July 3, 2015
Swiss need to put in more effort
Dear reader
In recent years, the Swiss start-up scene has clearly grown in quantity and quality. However, growth is not automatic: in the first half of 2015, the number of new registrations in the commercial register decreased. At the same time, the current Swiss country report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that Switzerland is not exploiting its full potential in terms of start-ups. Despite very good conditions, by international standards relatively little is established.
This is not easy to change. Several approaches are needed to improve the situation and one promising route is to make start-ups and entrepreneurship more visible. A good example is Startup@HSG, central point of contact at the University of St. Gallen, with a series of events and founder incubators where founders can obtain their first work space.
Collaboration with large companies can also help, and here a trend towards greater openness is emerging. Swiss Life has announced the launch of an incubator. Swiss start-up Fotokite has won US company Qualcomm’s QPrize and thus $250,000. AXA is using the services of PopupOffice, the start-up’s first major customer, and Volkswagen is testing noonee’s exoskeleton in a factory in Slovakia.
At the same time, there is also good news from traditional start-up supporters: both the Basel cantonal banks are increasing their funding for ErfindungsVertungs AG (EVA). And in our interview, Jordi Montserrat talks about venturelab’s new strategy. And with DigitalZurich2025 a new initiative was launched which will support start-ups, too.
A study by Swiss Start-up Monitor demonstrates why it is so important for Switzerland to produce more start-ups: those with scalable business models create significantly more jobs than the average of all start-up companies.
I would like to draw attention to three calls: the application deadlines for the Swiss Technology Award, the Euro Eureka Stars programme and Best of Swiss Apps are currently running. Tenders and tips on significant events can be found with our new tag ‘Call to Action’, now even easier on our platform.
Finally, some news of our own: we are looking for an intern for our editorial office in Lucerne, to start at the end of July. We offer an exciting job and a unique insight into the Swiss start-up scene.
Have a refreshing 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". 
