Venturelab Doesn't Stop Supporting Swiss Startups

07.04.2020 22:10, Guillaume Tinsel

The coronavirus has changed our lives. Everyone who can, works from home, studies and shops online, and organizes digital dinner parties for friends and family. Here at Venturelab, we have fully transitioned to online operations to help flatten the curve while continuing to support and finance Swiss startups—a mission that is now more important than ever. 

Even though there is no such thing as “business as usual” at this time, we ran over 15 webinars and digital training and jury sessions with more than 900 participants in the last month. Our webinars on how to weather the COVID-19 pandemic have been particularly popular, and we will continue to offer crisis-focused support and resources.

Here is an overview of what we have been up to digitally in since mid-March 2020: 
 

• Venture Kick: At the beginning of 2020, Venture Kick Life Sciences was launched as a special track for biotech, and medtech startups. The jury session and the Kickers’ Camp were held online, and in March, Venture Kick supported nine projects with a total of CHF 570,000. One notable joker kick went to STIMIT, a startup that develops medical devices that help maintain breathing muscle function during ventilation and shorten the duration of ventilation for intensive care patients—a particularly important contribution to fighting the coronavirus pandemic. 
   
• Innosuisse: We held several online training sessions on Business Creation and Business Growth or ICT, advanced engineering, biotech, and medtech startups. During 11 training days, a team of successful entrepreneurs, investors, and experts welcomed 36 aspiring startup entrepreneurs and gave them the tools to bring their strategic vision to reality. 
  
  
   
• Venture Leaders Life Sciences: Congratulations to the 10 new Venture Leaders Life Sciences winners! Even though the jury selected the winners online, the roadshow to Boston has been postponed to November 2020. Follow #VLeadersLifeSciences on social media, and get to know the new members of the Swiss National Startup Team.
   
• Venture Challenge: Usually hosted at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne, the Venture Challenge series also moved online. These workshops are based on a mission-and-challenge approach toward enhancing the validation and execution of your business case. Throughout March, a total of 51 participants joined our webinars focused on The Story of Your Startup and Fundraising in Switzerland.
   
• Venture Briefing: Almost 50 people participated in this online motivational event. Venture Briefings are usually held each semester at several Swiss universities and include high-profile entrepreneurs who share the ups and downs of their careers.

We continue to offer training sessions, webinars, and workshops online: You can sign up for our upcoming events and access our resources with just a few clicks.