Cofoundme on track

Cofoundme is a student-run platform supported by the ETH Entrepreneur Club from Zurich. The platform was founded in 2014 with the aim of connecting business students from the University of St. Gallen and students with a technical background from the ETH to foster entrepreneurial activities. Since then, the platform has expanded its user base rapidly – 1036 startups with open positions and 3996 potential candidates are now registered on the platform – and these figures are also anticipated to increase. Also collaborations with important partner organisations, including STARTFELD, Swiss Startup Factory or the IFJ, and entrepreneurship initiatives have already being established and more yet to come.

The platform offers startups with job offers and individuals with resourceful ideas the opportunity to post them or job positions and services respectively on the platform at no cost. These may be public or only visible to registered members. This gives them access to cofoundme’s database of skilled candidates hence the ease in finding support for their idea. Candidates on the other hand are exposed to massive opportunities, for instance, access open positions in early-stage startups. This way, they have the opportunity to become entrepreneurs through helping driven peers to bring their dream into reality.

Currently, cofoundme is focusing on Switzerland; however several other projects have already been successfully executed in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the US. To foster relationships in Europe and further expand, cofoundme is devoting itself to attracting some of the large start-up hubs in Europe. As for now, the platform is still building its reputation in Europe so as to increase demand for its services in Europe.

Cofoundme is currently seeking additional funds to finance further projects. Paolo Piffaretti, managing partner at Cofound me explains, “We are about to acquire additional financing sources through two products that we launched on the market –that is our Corporate2Startup or C2S Services, in which we follow our tradition to communicate the value of selected corporate clients to start-ups in a more professional manner – and where we already have first deals and opportunities. And with our second product, Talent Services, we are offering corporate venture or innovation departments to select the right speak entrepreneurial candidate for their project or venture. ” 

(RAN)