December 12, 2014
Fuel for growth
Dear reader
Instead of monitoring IT services from the datacentre, Nexthink analyses IT service quality, security and risk from the perspective of the business end-user. This approach has been very successful: the EPFL spin-off has more than doubled its customer base over the past two years, and the prospects look good. To take advantage of this opportunity, Nexthink has secured CHF14.5 million from well-known investors.
Nexthink already has an impressive track record, with names such as Alstom, Crédit Agricole, Novartis and Toyota on its customer list. But younger Swiss start-ups too are successful in finding investors. This week, the two web businesses RightShoes and Farmy reported the conclusion of financing rounds.
Investors and business angels play an important role in the development of fast-growing start-ups, but other forms of support are available and Swiss founders know how to use them, as demonstrated by the increasing number of examples of successful crowdfunding. This week Sintratec and Amphiro reached the objectives of their crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. They are now continuing the campaigns with ‘stretch goals’.
MakeSends has benefited from the support of CA Technologies, which invests CHF200,000 annually in innovations under development by students at EPFL and the School of Business and Engineering Vaud (HEIG-VD), as part of a five-year relationship announced last year.
For six-figure sums, the new IBM Global Entrepreneur Program for Cloud Startups is available. Successful applicants receive support from experts, access to the IBM network and vouchers of up to $120,000 for solutions from the IBM Cloud Portfolio. The programme and other IBM support services were presented recently at Zurich-Altstetten.
Start-up collaboration with established companies may also go on to open up a lot of potential. Social commerce agency Dealini and kiosk operator Valora have entered into a strategic partnership precisely for this reason. Valora has taken a 40% stake in the start-up.
You will find all the current year’s transactions and financing rounds in the Swiss Venture Capital Report, which is published together with the investor association SECA. The report will be presented at two startupticker brunches in the new year: 27 January in Zurich and 29 January in Lausanne, the latter in collaboration with Innovaud. Details of the event and registration will follow shortly.
Have a good weekend.
Stefan Kyora
Managing Editor, startupticker.ch
News
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". 
