
Swisspreneur Show
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 leaders’ stories - their successes, their failures, their must-have advice and greatest regrets - we hope to both inspire and guide the next generation of Swiss entrepreneurs. Each episode deconstructs and showcases one person’s personal and professional background and provides advice and recommendations for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs in Switzerland.
Latest episodes

Dec 8, 2024 • 60min
EP #460 - Cyrill Gyger: How to Sell 3D Radar Tech to Public Hospitals
Cyrill Gyger, co-founder and CEO of QUMEA, shares insights from his journey in digital mobility monitoring for patient safety. He discusses the innovative use of AI radar to track patient movements and breathing, aimed at preventing falls in hospitals. Cyrill explores the challenges of selling cutting-edge technology to public healthcare institutions and the importance of aligning co-founder incentives for success. He also highlights the complexities of navigating startup support programs in Switzerland, emphasizing strategic growth amidst economic hurdles.

Dec 4, 2024 • 38min
EP #459 - Sergio P. Ermotti: Führung, Leidenschaft und die Zukunft der UBS
Sergio Ermotti, Group CEO of UBS and a key player in global finance, shares his journey from aspiring footballer to banking leader. He discusses the monumental task of integrating Credit Suisse into UBS, shedding light on the challenges and strategies involved. Ermotti emphasizes the importance of leadership, integrity, and fostering a strong organizational culture. He also touches on the bank's responsibility to Swiss society and shares valuable advice for young talents regarding perseverance and sacrifice for success.

Dec 1, 2024 • 46min
EP #458 - Florim Cuculi: A Doctor With Entrepreneurial Blood
Florim Cuculi, a Swiss cardiologist and chief at Luzerner Kantonsspital, shares his inspiring journey from immigrant to medical leader. He discusses the blend of medicine and entrepreneurship, offering insights on effective leadership qualities like fairness and humility. Florim emphasizes the importance of maintaining health and managing stress, revealing techniques he uses to stay balanced. He also explores the impact of social media in medicine, aiming to educate the public while navigating its challenges. His story is a testament to resilience and passion.

Nov 27, 2024 • 52min
EP #457 - Nikolai Schröder: How to Stand Out in the Car Subscription Market
Nikolai Schröder, co-founder and COO of FINN, shares insights from his journey transitioning from a consultant at Boston Consulting Group to establishing a car subscription service. He discusses simplifying the car rental process, the importance of customer convenience, and the competitive landscape in Europe. Notably, he explains varied financing strategies essential for such a capital-intensive model and the company's ambitious goals for profitability and market expansion. Schröder also highlights the balance between personal passions and entrepreneurial responsibilities.

Nov 24, 2024 • 43min
EP#456 - Leonie Flückiger: Why Luxury Watches Need NFTs
Leonie Flückiger, co-founder of Adresta, shares her journey from a STEM background to redefining luxury watch ownership with NFTs. She discusses how blockchain technology and digital twins enhance authenticity and insurance processes for luxury watches. Leonie reveals secrets about navigating the secondary market and customer acquisition in a niche industry. She reflects on the challenges of startup funding, the importance of resilience, and her preference for entrepreneurial freedom over corporate consultancy after her company's acquisition.

Nov 20, 2024 • 43min
EP #455 - Joanne Sieber: Switzerland, The Leading Deep Tech Nation
Joanne Sieber, CEO of the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation, shares her vision to transform Switzerland into a leading deep tech nation. She discusses ambitious goals, including raising CHF 50B in venture capital and creating 100K jobs within ten years. Joanne highlights the need for improved collaboration and financial backing while addressing the cultural shifts necessary for startup growth. With insights from her diverse background, she emphasizes the importance of innovation in shaping a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Nov 17, 2024 • 46min
EP #454 - Pascal Jenny: Building a Sustainable Tourism Business in Arosa
Timestamps:
3:31 - Athletes are their own entrepreneurs
10:01 - Upfront investments for tourism infrastructure
15:44 - How to host a good event
21:29 - What does sustainability mean in business?
26:30 - Sustainability is not a marketing topic
This episode was co-produced by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Pascal Jenny:
Pascal Jenny is the former managing director and current president at Arosa Tourismus. He holds a BA in business administration from UZH and worked in Swiss sports television before founding Arosa Tourismus in 2008. He’s also the founder of tfy-consult, a company offering sustainability checks for other businesses, and is active as a board member at smzh.
Pascal’s connection to the Arosa region is long-standing: he vacationed there every single Summer until he was 25, and his great-great-grandfather used to be a priest there, as well. As a young person, he always enjoyed Arosa, but found its tourism industry lacking in certain respects, which motivated him to create a business which not only functioned as a hotel but also hosted events and offered experiences, and, most importantly, which measured its results and iterated accordingly.
Sustainability is a very important topic for Pascal, not only ecologically but also socially and economically. Arosa’s investors are aware that they’re unlikely to get back their investment, but still they offer their money because they want to build something beautiful. And when it comes to the relationship between Pascal’s business and the local Arosa population, clear and constant communication is key — and it served Pascal and his team well both when they came up with the idea to create a bear sanctuary, and when they thought of doing a gay ski week. Arosa Tourismus very intentionally does not invest much on social media marketing in order to avoid swaths of mass tourism coming their way.
Pascal stepped down from his managing director role in 2020 and is nowadays involved solely as president.
SMZH: tailor-made .holistic. for you.
smzh is an independent financial services provider who is assisting both private and corporate clients with individual advice in the areas of finance & investments, pensions, mortgages, insurance, real estate and tax & law. Through a 360° Check-Up, smzh ensures that you receive customized and comprehensive financial planning according to your initial situation and with a view to achieving your wishes and goals, as well as being accompanied by our experts during implementation.
The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.
Don’t forget to give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin, 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.

Nov 13, 2024 • 41min
EP #453 - Samir Ounzain: Unlocking the Power of the Dark Genome
Timestamps:
5:22 - From the UK to Switzerland
11:29 - The dark genome and chronic diseases
17:35 - HTX001 and heart failure
26:44 - Sticking to grants at first
34:32 - Managing two separate teams
This episode was sponsored by smzh, your independent go-to partner in all matters relating to finance.
About Samir Ounzain:
Samir Ounzain is the co-founder and CEO of HAYA Therapeutics, a precision medicines company targeting the regulatory genome for cardiovascular diseases, fibrosis and cancer. He holds a PhD from the University of Leicester and was previously a researcher at Imperial College London, University College London and CHUV Lausanne University Hospital before starting HAYA in 2019, together with his co-founder Daniel Blessing.
Early on in his academic career Samir studied the so-called “dark genome” (also known as the “regulatory genome”), which at the time of discovery (2001) was considered “junk DNA”, i.e. the 98% of our DNA that apparently did not make or in any way affect our genes. More recent scientific research has discovered that this regulatory genome is key to understanding how our genes interact with our environment, and can therefore be useful in targeting environment-caused diseases like heart failure and cancer.
HAYA’s lead therapeutic candidate is HTX-001, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting Wisper, which is a tissue and cell-specific cardiac lncRNA known to play a role in heart failure. The company is also developing a pipeline of lncRNA-targeting candidates for the cell-specific treatment of diseases in other tissues, including the lungs and the microenvironment of solid tumor cancers. The added benefit of their drugs is that by targeting the “dark” 98%, instead of the 2%, they result in zero side effects: conventional drugs help patients treat their diseases but they also produce secondary unwanted effects because the proteins that they are targeting (in our 2%) are also responsible for other functions — this same issue does not exist when it comes to drugs which interact with the dark genome.
HAYA Therapeutics is headquartered at the life sciences park Biopôle, in Lausanne, with additional laboratory facilities at JLABS, San Diego. They have raised a total of $25M in funding backed by a strong consortium of investors, including Broadview Ventures, Apollo Health Ventures, 4SeeVentures, BioInnovator, Bernina Bioinvest, Humboldt and Schroder Adveq.
This cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io
Don’t forget to give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin, 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.

Nov 10, 2024 • 41min
EP #452 - Pascal Weber: Why AI Will Free You From Repetitive Work
Pascal Weber, co-founder and CEO of Manukai, shares insights from his journey in AI after earning his PhD from ETH. He discusses the accidental invention of neural networks and the significance behind Manukai's name, merging manufacturing and continuous improvement. Weber highlights AI's potential to enhance CNC machining efficiency and free workers from repetitive tasks, enabling them to focus on creativity. He also addresses the competitive landscape of AI startups and the intricacies of fundraising for innovative tech.

Nov 7, 2024 • 31min
EP #451 - Nicole Kleger: Why Lab Grown Meat Won’t Kill You
Timestamps:
8:20 - The current state of the lab meat industry
14:10 - Does lab meat have the same nutritional value & taste?
15:40 - Sallea’s go-to-market strategy
17:45 - When all your partners are also startups
20:30 - What happens to the farmers?
This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
About Nicole Kleger:
Nicole Kleger is the co-founder and CTO at sallea, a biotech startup enabling the cultivation of high-value, textured whole cuts of (lab) meat and fish. She holds a PhD in Materials Science from ETH and has been a Sports Instructor at Akademischer Sportverband Zürich since 2015. She started sallea in 2022.
sallea’s propriety scaffolds enable the cultivation of whole cuts of meat and fish, as opposed to the thin layers currently being produced. This in turn will enable the sale and consumption of these products in a non-processed way: we’ll be able to eat a lean fillet of lab meat, instead of eating lab meat sausage or ground lab meat. Furthermore, sallea’s scaffolding platform allows each of their customers to pre-define the texture, nutritional value, taste, and other key attributes of the end product.
They are currently raising CHF 2.2M in external funds.
This cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io
Don’t forget to give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin, 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.
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