Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 2:06 - Why are sales so important? 5:20 - When should you start having your own sales team? 6:25 - What are the different stages of the B2B process? 7:42 - How do you find the right target client? 8:29 - Should you focus on one industry only? 11:52 - How to qualify leads 14:03 - Testing sales channels 18:19 - Speed up the selling process 24:19 - How to keep in touch with customers 27:21 - How to follow up 28:27 - Do awards and news pieces help you close sales? 29:35 - What are the most important KPIs for B2B sales 31:50 - Other tools to use for sales 35:56 - Closing deals remotely 40:41 - How to create value before closing a sale 41:28 - Where I can find good templates? About Manuel Hartmann: Manuel Hartmann is the Founder of SalesPlaybook, a Swiss sales accelerator for B2B startups. Before starting the SalesPlaybook, Manuel was part of Onedot, where he increased sales by 260% over 2 years. He holds a Masters of Business Innovation from University of St. Gallen and spent three years as a consultant at Accenture. 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 - What milestones has What To Label achieved? 4:47 - Internationalization 8:11 - Toughest challenges to overcome About Igor and What To Label: Igor Susmelj is the co-founder of WhatToLabel, a Data Preparation Platform for Machine Learning. Together with his co-founder, Matthias Heller, they bring together the best of the tech and business world. WhatToLabel is both a HSG and an ETH spinoff. Currently, they are looking for funding to take them to the next milestone - 100k in recurring revenue from their international client base. 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: 1:43 - What common mistakes do Swiss companies make in the B2B sales area? 10:14 - How to get the contact details of future customers 18:49 - Is there such a thing as too many follow-ups with clients? 26:21 - Selling something before it even exists 37:06 - The best sales team set-up The Episode in 60 seconds The ABC of B2B sales First Contact - Consider a mix of standardized outreach via cold emails and personalized strategies via phone or more creative means (ever thought about sending your prospects a shoe?) - Don’t pitch your product upon first contact. Ask questions about your customer’s pain points and wishes. Demo - Don’t just demo all your features. Know what will create value for this specific customer. - If possible, demo on-site to establish a more personal relationship. - Even if you can’t convince the customer, ask for a referral to someone else in the industry. Tools to help you close - Hubspot - LinkedIn Sales Navigator - Hunter - Soap Box - Outreach Documents you need - Data security whitepaper - 1-pager of your product - Testimonials of happy customers, if possible KPIs of your sales team - Accounts Receivable vs target - Conversion rates after first meeting. 30% would be desirable - Diversified leads: ⅓ big accounts, ⅔ small / medium accounts 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: 1:41 - Why start your own company? 6:35 - Winning over clients 15:48 - A young entrepreneur's summer jobs About Alex and Realbot Engineering: Alex Tyropolis is a co-founder and CEO at Realbot Engineering, a startup offering robot technology for remote viewing of real estate. He co-founded the company after years of experience in the real estate industry as an analyst for Engel & Völkers. After only 2 years of bootstrapping, the company already has a working product on the market and has conducted 4145 remote viewings for clients such as wincasa and livit. 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: 2:37 - Why Melanie decided to start her own company 9:08 - Big founding teams 17:41 - Closing a big financing round just before covid-19 26:34 - How to hire the right people 30:46 - Ensuring good communication in a growing team About Melanie Gabriel: Melanie Gabriel is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Yokoy, a SaaS company which leverages Artificial Intelligence to fully automate all expense- and company credit card processes. Before starting Yokoy, Melanie joined Dizmo as Marketing Manager and worked her way up to Head of Marketing. She is a board member of WE SHAPE TECH and holds a degree in Business Management 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: 3:16 - What problem does onCyt solve? 11:50 - Possible competitors for onCyt 20:44 - Fundraising horizon About Michael and onCyt: OnCyt, a startup offering microbial monitoring, emerged from Michael Besmer’s PhD at ETH Zurich. He assembled a team of co-founders from a diversity of backgrounds including engineering and business development. After 3 years, the team is already looking back on 20+ successful projects and over 800k CHF in revenue. 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: 1:47 - What do Swiss startups often get wrong with boards of directors? 6:00 - What different skills need to be present in a board of directors? 12:06 - How to best compensate your board 18:52 - How can a board help your startup achieve success? 23:05 - How should a startup collaborate with a board? The Episode In 60 Seconds Setting up your Board of Directors - the right way. The right composition Get diversity of perspectives and skills, be sure you cover at least: legal, finance and your industry Don’t go for titles, go for people with time and expertise 4 is considered a good number to start Founders on the board In small companies where they hold a large stake, this may be appropriate In large companies, operations and board roles have to be separated Compensation Consider paying a fixed compensation in cash or equity and a variable compensation based on time invested Where to find the right board members Choose people you know you can work with If you have smart money investors, they will probably be a good addition to the board How boards change when companies grow Small company boards may be more operational As companies grow, boards necessarily have to professionalize and become less operational Meeting and decision making Meetings at most once a month and at least once a quarter If possible, decisions should be unanimous or more time should be invested into discussions If a board member dissents, be sure to note it in writing 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: 1:36 - What motivated Kevin to start his own company? 7:50 - What milestones has Kevin's startup recently achieved? 11:29 - Tough challenges to overcome About Kevin and Helio: Kevin Häfeli is the co-founder of Helio, a platform to connect demand and supply of computing power. He started Helio in 2018 together with Christoph Buchli. Previously, he worked as a DevOps engineer at Zatoo and Snowflake Productions and co-founded the e-commerce venture Brandeer Sports. 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: 2:00 - Going from journalism, to law, to business 13:22 - Being the youngest board member around 20:00 - Determining founding values 27:32 - Finding the balance between commitment and change 36:16 - Having a stay at home husband About Katja Berlinger: Katja Berlinger is the CEO of Swiss Medi Kids and a professional board member. Katja started out as a journalist at the publication “Cash”. She quickly realized that she’d rather have an impact herself than write about people who do. Consequently, she turned to her law degree and became an associate at the law firm von der Crone, where she worked on the Swissair lawsuit. Once again, she concluded that this career path was not for her. She switched gears and joined a tech startup as their corporate sales manager. From there, she set herself up to become a professional board member and today holds more than 5 board member seats. 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: 2:17 - Where can startups get help during the corona crisis? 3:11 - What legal aspects do Swiss startups not pay enough attention to? 6:52 - Will copy pasting terms and conditions save me legal fees? 08:01 - How do I best deal with liability and risk? 09:05 - What should online shops address before going live? 11:10 - Can geographic names be used to name products? 17:53 - How will the corona crisis affect valuations? 20:25 - Founder-friendly ways of writing shareholder agreements 25:49 - Co-founders joining late in the game 27:16 - Employee stock option plans 31:50 - Why can't layers give straight answers? 35:34 - Finding the right legal partner 39:45 - How much should a good lawyer cost About Beat Brechbuehl and Michèle Remund: Beat Brechbuehl is managing partner of Kellerhals Carrard and head of the M&A team. He holds a LL.M. degree of the Chicago Law School and worked with Sandoz / Novartis Nutrition. He works primarily in the area of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and joint ventures, venture capital and succession planning. He is a lecturer for entrepreneurship at the University of Berne and he has been acknowledged as one of the leading Swiss corporate lawyers by Legal500 and Chambers. Michèle Remund has many years of experience in corporate and tax law and regularly assists clients in M&A transactions. She is also a member of Kellerhals Carrard’s Startup Desk and advises start-ups in particular in connection with employee shareholdings, financing rounds and various other issues. 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!