First Venture DAY of the year on the horizon

The Venture DAY will again attract deep-tech start-ups, investors, supporters and representatives of corporates. Shortly after the start of the registration phase, 60 people are already registered. Some proven elements of the event will stay the same, for example the 1:1 meetings. 200 of these meetings will be possible. They can be booked before the event – even now - but also at the event itself after listening to an interesting pitch.

Other elements changed most notably the pitching format. Instead of classical pitches there will be a so called “SoapBox” where participants can pitch in 100 seconds and without slides to the audience. “More than 15 years ago we granted a start-up 20 minutes to pitch with an unlimited number of slides. We came down to 3 minutes and a maximum of 7 slides over the years. But today, in the age of Tinder, this time model does not work anymore. Furthermore, most investors are getting tired of seeing so many slides at once”, explains Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier, Managing Director Startup INVEST.

In addition not only entrepreneurs can pitch but also investors, supporters and representatives of corporates. “We want to give investors, corporates and supporters a time slot to communicate to the ecosystem” comments Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier. In total, there are 42 pitching slots available at the Venture DAY.

The event will start with the General Assembly of Startup INVEST. The team will inform in particular about Startup DAYs 2019 and 2020. The General Assembly will be followed by keynotes by Nicolas Bürer (digitalswitzerland) and Startup INVEST chairman Christian Wenger who will provide news about the recently launched Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund.

The Venture DAY will take place on 16 April at Kaufleuten, Zurich. Registration is now open. More information on the dedicated website.

(SK)