David Studer is Swiss Business Angel of the Year

Since the multi-stage sale of the majority of the shares in his ICT startup Xovis AG to private equity investors in 2016, David Studer has been actively investing in Swiss early-stage startups predominantly in the ICT and hardware sector. In doing so, the investor from the Biel region knows the founders' perspective from his own experience and sees himself as a sparring partner for the founders. "There are a few important strategic decisions, which lead to the success of a startup. It helps the founders to go through and question these decisions with an experienced sparring partner. This is not about telling founders what to do - it's about helping founders with their own learning process," Studer said. His many years as CEO also allow him to use his operational experience to help founders master typical startup growth pains.

The CEOs of companies Studer invested in confirm this. «One of the standout qualities of David is his ability to provide strategic guidance. His keen business acumen and ability to see the bigger picture have helped us make critical decisions and steer our company towards sustainable growth», commented Marc Trillou, CEO TieTalent AG. Manuel Winter, CEO Oxygen At Work AG, adds «With David by our side, we have been able to overcome the challenges of expansion and make significant progress. Thanks to his valuable experience as an entrepreneur and his support, we were able to accelerate our organic growth.»

Over the past six years, he has made direct investments in 29 Swiss startups. He has supported mostly ICT startups, with a specific focus on "entrepreneurial" startups with reduced capital requirements and organic growth. In addition, there were investments in six Swiss venture capital funds. He also supports startups through the ecosystem, e.g. as a jury member of Venture Kick or as an expert in Venturelab workshops. These developments vividly show how the Swiss startup ecosystem can benefit from a successful startup exit. This is also confirmed by the founders of his startups, such as Oxygen At Work, Yonder or TieTalent.

The support of business angels like David Studer make it attractive for startups to found their startup in Switzerland. The "Business Angel of the Year" award was presented to him after a laudation by Dr. Thomas Dübendorfer, President of SICTIC, the largest and most active angel investor club in Switzerland.

For more than two decades, SECA has honored outstanding business angels for their commitment and performance as angel investors. Previous award winners include Cornelia Gut-Villa, CEO of the Startfeld Foundation, Yello frontman and entrepreneur Dieter Meier, Logitech founder Daniel Borel, Joachim Schoss, founder of the scout24 Group, or Prof. Dr. Cuno Pümpin from the University of St. Gallen or last year's Swiss fintech entrepreneur of the first hour Gian Reto à Porta.

(Press release / SK)
Picture L-R: Maurice Pedergnana (General Secretary SECA), David Studer, Thomas Dübendorfer