Timestamps: 02:24 – Führen wie ein Löwe 06:31 – Warum Sales Chefsache ist 07:31 – Das globale Startup-Ökosystem: USA vs. Europa 10:16 – Erfolgreiche Sales-Strategien strukturieren 21:29 – Rückschläge meistern und Resilienz aufbauen This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. (Disclaimer: Relai services are exclusively recommended for Swiss and Italian residents.) Über Ca...
Jun 25, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 500
Timestamps: 2:48 - Why ETH generates so many startups 7:23 - From research to commercialization 14:00 - Does ETH invest in startups? 21:50 - Perfectionism vs move fast and break things 29:23 - It’s not hard to convince people to work for startups This episode was co-produced with the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation . Click here to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today. About Roland Siegwart: Roland Siegwart is a professor of Autonomous Systems at ETH Zurich and board member for Seven...
Jun 22, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 503
Timestamps: 13:03 - How much equity did Relai give away? 31:00 - How to delegate as a CEO 39:13 - Why product roadmaps change 47:10 - Why Julian is cautious to expand his team This episode was co-produced with SEF.Growth , the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss startups and SMEs with growth plans free of charge. This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at ch...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 502
Timestamps: 9:33 - Leaving a corporate and starting your own company 18:00 - Why pet food is terrible 29:08 - Why there’s a market for Loonawell 33:32 - Pet food made by an executive chef? 36:14 - Why established pet food companies can’t compete with Loonawell Resources Mentioned: Silence: the Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise , by Thich Nhat Hahn About Maria de Bettencourt Tavares: Maria de Bettencourt Tavares is the founder and CEO of Loonawell , a startup creating human-grade healthy fo...
Jun 15, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 501
Timestamps: 11:04 - How the Swisspreneur team grew 14:16 - Why most people at Swisspreneur are volunteers 25:00 - How the syndicate got hundreds of signups after a few weeks 30:42 - Why does Swisspreneur produce free masterclasses? 39:43 - How Swisspreneur wrote a book This episode was sponsored by Google Cloud. Join their Founder's Story event on June 24th to hear directly from blockchain startup founders about their journeys of innovation, disruption, and resilience, and discover how they are ...
Jun 11, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 500
Timestamps: 5:07 - Thomas’s leap from cybersecurity to founding Rivero 15:07 - Building partnerships with Visa and Mastercard 21:10 - Bootstrapping until Series A 23:00 - Founder salary realities 27:43 - Why it’s hard to sell to banks Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today. Click here to profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. (Disclaimer: Relai services are exclusively recommended for Swiss and Italian residents.) This episode was sponsored by G...
Jun 04, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 499
Timestamps: 8:35 - Why enter a crowded market? 15:24 - Language learning in AI 28:02 - When Univerbal got into YC 37:30 - How to get into YC 41:00 - Getting 50K+ people to test your prototype DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded several months ago, and since then Philipp has left his role at Univerbal. We nonetheless thought the episode was still worth sharing, as it is a great startup story about building an AI language tutor and making it to YC. We hope you enjoy the content! Get started with...
May 28, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 498
Timestamps: 7:29 - How does the Swiss ecosystem compare to others? 18:09 - Which Swiss scaleups is Nicolas excited about? 23:46 - Does Swiss shyness hold us back? 30:23 - Investing in companies with long development cycles 35:08 - Creating outbound investment opportunities This episode was co-produced with the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation . Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today. Click here to profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. (D...
May 25, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 497
Timestamps: 6:10 - Quantifying innovation for investment purposes 10:53 - How Evelyne met Tobias Reichmuth 20:43 - Can innovation outperform ETFs? 34:18 - How to build trust with potential investors 38:34 - Why Evelyne’s team is mostly women This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. (Disclaimer: Relai services are exclusively recommended for Swiss and Italian residents...
May 21, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 496
Timestamps: 5:20 - Helping European companies set up shop in China 11:43 - SICTIC’s investment program for kids 17:57 - Building AI models to predict fundraising success 26:00 - How being a young investor changes your perspective This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. (Discla...
May 18, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 495
Timestamps: 4:00 - What’s a data breach? 10:21 - What’s a phishing campaign? 13:50 - How expensive is it to fix a data breach? 20:35 - How are startups being targeted? 22:07 - Why strong passwords are not enough This episode was co-produced by NordPass . Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans. This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkou...
May 14, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 494
Timestamps: 4:30 - Wie konnte Alex Frei immer die höchste Leistung abrufen 9:20 - Liegt der Fokus auf Input oder Output? 19:30 - Was bedeutet Fairplay im Business? 33:50 - Mentale Gesundheit im Sport 39:22 - Kurze Abschlussfragen Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. (Disclaimer: Relai services are exclusively recommended for Swiss and Italian residents.) Über Stefan Lichtsteiner, Alex Frei, Diego Ben...
May 07, 2025•46 min•Season 1Ep. 493
Timestamps: 6:21 - How much equity to give up in a Series A 13:32 - How investors assess valuation at Series A/B 17:55 - What makes a good vs. bad investor 26:29 - Why some investors lead founders on 36:50 - Don’t spray and pray: smarter ways to reach investors This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. (Disclaimer: Relai services are exclusively recommended for Swiss a...
Apr 30, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 492
Timestamps: 3:51 - How T3 Pharma launched a clinical trial 15:44 - When a partner wants to acquire you 30:55 - Selling for more than you expected 44:56 - Why they publicly disclosed the acquisition cost 52:52 - How the company changed post-exit Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, Christof Roduner from Scandit, and Viviana Gropengiesser from Talent Kick. About Simon Ittig: Simon Ittig is the co-founder and CEO of T3 Pharmaceuticals ...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 491
Timestamps: 2:49 - How Sherpany got acquired 18:05 - Discounting vs additional free features 23:20 - Should you hire salespeople or marketing people first? 32:03 - Where to hire salespeople 45:47 - The fixed/variable salary split About Tobias Häckermann, Lars Mangelsdorf & Laurent Decrue: Tobias Häckermann is the co-founder and CEO of Sherpany , a provider of meeting management software for leadership meetings that was acquired by Datasite in 2024. He holds a Master of Laws from UZH. Lars Ma...
Apr 16, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 490
Timestamps: 7:51 - Why is entrepreneurship a lonely journey? 13:55 - Comradeship in entrepreneurship 15:04 - Is post-exit depression a thing? 23:56 - Thinking about the meaning of life 26:23 - The social responsibility of founders This episode was co-produced with EO Zürich . Check out their upcoming event, Entrepreneurs Summit 2025 . Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, Christof Roduner from Scandit, and Viviana Gropengiesser from Tal...
Apr 09, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 489
Timestamps: 8:01 - What drew Brynne to entrepreneurship 15:10 - Brynne’s political debut 24:12 - What’s a smart society? 27:05 - Measuring growth as a VC 43:25 - How can you find the right co-founders? This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket. Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, Christof Roduner from Scandit, and Viviana Gropengiesser fr...
Apr 06, 2025•51 min•Season 1Ep. 488
Timestamps: 12:48 - Anyone can have a mental health crisis 26:30 - Creating trust in a mental health tool 29:12 - How to measure mental health 35:48 - Realizing you don’t want to work with a client 40:43 - Earning the SEF.Growth High Potential Label This episode was co-produced with SEF.Growth , the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss startups and SMEs with growth plans free of charge. Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel fro...
Apr 02, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 487
Timestamps: 2:29 - How Sami became interested in cinema 11:15 - How to define visions and impact 22:55 - What can Largo.AI actually do? 27:55 - Does AI kill creativity? 53:23 - Largo.AI’s plans for the near future This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, Christof Roduner from Scandit, and Viviana Gropengiesser from Talent Kick. About Sami Arpa &...
Mar 30, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 486
Timestamps: 6:54 - An investor generating returns for their LP 8:22 - The Swiss startup ecosystem is 18 years old 12:09 - Does big data drive innovation? 19:20 - What if you don’t perform as promised? 21:25 - Dealing with FINMA regulations as a VC Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, Christof Roduner from Scandit, and Viviana Gropengiesser from Talent Kick. About Andrea Silberschmidt-Buhofer, Teddy Amberg, David Hug & Tanvi Singh: ...
Mar 26, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 485
Timestamps: 5:55 - An Icelandic company headquartered in Switzerland 16:29 - Fundraising for long development cycles 19:00 - Doing the only Swiss IPO in 2023 24:23 - Splitting your focus to sell 3 products at once 28:39 - Advantages and disadvantages of being publicly listed This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket. Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabri...
Mar 23, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 484
Timestamps: 5:30 - When is it time to scale your dev team? 10:03 - Nearshore, offshore, or in-house? 12:37 - Can we trust AI to write code? 14h33 - Top criteria to hire developers 27:38 - Costly mistakes setting up a dev team Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. About Simon Youssef & Nenad Nikolic: Simon Youssef is the co-founder and CTO of the online bank neon . He holds a PhD in Computational Biophysics from Microsoft Research Cambridge and worked at Strategy& before co-founding ...
Mar 19, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 483
Timestamps: 6:25 - Why yamo started with D2C 15:30 - Dealing with regulation in the food industry 28:39 - When yamo hit a breaking point 33:35 - How to be a leader in tough times 44:23 - How Tobias defines success Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. About Tobias Gunzenhauser: Tobias Gunzenhauser is the co-founder and former CEO at yamo, an omnichannel FoodTech company creating the healthiest and tastiest products good for people and the planet. He holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Dig...
Mar 12, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 482
Timestamps: 2:09 - From Lebanon to Brussels 5:41 - From the trading floor to the startup world 23:40 - Why Georges prefers Switzerland to California 36:55 - The efficiency and discipline of the Swiss ecosystem 48:40 - Is it difficult for VC funds to raise money nowadays? This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket. About Georges Khneysser: Georges Khneysser is the founder of QBIT Capital , an early-st...
Mar 09, 2025•57 min•Season 1Ep. 481
Timestamps: 11:40 - The early days of Cerrion 22:39 - Adapting your tech to different environments 27:45 - Being obsessed with customer pain points 32:15 - Getting into Y Combinator 42:15 - Why would an international company stay in Zurich? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. About Karim Saleh: Karim Saleh is the co-founder and CEO of Cerrion , a startup developing digital AI workers for the manufacturing industry. He holds a BSc in Information Technology and Electrical Engineering from E...
Mar 05, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 480
Timestamps: 10:04 - Laconia’s investment strategy 12:56 - Why no warm intro is needed 19:17 - How Laconia evaluates deals 27:55 - Wishful thinking & investment red flags 36:27 - Do Swiss companies need outside investment? This episode was co-produced with the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation . About Geri Kirilova: Geri Kirilova is a partner at Laconia , a seed stage fund focused on B2B software companies. Geri holds a BA in Information Systems & Management from the NYU Stern Schoo...
Mar 02, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 479
Timestamps: 3:50 - Creating a property database in Panama 5:18 - Creating a company with your spouse 12:30 - Bootstrapping for a decade 15:40 - Having Shaun Di Gregorio as an investor 26:00 - Why Wendy left her company This episode was co-produced with EO Zürich . Check out their upcoming event, Entrepreneurs Summit 2025 . Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. About Wendy Jordan: Wendy Jordan is the co-founder and former COO of Encuentra24 , the leading marketplace and fully integrated busi...
Feb 26, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 478
Timestamps: 7:55 - Is Ypsomed just an insulin company? 10:12 - Selling B2B and B2C simultaneously 18:33 - Doing an IPO in 2004 20:20 - How to make your stock 7x 22:47 - Getting into regional politics This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket. About Simon Michel: Simon Michel is the CEO of Ypsomed , the leading developer and manufacturer of injection systems for self-medication. He is also the head o...
Feb 23, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 477
Timestamps: 5:15 - When tide ocean became a full-time project 14:50 - What happens to tide ocean when we run out of plastic? 28:26 - Plastic vs glass or paper recycling 32:36 - How tide ocean pays and incentives employees from developing countries 46:51 - Do startup competitions actually help startups? This episode was co-produced with SEF.Growth , the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss startups and SMEs with growth plans free of charge. Click here to subscribe to our news...
Feb 19, 2025•58 min•Season 1Ep. 476
Timestamps: 4:48 - What is ‘speed of trust’? 7:40 - Why AI is a trust-breaker 12:35 - Cultivating customer trust 23:15 - Hubspot taking market share 33:43 - Learning from other people’s mistakes This episode was co-produced by the SalesPlaybook , DACHs' leading B2B Sales & HubSpot agency for fast-growing 7-8 figure entrepreneurs to increase pipeline, revenue & sales efficiency. About Manuel Hartmann: Manuel Hartmann is the founder and CEO of SalesPlaybook , a sales agency with 7-figure a...
Feb 16, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 475
