Distinkt in Desafía Switzerland 2025: Exploring the Swiss market
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In Spring 2025, the Swiss edition of the Desafía program brought nine Spanish scaleups to Switzerland for an intensive two-week roadshow. Designed to accelerate international expansion and test the competitiveness of innovative deeptech solutions on a global scale, the program was supported by ICEX and Red.es in collaboration with Venturelab and the Economic and Trade Office of the Spanish Embassy in Bern. Participants benefited from tailored meetings with investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders, as well as mentorship, networking, pitching opportunities, and company visits.
Following its 2024 launch, the 2025 edition welcomed a second cohort of deeptech companies, including Distinkt, led by Luca Venza, which leveraged the program to explore potential collaborations and refine its international expansion strategy.
Company name: DISTINKT Location: Barcelona, Spain
What was the most surprising difference you noticed between the Swiss startup ecosystem and the Spanish one?
The most surprising difference was how structured the Swiss ecosystem is compared to Spain. In Switzerland, the path from university lab to startup and funding feels very orchestrated, especially for deep?tech, whereas in Spain it’s more fragmented. Public institutions are very proactive in identifying innovative technology and supporting its growth inside Switzerland, whether the technology originates there or not.
What are the biggest challenges you faced when exploring the Swiss market for your product or technology?
The biggest challenges have been economic; customers expect extensive proof points, references, and have very structured procurement processes, which can be extensive and time-consuming. This is great for long?term partnerships, but it makes first pilots slower and more resource?intensive, especially in a high?cost market where a startup has to be extremely selective about which canton, sector, and early customers to focus on. And each canton has its own rules- sorting out the optimal starting point can be difficult.
Which part of the Desafía Switzerland program (mentorship, networking, pitching, company visits) was most valuable for your startup and why?
For us, the most valuable part was the?networking?and curated introductions to key players in the Swiss ecosystem, such as Innosuisse, Trust Valley, SICPA, and others. Meetings with public financing players, private investors, corporates, and local experts gave us honest feedback on our positioning and a realistic view of how our technology fits the Swiss market, which would have taken us months to build on our own through cold outreach. Startup Days in Bern was a great way to meet relevant private investors that suited our growth ambitions.
Did you identify any concrete collaboration opportunities with Swiss companies, investors, or research institutions during the program? If yes, which type of collaboration?
Yes, we identified potential pilot projects with two large Swiss industrial partners (FMCG and Security), each leader in their respective industries. We are actively engaged in POCs to test our technology in real supply?chain environments, as well as early?stage discussions with investors interested in leading our Series A financing round and supporting the development of our Swiss entry. We also opened conversations with a Swiss research institution around collaborating on advanced materials validation and joint applications to European innovation programs like Eurostars and EIC Accelerator.
How did participating in Desafía influence your international expansion strategy?
First of all, it helped us move Switzerland to the top of our expansion list. It moved us from a generic "we'll go to Switzerland someday" idea to a much sharper, staged plan for when, where, and how to enter that market. It also introduced us to public and private financing instruments that help to offset the increased operational costs in the country and provide attractive fiscal conditions.
What advice would you give to startups considering applying to Desafía Switzerland in the future?
I would tell them to arrive with a very clear thesis about why Switzerland matters for their business and what they want to test there, instead of treating it as generic “exposure.” Use the program to stress?test your value proposition with Swiss corporates and investors, be ready for very direct feedback, and leave room in your roadmap to pivot your international strategy based on what you learn on the ground.
Describe Desafía in one word.
Impactful.
