From Switzerland to the world: Venture Leaders Graduation Ceremony 2024

17.01.2025 09:30, Rita Longobardi

The Venture Leaders have a clear-cut goal: envisioning themselves as global players, they want to take the first step toward international expansion. With its investor and business development roadshows, Venturelab provides the Swiss National Startup Team with the tailwind needed to achieve this goal. Yesterday, the members of the Swiss National Startup Team of 2024 met at the startup space in Schlieren, receiving the honors for representing the most promising Swiss technology in Silicon Valley, Boston, Barcelona, Munich, and London. The Venture Leaders Graduation Ceremony celebrated the completion of a year of impactful global investor and business development roadshows, equipping high-potential startups with the tools to scale internationally.

Every year since 2006, Venturelab has organized the Venture Leaders programs–each of which serves a specific sector of technological innovation: Technology in Silicon Valley, Biotech and Medtech in Boston, Mobile in Barcelona, Cleantech in Munich, and Fintech in London–and has supported more than 580 entrepreneurs to take the first step toward their global expansion.

A jury of investors and industry experts selects the ten promising startups per sector. The selected entrepreneurs behind the startups participate in a business development program including an investor roadshow bringing them into the international spotlight:

The ceremony yesterday highlighted the end of the Venture Leaders program 2024 and featured a brief retrospective of each vertical. Team representatives shared their experiences, and discussed fundraising experience, market opportunities, product alignment, cultural differences, and technical strategies, illustrating how the roadshow influenced their ventures.

"Since 2006, we’ve been bringing entrepreneurs on the global stage, and today, our Venture Leaders alumni network includes over 580 ventures," mentioned Jordi Montserrat, Managing Partner of Venturelab. “The success of our alumni highlights the critical role of structured support and international exposure in allowing Swiss startups to grow beyond national borders.”

The Venture Leaders were given a diploma to reward their participation in the program and their place among the most promising innovators to emerge from the Swiss startup ecosystem. The ceremony was followed by a networking cocktail, allowing the Venture Leaders to mingle and connect with investors, partners and supporters.

From up left to down right: Venture Leaders Mobile, Venture Leaders Technology, Venture Leaders Biotech, Venture Leaders Cleantech, Venture Leaders Medtech, and Venture Leaders Fintech

Let's see how the Venture Leaders valued the experience firsthand:

Jason Corkill, CEO of Rapidata and Venture Leaders Mobile Team Captain, shared his thoughts on the Barcelona roadshow in March: "For a startup, connecting with potential customers is essential, and events like 4YFN and MWC are excellent opportunities for that. You learn a lot and get helpful feedback on your work," Jason explained. "You start to see how your startup can actually grow. During the roadshow, we had a conversation with Nvidia about pursuing the best model globally. In Silicon Valley, many solutions are already well-established, so Rapidata aims to offer practical and adaptable alternatives," he added.

"We automate the design of energy infrastructure, streamlining the process for greater efficiency. The Venture Leaders Technology program played a key role in helping us refine our approach," highlighted Stefano Grassi, CEO of Gilytics and Venture Leader Technology. "Looking ahead, Asia presents a highly promising market due to its rapidly growing economy.”

“We were lucky to connect with advisors from North America, like 5AM Capital. Pitching there was a whole different experience and gave us a clear view of how seed rounds work in the US, impacting how we approach our business. We realized the US market is central to biotech, and based on VC feedback, we began rethinking our business plan,” explained David Klein Cerrejon, CEO of OBaris and Venture Leader Biotech. “Having a presence on the ground in the US is crucial, and Swissnex was a big help. We're very grateful.”

Michael Rottmann, CEO of OneTwenty and Venture Leader Medtech, commented: "The US is an ideal environment for scientific startups. I was amazed by the discussions with venture capitalists—they had a tailored recommendation for every startup. We pitched for $10 million, and they urged us to aim higher: 'Either you win or you lose.' As the Venture Leaders, we had numerous opportunities and meetings and supported each other as a team."

"Venture Leaders delivers great value by preparing you for direct engagement with investors. It was my first time pitching in front of an audience, which made the experience all the more impactful. The investors were highly focused and strategic," said Markus Aicheler, CEO of SolidWatts and Venture Leaders Cleantech Team Captain. "I’m already looking forward to seeing how the cleantech sector evolves and scales over the next decade."

“You can tell that London has a high concentration of investors. The Venture Leaders Fintech program was a great experience; we pitched to 15 investors, which might be difficult in Switzerland, particularly in the fintech sector. But in London, we managed it in just one week!" concluded Leroy Bächtold, CEO of CrowdTransfer and Venture Leaders Fintech Team Captain. "We are now in negotiations with some of the investors we met during the program. We also had discussions with Lloyd's about sports investments and received coaching from lawyers on market trends. London has many great social clubs to meet industry leaders—it's a great place to start!”

Since the inception of the program, the Venture Leaders—the Swiss National Startup Team members—have expanded the reach of Swiss innovation and had a measurable impact on the economy. Companies founded by these alumni have created 12,900 jobs and raised more than CHF 8.9 billion in investment capital. These figures highlight the ongoing influence of the program in driving economic growth and job creation, reinforcing the importance of Swiss startups in the global innovation landscape.