Inspiring the innovators of tomorrow: what the Venture Challenge workshops offer students and researchers with vision
The Venture Challenge workshop series, which is hosted at ETH Zurich, unfolded once again in 2022, inspiring the next generation of founders. The program introduces students and junior researchers to the foundations of entrepreneurship, providing them with the know-how to turn innovative ideas into world-class startups.
The Venture Challenge workshop series hosted at ETH Zurich provides aspiring entrepreneurs with the foundational know-how and tools to turn cutting-edge research into viable businesses. Both challenging and inspiring, the workshops are aimed at students at Swiss universities and universities of applied sciences as well as doctoral and postdoctoral researchers interested in entrepreneurship.
Most importantly, the workshops offer participants access to industry experts and their invaluable, first-hand knowledge about what it means to turn scientific findings into viable business models and products. Each workshop features experts, mentors, and supporters who make challenging topics accessible, from team building and hiring to sales and fundraising.
Recently I had the opportunity to participate in the Venture Challenge training program at @ETH Zurich???? dedicated to scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs. It was a great opportunity to learn from Swiss innovators and for networking. Thanks @venturelab_ch for the opportunity. pic.twitter.com/TNqfuhq66r
— George Mtemahanji (@George1493) January 6, 2023
The program's benefits are reflected not only in the volume of applicants but also in the success rate of participants' projects. "We received more than 200 high-quality applications for the Venture Challenge 2022, of which 74 projects were selected for the program," said Raffael Kellner, the program's coordinator. "In a very short time, the participants formed a passionate community, actively challenging themselves, each other, and the speakers for success. Seven of our 2022 participants already won Venture Kick funding and 23 qualified for Innosuisse support. I have no doubt that we will see even more successful startups among our alumni."
LOOKING BACK: WORKSHOPS IN 2022
Venture Challenge #1: The story of your startup
In March 2022, Exnaton Co-Founder and CEO and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Liliane Ableitner spoke to participants about her entrepreneurial journey, from her doctoral studies at ETH Zurich to the foundation of the award-winning startup that is rethinking the use of data in the energy sector.
Launch of the 2022 Venture Challenge at ETH: a great 'Thank You' to Liliane Ableitner of Exnaton, Georgina Jones of ETH Student Project House, and Aashna Majmudar of ETH Entrepreneur Club for supporting the next generation of student entrepreneurs!#SwissStartups pic.twitter.com/qfLIccNDT7
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) March 26, 2022
Liliane's colleague, Anselma Wörner, Co-Founder and COO of Exnaton was the speaker at the fall edition of the workshop and spoke to participants about her professional journey: from working in big tech and consulting to completing her doctorate and starting a TOP 100 Swiss Startup that tackles the challenges of the energy market.
"Picking the right investors in the beginning can help you so much in later rounds"
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) November 15, 2022
Anselma Wörner, Co-Founder & COO of TOP 100 Swiss Startup @Exnaton_tech shares her insights building a fast-growth cleantech spin-off from ETH Zurich.#GlobalEntrepreneurshipWeek pic.twitter.com/pVJqt4u05Y
Venture Challenge #2: What it takes to build a dream team
In April, our speaker was DeepJudge Co-Founder and CEO Paulina Grnarova, another Forbes 30 Under 30 innovator and ETH alumna. She shared her insights about finding the right collaborators and building a successful team.
How students can spot major entrepreneurial opportunities: "Ask yourself: what is an inflection point in your field of studies?" @DeepJudgeAI founder and CEO Paulina Grnarova speaks at Venture Challenge at @ETH.https://t.co/Zu07IpSito#SwissStartups pic.twitter.com/60CWUn5UeZ
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) April 4, 2022
At the fall edition of the workshop, Simon Hofer, Co-Founder and CEO of CareerLunch and initiator of DetectNow shared his take on the best way to find talent and create a team. He also told the story of his ambitious academic career, and how it led him to create a platform that connects talent with the right companies.
"Hire people better than you in their role: constantly raise the bar!"
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) November 23, 2022
Simon Hofer, founder of @CareerLunch, shares key advice on finding co-founders, hiring first employees, and managing expectations.
Venture Challenge at ETH: https://t.co/YX8tEiuH8U #SwissStartups pic.twitter.com/1oBNrYNJ1E
Venture Challenge #3: Sales for startups
The workshop at ETH featured SalesPlaybook's Business Development & Digital Marketing Lead, Brandey Schulhof, who has helped countless B2B startups accelerate their sales. She talked to a packed audience about making contacts, sales strategies, and distribution channels.
"Leave your ego at the door, focus on your customer"
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) April 6, 2022
How to do sales for your startup. Venture Challenge @ ETH with Brandey Schulhof of https://t.co/e075hQR4pS.https://t.co/YX8tEiu9jm pic.twitter.com/fwsdAFN8t0
Venture Challenge #4: Raise the first investment
Aleksandra Laska, Partner at venture capital fund Redalpine, was our guest speaker at the spring and fall editions of the workshop. She shared her invaluable insights on finding and accessing investors, preparing for the fundraising process, and closing an investment.
"VCs take more time for due diligence. They are careful. But: they sit on a lot of 'dry powder' - they have 5 times more money in their funds than a few years ago."
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) December 5, 2022
Aleksandra Laska of @Redalpine on the new market environment, addressing founders at ETH:https://t.co/I6ybngWhPd pic.twitter.com/6033zuIPIZ
Venture Challenge #5: Financing strategies and negotiating deal terms for your financing round
We welcomed another highly valued expert to talk about the ins and outs of financing rounds and term sheets: Thierry Barbey, partner at Kellerhals Carrard. He introduced the audience to the process and stages of financing rounds, common forms of equity financing, and the legal structures of term sheets.
"Your goal when #fundraising should be to raise as much money as needed to get to your next fundable milestone - the value inflection point - usually 12 to 18 months later"
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) December 7, 2022
Thierry Barbey and Désirée Egli of @Kellerhals_ch at Venture Challenge at ETH: https://t.co/YX8tEiLKaU pic.twitter.com/DKJetFYCnp
Venture Challenge #6: How to do the perfect pitch and feedback session
The last workshop in the series is devoted to creating the perfect pitch. In the spring, Co-Founder and CEO of Hemotune, Lukas Langenegger, whose startup was named the TOP 1 Spinoff by Forbes, shared his experience when it comes to pitching.
"The most simple is often the very best"
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) May 12, 2022
How to pitch addressing investors: founder Lukas Langenegger shares his advice after raising CHF >18 million for his @ETH spinoff & medtech company @hemotune.https://t.co/Zu07IpSito#SwissStartups pic.twitter.com/RpaJO3Kvql
For the fall edition, our guest speaker was Co-Founder and CEO of Futurae, Sandra Tobler, whose cybersecurity company has been growing quickly, garnering grants and awards.
"The investor is looking to understand how they will make money, based on criteria: market size and potential, the business model, team quality, and technology."
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) December 15, 2022
Startup pitch training with Sandra Tobler of @_futurae and Omid Shams of @VentureKick, at ETH Student Project House. pic.twitter.com/4CaMFCc93w
Venturelab thanks all partners and friends of Venture Challenge at ETH that support students and researchers in launching their own companies. We recommend checking out their programs:
- ETH Student Project House runs the Makerspace, a place on campus where all ETH students (bachelor, master, and doctorate) can work on self-initiated projects and perform most types of standard prototyping.
- ETH Entrepreneur Club is a student organization at ETH that empowers young people to start their own startups and pursue their dreams.
- Unicorn Labs is a student organization for idea hacking to build minimum viable products for startups in record time
- ETH AI Center is ETH’s central hub for artificial intelligence, fostering entrepreneurship to promote trustworthy, accessible, and inclusive AI systems.
- The Swiss Sequoia Club connects highly motivated students from ETH, HSG, and EPFL looking for co-founders for their startup ideas.
- Venture Kick supports startup projects from Swiss universities with coaching and funding of up to CHF 150,000.
Venturelab also organizes Venture Challenge workshops at the EPF Lausanne.
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