Timestamps: 1:32 - Interning at Namics 14:31 - What GotCourts does 22:34 - The paddle tennis boom 28:25 - Building traction outside Switzerland 36:58 - Getting acquired by a competitor Click here to enjoy three months of NordPass Business for free. About Diego Seitz: Diego Seitz is the co-founder and former CEO at GotCourts, a social network for racket sports players and marketplace for booking courts and coaches. He holds a MSc in International Management from CEMS as well as a...

Timestamps: 1:39 - What changed from 2020 to 2024 4:06 - 8 co-founders from start to finish 7:36 - Finding the right focus 13:33 - Selling to robot manufacturers 19:58 - Getting acquired by ABB  About Gianluca Cesari: Gianluca Cesari is a co-founder and the CBDO of Sevensense Robotics, a robotics ETH spin-off which empowers mobile robots to move into public and dynamic spaces, supporting humans in the execution of dirty, dangerous and dull tasks. Gianluca holds a master’s degree in...

Timestamps: 12:02 - Breaking down crypto 17:50 - B2Banks and financial institutions 29:23 - Being a solo founder against your will 38:35 - Hiring senior people for a startup 42:00 - A USD 250M exit About Adrien Treccani: Adrien Treccani is the founder and CEO of Metaco, an enterprise technology company whose mission is to enable financial and non-financial institutions to securely build their digital asset operations. He holds a PhD in Finance from the SFI (Swiss Finance Institute)...

Timestamps: 1:17 - Brought together by wine  3:21 - Declining fertility rates in Europe 8:12 - How the team came together  10:38 - Guys working on women’s health?  17:58 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate  About Daniel Gutierrez & Francois Smuts: Francois Smuts is the co-founder and managing director of BioNexus, a healthcare company focused on creating cutting edge wearable diagnostics. He holds a Global Masters of Public Health from Imperial College London and was...

Timestamps: 2:57 - What Girls in Tech is 6:35 - Deciding to become a female engineer 11:40 - The importance of role models 24:20 - The benefit of having a female network  25:44 - The future of Girls in Tech  About Lisa Stähli & Fabienne Lorenz: Lisa Stähli is a board member and Head of Press at Girls in Tech Switzerland, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the gender gap in tech. She holds a MSc in Geomatics Engineering from ETH and is currently a Product...

Timestamps: 2:10 - 25 years of Swiss entrepreneurship 3:01 - The Kick Fund  10:38 - The problem of segmented startup initiatives  17:40 - The 4 areas of Deep Tech Switzerland 24:06 - The role of the Swiss government About Pascale Vonmont & Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler: Pascale Vonmont is the director of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung, and Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler is the non-executive vice-president at Swisscom, and a former member of its Group Executive Board.  Gebert Rüf Stiftung is...

Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest with code Dali24: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod Timestamps: 3:50 - Being part of the Groupon story 13:05 - Getting a climate wake-up call 15:47 - From working for Shell to climate tech 17:46 - The problem Manoj is solving 20:19 - Pros and cons of hydrogen About S. Manoj Harasgama: S. Manoj Harasgama is a serial entrepreneur and startup investor. He’s been the founder/MD at Treatwell, Unleash12, a venture capital company and...

Timestamps: 2:41 - The neglected field of disability care 5:09 - Making money as an impact startup 9:30 - Circleg’s magic team 15:33 - Managing startup growth 18:20 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate About Nicole Pulido: Nicole Colmenares Pulido is the co-founder and Head of Business Development & Finance at Circleg, a Swiss startup providing affordable and high-quality prosthetics to low and middle income countries across the world. Nicole holds a master’s degree...

Timestamps: 4:52 - Hooked by the fishing industry  6:56 - Why the market timing was right 14:15 - Product help from Innosuisse  16:15 - 99% of fishing products are produced in Asia 19:34 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate About Jonas Urwyler & Nico Hauschke: Jonas Urwyler is the co-founder and CEO at Capt’n Greenfin, a fishing goods company striving to make fishing sustainable. He holds an MBA from the University of Freiburg and previously worked for companies like...

Timestamps: 3:08 - Studying in India and the US 20:54 - Starting Anamii 34:00 - The exit coming as a surprise 43:58 - How Ansuya joined Swisspreneur 55:50 - What thirty3 does About Ansuya Ahluwalia: Ansuya Ahluwalia is a co-founder of the wellness and inner transformation app Anamii and the CTO and Business Partner of thirty3, which helps companies with innovative product development by building AI-first applications. She holds a MSc in Computer Science from UCLA and previously...

This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 30th 2024. Click here to purchase your ticket. Timestamps: 7:39 - Why the tech giants should watch out  12:52 - Are the crazy AI valuations justified? 19:26 - Ethical challenges of AI 20:30 - The AI act & other regulation  23:10 - The Swiss supercomputer  About Alexander Ilic: Alex Ilic is the co-founder and executive director of the ETH AI Center, one of the world's largest hubs for...

Timestamps: 1:31 - Being interested in social impact work  11:06 - The background of SINGA applicants 16:27 - Who funds SINGA  29:42 - Does the world share the Swiss fear of failure? 42:57 - Knowing when to move on  About Seraina Soldner: Seraina Soldner is the co-founder and former co-director of SINGA Switzerland, an incubator for projects built by people with a refugee or migrant experience, and currently a project manager at Hospital at Home Verein (hospitales). She holds an MA...

Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod Timestamps: 6:06 - Getting the funds to start your venture 11:09 - Illegal work in Switzerland 27:55 - Deeptech Switzerland 40:03 - Raising funds in 2012 42:38 - The downsides of VC money  About David Christen: David Christen is the co-founder and CMO at quitt, a company that takes the effort, paperwork and stress out of employing domestic helpers for private households, and quitt.business, a...

Timestamps: 2:20 - The Swiss ecosystem in the last 10 years  11:05 - Why are tradesales down?  19:19 - The rise of the Romandie  21:35 - How Switzerland compares to other startup hubs  28:17 - Going public in the US vs CH About Stefan Kyora & Thomas Heimann: Stefan Kyora is editor-in-chief at startupticker.ch, the leading Swiss news portal for startups, supporters, innovators and investors, and holds a PhD in Philosophy and Business Ethics from the University of Konstanz. Thomas...

Timestamps: 1:20 - From 2 to 220 employees 3:50 - A founder’s motivation  7:45 - A leader’s biggest lesson 10:20 - Your support network as a founder  14:25 - A CEO’s evolving role  About Cristian Grossmann: ⁠⁠Cristian Grossmann⁠⁠ is the co-founder and Head Bee at ⁠⁠beekeeper⁠⁠, the well-known Swiss frontline operating system. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from ETH and worked for companies like ChromaCon and Accenture before starting beekeeper in 2011. During his 12 years...

Timestamps: 2:40 - Samuel’s biggest mistake 8:01 - Expanding to the US instead of DACH  10:10 - Growing your headcount 13:37 - OKRs at Scandit  18:38 - Staying healthy and sane as a founder About Samuel Mueller: Samuel Mueller is the co-founder and CEO at Scandit, the leading technology platform for mobile computer vision and augmented reality (AR) solutions for enterprises. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and Temporal Logics from ETH Zurich. Together with Christian Floerkermeier...

Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest with code Dali24: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod Timestamps: 5:20 - Going from researcher to entrepreneur  8:57 - How bacteria kills cancer 15:14 - Proof of concept in biotech 17:56 - Avenues after a tradesale  24:13 - Entrepreneurship and motherhood About Ana Montalban-Arques: Ana Montalban-Arques is co-founder and CEO of Recolony, a biotech startup developing a bacteria-based oral therapy to treat cancer. She holds a PhD in...

Timestamps: 8:13 - Why Nestlé isn’t doing what they’re doing 11:50 - Why the timing was right for new coffee 18:00 - Straying from the classical Swiss path  23:18 -  Developing the nonormal MVP with partners  27:00 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate About Philippe Greinacher & Alexander Häberlin: Philippe Greinacher is the co-founder and CEO of nonormal, a startup producing sustainable, high-quality coffee for outdoor consumption — that comes in a tube! He holds a...

Redeem your EUR 75 bonus at Splint Invest with code Dali24: https://splintinvest.onelink.me/ZGYb/swppod Timestamps: 3:50 - Deciding to acquire TwicPics 16:30 - The smallpdf fuckup 20:37 - Integrating two cultures  26:20 - When to start thinking about acquisitions 32:50 - Resorting to investment banks About Roger Dudler & Dennis Just: On August 29th the Swisspreneur community got together for the third edition of its annual Zurich Scaleup Cruise, sponsored by Swisscom Ventures,...

Timestamps: 7:03 - Their passion for Blinkist 12:33 - Losing co-founders 25:30 - The value Blinkist provides 33:56 - Going B2C and B2B 43:30 - From early adopters to mainstream user base About Holger Seim: Holger Seim is the co-founder and former CEO at Blinkist, the mobile-first microlearning app. He holds a diploma from the Philipp University of Marburg and previously worked for companies like Volkswagen Group China and Deutsche Telekom before starting Blinkist in 2012. Blinkist...

Timestamps: 2:02 - From footballer to banker to student  10:35 - The emotional toll of a volatile startup journey 20:42 - Sorting out shares before you leave 41:00 - Getting good psychologists on Aepsy 54:00 - Going B2C first, then B2B About Nicolas Egger: Nicolas Egger is the co-founder of Poinz, a B2B2C platform for SMEs, and of Aepsy, a mental health platform for online or in-person sessions with psychologists. He holds a BASc in General Management from ZHAW. Prior to university,...

Timestamps: 4:25 - Three technical co-founders 6:37 - Completing Venture Kick 8:34 - qCella’s heated mats  10:25 - The challenge of finding the right people  12:28 - Having two rather different products About Murielle Schreck: Murielle Schreck is the co-founder and CEO at qCella, an ETH spin-off impregnating natural fibers with copper and using them to develop heating pads with superior properties compared to commercially available heating wires. She holds a PhD in Materials Science...

Timestamps: 14:08 - Running out of money 18:50 - Choosing loans over equity  19:55 - Ensuring sustainability across the supply chain 25:17 - Boycotting the 5 biggest plastic polluters 42:05 - Sharing margin with resellers About Sven Erni: Sven Erni is the co-founder and CEO at Impact Acoustic, a Swiss provider of high-performance, circular acoustic solutions made from upcycled material. He holds a BSc in International Hotel Management from EHL, Lausanne, and previously worked for...

Get tickets to Scaleup Slopes 2024 here. Timestamps: 4:26 - Getting kicked out of home  16:00 - Immigrants and entrepreneurs 20:56 - Getting a job offer from NASA 39:35 - Startups and space missions  43:39 - Leaving NASA About Thomas Zurbuchen: Thomas Zurbuchen is a professor at ETH Space and the former Head of Science at NASA. He was born in 1968 in the canton of Bern, son of a Free Church preacher who did not want him to attend university to study Astrophysics. Thomas went...