his first startup during university. He later spent 8 years in Hong Kong, Vietnam and China in various senior management positions for Swiss multinational DKSH, and his last role was as Vice President of their second largest business in China. Daniel also was the Chairman of the Swiss Chinese Chamber of Commerce for 2 years and member of several board of directors in China and South East Asia. Marie graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School with a master's degree in Public Administration and International Development, and a bachelor's degree in Economics, Engineering and Management Science from Northwestern University. She also attended the United World College of the Pacific (UWC). She previously co-founded Shokay and Ventures in Development, a non-profit that catalyses the creation of social enterprises in the greater China region. She also previously worked for the United Nations Development Programme, Dubai Development and Investment Authority, Procter & Gamble and Merrill Lynch. Marie is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader as well as an Echoing Green Fellow 2008 and Asia 21 Young Leader 2008. Daniel and Marie are romantic partners and share their experience of running a business together since 2015, highlighting how their differing skills and personalities complement each other. They blur the line between personal and professional life, constantly brainstorming new ideas and improvements for their brand. EGO Movement stands out in the market with its fusion of lifestyle and technology in e-bikes, featuring GPS and remote unlocking via an app. Sustainability is at the forefront, as they showcase how e-bike users save 275kg of CO2 equivalents per year, making it an eco-friendly choice. They give insight into their pricing strategy, emphasizing affordability compared to cars and their commitment to a sustainable supply chain. Marie and Daniel sold their majority shares in 2021 to TVS, one of the 5 largest 2-wheeler manufacturers globally, paving the way for rapid growth and international expansion, with a focus on making e-bikes not just a mode of transport but a lifestyle choice. Memorable Quotes: “We have very different personalities and skills, but they complement each other, as well as a strong trust - that is very special because not every couple can do it.’ “Customer experience is very important for us, so opening a flagship lifestyle store was a step we felt was beneficial for the brand, which not every business considers a risk worth taking.”  Don’t forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly give-aways or founders dinners!