Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 6:44 - Why the founder team is the key ingredient 13:30 - Starting entrepreneurship part-time 15:50 - Splitting shares among founders 24:03 - Attracting senior people to your startup 31:30 - Closing a round amid a crisis About Tanja Koch: ⁠Tanja Koch⁠ is a co-founder at ⁠Amplo⁠, a no code platform that makes AI easy and accessible to service and operation departments. She holds a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zürich and previously worked for companies like LEVITRONIX and 9T Labs before starting Amplo in 2021. When it comes to finding the right co-founders, Tanja has some advice to give: Your founder team should hold similar values but have different skill sets. Starting a business with a romantic partner can be a good idea or not depending on your personal preference — Tanja personally wouldn’t do it. The optimal founder team size is between 3 and 5 people. The founders should hold equal shares in the company, provided they’re putting in equal amounts of work. The shares/salary split should be set up so that founders don’t have to worry about things like the cost of eating out, but also aren’t living a life of luxury. For Switzerland, try to aim between CHF 3-5K per month. Amplo raised a CHF 1.6M pre-seed round back in September 2022, in the midst of a complicated fundraising environment. This is Tanja’s advice on pulling a round like that off: Ask your existing investors whom else they know who could invest in your following rounds. Do the regular fundraising tasks: create a long list, then a short list, get intros, go to events, etc. Keep the investors you’re talking to on a tight schedule. Tell them by which date you want a term sheet. Create FOMO, even if accidentally: during the fundraising process, Tanja went to Berlin to visit a friend, and inadvertently made her Swiss investors concerned that she was talking to Berlin VCs.  Memorable Quotes: "Ask your existing investors who they know who could invest in your following rounds." 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!

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!