April 29, 2016
Go out and show yourself
Dear reader
Next week the final of the international competition Be.project takes place in Berlin for student teams with business ideas – and four of the nine finalists come from Swiss universities. Presentation of business ideas at such an early stage on an international stage scares some Swiss founders from fear of being copied. But to tinker behind closed doors and require business angels to sign a non-disclosure agreement before you talk about your own company does not lead to success. Only those who present themselves will receive feedback and find business partners, employees and investors.
Three Swiss virtual reality start-ups will also venture on to the international stage at the Cannes Film Festival in May. A matchmaking module, which originates from an initiative of the support fund Engagement Migros, will link the start-ups specifically to investors.
The nine finalists of the Swiss Economic Award stepped into the limelight this week, with the announcement of their names. In addition, the five finalists of the Prix PERL were made known on Wednesday.
Many of these finalists are at the beginning of their start-up lifecycle, but HouseTrip has found an attractive buyer. The holiday rental website has been acquired by TripAdvisor.
Anyone who wants to make a splash internationally has numerous support services from which to choose. The swissnex network alone has helped 150 start-ups over the past year; one such is pingen, which is now expanding into India.
An individual business development programme in Silicon Valley beckons for the winners of the Swisscom Startup Challenge: the application deadline expires on 15 May. The registration period for the SwissICT Award is approaching – you have until 22 May to apply.
The China Program from venture leaders has just been announced and applications can be made immediately. You will find further competitions on our Call to Action tag.
Next week, you can meet us on Monday at the Swiss Fintech and Digitization Day in Zurich, and on Tuesday at the Entrepreneurs Night Central Switzerland in Lucerne.
Have an eventful weekend.
Stefan Kyora
Managing Editor, startupticker.ch
News
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The new Swiss Venture Capital Report was published on 26 January. It analyses 304 financing rounds closed in 2020 and includes further article such as an interview with Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board, and a list of Swiss "soonicorns". 
