Startup Champions Seed Night 2019: a thrilling evening for innovators in Switzerland

12.04.2019 12:00, Guillaume Tinsel

For its 8th edition, the showcase entrepreneurship event attracted more than 400 guests. 22 world-class startups exhibited their projects and competed for the best pitch. Medtech startup, Volumina Medical won the public and the jury votes.

April 11th started like any other day of spring: partially sunny, windy and unclear as to what the temperature will be. Yet entrepreneurship was in the air as the day to kick-off the Venture Leaders Life Sciences program began. The entrepreneurs gathered at EPFL campus for a special meeting to prepare for Boston. (Discover their profiles here). After a photoshoot and an intense Q&A session about the trip, the team headed to the Rolex Learning Center to prepare their booths for the exhibition at the Startup Champions Seed Night.



They were joined by several early stage EPFL startups also showing their projects. As soon as the doors opened, fellow entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs and scientists arrived eager to talk and engage with the founders. As conversation flowed and business cards were exchanged, any anxiety on behalf of the future pitchers gave way to excitement.

Startup Champions Seed Night just began @epflcampus, follow us with #suchamps to meet the 24 #swissstartups pitching tonight. @swisscom @innovaud @EtatdeVaud @CNNMoneyCH pic.twitter.com/BznP16j5JB

— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) April 11, 2019

The pitch competition
 

Full house at the Startup Champions Seed Night at @EPFL_en in Lausanne with @hlebret, @RaphaelConz, @PatBarbey, @JordiMontserrat and 20 innovative #SwissStartups: https://t.co/MpjaUeRyWM #SUchamps #VleadersLifeSciences pic.twitter.com/h3oArwaPf2

— Stefan Steiner (@blogstone) April 11, 2019

Steve Anavi, CEO and co-founder of Qonto introduced the pitch competition with a keynote presentation of his fintech startup. The neobank for SMEs and freelancers provides a fully featured business account with a simplified accounting flow, and recently raised $23 million. As an EPFL alumnus, Steve Avani shared his insights on entrepreneurship and why EPFL alumni are great founders.

The Swiss National Startup Team, the Venture Leaders Life Sciences, are pitching at the #SUchamps at @EPFL in Lausanne: https://t.co/ocglqG7rkG #VleadersLifesciences pic.twitter.com/LsFg4Xp3jM

— Stefan Steiner (@blogstone) April 11, 2019

Energized by the audience, the world-class startups pitched, each given just 90 seconds to persuade the audience of their startups' merits.



The public voted for their favorites and to decide the winner the four finalists SwissDeCode, Resistell, WakeIt and Volumnia Medical were asked a tie-breaker question: "what keeps them awake at night?"



As the finalists reflect upon what answer to give, the second speaker of the evening Madiha Derouazi, CEO of Amal Therapeutics, who recently finalised a CHF 33 million Series B round, described her path as a woman and an entrepreneur in biotech and her mind-blowing experience with Venture Leaders Life Science in 2012.



After gathering some strength, each finalist gave their answer. Amélie Beduer, CEO and co-founder of Volumnia Medical won the Startup Champions Seed Night competition with her revolutionary dynamic biomaterials for reconstructive and plastic surgery. A big round of applause concluded the competition. Entreprenuers and guests mingled during the evening's celebatory apero, while CNN Money Switzerland interviewed the four finalists.


 

Volumina Medical wins the Startup Champion Seednight 2019 competition. Congratulations to Amelie Beduer! ???????????? #SUChamps #VDtech pic.twitter.com/V8s2kLojrt

— Innovaud (@Innovaud) April 11, 2019