Swiss Vault: The Venture Leader Mobile bringing sustainability to the data industry

17.02.2023 07:00, Morgane Ghilardi

In anticipation of the Barcelona roadshow at the end of February, we would like to introduce our community to each of the Venture Leaders Mobile 2023: Meet Bhupinder Bhullar, CEO of Swiss Vault, the startup enabling enable sustainable data management by engineering data storage software and hardware solutions that reduce energy consumption, space, and electronic material waste.

Name: Bhupinder Bhullar 
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Nationality: Canadian 
Graduated from: University of Calgary, Ph.D., 2000
Job title: CEO
Number of employees: 11 
Money raised: CHF 2.4 million
First touchpoint with Venturelab: Venture Kick in 2018

How did you come up with the idea for Swiss Vault?
While working for a large pharma company, in Basel, I had initiated a big data project on human genome sequencing. The platform I developed successfully identified the DNA mutations that confer drug resistance in cancer. The problem that remained is that we had to scale data storage capacity to manage the large data files. Each genome resulted in 1 TB of raw data, which is equivalent to 1000 DVD movies. For hospitals to manage this data volume would be difficult—so I started to look for a solution to manage this very private data for the lifetime of the individual and with high security.

Whom does your product or solution help, and how?
Vault File System (VFS) can enable simpler and lower-cost data management, with lower data volumes, but with higher data availability. Thus, organizations that manage data for the long term, especially with an on-premises data center, cloud data center, or edge networks will benefit. VFS stores data files across a network so that even if a system goes offline, the data is available for their customers. 

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders roadshow, and how do you think it help you achieve your vision?
The Venture Leaders team is highly experienced in helping startups grow. Swiss Vault is looking for mentorship and exposure to the mobile network market for growth. Our leading product, the Vault File System (VFS), is ready for commercial sales and partnerships. We aim towards a commercial launch and becoming a leader in the long-term sustainable data storage market.

What are you most excited about at work right now?
Swiss Vault's solutions are helping to bring sustainability to the data industry. The vision we bring to the industry is getting recognition and traction. 
 

---

   

---

How did you go about building your team?
We built the team by looking for dedicated experts in critical facets of business development, which we required for growth in the stage we were in. We looked for individuals globally and built programs around their skill sets. For example, a branding expert in Basel came on board to create a social media presence for Swiss Vault.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
Swiss Vault is addressing the data storage market. Customers need both hardware and software to manage data. Swiss Vault has two product lines to address the CHF 130 billion annual industry that is growing at 26% CAGR.  The SAM market is composed of organizations that need long-term data storage and are under a mandate to meet sustainability goals. We estimate this market size in Europe and North America to be approximately CHF 16 billion.

What are your company's and team's key achievements to date? 
Among various awards and other forms of recognition, we are proud to have received the Solar Impulse label for sustainable solutions as well as a Horizon 2020 grant to develop our technology. Securing CHF 2.4 million in venture capital for commercialization is a significant milestone, as was the launch of our software product and the expansion of our team with growth-minded experts.

Is there a key principle or value that guides you as you build your company?
The key principle is trust, which translates into integrity. Customers must trust you. Team members must trust you. This means that day in and day out, one must work to meet the high level of integrity required to run the company and help customers with their problems.  

What is the most challenging aspect of being a founder?
Meeting the weekly needs and requirements of the team members so that they can do their job with high quality. Over time, as we grow, this will become easier with more resources and more experts.  

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
There will always be new demands and challenges. One must keep going. Show up and execute the tasks and activities. Keep connected with all team members and stakeholders. Above all, make sure you do all of the above with high quality and professionalism. 

What is one thing people do not know about you? 
I was born on a farm. Both of my parents descended from a long line of farmers. Whereas, I broke with tradition and studied biochemistry.

What is your favorite movie or TV show and why? 
The TV series The Wire. This show is set in Baltimore and is about the edgy world of drug dealers (using simple non-technical means) and police forces (using high-technologies). The two sides are always at a stalemate. Beyond offering clever script writing and suspense, the makes you reflect on the themes of social disparity.