Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 5:40 - Why go through college? 10:08 - Going from idea to execution 21:15 - Building a startup part-time 35:33 - Building a community behind a brand 48:54 - Turning investors down About Nicholas Hänny: 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. Within only 4 years, the startup grew 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. 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: 4:00 - Hiring the best people 23:28 - The management team 28:02 - Dealing with investors 41:04 - Being Chief Culture Officer 45:04 - Are great CEOs born or made? About Phil Lojacono: Phil Lojacono is the co-founder and CEO of Advanon, one of Switzerland’s formerly fastest growing fintech startups. Advanon offers a platform for SMEs to bidge long payment terms by providing them with liquidity through financial investors. Phil started Advanon in 2015, shortly after his internship at Google, where he also met his co-founders. In January 2017, the company closed a financing round of CHF 13,5 m with investors such as Daniel Gutenberg, Partners-Group co-founder Urs Wietlisbach, Eric Sarasin und Moneypark founder Stefan Heitmann. In 2018, Advanon was confronted with a significant fraud case on its platform. Under Phil as their CEO, Advanon recovered, and in 2020 successfully sold to CreditGate 24. Phil has now started his own blog where he reflects on the learnings of his tumultuous 5 years at Advanon. 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 - Starting a company with your significant other 2:08 - How to evaluate the potential of a founding team 7:55 - Added pressure to your relationship 17:10 - Splitting roles 21:14 - Challenging situations The episode in 60 seconds: Starting a business with your significant other can be a rewarding experience. In this episode, Dorina shared her insights about how to make it work. Rules and communication -  Starting your business is a 24/7 endeavor and it can become overbearing if you also spend your free time with your business partner. Set clear rules about when you plan to take breaks from work. -  Set more rules than you think are necessary because you’ll likely underestimate the temptation of wanting to talk about your business on your date night out. -  Be realistic about the chances to succeed with your business and don’t make your relationship dependent on business success. How to know if your partner would make a great co-founder -  As with all co-founding relationships, complementary skill sets are crucial. -  Working together on smaller projects (like building an IKEA shelf) is probably a good indicator on whether you function well in a business context or not. Advantages of starting a business with your partner -  Studies show that family businesses on average are more sustainable than other businesses although with lower growth rates. -  Being able to share the roller coaster ride of entrepreneurship with your partner can be very valuable and rewarding. -  In tough times, you won’t have to put on a brave face for your partner because they’ll know what’s going on. 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: 1:27 - Becoming an entrepreneur after an impressive student CV 8:48 - Discovering the vet market 19:47 - Convincing investors about your hardware tech 25:45 - Winning American clients remotely 31:19 - The trickiness of raising Swiss funds About Dorina Thiess: Dr. Dorina Thiess is the CEO and co-founder of Piavita AG, a medtech startup that develops and distributes digital veterinary diagnostic systems. Previously, Dorina worked for the innovation team at BHS in Munich and in the US while completing her doctorate in entrepreneurship at the University of St. Gallen, where she also served as the Managing Director for the Center for Entrepreneurship. She started Piavita in 2016 together with her partner Sascha Bührle. Within three years Piavita has grown to over 30 employees and has obtained financing from renowned investors, among them Fyrefly Venture Partners and Investire. 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: 0:55 - Branding mistakes Swiss startups make repeatedly 5:56 - Building a brand as a group 10:02 - Steps to creating a strong brand 15:03 - Target client vs your personal startup story 20:14 - Rapid fire questions The Episode in 60 Seconds: Getting inspired for your brand - Building a recognizable brand is like building a character - it can come with its own edges and quirks. - Your brand is probably not the first thing you need to worry about but if you move beyond the proof of concept phase, you should invest some time into it. - Get your inspiration from the how, what and why of your company. - Looking around for inspiration is good but your brand needs to be unique and recognizable, so don’t just copy paste from someone else Getting real with your brand - Getting the branding right is important - and hard. If you can, work with specialists in your surroundings - friends, board members, investors... - Your brand follows your purpose and mission, so make sure to have that defined first. - Your brand is not just your logo and color palette. Take a holistic approach and include everything from the language you use to how you present yourself in pictures (and of course make sure those pictures are high quality). 5 steps to your first brand set up - Choose a short, simple name. - Add some simple and concise messaging (a claim). - Define your core audience and how you’ll address them with visual, spoken and written language. - Connect the dots between the three first steps. - If you can, work with a specialist in the field to fine tune your branding work. 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: 2:57 - Splitting roles between 5 co-founders 10:05 - Testing the market 19:24 - Having net promoter score as your main KPI 25:40 - Disrupting the market and facing opponents 35:31 - Starting to hire people full-time About Peter Käser: Peter Käser is the Founder and COO of VIU Ventures AG, a Swiss eyewear brand. He started VIU in 2013, together with his co-founder Kilian Wagner, both of them bespectacled. VIU was originally conceived as an online-only store, integrating the entire eyewear supply chain and therefore offering higher quality at a lower price. But the founders soon realized that their customers like to physically try on their glasses before buying them. Today VIU has over 50 physical stores in 6 countries and several hundred employees. Peter holds a Masters in Banking and Finance from the University of St. Gallen (HSG). 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: 1:48 - What can I do on my own and where do I need professional finance advice? 2:55 - What are the best tools to manage your finances? 5:00 - What's the best business credit card out there? 7:20 - Can I use my Swiss bank account to accept international payments? 8:56 - Managing international payments 10:51 - How does the Swiss tax system work? 17:51 - Is Switzerland really tax heaven? 20:52 - Optimizing tax return 22:22 - Do freelancers pay less taxes? 25:24 - Personal finance advice for entrepreneurs 27:36 - Can I get a mortgage without being a Swiss citizen? About Renato Stalder: Renato Stalder is the Founder and CEO of Klara Business  AG, an accounting and administration software provider for SMEs. Previously, Renato rose through the ranks to become CEO at Soreco, where he served for 12 years. Afterwards, he held the CEO position at Axon Ivy, a digital platform provider which is part of the Axon Group. Renato holds an MBA in International Management from Fachhochschule Nordostschweiz. 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 - What mistakes do Swiss companies make when it comes to Gen Z? 6:19 - Aligning company goals with Gen Z's activist streak 19:13 - Leading people older than you 22:44 - Which social media platforms are currently relevant? 31:00 - How to sell to Gen Z The Episode In 60 Seconds: What is Generation Z? Young people born between 1995 - 2010, NOT Millennials. How to win Generation Z as customers - Do not simply base your assumptions on conversations with your kids. - Talk TO members of Generation Z instead of only ABOUT them. - Your brand image is important - Remember, members of Generation Z are activists. How to win Generation  Z as employees and retain them - A compelling company vision will be more important than high salaries. - A clear path for growth within the organization. - Meaningful and mission-driven work. - Responsibility and appreciation. What’s the deal with TikTok? - Fast growing social media platform with over 2bn downloads (July 2020). - Very young audience. - Still high virality potential. - Now is the time to get started with your company account. 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: 1:13 - Becoming an actress at 14 11:40 - Not going to university 14:45 - Launching your own project 15:40 - Sneaking into fashion shows 27:57 - Starting a company with your romantic partner About Yël Meier: Yaël Meier is an actress, journalist and the co-founder of Zeam, an agency helping companies leverage Generation Z. At the age of 14, Yaël held her first movie role in the Swiss Drama “Upload”. She later on also featured in movies such as «Die fruchtbaren Jahre sind vorbei» and «Blue my Mind». As a journalist, she worked for SRF, Ringier and Weltwoche in various roles. In January of 2020, she started Zeam together with her co-founder Jo Dietrich. 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: 1:07 - Bitcoin and entrepreneurship 8:57 - Biggest milestones so far 15:53 - Having a hard time with fundraising About Julian and Relai: Julian Liniger is the co-founder and CEO of Relai, a startup aiming to empower everyone to invest in Bitcoin. Julian was an early crypto currency aficionado and the go-to person for his friends for anything crypto-related. This made him realize that there was no easy way for the “average Joe” to purchase Bitcoin - and that’s how Relai was born. He and his co-founder, Adem Bilican, went from 0 lines of code in April to launching the first version of their app on July 1st of this year. Relai is looking to raise CHF 200k in order to scale their product and make it more user friendly. 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!