November 18, 2016
Up where we belong
Dear reader
After the US, Switzerland is the best location for start-ups. This is not the optimistic view of a funding organisation, but the result of a recent study by the US-based Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute. Switzerland owes its good positioning to good conditions, including universities and highly qualified workplaces, and the study authors also found a growing number of high-tech companies with high growth expectations. However, Switzerland does relatively badly in its entrepreneurial culture.
Whatever one thinks of studies of this kind, it confirms what many insiders in the start-up scene say: things are going in the right direction in Switzerland. More and more young companies are moving at a very fast pace; this week, for example, Ava, which is only two years old, closed a financing round of $10 million.
In addition, the early internationalisation of Swiss start-ups is becoming increasingly self-evident. Arviem has won Nestlé Ecuador as a customer, Anerdgy’s eco energy system celebrated its German premiere on a Berlin high-rise, and Trekksoft and Icelandic company Bókun have jointly launched a new B2B marketplace to provide the largest inventory list of tours and activities in Europe.
The western Swiss start-up PapayaPods also made a stir: it qualified with two other European start-ups for the final of the pitching competition at the Web Summit in Lisbon, and pitched to 10,000 investors and entrepreneurs on the Centre Stage.
And even stock market flotations are increasing – and not just for biotech companies. IT company Balluun is currently conducting a pre-IPO private placement.
Next week, a number of opportunities are on offer for young and more mature start-ups. On Monday, ETH Zurich’s Entrepreneur Club will hold its EC Award. On Wednesday, in Lausanne, Swiss Venture Day Romandie will take place with pitches from very promising companies, and on Thursday the Swiss Innovation Forum will be held in Basel.
Have a creative weekend
Stefan Kyora
Editor in Chief, startupticker.ch