Swisspreneur Show

Aurelio Perucca, the co-founder and CEO of Splint Invest with a PhD in Economics, dives into the world of alternative investments. He explains how these assets can provide stability outside traditional stocks and bonds. Listeners learn about the importance of diversification and the benefits of fractional ownership, even in luxury items. Aurelio emphasizes making informed choices to avoid the opaque market pitfalls and shares insights on cash flow management while investing in niche markets. It's a compelling look at expanding investment horizons!

Jessica Farda, co-founder and CEO of Noriwear, shares her journey into sustainable packaging using seaweed. She discusses the surprising versatility of seaweed, with over 12,000 species, some growing rapidly without resources. Jessica reflects on the challenges of being a newcomer in the biotech world and how her personal journey shaped her passion for green solutions. The conversation also dives into securing funding and the innovative business model Noriwear employs, emphasizing the potential of eco-friendly materials in combating plastic waste.

In this conversation, venture capital experts Kevin Baxpehler, Diego Braguglia, Harald Nieder, and Mike Hobmeier dive into the growth-stage funding landscape. They explore how startups can determine the right time to seek VC funding and what factors attract investors without proven track records. The panel discusses Switzerland's strengths in healthcare innovation and the importance of strong team dynamics. Additionally, they provide insights on equity distribution and the need for strategic involvement post-investment to foster long-term success.

Tillmann Lang, co-founder and CEO of Inyova Impact Investing, discusses capitalism's potential to address climate change. He highlights how banks influence environmental sustainability and urges for responsible investment practices. Tillmann shares insights on personalized investment strategies that align with individual values, advocating for transparency in sustainable investments. He addresses global inequalities in climate regulations and proposes solutions like carbon taxes to harmonize capitalist interests with ecological responsibilities. An enlightening conversation on aligning finance with sustainability!

Enzo Wälchli, the CCO at Anybotics and LinkedIn’s leading Swiss voice in robotics, discusses his transition from corporate life to the startup world. He emphasizes the critical role LinkedIn plays in sales, advocating for consistent content creation to attract prospects. Enzo shares insights on the power of video for virality, the importance of meaningful engagement over mere likes, and offers practical tips on building a personal brand. He believes that every salesperson should embrace LinkedIn as a dynamic tool for connecting with clients.

Timestamps: 6:59 - Being humbled by Y Combinator 12:20 - EPFL’s extension school 15:47 - What needs fixing in Switzerland 29:25 - Budget cuts for Swiss universities 39:40 - EPFL AI center This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans. About Marcel Salathé: Marcel Salathé is a professor at EPFL, startup founder and investor, as well as a digital epidemiologist. He holds a PhD in Biology and Environmental Sciences from ETH, and has taught at Stanford and Penn State. He is the founder of the EPFL Extension School and AIcrowd, an AI challenge platform at EPFL. When founding the EPFL Extension School, Marcel’s goal was to fulfill EPFL’s mandate of not only educating its students but the Swiss population at large — he believes the current educational system, which restricts education to childhood and adolescence, is outdated, and that Swiss people need to be learning continuously, especially considering the rapid acceleration of technological development. Self-learning has played a big role in Marcel’s career, who originally studied Biology but has since branched out to machine learning and generative AI. During his chat with Silvan, he further argues that although Switzerland has done a great job in connecting innovation centers (such as universities) with the private sector, it’s done terribly at channeling this innovation towards the public sector as well, which is why this sphere seems to be 20 years behind the curve. Marcel thinks there must be a structural push towards this, just as there was a concerted political effort before to connect universities with the private sector. He is strongly against the recent budget cuts for education and innovation, because he considers this to be the “magic sauce” of Switzerland’s prosperity.

Thomas Crawford, co-founder and CEO of Bind, and Daniel Delouya, co-founder and COO, delve into the transformative power of AI in the insurance industry. They discuss how Bind simplifies customer targeting with an AI-driven approach, moving away from traditional methods. The duo shares insights on securing their first commercial agreements and their fundraising journey through the Swisspreneur Syndicate. Personal reflections reveal their entrepreneurial paths, showcasing their transition from corporate life to revolutionizing insurance with technology.

Timestamps: 7:18 - Selling your MVP 12:19 - Finding co-founders 16:24 - Not focusing enough on specific markets  27:05 - Scaling too early & stepping down as CEO 37:02 - Employee share programs About Viktor Calabro: Viktor Calabro is the founder and former CEO of Coople, Europe's largest digital staffing platform. He previously worked for companies like Trivadis AG and Erlebniskultur GmbH before starting Coople in 2009. Coople matches flexible workers to short- and long-term assignments in various roles in office, retail, logistics, hospitality, events and hotel. They increase their clients’ revenue by adjusting their team in real-time to match fluctuating demand, and reduce their client’s costs by outsourcing admin and payroll.  One challenge that Viktor had to face during his time at Coople was finding out that they had scaled too early, before actually achieving true product-market fit, and seeing themselves being spread too thin. This, paired with the fact that Victor had been going all-in for Coople for almost a decade and no longer had the energy to meet the needs of his role, made him step down as CEO role in 2018. Nowadays, his focus is on coaching, training, and investing, as well as on spending quality time with his family and friends. Don’t forget to give us a follow on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, 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 giveaways or founders' dinners.

Timestamps: 3:01 - Liquid vs solid fermentation  8:08 - A decade in the cannabis industry 17:04 - Who Kidemis’ clients are 19:48 - The challenge of technological development 21:03 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate About Sean Wassermann & Constantin Marakhov: Sean Wassermann is the CTO at Kidemis, a Swiss feedtech company that applies mycelium-based fermentation to upcycle low-value side streams into high value protein for various industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts and was previously CTO at companies like Cibdol and Aquanta before starting Kidemis in 2022. Constantin Marakhov is the CEO at Kidemis. He holds an MBA from the University of Oregon and a PhD in Finance from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and previously worked as a business school professor and as head of business development at the WEF before starting Kidemis in 2022. He is also the CEO and founder of Hempfy, a Swiss cannabis startup. Kidemis' solution is to use mycoprotein as a partial or complete replacement for fishmeal in aquafeed. Mycoprotein is a sustainable alternative to fishmeal and fish oil because it is produced from renewable resources. The fungi that are used to produce mycoprotein can be grown on a variety of substrates, including agricultural sidestreams. This means that mycoprotein will be produced without putting a strain on global fish stocks or the environment. In addition, mycelium’s immune-stimulating properties could decrease the usage of antibiotics. Kidemis is currently raising a CHF 1.5M seed round, 30% of which have already been committed. Part of these funds are being raised through the Swisspreneur Syndicate — click here to find out more. Don’t forget to give us a follow on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, 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 giveaways or founders' dinners. ‍

Timestamps: 2:35 - How Switzerland fell short in the 90s 15:00 - Suffering and the creative process 23:21 - The challenge of designing an office chair  31:28 - Design or die   33:30 - What is a venture designer? This episode was sponsored by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans. About Yves Béhar: Yves Béhar is a venture designer, the founder of the fuseproject, co-founder of TELO, August, and Canopy, and Chief Creative Officer at Jawbone, August Home, and TELO. He holds a BSc in Industrial Design from the ArtCenter College of Design (in Pasadena, California) and worked in consulting for many years before starting fuseproject in 1999.  fuseproject was born out of a wish to create an integral version of design: not just designing something within the boundaries of the industrial design discipline, but actually thinking about branding and about creating an experience as well.  Yves is a big believer in working tirelessly at your dream even if you don’t show impressive amounts of native talent. He recalls that from his friends at ArtCenter, he was the worst draftsman, but his idea for what he wanted to do with design and his tireless work carried him far regardless. Yves thinks suffering is part of the creative process, and that it is worth pushing through, because pain is temporary, but “suck” is forever. Out of his wish to work long-term with resource-strained startups came the concept of “venture designing”: instead of charging startups like a consultant, he co-founds their ventures. Throughout the years he’s worked with 90+ startups. He believes this is the most mutually beneficial form of collaboration, since excellent design is usually the product of long term work and coexistence. Don’t forget to give us a follow on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, 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 giveaways or founders' dinners.