Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 3:05 - How did a corporate background help Patrick with Flyability? 8:26 - Where is the drone industry headed? 21:06 - Maintaining good communication with testing groups 32:35 - When an investor questions him/herself on what could go wrong 38:08 - How to hire the right people to grow your company About Patrick Thevoz: Patrick Thevoz is Co-founder and CEO of Flyability, a company specialized in commercial indoor drones. During his time at Fyability, the company grew from 2 to over 60 employees and acquired over 300 customers. The company successfully raised $11 m in 2018 with Swisscom Ventures as one of the lead investors. Before founding Flyability, Patrick worked as a strategy consultant in the life sciences industries. Patrick holds an MSc in Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL). 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: 2:13 - Why leave a corporate job? 7:34 - How big players make money with your data 14:14 - When did the big breach in data protection happen? 18:58 - What is a responsible way to conduct oneself on social media? 22:52 - Are people aware of the seriousness of the situation? About Monique Morrow: Monique Morrow spent 16 years at Cisco, where she became the company’s first Services CTO and spearheaded Cisco’s transition to services as the core piece of their offerings portfolio. After leaving Cisco, she founded The Humanized Internet, a non-profit organization with a mission to provide persistent, secure, global digital identity to the world’s population. In 2019, she joined the newly established VETRI Foundation as the president of the board and has been shaping the organization’s path towards a blockchain based personal data management solution. Monique has several patents to her name, amongst them “Cloud Framework for Multi-Cloud Extension” and “Deep Learning Bias Detection in Text”. 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: 0:33 - What mistakes do Swiss founders repeatedly make when it comes to competition? 15:54 - How to succeed in a tough competitor situation 20:00 - Getting Switzerland on the American investor map 29:03 - Two types of customers 40:46 - Knowing when to get out The Episode In 60 Seconds Know your competitive landscape Keep in mind that most tech products compete on a global scale Take a holistic view: the same needs can be met with different approaches. They are still your competitors. Be aware when you are switching from up-start to incumbent and when it’s time to scan for acquisition targets yourself. Why companies acquire other companies To create synergies with, expand, improve, etc. their existing business. To protect their existing business from competition. The latter tends to be a stronger driver than the former. How to approach competitors Approach the CEO, even if it is a much larger company. Demonstrate how you will be a threat to their existing business. Be aware that your competitor may be facing internal resistance against an approach which was “not invented 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: 1:52  - Should making an exit always be the goal in creating a startup? 12:00 - Entrepreneurship in the medical field 22:15 - Selling a second company for $12.5 million  31:36 - Do founders grow out of their role? 36:53 -  The power of a network About Michael Friedrich: Michael Friedrich is the CEO of Distalmotion, a medical device company specialized in robots for minimally invasive surgery. Michael started his first venture as a 16-year-old teenager during high school. The company, Berne Byte Bears, focused on the early applications of the Internet, producing specialized software programs, websites and other web applications. Their most successful offering was an online product comparison site, komsumenteninfo.ch, which was acquired by Comparis in 2002. Michael went on to study Microengineering at EPFL Lausanne. From there, he started Aïmago, a medtech venture focused on visualizing blood flow in real time. Aïmago was acquired by its competitor Novadaq for $12m in 2014. Nowadays, Michael is CEO (and early investor) of Lausanne-based Distalmotion, a spin-off of the EPFL that has set out to make robotic surgery more accessible and establish robotics as the new standard of care in the OR via its surgical robot called Dexter. 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: 2:06  - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to funding for growth? 11:43 - How to find investors 24:06  - Turning down a $ 10 million investment offer 30:47 - How to go about evaluation 40:50 - When to start the fundraising process The Episode In 60 Seconds The four phases of fundraising. Phase 1: Preparation Start preparations either in early September or in January, as to not hit the VCs’ winter or summer break. Don’t waste your time talking to VCs which aren’t adequate for the round you are trying to raise anyway. Use personal introductions wherever you can. Phase 2: Pitching Do a first screening call to gauge the general fit of the VC for your business and round. The goal of your pitching is to get a term sheet, which equals an offer to invest from a VC. Phase 3: Negotiating Term Sheets Once you have (hopefully) collected a few term sheets, it’s time to evaluate and negotiate on the different offers. When choosing an investor, the cultural fit should not be underestimated. Don’t be afraid to get references on the VC from other ventures he/she has previously invested in. Don’t obsess too much over valuation. It is not an exact science. Phase 4: Due Diligence Once you have decided to go with an offer, the investor will perform his due diligence on your business to make sure your books are in order. 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: 2:40 - Running a business in Switzerland vs in Mexico 10:23 - The early days of Spocal 21:55 - Raising 50k 35:40 - Figuring out pricing 39:15 - When to scale up About Cristian Grossmann: Cristian Grossmann is the CEO and co-founder at Beekeeper, a software company which allows businesses to easily communicate with their non-desk workforce. Cristian was born in Mexico City, to a Mexican-Swiss family. He left Mexico as a teenager to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering at ETH Zurich and went on to complete his doctorate in Electrical Engineering. The path to Beekeeper began in 2011, when he and his co-founder Flavio started an anonymous dating app for university students called BlicKlick. BlicKlick became Spocal, a community platform for all types of interactions – not just flirting. The solution was picked up not only by university students but also by businesses trying to engage their workforce. In 2012, Swissôtel, a Swiss hotel chain, used the solution to manage communication with its non-desk workforce during a merger with two other global hotel chains. This was a breakthrough moment for Beekeper, which since then has been growing rapidly and just closed a $ 45 million series B round this year. 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: 2:44 - The story behind the name "Swissto12" 7:50 - Identifying and solving problems 11:17 - Switching markets 21:00 - Convincing customers 27:04 - Emile's plans for the funds he raised. About Emile de Rijk: Emile de Rijk is the co-founder and CEO of Swissto12, a high-tech company which specializes in the 3D printing of radio frequency products based on its own patented technology. The company’s technology originated from Emil’s PhD thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), in Lausanne. After initially focusing on the production of scientific equipment, the company pivoted in 2014 and since then is mainly active in the market for antennas for satellite telecommunications. Swissto12 was awarded a contract by the European Space Agency in 2015 and raised a $ 18.5m series B round earlier this year with Swisscom Ventures as one of the lead investors. 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 2:07 - What's the difference between an accelerator and an incubator? 3:14 - Are accelerators and incubators worth it? 4:10 - When should you reach out to accelerators and incubators? 5:55 - Do certain business types have more of a chance with investors? 7:48 - What do accelerators and incubators deliver to you as a startup? 11:11 - Do accelerators and incubators even do anything? 13:04 - Which famous Swiss companies have been part of an accelerator or an incubator? 14:19 - Where to find incubators for young Swiss entrepreneurs? 17:00 - Why choose a Swiss incubator or accelerator? 18:43 - Is their a Y combinator equivalent in Switzerland? 25:21 - Do accelerator/incubator programs demand a full-time commitment? 28:00 - How do you know if the program has been successful? 29:23 - How many customers can you except to gain with a program like this? 31:01 - Should you aim for zero equity? About Nicolas Bürer Nicolas Bürer is the Managing Director of DigitalSwitzerland, an initiative of over 150 Swiss corporate companies to strengthen Switzerland’s position as a leading innovation hub. Nicolas started his entrepreneurial career as Chief Marketing Officer at DeinDeal.ch, which rose to be one of Switzerland’s most successful e-commerce sites within only 5 years. After DeinDeal, he transitioned to become Managing Director at the TV company Joiz, which had to close its doors in 2016. Nicolas is also one of the co-founders of Movu, a platform of moving and cleaning companies, which was acquired by Baloise in 2017. He holds a Masters in physics from the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and was awarded “Business Angel of the Year” in 2018. 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: 1:46 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to culture? 9:01 - The difficulties of creating a culture 12:58 - Important values 20:00 - Scaling company culture: recruiting & on-boarding 35:40 - Treating people fairly The Episode In 60 Seconds It’s never too early Create culture with intention from the very beginning. Start explicitly documenting and “negotiating” your culture as soon as you grow to 10 people or more. Scaling culture Hiring the right people is the only way to scale culture. Hire for values rather than skills alone. Acknowledge that on-boarding new people requires effort from your existing employees. The topic of salaries Fairness and transparency are key, but don’t allow salaries to take center stage in everything you do. Base salaries off of what people need to make a living. Allow for different compensation packages based on the risk appetite of different employees. Letting people go Detect and tackle problems as early as possible. Provide open feedback and a path to improvement. Check-in as often as necessary until the issue is resolved or you let the person go. 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: 2:07 - Leaving a consulting firm 17:07 - Starting at Frontify 28:00 - Growing a company from 0 to 75k users 32:55 - Splitting development costs with his first client 36:40 - How self-explanatory products support customer growth About Andreas Fischler: Andreas Fischler is the co-founder of and former CEO at Frontify, which offers cloud software for brand management. During his time at Frontify, the company grew from 2 to over 70 employees. Before joining Frontify, he was a partner at Namics and had his own project, Sakku, which produced solar-powered bags. Andreas holds a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from ETH and a Masters in Information Management from the University of St. Gallen. 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!