Swiss Fintech Awards jury makes the final decision

For the eighth time, the Swiss FinTech Awards recognises outstanding Swiss startups and influential organisations. The event attracted around 170 guests, including leaders from traditional financial institutions, startups, and key players in the Swiss fintech ecosystem.

After several rounds in the competition, the jury, comprising 20 renowned fintech experts and industry thought leaders, has selected the final winners for each award category.

Pelt8 wins the “Early Stage Startup of the Year.”
Zurich-based Pelt8 received prize money of CHF 42,000 for winning this award category. The startup offers an innovative solution for the increasingly important sustainability reporting topic. It has built a cloud platform to help businesses manage all sustainability-reporting needs in an efficient and auditable way. Following its Climate Reporting Forum, the startup published the whitepaper, “Climate Reporting Blueprint”, co-authored with over 15 organisations to provide actionable insights to companies dealing with current regulations.

NetGuardians named growth stage startup of the year
The “Growth Stage Startup of the Year” category went to NetGuardians. Banks and other financial service providers worldwide use the startup’s AI-based solution to fight against fraudulent activities and protect customer funds. Its clientele includes 40 per cent of all Swiss state-owned commercial banks and three of the top 10 private banks. In addition, NetGuardians has important customers in Africa and Southeast Asia. The strongly growing company with more than 90 employees is headquartered in Yverdon-les-Bains and has offices in Kenya and Singapore.

SICTIC gets an honorary award.
The business angel network SICTIC is honoured for its long-time contribution to the innovative and dynamic Swiss fintech location. The Swiss FinTech Awards recognise, among other things, the important role of the investor collective in funding fintech startups in Switzerland. Additionally, SICTIC organises the Fintech Investor Days, which are an essential networking platform for startups throughout Switzerland. The Swiss startup ecosystem has thus far benefitted from SICTIC’s commitment over the years.

Thomas Zurbuchen on how to build winning teams
Alongside the award ceremony, an interview with Thomas Zurbuchen was a highlight of the evening. Formerly, NASA's Science Director, Zurbuchen, will embark on a new mission in August - to advance the topic of Space at the ETH Zurich.

The conversation mainly revolved around the topic of how to form winning teams. Thomas Zurbuchen is convinced that even at NASA, 80 percent of projects fail not because of the technology, but because of a dysfunctional team. In this respect, there is no difference between NASA and technology start-ups. In his opinion, outstanding teams have a high degree of diversity. However, this will only lead to outstanding results if enough time is invested to actively manage the team. The company should be a safe environment where all employees can communicate and criticise openly and transparently. At the same time, the right amount of leadership is needed to take decisions at high speed.