Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 9:21 - Putting an end to your startup 11:12 - How does a 0 equity accelerator make money? 15:24 - Wingman Ventures' investment focus 24:14 - Launching the Wingman Campus Fund 34:45 - Dealing with an ever-changing group of students About Edouard Treccani Edouard Treccani is Head of Partnerships at Wingman Ventures, Switzerland's leading fund for tech projects in pre-seed and seed stages. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as an intern for Crédit Agricole Suisse and BCV while balancing a smashing GPA in Quantitative Economics and Finance. However, he realised deep down he craved a creative spark that the banking game couldn't give him. In 2015, he founded Incidee and built a valuable media product: his journey took off! Edouard is passionate about helping young founders build something outstanding from the get-go, and this motivation for supporting bold innovation led him to create the Wingman Campus Fund, a small-scale VC fund boosting the entrepreneurial dreams of many university students. Edouard says "the Swiss startup ecosystem is just starting to write its best success stories", and we couldn't agree more! Resources AngelList for finding your next dream opportunity. Sifted for trusty reporting and analysis. Jason Calacanis' work on Angel Investing. Naval Ravikant and his inspiring mindspace. Memorable Quotes “After my first two internships in banking, I knew I’d never enjoy my work. Sure, I could do it by default, get a decent wage and get by month after month. But I would certainly not have been happy.” “You should constantly think about how to build your network, how to make it more meaningful and resilient.” “In an ecosystem like Switzerland, which is maturing more and more, it’s important to get to know founders early — it’s never a given that you’ll be able to invest in the startups you prefer." If you would like to listen to more conversations on VC investment, check out our episode with Tanja Dowe. 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: 1:25 - Dropping out of university 12:29 - The early days of Seedtable 19:38 - Adding a pay wall 26:25 - The future of the European ecosystem 36:37 - An outsider's perspective on the Swiss ecosystem About Gonzalo Sanchez Gonzalo Sanchez is currently Head of Growth for On Deck, an educational community for those willing to learn about technology and innovation through creativity and self-improvement. Gonzalo is a natural learner: his writing skills and curiosity for new ideas led him to found Seedtable, a weekly newsletter on European tech reaching more than 60,000 monthly visitors. Memorable Quotes: "The European ecosystem has been able to weather this pandemic pretty well." "For the past 40, the US has been the startup hub for ambitious founders. But nowadays that's changing — Europe might be catching up." 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 1:55 - Biggest mistakes in digital administration 4:00 - Monthly, quarterly, and yearly tasks 30:01 - Where to find resources 38:30 - Core functionalities of a good financial tool 47:13 - How to find a suitable accountant/trustee About Monica Maurer Monica Maurer is a certified trustee and Swiss Certified Fiduciary at ACT Audit & Tax. In her role, she helps startups and SMEs with their accounting questions. Based on her many years of experience, here are some of her recommendations for founders who are just getting started with their accounting: It’s not rocket science. Monica recommends getting some help for the set up of your accounting systems and then running with it yourself for the first couple of years. This saves you money and also keeps you closer to the vital signs of your company, i.e. the cash flow. If you have investors, find out about their reporting requirements and make sure your accounting is set up in a way that allows you to easily produce the numbers that your investors want to look at on a regular basis. This will save you a lot of time and frustration. Starting Jan 1, 2021, if you have employees without a Swiss passport or residence permit C, you are responsible for their withholding tax. Monica recommends updating your employment contracts to make it mandatory for your employees to inform you about any tax relevant changes in their lives (e.g. marriage, child birth or similar) so you can adequately reflect that in your withholding tax declaration. Memorable Quotes "Was man nicht vergessen darf, ist die kontinuierliche Kontrolle. Auch wenn alles elektronisch ist und man nur noch den Knopf drücken muss, sollte man sicherstellen das alles stimmt." If you would like to listen to more episodes on accounting, check out our first and second conversation with Renato Stalder. 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: 1:33 - Working a minimum wage job in America 8:12 - Finding out what you're passionate about 26:20 - The dot com bubble 53:49 - Getting acquired for $240M 1:08:17 - Merging two teams About Jean-Michel Pittet Jean-Michel Pittet is Vice-President of Engineering of Adobe since 2013. With his decades-long expertise of management and product development, Jean-Michel believes any tech-savvy person can become a skilful leader. His main concerns include creating meaningful digital experiences, cultivating purposeful customer/business connections and promoting a healthy leadership spirit. Memorable Quotes "If I don't understand something, that motivates me. I want to understand." "You don't have to be extroverted to be passionate." "Even when you're at the top, you gotta ask yourself: Can't I do better?" "If after ten years of being acquired you can say "this was the right move", then you know you made the right decision." Resources: Fitbit for grounding the intellect in a healthy physique. Adobe Photoshop for creative minds. Evernote and ConceptDraw MINDMAP for note taking on the go. If you would like to listen to more episodes on big exits, check out our conversation with Ariel Lüdi. 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: 1:49 - First entrepreneurial activities 7:05 - The start of the NIKIN story 20:47 - Where NIKIN finds its employees 27:35 - The unplanned marketing success 39:29 - Hardcore fans tattooing the NIKIN logo About Nicolas Hänny and NIKIN Nicholas Hänny is the co-founder and CEO of NIKIN, a sustainable fashion startup. Nicholas started NIKIN in 2016 together with his childhood friend Robin Gnehm after having been rejected by several large consulting companies he applied to intern with. Within only 4 years, he grew the company to 30 employees and CHF 7.2 m revenue. In 2019, Nicholas received the “Aargauer of the Year Award” as recognition for his work with NIKIN. Nicholas has a background in marketing and business administration. He holds a Master of Arts in Business Innovation from the University of St. Gallen and was part of the CEMS program. Memorable Quotes "Konzentriere dich besser auf 6 KPI's in Marketing und Sales, anstelle von 30-40 KPI's die wir momentan haben." If you would like to listen to our previous conversations with Nicholas, check out episodes 99 and 101. 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: 2:29 - Having a surgeon and a business woman for parents 6:13 - Are entrepreneurs born or made? 25:04 - Tanja's investment focus area 29:44 - Red flags for an investor 44:52 - The Finnish and Swiss ecosystems About Tanja Dowe Tanja Dowe is CEO for the Debiopharm International Innovation Fund and Board Member for Novadiscovery and Oncomfort. Using her expertise in strategic business and market demands, Tanja’s work encourages commercialization of innovative healthcare technologies and patient care solutions for a brighter, healthier future. Memorable Quotes "Of course everyone can turn themselves into an entrepreneur. But some people are just born that way: curious, risk-taking, and eager to create something which will outlive them." "The health industry is very focused on treating diseases. We need to start thinking about how to prevent them. And we need to start catering to the digi-native generations." If you would like to listen to more episodes about medtech, check out our conversations with Luiza Dobre, Lea Von Bidder, Michael Friedrich, Katja Berlinger, Sophia Borowka and Dorina Thiess. 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 2:46 - Why Lukas Speiser was the right co-founder 8:45 - The beginning of Amorana 18:12 - How to sell sex toys in conservative Switzerland 35:20 - Alan's online marketing framework 49:20 - Amorana acquisition About Alain Frei and Amorana Alan Frei is the co-founder of amorana.ch, an e-commerce platform for sex toys and lingerie. In 2020, he sold a majority stake in Amorana to the British Lovehoney Group. Before starting Amorana, he experimented with a variety of other projects such as nachhilfeportal.de and LooksOfLove, from which he learned what it takes to make a company successful. Alan is a University of Zurich alumni and headed the University’s startup center. He lives a minimalist lifestyle, counting less than 120 items in his personal possession. After the acquisition of Amorana by Lovehoney Group, he stayed on as CMO of Amorana with the intention of expanding the brand internationally. He also decided to take his minimalist lifestyle to the next level by giving up his apartment and permanently living out of hotels. Memorable Quotes: "Zuerst versuchst du die Conversion Killer zu minimieren, um dann anschliessend oder auch leicht versetzt Traffic auf deine Website zu schicken." If you would like to listen to Alan Frei some more, check out our previous episodes with him here and here. 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: 2:11 - A solution-oriented family 17:21 - Investing in diversity from day one 22:43 - Becoming a mother and founding WeShapeTech 30:14 - Gendered language 48:25 - How to recruit About Valérie Vuillerat Valérie Vuillerat is CEO of Nine Internet Solutions, the leading provider of platform management solutions in Switzerland. With ample experience in board membership, business administration and entrepreneurial expertise, Valérie was also CEO for Ginetta and co-founder of Witty Works, helping tech companies boot out unconscious bias through inclusive language choices suited for all walks of life. Memorable Quotes "I grew up in a very solution-oriented family. Complaining was not an option." "In the future, diversity will be a differentiator for attractive job opportunities." "Diversity leads nowhere if not everybody has a voice." If you would like to listen to more episodes on female entrepreneurship, check out our conversation with Estefanía Tapias. 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: 3:16 - What is Appentura? 20:26 - The Höhle der Löwen deal 28:43 - Offline vs. online marketing 33:30 - Marketing with Google 41:41 - Next milestones About Stefan Flück and Appentura: Stefan Flück is the founder and CEO of Appentura, a provider of surprise experience gifts. Stefan started Appentura in 2014 when he pitched the idea at a startup competition. The original idea was to offer customers the possibility to buy a surprise for themselves within a given timeframe and budget. Stefan, however, soon realized that customers were much more willing to spend money on surprising others rather than themselves and consequently, Appentura changed its offering to what it is today. Contrary to many of its competitors, Appentura sells its gift certificates almost exclusively online. Over the years, they built strong expertise in online marketing and digital sales channels which now results in a competitive advantage. The first 5 years, Stefan completely bootstrapped the company, investing every CHF earned back into online marketing. In 2019, the company participated in the “Höhle der Löwen” show and was able to win Bettina Hein as an investor. Going forward, Stefan plans to expand the business internationally. They have already run successful “test experiences” in Germany and the US and are planning to roll out larger scale offerings as soon as Covid permits. He also sees large untapped potential in the surprise gift market for businesses and wants to position Appentura in that area as well. Memorable Quotes: "Offline Werbung machen wir praktisch nur noch, wenn sich eine einmalige Chance ergibt. Mit unserem Budget ist es aber momentan nicht wirklich ein Thema." If you would like to listen to other episodes on online marketing, check out our conversation with 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: 0:58 - Why companies need an e-government solution 3:45 - Switzerland vs Estonia 20:48 - The startup lifecycle on EasyGov 25:27 - Covid loans 34:55 - Collecting data and protecting privacy About Martin Godel Martin Godel is the Head of Small and Medium Size Enterprise Policy at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), based in Berne. In 2002, he earned his Master’s Degree of Law and Diplomacy from Fletcher School, administered by Tufts and Harvard University. For nearly two decades, Martin has held various positions in business endeavours, including Head of the Swiss Business Hub for the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan (2007-2010) and Counsellor for the Swiss Government (2002-2004; 2005-2007). Godel’s main concerns are relieving the administrative load through e-government tools and assuring prime conditions for SME’s access to funding. Memorable Quotes "We currently have 32 000 registered companies, and the more companies we have, the easier it is to show just how much the benefits outweigh the costs, for these companies." "At the moment the tech offerings are quite concentrated on the big players. But I'm confident that we'll start to see much more diversity soon." If you would like to see more episodes on startups and politics, check out our conversations with Karim Maizar, Simon Enderli and Judith Bellaiche. 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!