Startup Champions – a night to discover the Swiss startup scene
This week, EPFL through its Innogrants program and Venturelab hosted a unique event on campus for anyone interested in the Swiss startup scene, innovation and entrepreneurship. Reuniting more than 200 people, Startup Champions offered insights on starting a venture in high-tech from two different angles: the startup journey from the idea to a million-dollar quote company with Moritz Lechner of Sensirion and lessons learned from 20 years in technology transfer with Gabriel Clerc of EPFL IP & TT matters.
Held at the EPFL Rolex Learning Centre, the evening event kicked off with some words from Hervé Lebret, head of Startup Unit, EPFL and Jordi Montserrat of Venturelab. Both presented the startup support system available in Switzerland which includes special grants, like Innogrants and Xgrants financing Bachelor, Master and PhD students in their entrepreneurial efforts, and the business development programs like Venture Kick bringing coaching, training and seed-financing to booming university spin-offs, and Venture Leaders sending Swiss entrepreneurs with high growth potential to international innovation and technology centres to meet investors.Crowded Forum Rolex for startup champions @EPFL_en #SUChamps with @venturelab_ch pic.twitter.com/jjeov4gXL7
— startupEPFL (@startupEPFL) November 13, 2018
First to take the stage was Moritz Lechner, co-founder and co-chairman of Sensirion. Spun out of ETH Zurich in 1998, Sensirion is a leading manufacturer of high quality sensors and sensor solutions for the measurement and control of humidity, gas and liquid flows. In between its foundation and world-renowned success, the startup faced my challenges. Today, Sensirion is leader in micro sensors, counts 730 employees, and has about 500 million sensors in the field. Moritz Lechner described the many bumps on road before finding the right market for their sensor solutions, how the team had to rethink their initial product and listed their first successes. This intense journey brought him many lessons, which he gladly shared with the audience, notably the importance of becoming a field leader if a company wants to become a world-class company and how to learn from customers, as having a disruptive technology is not enough.
Gabriel Clerc, senior advisor IP and TT matters at EPFL, joined him on the stage for some insights on technology transfer. With over 20 years of experience in the sector, he explained the role technology transfer plays in academic institutions and how it helps innovative research reach markets, generating economic growth. He continued by saying that TT brings smart ideas to reality, transforming promising results into concrete products that will benefit society. As a tech transfer officer, his job was to clarify situations prior to transfer and licencing, such as IP identification or defining ownership. His career led him to observe the evolution of the Swiss startup scene over the years and he shared some key figures for the EPFL Technology Transfer Office which counts 2,000 disclosed inventions, 900 granted patents and has seen 300 spin-offs and startups since the late 1990’s. He concluded on an unusual note, a silent one. Conscient of all the stress, the many learnings, meetings and hours entrepreneurs go through, he invited the audience to take a step back, be silent and listen to a video featuring forest noises as a gentle reminder that you need to enjoy time off as well."Sometimes, you can start with a flop even if you strongly believe in your technology. This is when you learn. The second version of your product will be improved and really good" explains Moritz Lechner of @sensirion at #SUChamps about the ups and downs of launching a product. pic.twitter.com/QuFUSkJj61
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) November 13, 2018
To conclude his presentations on how #TechnologyTransfer has a big impact on the economy, Gabriel Clerc invites us to a unique silent experience. A nice reminder to enjoy nature when there are so many words to master & so many people to deal with. #SUChamps pic.twitter.com/WuPUioDrlc
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) November 13, 2018
Following the key note speeches, a bar discussion was organized on stage, where the audience asked specific questions to the speakers ranging from financing, company control to resistance to pressure – a unique opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to get answers from two different perspectives. The audience was then able to mingle and connect with speakers at a networking apero, concluding the soirée.
#SUChamps comes to an end. Time for the apero??! A big ?? to Moritz Lechner of @sensirion & Gabriel Clerc of @EPFL #IP & TT for sharing their insightful experiences & lessons learnerd in #Entrepreneurship in front of a large audience @bkw @SwisscomStartUp @SwissPrimeSite pic.twitter.com/d6EOUDHkaN
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) November 13, 2018
