Swisspreneur Show

Timestamps: 6:35 - Buying back their startup after an exit 32:42 - Building Octive  37:10 - Entering the US market 37:31 - Building in Switzerland vs US Episode Description Mershad Javan is the Head of Europe for GoDigital, formally known as Octiive, a global music distribution and promotion platform that empowers independent artists to publish and monetize their work worldwide. Originally from Ca...

Timestamps: 10:37 - Liquidity in the Swiss market without IPOs  23:12 - What areas are attracting funding in Switzerland 36:55 - Europe vs US 45:22 - The guests predictions for 2026 This episode was co-produced with ⁠Swiss Startup Days⁠ , the leading Swiss deep-tech catalyst event for startups, investors, enablers, and corporates. Checkout Newcomers - the ultimate pitching format for pre-seed and...

Timestamps: 9:03 - Challenges in AI and Robotics 17:55 - Mimics core customer segment 23:00 - The role of the ETH network 25:46 - The future vision for Mimic Episode description: Stefan Weirich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mimic , a deep tech startup building foundation AI models for robotic manipulation that enables robots to react, self-correct, and handle real-world variability beyond hard-code...

Timestamps: 11:09 -  Use-cases for BTRYs technology  15:57 - Challenges in scaling production 20:43 - The Swiss startup ecossystem 23:11 - Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs This episode was co-produced with Swiss Startup Days , the leading Swiss deep-tech catalyst event for startups, investors, enablers, and corporates. Checkout Newcomers - the ultimate pitching format for pre-seed and seed startu...

Timestamps: 7:30 - The problem that led Christian to found derma2go 13:27 - Creating a “win-win” hybrid model 20:08 - Building a two-sided marketplace 30:07 - Raising money with discipline This episode is co-produced with Innosuisse , the Swiss Innovation Agency. Innosuisse supports SMEs, startups, research institutions and other Swiss organisations in their research and development activities. Th...

Timestamps: 7:06 - What Irmos does 16:13 - The information gap that Irmos is solving for 22:51  - Why Irmos delayed raising a large financing round 31:53 - What’s next for Irmos This episode was co-produced with KickFund , a VC fund investing in the most promising Swiss deeptech startups. Episode Summary: In this episode we sit down with Panagiotis Martakis , Founder and CEO of Irmos Technologies...

Timestamps: 10:01 - What RTDT does 21:03 - Creating a team and spinning-off from ETH 26:19 - Getting financing for Hardware 32:08 - The One-Customer rule Episode summary: In this episode, we sit down with Imad Abdallah , Co-Founder & CEO of RTDT , a spin-off from ETH Zurich developing one of the world’s first systems to measure real aerodynamic behavior directly on wind turbine blades. After s...

Timestamps: 11:36 - Learning from users and iterating the product 19:22 - Saying no to misaligned revenue and long-term thinking 25:05 - The hard moments (tough calls and running out of money) 40:10 - Life after the exit and letting go Episode Summary: Marco Cerqui is the co-founder and former CEO of Bring ! - Switzerland's most widely used shared grocery shopping app. With a background in sof...

Timestamps: 7:30 - Impact vs profit maximizing 19:48 - The price of saying no to investors and customers 25:17 - How bootstrapping vs VC funding impact speed and focus 30:54 - Defining success: short global impact story vs sustainable and long-term growth  This episode was produced by Founders Hive, a community of successful startup founders, industry experts, and investors promoting entrepreneurs...

Timestamps : 3:05 - From burning out from the 9-5 to becoming an entrepreneur 8:33 - Scaling properti to an industry leader in 5 years 14:00 - How Levent’s role shifted throughout properti’s growth 22:11 - What’s next for properti This episode was sponsored by infinity.swiss , Switzerland’s most advanced AI accounting tool. Save 25% by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout. Episode Summary: In ou...

Timestamps: 2:23 - The story behind Google Clouds Founder Story 8:45 - Uber’s pre-IPO hypergrowth 25:19 - Is Switzerland Good at Adopting AI?  44:29 - How Swiss founders can expand into the US This episode was sponsored by Google Cloud . Join their The Founder's Story event on December 4th to hear an exclusive panel discussion with visionary leaders sharing what it takes to go from building compan...

Timestamps: 4:58 - Diversity in tech: challenges and opportunities 6:08 - Recruiting challenges in tech 13:00 - Supporting girls in STEM This episode was sponsored by Google Cloud . Join their Founder's Story event on December 4th to hear an exclusive panel discussion with visionary leaders sharing what it takes to go from building companies to funding them. Link is in the bio! This episode wa...

Timestamps: 3:30 - Identifying a market gap in legal tech  10:06 - What is “smart money” after all? 16:22 - How do you go from researcher to CEO? 25:55 - The biggest risk for every scaleup 36:20 - Is Switzerland a hotbed for AI? This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading th...

Timestamps: 6:38 The birth of Cradle  21:36 Convincing Skeptics and Finding Product-Market Fit 28:29 Raising Capital and Choosing the Right VCs 35:21 Europe’s missed opportunities (and how to fix them) Episode Summary: Stef Van Grieken , CEO and Co-founder of Cradle , the AI biotech startup helping scientists design better proteins in record time and pioneering the intersection of AI and biology,...

Timestamps 04:53 - Product-Led vs. Sales-Led Growth 14:22 - How to Educate a Slow-Moving Market 24:43 - Sales Metrics in a product vs sale- led approach 34:16 - Choosing between product-led or sales-led This episode was produced by Founders Hive — a community of founders, experts, and investors driving entrepreneurship in Switzerland. We support early-stage startups in becoming investment-ready an...

Timestamps: 05:45 - From Scientist to Startup CEO 16:23 - Winning the Industries Trust With Data 28:33 - The Hidden Cost of Scaling Too Fast 47:31 - The Hard Truth About Going Public Episode Summary: Jurgi Camblong is the Co-Founder and CEO of SOPHiA GENETICS , a Swiss company using data-driven medicine to empower healthcare professionals worldwide. With a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Univers...

Timestamps: 05:55 - From Lab Work to Startup Workshops 10:49 - Finding the Right Co-Founders 1 6:24 - Spinning Out of ETH and Proving the Tech 34:21 - Fundraising and Resilience This episode was co-produced with KickFund , a VC fund investing in the most promising Swiss deeptech startups. Episode Summary: ⁠Estelle Clerc ⁠ is the Co-Founder and CEO of ⁠ CellX Biosolutions ⁠, a Swiss biotech startup...

Timestamps: 6:51 - Is it possible to protect your mental health as a Founder? 20:00 - How to know when you’ve transitioned from a startup to a scale-up? 23:42 - What creates the most pressure for Founders? 35:49 - How do we build up resilience? This episode was co-produced with Innovaud , the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud. Episode Summary: Sahar Hosseinian , Co-...

Timestamps: 02:25 - Why Angels Invest Beyond Returns 05:40 - Spotting the Gap in Word of Mouth Marketing 10:00 - Investing in Founders, Not Just Ideas 18:48 - Scaling from Switzerland to Europe (and Beyond) This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. Episode Summary: Pascal Sollberger is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Hypt , a Swiss startup helping bus...

Timestamps: 5:20 - Helping European companies set up shop in China 11:43 - SICTIC’s investment program for kids 17:57 - Building AI models to predict fundraising success 26:00 - How being a young investor changes your perspective This episode was co-produced by SICTIC , the leading angel investor network in Switzerland. This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading t...

Timestamps: 3:31 - What’s the best tech team setup? 16:05 - Using OKRs for your tech team 32:53 - The more you automate, the higher the tech debt? 37:21 - Marketing the product before you even build it This episode was originally a live webinar co-hosted with Holycode , a software development partner that's helped more than 140 startups scale by providing customized products and teams for ever...

Timestamps 12:16 — Bootstrapping mindset, MVP building, and milestone-based rounds. 17:50 — The trade-offs of bringing VCs on board versus angels. 27:58 —   Honest discussion of founder stress, cash flow, and mental health. 41:46 — Final takeaways and practical advice for first-time founders. This episode was produced by Founders Hive — a community of founders, experts, and investors driving entre...

Timestamps: 13:04 - Spotting untapped markets through first-hand pain 18:49 - Turning CO2 roadmaps into revenue models 26:06 - Building recurring revenues in a capex-heavy industry 32:16 - Why sustainability is already profitable This episode was co-produced with SEF-Growth , the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss startups and SMEs with growth plans free of charge. Check...

Timestamps 00:00 – Tour of Andreas’ self-built "culinary village" (bakery, guesthouse, fermentation lab). 08:05 – The startup struggle: Bootstrapping with 4 people and sleeping in the restaurant. 13:22 – Losing his co-founder/girlfriend: Why he almost quit (but didn’t). 19:06 – Monetization secrets: Licensing deals, Hublot/Audi partnerships, and why "brands need stories." 22:35...

Timestamps: 9:00 – What Is Venture Kick and Kickfund? 12:55 – Why Wanja Joined Kickfund  18:45 – Why Founders & Investors Love Kickfund  27:05 – The Long-Term Vision This episode was co-produced with KickFund , a VC fund investing in the most promising Swiss deeptech startups. Check out the link in the bio/comments to learn more about them! Episode summary: Wanja Humanes is the CEO of Kickfund...