Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 1:38 - Altoo in 30 Sekunden 8:08 - Wie Altoo Hackerangriffe abwehrt 16:37 - War das Timing richtig? 24:15 - Corporate Job oder Unternehmer? 35:23 - Welchen Einfluss hatte COVID für Altoo? Über Martin Stadler und Altoo Martin Stadler ist CEO von Altoo, einem Software Unternehmen, welches ein digitales Cockpit für die einfache Darstellung von komplexen Vermögensstrukturen anbietet. Bevor Martin selbst zum Unternehmer wurde, startete er 1996 seine berufliche Laufbahn als KV Lehrling bei der UBS in St. Gallen und studierte im Anschluss berufsbegleitend Wirtschaft an der Fachhochschule St. Gallen. Während 20 Jahren machte er intern Karriere als Senior Kundenberater an verschiedenen Standorten, so unter anderem in Singapur. 2016 war er bei der Flynt Bank als Ambassador für die Kundengewinnung verantwortlich, wo er bereits mit den beiden weiteren Mitgliedern der zukünftigen Altoo Geschäftsleitung Stefan Thiel (CTO) und Stefan Weber (CDO) arbeitete. Für Martin Stadler persönlich ist Authentizität von hoher Bedeutung: die eigenen Werte müssen im Privat- sowie im Geschäftsleben übereinstimmen. Er schätzt Menschen, welche in guten wie in schlechten Zeiten nicht Augen und Ohren verschliessen, sondern den Ursachen auf den Grund gehen wollen. Eine gute Stimmung und Humor sind für ihn geschäftlich wie auch privat unverzichtbar. 2017 kam es zum Buy-Out der Flynt Technologie durch zwei Schweizer Unternehmerfamilien. Dadurch bot sich für Martin Stadler die Gelegenheit als CEO die Verantwortung für das neu entstandene Fintech Unternehmen Altoo zu übernehmen. Aus diesem Grund sehen sich die Mitglieder der Geschäftsleitung auch nicht als Gründer, sondern als Teil eines grossen gemeinsamen Efforts. Dies zeigt sich auch im Namen Altoo, welcher für “all together” steht. Aktuell expandiert das Software Unternehmen in ausländische Märkte. Memorable Quotes Altoo muss einen Hackerangriff überstehen können. Wir sind wie ein Haus ohne Fenster und ohne Türen  - so haben wir unsere Sicherheitstechnologie gebaut. Wenn du mehr über SEF startups erfahren möchtest, hör dir unsere Episode mit Sergio Studer, Andreas Lenzhofer und Jörg Sandrock an. Folge uns auf Twitter, Instagram, Facebook und Linkedin um auf dem Laufenden zu bleiben. Wir posten regelmässig über Live Shows, Give-Aways und unsere Founders Dinner Events.

Timestamps: 1:16 - An international background 5:00 - 3 crucial factors for a good investment 10:23 - Losing an investment 16:30 - Launching a student fund 23:42 - How they pick the students About Cynthia Jurytko Cynthia Jurytko is a professional Business Angel and President of the Board of S2S Ventures, Switzerland's first student-run Venture Capital firm. In 2012, Cynthia left the path of management consulting to become Head of Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management at Neue Zürcher Zeitung. This was when she also started her journey as a business angel — as of now, her points of focus are healthcare and sustainability, two traditional fields that could really benefit from extra impact and entrepreneurial innovation according to Cynthia. However, Cynthia's endeavors didn't end there! She realized how universities were often contacted by outside professional funds, but were lacking in cross-campus initiatives. Following the footsteps of American role models such as the Dorm Room Fund, S2S knows how the upcoming generations can lead the way to innovation, because they have an unbiased view on tech trends and are close to their peers and vital infrastructures, such as research centers and university clubs. The project receives its funding exclusively from board members and private investors interested in academic funds. At S2S, students are not only the focus of investment practices, but they run the fund themselves! Two students from each major university are chosen for membership. Their learning process is completely autonomous: they are the ones contacting early-stage startups with no limited industry focus and deciding the ticket sizes, which can range from 20-150k CHF. Change is never a problem: the constant renewing of students benefits the initiative with fresh ideas each academic year. As new campus funds spring across Europe, Cynthia is keen on keeping her ideals of transparency while hoping her project soon expands internationally. Resources Mentioned Village Global's Venture Stories Brené Brown's leadership advice Memorable Quotes "No investment has zero risks or weaknesses. You always find something." “With Series A startups, you evaluate it a bit differently, because you can make more fact-checking, you have more numbers to look at. You get to have a more structured and analytical approach. In pre-seed stage, you invest in the future of the company, and mostly in the team’s ability to realize that future.” If you would like to listen to more conversations on student funds, check out our episode with Edouard Treccani. 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: 2:12 - Neon onboarding in 10 Minuten 7:45 - Das Neon Gründerteam 12:30 - Warum der Name Neon 17:00 - Welche Kreditkarte nutzt Jörg 20:56 - Vertrauensaufbau bei Kunden Bio Jörg Sandrock ist co-founder und CEO von neon, der ersten Schweizer Smartphone Bank ohne Kartengebühren. Vor seiner Karriere als Unternehmer, war der studierte Wirtschaftsingenieur (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) über 11 Jahre im Beratungsunternehmen Strategy& tätig, wo er auch zwei seiner drei Mitgründer kennenlernte. Während eines Beratungsmandates für einen Kunden, der sein digitales Retail Banking Angebot erweitern wollte, erarbeiteten sie ein Konzept, welches zwar für Begeisterung sorgte, jedoch aus internen Gründen nicht umgesetzt werden konnte. Daraus entstand die Motivation die Beratung zu verlassen und das Fintech Startup neon zu gründen. Neon hat bis heute Investitionen von über CHF 10 Mio. aufgenommen. Zu den Investoren gehören unter anderem die TX Group, Roland Brack und Bettina Hein. Die Smartphone Bank ist seit ihrem Markteintritt im Jahr 2019 bereits auf über 60’000 Kundinnen und Kunden gewachsen. Memorable Quotes "Das teilweise in den alten Köpfen vorherrschende Bild, dass eine Bank für Vertrauen steht, geht beim Durchschnitt der Bevölkerung eher verloren." Wenn du mehr über SEF startups erfahren möchtest, hör dir unsere Episode mit Sergio Studer und Andreas Lenzhofer an. Folge uns auf Twitter, Instagram, Facebook und Linkedin um auf dem Laufenden zu bleiben. Wir posten regelmässig über Live Shows, Give-Aways und unsere Founders Dinner Events.

Timestamps: 1:00 - Growing up in the Soviet Union 10:41 - Recommendations for going international 13:53 - How and when to acquire companies 16:18 - Helping your company as a scientist 21:05 - Valuation About Serguei Beloussov Serguei Beloussov is Founder and CEO of Acronis, a global company focused on cyber protection, recovery solutions and storage management services. A scientist by training raised in the former Soviet Union, Serguei started his first business in graduate school. Then, in 2000, he founded SWsoft (later Parallels), a leading software in automation and cross-platform connections for businesses, public entities and individual customers. Parallels would later on launch Acronis, its own spin-off targeting storage and backup assistance. Serguei's early endeavors were based in Singapore, a friendly and safe growth environment. However, the founder soon weighed his operations, and came to the conclusion that up to 40% of all transactions took place in Europe. Switzerland was a happy choice for the new corporate headquarters: according to Serguei, Switzerland is a politically stable and wealthy environment for company growth, despite the difficulties of the Swiss ecosystem in hiring foreign talent. For companies itching to go international, here are Serguei’s tips: Study your goal-market carefully before making the big leap; Remember that markets are often determined by geopolitical standards; Master culturally-specific terminology. This is a big deal in deep tech: concepts and names will vary widely across the globe, so make sure you do your research. As we write, Acronis is thriving! The company currently employs more than 1600 experienced collaborators across 33 countries, and its recent fundraising campaign raised 250M$ from CBC capital at a 2.5B$ valuation. This self-made entrepreneur has also co-authored more than 280 US technology patents while juggling many board membership positions, and he’s looking forward to seeing how machine intelligence and digital literacy progress in the upcoming years. Listen to the episode to learn more about Acronis’s story and Serguei’s personal outlook on data safety! Memorable Quotes "It’s more difficult to hire foreign talent in Switzerland. As a global leader, it’s difficult to rely solely on the talent you can find locally while being selective.” "What I've learned from the past is that integrating remote work could be very productive for companies." For more content on how to make your company rock the global stage, check out our episode with Flyability’s CEO Patrick Thevoz! If you’re more in the mood for reading on data privacy concerns, have a look at our blog contribution with Monique Morrow.

Timestamps 5:10 - Besser schlafen durch Thermoregulierung 8:00 - Skepsis beim Markteintritt 13.08 - Die USP's eines Dagsmejan Pyjamas 27.27 - Ehepartner und Co-Gründer 35.05 - Kurz vor der Kapitulation Bio Andreas Lenzhofer ist co-founder und CEO von Dagsmejan, ein Unternehmen, welches innovative Bekleidung für besseren Schlaf entwickelt. Bevor der Aargauer selbst zum Unternehmer wurde, studierte er Finance an der FHNW in Olten (früher HWV) und verfolgte anschliessend für knapp 20 Jahre eine Karriere in der Unternehmensberatung (u.A. bei PWC und Strategy&) mit dem Fokus auf Supply Chain Management, Operations und Finance. Als er und seine Frau Catarina Dahlin sich ‘mid-life’ in ihren jeweiligen Corporate Karrieren befanden, entschieden sie, dass sie die zweite Hälfte ihres beruflichen Pfades als Entrepreneurs verbringen möchten. Nach einer umfangreichen Trendanalyse gründeten sie 2017 das High-Tex-Startup Dagsmejan, um die Schlaf- und Lebensqualität global zu revolutionieren. Memorable Quotes: "Wenn man unternehmerisch tätig war, ist es fast unmöglich wieder in einem Corporate Umfeld zu arbeiten." Wenn du mehr über SEF startups erfahren möchtest, hör dir unsere Episode mit Sergio Studer an. Folge uns auf Twitter, Instagram, Facebook und Linkedin um auf dem Laufenden zu bleiben. Wir posten regelmässig über Live Shows, Give-Aways und unsere Founders Dinner Events.

Timestamps: 1:06 - Being obsessed with running businesses 6:28 - Creating the mulesoft open source project 12:15 - Should you solve your own problem? 21:00 - Open sourcing software 1:01:30 - Getting prospective clients to follow through 1:04:08 - Letting go of your CTO position 1:07:51 - Falling into a depression 1:11:14 - Ringing the bell at the NY stock exchange 1:35:10 - Adapting to a slower paced life About Ross Mason Ross Mason is the founder of MuleSoft Inc. and Dig Ventures. He is also a Board Member at Stackin' and Syncari. Ross has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and jokes that at the ripe age of seven, he was already running his own bootleg Lego club! His parents were business owners, and taught Ross two important lessons for his future projects: you should never lower your bar, and working hard isn't necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy what you do. In 1997, Ross graduated in Computer Science from the University of the West of England and started his career in corporate work. However, he knew he wanted to build his own path, and open source software was his prime choice, since it gives you widespread distribution and insight about potential product/market fit. That’s exactly how The Mule Project was born. The platform started out as a SourceForge project in April 2003, and its aim was to make programmers’ lives simpler by allowing them to easily enable the sending of data between their SaaS (software as a service), on-premise software and legacy systems platforms which was previously hard and tedious to do. This philosophy of avoiding “donkey work” became a guiding star for his endeavors. Born in 2006, MuleSource, later MuleSoft, got the timing just right: many open source companies were becoming commercial, and investors were starting to realize it’s actually a viable distribution model. Ross had a strong drive for building the next game changer in a fragmented market. Though integration had taken a big hit after the rise of web services, MuleSoft kept the ball rolling by uniting many different approaches in one platform, with all the proper testing, monitoring, debugging and graphical environment. 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 07:14 – Die Bereitschaft halb so viel zu verdienen 13:35 – Point of no return und die vermeintliche Auto-Garagen-Mafia 21:33 – Von Shopify zum Aufbau einer eigenen Technologieplattform 23:50 – Unzufriedene Kunden for the win 35:47 – internationale Märkte, aufmerksame Mitbewerber und gefragte Investoren-Qualitäten Bio Sergio Studer ist Co-Founder von CARIFY, der grössten Schweizer Auto-Abo Plattform. Vor der Gründung studierte er Betriebswirtschaft an der Universität St. Gallen und arbeitete anschliessend als Sales Manager und später als Head of Sales im Software Startup SHERPANY, wo er auch seinen Mitgründer Raffael Fiechter kennenlernte. Nach vier lehrreichen und prägenden Jahren entschieden sich die beiden gemeinsam den Weg in die Selbständigkeit zu gehen und haben 2019 CARIFY ins Leben gerufen. 2020 trat das Gründer-Duo bei der TV Sendung «Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz» auf und erhielt ein Investment von CHF 900'000. Sergio liegt das Unternehmertum im Blut, seine Eltern führen ein Baugeschäft, in welchem er schon früh an den Wochenenden mitangepackt hat. Dieses hätte er zwar übernehmen können, entschied sich aber dafür etwas Eigenes zu machen und sich dem Baugeschäft nur in der Rolle des Verwaltungsrates zu widmen. Die wenige Zeit, die Sergio nebst seinem Wirken als Gründer bleibt, verbringt er am liebsten mit seiner Partnerin und seiner Familie. Memorable Quotes: «Wenn ich einen Tipp habe für jemanden […], der etwas starten möchte: fang einfach mal an, du merkst nach 2, 3, 4 Wochen, wenn du irgendwo anstehst, dann kannst du immer noch ändern.» «Ich glaube es ist niemand böse, wenn man zu seinen Fehlern steht. Gerade auf Kundenseite geht viel schief, gerade am Anfang.» «Wir haben bei uns die Kultur entwickelt, dass wir den Kunden in die Problemlösung einbeziehen.» «Ich glaube das Wertvollste was man erhalten kann ist eine ehrliche Meinung und Kritik. Gerade wenn du erfolgreich bist oder in den Medien, dann merkt man auch von Freunden, dass viele nicht mehr einfach offen reden und dich kritisieren, aber das ist eigentlich das Wertvollste.» Folge uns auf Twitter, Instagram, Facebook und Linkedin um auf dem Laufenden zu bleiben. Wir posten regelmässig über Live Shows, Give-Aways und unsere Founders Dinner Events.

Timestamps: 1:08 - Studying computer science and meteorology 8:49 - What does transparency mean? 28:11 - Finding perseverance 36:55 - Acquiring clients 58:00 - Thinking over a business strategy About Oliver Marchand Oliver Marchand is Managing Director and Global Head of ESG Research and Models at MSCI Inc., a worldwide provider of support tools and services for investment needs. Marchand finished his PhD in Computer Science and Meteorology from ETH Zürich in 2003. In 2005, he took a role as Head of IT at Fisch Asset Management. His small team managed to build the entire portfolio management system for FAM, and his decade-long stay provided many valuable lessons for building a company, like negotiation skills, IT security skills and transparency — according to Oliver, “there’s really no other way to do business”! These tools were soon put to good use. After leaving FAM, Oliver joined forces to found Carbon Delta, a financial technology B2B service evaluating the ecological footprint and possible environmental impacts of companies. Building a social impact company, especially by bootstrapping, was no easy feat. The product was also met with intense skepticism by the investing community of Germany and Switzerland. As an alternative, browsing in America for interested investors and employees meant heavy relocation costs that were just too much for the young company. Climate change is definitely a hot topic these days, and understandably so. According to Marchand, 50% of the economy desperately needs to decarbonize, and it was precisely this feeling of urgency that made Carbon Delta push forward to overcome their funding struggles.  In the first year, their biggest support came from Climate-KIC’s Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Booster Flagship Programme. This valuable help eventually led the company to reach amazing milestones: some of their victories include the Europe’s Best Climate Venture 2016 award and the European Fintech Award 2017 for Risk, Intelligence and Security. Other major players supporting Oliver’s project include the ZKB and a team of encouraging SICTIC investors — our previous podcast guest Thomas Dübendorfer, president of SICTIC and expert angel investor, is also on the list! Carbon Delta was acquired by MSCI Inc. in October 2019, and Oliver couldn’t be happier with his startup’s buyer. Fighting for a cleaner planet still presents many challenges, but Oliver hopes his work at MSCI may continue to have a transforming power in the sustainability of the financial industry.

Timestamps: 6:18 - How Tobias got into online advertising 9:11 - Working at Google in 2007 20:31 - Launching Webrepublic in 2009 29:30 - How to assess talent 51:02 - A marketing family About Tobias Zehnder Tobias Zehnder is Co-Founder and Partner at Webrepublic AG, a Swiss digital marketing agency boosting your company’s online performance through meaningful business value strategies. Zehnder caught the entrepreneurial bug early on: during his student days in the 2000s, Tobias was a freelancing DJ and blogger posting reviews on his favourite records, having taught himself to monetize those endeavors. Then, in 2010, Tobias finished his MA in Socioeconomic History and Linguistics at the University of Zürich with a thesis entitled Online Advertising: the Stepchild of Media Agencies, which would later serve as a blueprint for his agency. It was during his graduate studies that Tobias got a fantastic internship at Google Zürich as a Sales Planner and met Tom Hanan, the team's Head of Sales and his future co-founder at Webrepublic. The timing couldn’t have been better: cloud working was just starting to take off, and the office felt both small and international. Unfortunately, the markets took a deep dive in the 2009 financial crisis, but not all was bad. In hindsight, Tobias sees many advantages in starting a business during those rough times: performance marketing was fairly new, so they could build from the ground up and still see results, and though companies were saving funds, the small demand gave customers the most cost-efficient solutions. Twelve years down the road, Tobias admits that positioning a company in the market landscape is much more complex nowadays, but that there should always be space for integrated services and for small players to shine through. Today, Tobias also holds a position as a lecturer of Digital Leadership at HWZ Zürich, a job that helps him stay focused, inspired and on the freshest page with innovation. His main concerns include responsible leadership, conscious integrating partnerships and market evaluation with a global focus. Keep listening to learn more on building an incredible path during a major crisis! Resources Todoist, a task managing app currently freeing up the mental space of more than 25 million users. Memorable Quotes “Performance marketing is not something that you do in waves. It’s something that’s always on. You don’t switch it on and off. As long as there’s customer demand, you wanna be there.” “Don’t just focus on Switzerland. Go out, really! It’s much more motivating to benchmark yourself against absolute industry leaders than to stick to local players.” If you would like to listen to more conversations on marketing, check out our episode with DEPT's Lukas Stuber. 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: 2:20 - "Stiff" Switzerland 8:13 - Crucial business angel skills 11:32 - Average ticket size 25:44 - Covid trends 34:08 - Picking 3 markets About Adrienne Perramond Adrienne Perramond is Mediator at GDC Médiation and Board Member at Business Angels Switzerland, one of the leading angel investing networks nationwide. Adrienne grew up in a multicultural environment between Switzerland, the US and England, where she completed her BSc in Business at the University of Buckingham. In 2001, she sold Transfer Solutions, her own relocation service agency in Neuchâtel. After many years in local politics as a Liberal Party councilor in Colombier, Adrienne is now a committed angel investor with a focus on diversified sectors and conscious team building. Through BAS, she has invested in 11 startups, 5 to 7 of which may lead to a great exit in 3 years’ time. Of a total of 16 exits, 9 have profited the club members with a multiple 2,5 return: such is the work of experts! Adrienne’s main interests for the upcoming years include healthcare diagnosis, delivery logistics, remote working and food tech solutions, and she has great predictions about the post-pandemic future to share! Resources Goodwall for amazing networking and exposure opportunities. Memorable Quotes "You've got to have the right mindset. Are you angel material? Do you have a long-term view? You can't be in it just for the money, but if you are, can you afford to lose it? What's your tolerance for risk and failure? You can have the thrill of victory but also the agony of defeat. Most importantly, you’ve got to have respect and love for entrepreneurs and startups." "In Switzerland, getting to an exit is not a matter of two years. Usually, it takes more, at least five to seven years. We're a deep tech nation and that's bound to make things slower." If you would like to listen to more conversations with business angels, check out our episode with Carole Ackermann. 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!