Silicon Valley Fast Track is looking for ambitious Swiss start-ups

Silicon Valley offers companies an incredible ecosystem where they can grow and scale. Thanks to renowned universities and tech giants who attract smart people coming from all over the world, access to talented people is easy. Money is available as well since Silicon Valley startups get 43% of all the VC funds invested in the US. And last but not least, it’s a place where start-ups have access to a worldwide market through partnerships with large corporations established in the Bay Area.

That’s why Alexander Cowan and Cyril Dorsaz put in place Silicon Valley Fast Track. “We believe that, no matter where he is located, every entrepreneur should have the opportunity to access this unique environment to build a startup. We aim to connect the best Swiss innovators with the strengths of Silicon Valley,” Cyril Dorsaz writes in a blog post.

Through their program the organisers will mentor and coach selected Swiss startups that have a global potential, and give them a fast path to get to Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley Fast Track is a six-week virtual incubator for three teams, providing advices and assisting with structured progress through the ‘Venture Design’ framework. The selected startups will then spend two weeks in Silicon Valley to do business development.

The “Venture Design” framework
The Venture Design framework offers a process and toolset that helps to focus on the right things at the right time, leveraging the best of what’s out there in modern practices like design thinking and Lean Startup.

What start-ups will get with Venture Design is an actionable view of how to focus and propel the venture using today’s most effective practices. Learn more about the framework on the website.

Perks of the program

• Six weeks of in-country preparation
• Two weeks of business development in Silicon Valley
• Dedicated online coaching (2 hours to get started + 30-90 minutes every two weeks to review progress and decide on next steps)
• Connections with Silicon Valley experts to get feedback
• Connections with potential customers, partners and investors in Silicon Valley
• The program is free (coaching and support)

The program is open for motivated entrepreneurs who want to build and scale a global company. If you have an idea or you have just started, and want to get to Silicon Valley, apply now! Applications are accepted until September 26th, 2014.

Who’s behind this program

Alexander Cowan
Alex has been an entrepreneur (5x) and intrapreneur (1x). He’s currently founder & CTO of Leonid Systems, an enterprise software company with offices in the Bay Area, Washington, Toronto and various points abroad. Leonid’s products are now deployed to many of the world’s largest cloud communications operators which together earned over $350 billion in revenue last year.

Alex is also the Author of ‘Starting a Tech Business‘ (Wiley, 2012), a primer for non-engineers who want to up their game with the latest techniques and foundations concepts in product development. Prior to Leonid, Alex was busy applying design thinking, Lean Startup, customer development, and agile (among other things) as an executive and consultant at small and large companies. He’s currently an active advisor/board member as well as an instructor at General Assembly and UVA, where he’s an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Alex studied Industrial Engineering and Economics at Stanford University.

Cyril Dorsaz
Cyril is the Head of Startup + Innovation Service at swissnex San Francisco. Cyril works closely with startups accepted into the CTI Market Entry Camp program at swissnex San Francisco. Together with the Innovation team he builds and executes customized facilitation services to help Swiss startups get faster traction in the US. In doing so, he immerses himself in the local and national startup scene to give Swiss startups meaningful and targeted advice and broker relevant connections. Cyril launched two startups himself, co-founded Startup Weekend Switzerland, and holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Geneva.