Making entrepreneurship more attractive

Dear reader

This week the new report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor was published and one result in particular stood out. In Switzerland, only 7% of the population is motivated to start a business, which is one of the lowest rates worldwide (article in German and French).

In this situation, it can only help if entrepreneurship is supported and lived by senior executives in business and research. Top managers and researchers play an important role when it comes to the social perception of entrepreneurs. So, in the past week two good pieces of news emerged. The first is that Nestlé chairman Peter Brabeck is participating as part of a CHF23 million financing round at young watchmaker HYT and its sister company Preciflex. It is not the first start-up commitment from Brabeck: the top manager also acts as an investor and board member at young company Kasperskian, which produces caviar from its own fish farm in Leuk.

Secondly, Martin Vetterli, who will replace Patrick Aebischer as president of EPFL in 2017, has start-up experience. Vetterli co-founded Dartfish – a video special effects company – in 1998 and was chief scientist of the company for 10 years.

The story of Ernest Loumaye illustrates the attraction of a start-up as a career option for mature business people. He founded his second biotech start-up, ObsEva, after he sold the first for CHF445 million. In our interview, he explains how to generate CHF100 million from investors and why he believed in the women’s health market when no one else did.

The CTI Startup label is recognition for start-up founders: this week, two new IT companies, qipp and Beekeeper, were awarded.

An award also means inclusion in Deutsche Börse’s Venture Network. The Swiss crowd lending pioneer Cashare this week became the second Swiss start-up to take this step. Speaking of crowd lending, Wecan.Fund is another provider on the market in western Switzerland, and should allow the financing of SMEs in particular.

In Switzerland fintech is not only busy in start-ups: the Zurich-based Global Fintech Association will integrate the industry worldwide.

Next week we will be at the Seedstars Summit. Please refer to our interview with Seedstars CEO Alisee de Tonnac to find out what to expect at the event.

In conclusion, the deadline for the venture leaders US programme approaches. Anyone wanting to travel in June with the Swiss start-up national team to Boston or New York must apply by 1 March.

Have an idea-rich weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Managing Editor, Startupticker.ch