Swiss startup ecosystem is more and more dynamic. And especially in the Fintech and crypto/blockchain areas. By now, you probably have heard of the “Crypto Valley”, regarding the region of Zug! Next week, on Thursday 15th of May, a major Fintech conference is happening in Zürich: Fintech 2018. Many C-level people from the biggest Swiss financial institutions will be there, and this is a great opportunity to network! Startupolic is partnering with the Fintech 2018 conference to offer ONE free ticket to the whole conference! And for all the ones who will not win, we have a special 50% discount (but if, and only if, you’re a startup)! Deadline to apply to win this ticket is on Sunday 11th of March, at 0900. Good luck!
Startup Weekend is back in Biel/Bienne
As you probably know, I’m a huge fan of Startup Weekend. Why? Because it’s simply the most efficient way to quickly start any project, test it and gather a team. Many people: complain they cannot find any co-founders. Go to Startup Weekend! do not know where to start, as they’ve never done this before… Go to Startup Weekend! want to polish their Business Plan (!) before going to potential investors or customers… Go to Startup Weekend! dream their project instead of projecting their dream. What is the value of thinking about a project for months/years but never acting? Is there no best allocation of your time / brain power? You’ve understood it by now: Go to Startup Weekend! I’ve participated to many editions as a jury member (in Lausanne and Neuchâtel) years ago, before organising 3 of them on my own (one …
Our Interview @ Y Combinator – Guest Post by Ledgy
This is a Guest post by Yoko Spirig, originally published here. Yoko is one of the 3 co-founders of the Zürich-based startup Ledgy, created during Summer 2017. In this blog post, she describes their experience of being selected for an interview at the Y Combinator headquarters in Mountain View, California. And why she thinks it’s important for Switzerland that more Swiss startups apply to YC. Do you know how many Swiss startups have ever been funded by YC? 0, Null, Nada — and this needs to change! Two months ago, when we were still a three months old startup, we sent our written application for the Winter 2017 batch. Although some people said it was too early, it felt natural for us to apply because YC focuses more on the team’s potential than on how far you are in your product development. …
Being An Entrepreneur: What They Don’t Tell You!
This is a Guest post by Dan Bowyer, originally published here. I couldn’t keep nodding as I’ve read this piece so I asked him the permission to reshare it here. Dan is a Tech Entrepreneur & Investor based in London. He has over 20 years experience helping people build businesses and implement digital. He enjoyed some spectacular failures and some delightful successes, while working with 300 or so businesses over the past 20 years. He has recently owned, managed or been a shareholder in 12 Startups. This came from a Quora question that I couldn’t help but answer when I should have been getting on with other things – “What are the common misconceptions of being an entrepreneur”. Let me know if you agree. It’s a fascinating subject and now an active choice for many young people. I’ve been …
Starting up @La Forge – Discover the Startups!
The EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute for Technology) is one of the best engineering school in the world. In the last 10 years, I’ve been seing the massive change happening on the entrepreneurial/startup ecosystem there. The EPFL Innovation Park (initially known as the Parc Scientifique, rebranded back in 2010 or so) has expanded massively, from 3 buildings to 10… The entrepreneurial and events activity has also increased massively. For me, EPFL Innovation Park is the uncontested heart of the tech startup scene in Western Switzerland (even if there are plenty other technology parks doing a great job). In 2013, EPFL Innovation Park opened a coworking space for early stage startups: La Forge. Access to it is selective and you need to apply to get in. However, you get a regular coaching by experienced entrepreneurs and coaches, from EPFL Innovation Park and …
The 50 Best-Funded Startups in Switzerland in One Map (and What It Means For The Startup Ecosystem)
Back in 2012 as I’ve launched startupolic.com, I remember that almost nobody was blogging on the Swiss startup scene. Or most were abandoning the effort after a few posts. Fortunately, this has changed! Today I’m pleased to publish a guest post by Tatjana de Kerros-Budkov, who is currently the Startup Builder at Ricolab Innovation Lab (Ricola), Mentor, and 2x entrepreneur- with one exit under her belt- and has helped startups raise over $10M in the last 12 months. Previously, she was an entrepreneurship & innovation Advisor to the Saudi government, collaborated with 500 Startups KSA and roamed the Arabian desert building entrepreneurship & VC tech ecosystems. Now living in Zurich- she’s passionate about showcasing Swiss tech startups- bridging ties with international VCs. This post was initially published here. Altogether, they’ve raised over $1.4 billion since 2015. They’re growing at an …
Should You Write a Business Plan?
Writing a business plan at the time of the lean startup sounds like a weird idea. No? Many people think that writing a business plan is no more needed. Which is true and… wrong, at the same time! Writing a complete business plan per se is not needed, especially if you: just have an idea; have not done your homework with the Value Proposition Canvas and the Business Model Canvas; are dreaming your project instead of starting it (yeah, there are many wannabe entrepreneurs around there)! have not discussed with any potential customer; Among other ones, these are reasons not to write a business plan. Of course, when you’re starting a project, you should have a rough idea about the potential market. But you should start by focusing on the pains faced by your target customers. And trying to figure out …
16 tourism startups to discover at World Tourism Forum 17
Each year beginning of May, more than 500 CEOs, Ministers and investors from the tourism industry meet in Luzern for the World Tourism Forum. The Forum aims in gathering global leaders of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries to learn about the new development and brainstorm on how to adapt to the changes happening. And to meet startups ! This year, World Tourism Forum is organizing a Startup Innovation Camp (coaching day with presentation to the jury) the day before the forum. Among 170+ applications coming from all over the world (more than 50 countries), 16 finalists were selected, segmented in 4 categories : Impact, Transaction, Destination and Hospitality. The finalists come from Europe (Cyprus, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the UK), Asia (India, Sri Lanka) and the USA. They were selected by a jury leaded by well-known Swiss …