Two major trends in the Swiss start-up scene

Sharing instead of owning
The sharing economy has been one of the hottest trends in the tech start-up world within the last two years. The tendency to share is a part of human nature and has been occurring for decades. So, what is it that is new about sharing? Today, sophisticated platforms and online payment systems allow for instant sharing from any location at any time and enable quick transactions. These factors allow for sharing at a large scale and across boundaries. Consequently, marginal costs decrease while productivity and resource efficiency increases (Innovation Insights ). One prominent example of a new sharing program in the Swiss start-up scene is parku - a parking-sharing company which is revolutionizing the urban parking industry by bringing together parking owners and seekers. Private and individual entities advertise their unused parking spots for free and in return earn money by renting the spots out. Another Swiss based start-up inspired by the sharing economy is the online platform Sharely.ch, where individuals can list everyday items which they have for rent and/or rent items from others. Both start-ups are part of the Swiss Start-up monitor directory. However, as the sharing economy becomes prevalent, criticism also arises. A recent article published by the Harvard Business Review states that the sharing economy is not actually about sharing at all. They state that sharing is a form of social exchange among people familiar with one another and without any actual profit. When consumers are paying to access someone else’s goods or services for a particular period of time, it is rather an economic exchange. Thus consumers are after utilitarian value, not social value. „What is viewed by cool new sharing services are in fact commercial platforms that move the traditional distribution to digital ecosystem“ (Techcrunch). According to a Forbes article titled “The Distributive Implications of the Sharing Economy”, we can expect a “relentless downward pressure on prices” and even further inequalities in the distribution of wealth as the collaborative economy becomes increasingly dominated by big global corporations. Regardless of the criticism, the five most prominent sharing economy sectors (peer-to-peer (P2P) finance, online staffing, P2P accommodation, car sharing and music/video streaming) are expected to generate global revenues up to $335 billion by 2025 (PWC). The sharing economy has the potential to revolutionize the way we buy and sell, the services we use and provide, and how we think of market transactions. However, regulations that could slow down or even prevent these new services are a significant threat to the growth of the sharing economy (Institute of Public Affair).

Wearables are the new black
The wearables market has received much attention over the last two years. While the newest and most known wearable technologies such as the Apple iWatch and Google Glass are only just beginning to enter in market, there are many other wearable devices that have already been established - and Swiss start-ups have been at the forefront. The purpose of wearable technology is to create a constant, convenient, seamless, portable and mostly hands-free access to electronics and computers, which enable the wearer to access real-time information and track highly personalized experiences that enhance day-to-day leisure, work, convenience and health. Such devices can also have data-input capabilities as well as local storage. Key factors that drive the appeal of wearables are the increasingly smaller and more sophisticated chip and battery technologies which create a closer relationship between wearable devices and the human body (Wearabledevices.com). Wearables are devices worn close to the body, on the body and even in the body. Examples of wearable devices include watches, glasses, contact lenses, e-textiles and smart fabrics, and micro-chips or even smart tattoos. A popular Swiss wearable technology start-up which is also captured in the Start-up monitor directory is noonee. Noonee provides a wearable technology which enables factory workers to relax their muscles and sit down while working without a chair. The device is worn on the legs and allows the user to freely sit, walk or run. Wearable devices are not only for humans; pet owners can sync their pets with the latest gadgets. For example, DogsSense tracks a dog's behavior, activity, health indications and location through a sophisticated sensor and delivers early indications of health issues and immediate suggestions for improvements. These new wearable products often appear to be fun gadgets, but some predict that this technology will have a game-changing influence and the potential to disrupt the modern business world (Forbes). The recent report “Wearable Technology 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts ” estimates the power of the wearable electronics business to go from $20 billion in 2015 to almost $70 billion in 2025 and predicts that the healthcare sector will remain the dominant sector, merging medical, fitness and wellness industries. However, due to the massive amounts of new data, ensuring data privacy and protection remains a major challenge. The sensitive nature of the data and the uncertainty about how the information can be used by third parties raises privacy concerns for consumers. Privacy advocates say, for example, that user data could end up in the hands of firms that customize credit card offers based on users’ shopping habits or determine insurance rates based on eating habits, all based on data collected through wearable devices (Washington Post). As more sensors and devices show up on the market, government intervention will become crucial. The privacy concerns of wearables are already a hot topic in Switzerland. A more stringent data protection law was demanded at a conference which took place in Bern at the beginning of this year named Datenschutztag 2015: «Verfolgt auf Schritt und Tritt – Ist unsere Privatsphäre durch GesundheitsApps und Wearables in Gefahr?».

The Swiss Start-up Monitor is a joint research initiative of the University of St.Gallen, ETH Zurich and University of Basel supported by the Commission of Technology and Innovation (CTI), Gebert Rüf Stiftung and AVINA Stiftung. The main goal is to build up an exclusive panel of Swiss start-ups in order to foster entrepreneurship on a micro- and on a macro-economic level. This aim will be achieved by collecting and analyzing data of Swiss start-ups on an aggregate and anonymous level, providing high data security and user controllability at any time. The recent sample size is 1832 start-ups in the public directory and 791 in the private area for registered user. Visit the Start-up Monitor Homepage to get more information: www.startupmonitor.ch.