A stirring of entrepreneurial spirit: Switzerland celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week

20.11.2023 10:00, Rita Longobardi

Last week was Global Entrepreneurship Week, a global celebration of entrepreneurship aiming to raise awareness for entrepreneurship across the globe. It took place in Switzerland as well, and Venturelab contributed all week long, in line with our mission since 2004 helping the best entrepreneurs on their path to success.

What an astounding and constructive week it has been! While entrepreneurship is a year-round celebration, the past week was particularly crawling with innovation and potential as we beheld how much attention the startup ecosystem dedicates to the world of entrepreneurship.

Spanning November 13th to 19th, the spirit of innovation was on full display during Global Entrepreneurship Week. This annual event celebrates entrepreneurship worldwide with an array of events and initiatives across the country, underscoring the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurial endeavours worldwide.


Frédéric Lauchenauer giving useful feedback to promising projects at Innosuisse Start-up Training in Lausanne

Three Innosuisse Start-up Training programs in Biotech, Medtech, Engineering, and ICT in collaboration with Venturelab partner Innosuisse provided aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills they need to transform their ideas into successful businesses. These intensive programs covered a wide range of topics, from business model development to financing strategies.

"The Innosuisse Start-up Training is the first step in your transformation to entrepreneur," commented Donato Rubinetti, CEO of Ionix Innovations, at the end of the Business Creation Start-up Training in Advanced Engineering.

“A great experience during which exchange between participants and feedback from investors was encouraged and relevant for everyone”, said Irena Marina, course participant and Co-Founder of Globout.

"Our work was very much appreciated: Excellent presenters, clear, lively, and interactive," added Elmer Monster, CEO of TestCard.
 

David Studer: "Every investor will agree: it's the team that matters most!"
Simon Zumbrunnen: "Don't take startup tips from someone that has never founded one!"
Venture Briefing at BFH Biel with the Business Angel of the Year and founders of ReseaTech, Vengrow, & Xovis pic.twitter.com/NP55fNR4zL

— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) November 14, 2023

Three Venture Briefings held across Switzerland brought together entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders to share insights and enhance connections. These events provided entrepreneurs with precious advice on their business ideas and opportunities to network with potential partners and investors. How to become an entrepreneur? How to validate an idea? How to finance a startup to bring it to life? These were some questions we tried to answer during the workshops. We also introduced different support programs available to new entrepreneurs: Venture Kick (up to CHF 150,000 pre-seed capital for business development), InnoBooster (up to CHF 150,000 grant to accelerate market entry), and First Ventures (up to CHF 150,000 financial support and tailored coaching program for University of Applied Science students).
 

"We saw great pitches tonight, with clear value propositions. Next, quantify them: you are X times faster / cheaper / more effective...!"
Philip Kneis of @Redalpine VC coaching the next generation of tech entrepreneurs at ETH Student Project House: https://t.co/fh13p0oicv pic.twitter.com/X43WnbSAem

— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) November 17, 2023

A Venture Challenge in partnership with ETH with a primary focus on how to secure initial investments, led by Redalpine's venture capitalist Philip Kneis and part of a semester course, helped students, doctoral candidates, postdocs, and Swiss researchers with a solid high-tech startup project shaping their entrepreneurial proposal.

But there's more! The 21st edition of the Swiss Prime Site Start-up Accelerator Programme presented itself as an exclusive opportunity for innovators operating in the Cleantech sector to conceptualize sustainable growth solutions. The range of propositions addressed areas such as decarbonization, achieving net zero, and CO2 removal. From a pool of 70 applications, 8 startups have been selected to pitch in front of an expert jury, out of which three finalists were selected: AC Biode, RTDT Laboratories, and Sustainaccount.

Since we stand for innovation all the way around, we couldn't miss out on exclusive matchmaking events. The Scaleup Bootcamp with a focus on sustainability offered entrepreneurs rich business development opportunities with industry leaders to accelerate their growth and scale.

"It was a great experience meeting new startups, but also to be able to exchange with peers/corporates," shared Annette Kern-Ulmer, Head of Business Development and Energy Solutions at ewz.

"I was inspired by the entrepreneurial mindset of both the startup founders and the corporate members - all open to collaborating as they strive to reach their sustainable goals," added Phil Norris, Commercial Executive at digitalswitzerland.

Last but not least, Venture Kick has chosen three winners in the concluding stage of the session, awarding them CHF 150,000 each to strengthen their business development; stay tuned to discover who they are.

Stay tuned to keep up with the latest deep-tech advancements in the startup ecosystem. We look forward to shaping the future of innovation together.