Scale up Bootcamps Confirm Strong Interest from Swiss Corporates and Growing Startups to Partner

19.11.2019 15:30, Guillaume Tinsel

More than 50 growth-orientated entrepreneurs and heavy-weight Swiss corporates gathered at Lausanne’s Gotham Coworking space to present goals and exchange business development proposals during a successful day of entrepreneurial matchmaking. Two Scale up Bootcamps, powered by Venture Kick, gave 24 innovative Swiss startups and 20 of the country’s leading corporates the chance to explore partnerships across enterprise tech, AI & customer solutions, smart cities & industry 4.0.

Inspiring and engaging pitches set the tone at the start of each industry vertical’s half-day session. A fine and rare selection of top scaling startups and Swiss corporates alike had 90 seconds to present their areas of interest and lay the foundations for subsequent 1-on-1 meetings. Entrepreneurs and decision-makers enjoyed as many as six intense, 10-minute exchanges with their matches, as well as extra opportunities to discuss with potential partners during networking lunch and coffee breaks. “I really like the intimacy speaking to senior management people from Swiss heavy-weight industry leaders,” said Yannik Kopp, Business Development Lead at LORIOT, an internet-of-things software provider and global network operator that's already present in more than 120 countries after its founding in Switzerland in 2015.

Our co-founder @julianstuder and our @Yaens participate today in Scale-Up Bootcamp Smart City & Industry 4.0 promoted by @venturekick ,@dgt_switzerland and @grstiftung_ch.
Happy to talk about our vision, traction and potential partnerships with great companies.#scaleupbootcamp pic.twitter.com/3YFksyv8NX

— LORIOT (@LORIOTio) November 14, 2019

Fabienne Kohler, Project Manager for Open Innovation at Swiss Post appreciated the balance between size and intimacy. “The format of the event is time-saving for our startups scouting and enables meeting people in person.”

Entreprise Tech, AI & Customer Solutions
Startups in the entreprise tech, AI & customer solutions vertical enjoyed access to 13 of the country’s biggest corporates, including Nestlé, Microsoft and Swiss Life. Gilles Burnier, Innovation Expert at Groupe Mutuel found it a “facilitating event to access a wide panel of startups.” In turn, the corporate executives could discuss potential synergies and collaborations for growth with entrepreneurs at the cutting-edge of technology. “Half a day full of personal interactions with inspiring people, and concrete opportunities with corporate brands is a perfect shortcut to success,” said Sara Wick, Business Solution Manager at Turicode, a young data-management startup based in Winterthur.


Smart City and Industry 4.0
The afternoon’s Smart City and Industry 4.0 session attracted Switzerland’s largest manufacturers, industrial companies, insurers and auditors, including AXA, ABB, Bobst, and Buhler Group, as well as global software and security players. The growth-orientated Swiss startups, all with annual revenue in excess of a million francs or at least 10 full-time employees, included technology leaders encompassing AI document management, HR planning, employee volunteering, and agile meetings. “It’s really great to meet so many fantastic entrepreneurs and startups. I hope we can keep them in Switzerland and help them to grow. Fantastic future!” said Mark Hawkins, Regional Managing Partner at EY. “The atmosphere and organization of quick 90-sec pitches pushes you to go find out more in direct contacts,” said Hichem Alouai, Global Business Development Senior Manager at Annanow, a digital platform, offering last mile deliveries.

Future partnerships
“So many corporates interested in our solutions in only half a day is amazing for our business,” said Alexander Grimm, CEO and founder Aspaara, a startup optimizing human resource planning. On the corporate side, Moska Mikhael Stücki, Customer Experience and Strategy at AXA found it a “top event to find the matching partners to reach the vision of innovation of AXA”.

The Scale-up Bootcamps are a cooperation between Gebert Rüf Stiftung and digitalswitzerland, powered by Venture Kick.

Learn about the next industry verticals and how to apply for upcoming matchmaking opportunities.