www.startup.ch
Publisher: ifj institut für jungunternehmen, 1st edition, October 2011
The besT swiss sTarTups of 2011
Top 1oo
excepTional The Top 100’s
recipe for success esTablished an interview with sensirion’s ceo, felix Mayer adapTable More and more young engineers are taking the leap into entrepreneurship enThusiasTic logitech founder daniel borel on true entrepreneurial spirit
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Tiny Switzerland takes center stage once again For the first time in Switzerland, the 100 best startups of the year have been selected. The founders of these 100 entrepreneurial companies represent the future of our country because they are the young, dynamic firms that, with their power of innovation, are
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The recipe for success when starting a spinoff. More and more young Swiss engineers are taking the leap and developing their own products.
Contents
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Sensirion is setting the pace on the international sensor market and will soon be ready to go public. An interview with founder and CEO Felix Mayer.
causing a sensation internationally Claus Niedermann, Project Manager Top 100 Startups
and are creating jobs. With their
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innovations, they are bringing
The winners
a breath of fresh air into Switzer-
Optotune founders Mark Blum (left) and Manuel Aschwanden: their deformable lenses are revolutionizing optics.
land’s industrial landscape. When it comes to the startup scene, Switzerland can justifiably boast of its accomplishments – even though the country, with fewer than 8 million inhabitants, is not even half as large as cosmopolitan cities such as New York, London or Shanghai. “ Each year, Switzerland creates 10 to 20 startups with world-class technologies,” says
Alain Nicod, who has started multiple companies and is a close observer of the scene, in which he also invests as a business angel. Is Nicod’s claim correct? It would seem so, based on what you can read on the following
Pages 22 to 31
Rankings #11 to #100 Rankings, companies and sectors: a fascinating insight into the boundless creativity of the young Swiss economy.
pages and on the Internet at www.startup.ch. That’s because the best Swiss startups are indeed world class!
IMPRINT Publisher IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen Kirchlistrasse 1 9010 St. Gallen Tel. 071 242 98 98 Fax 071 242 98 99 info@ifj.ch www.ifj.ch Project Manager Claus Niedermann claus.niedermann@jnb.ch Editorial team Jost Dubacher jost.dubacher@jnb.ch Stefan Kyora stefan.kyora@jnb.ch Journalistenbüro Niedermann GmbH Hirschmattstrasse 33 6003 Lucerne Tel. 041 226 20 80 Fax 041 226 20 89 info@jnb.ch www.mediacontact.ch
Translation Supertext AG, Zurich www.supertext.ch Proofreading Lynne Constable Lucerne info@englishedits.ch Photo credits Cover: Fotolia Table of contents: Ben Huggler (3) Fred Podolak (1) Design and layout Bernet & Schönenberger, Zurich www.typographie.ch
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A woman with influence Sought after in the pharmaceuticals industry: Bettina Ernst, founder and CEO of Preclin Biosystems.
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What fascinates Daniel Borel about Silicon Valley? What characterizes a true entrepreneur? Read this commentary by Logitech’s founder.
Print dfmedia Druckerei Flawil AG www.dfmedia.ch Date of publication October 2011 ©IFJ and Journalistenbüro Niedermann GmbH Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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We kick for the World Cup When we’re talking about innovative high-tech start-ups, then we’ve already qualified for the European finals long ago and that isn’t even the beginning of it. Switzerland is among the world’s top players concerning innovation. We at venture kick make sure that it stays this way by supporting entrepreneurial projects at Universities with up to CHF 130’000 in prize money. Since 2007, 190 start-up projects have been supported to the tune of CHF 7 Mio. in seed capital and coaching. As a result, 140 innovative companies totaling by far more than 1000 new jobs have been created.
www.venturekick.ch
Stemergie Biotechnology, ranked 19 th in the TOP 100, supported by venture kick
TOP 100 Background
Insiders and their “stars” “
T H E TOP 10 0 S TA R T U P S P R O J E C T
One hundred experts, all extremely well networked in the Swiss startup scene, have played the role of kingmaker and have selected the current 100 best startups in Switzerland.
Thousands of startups struggle day after day to get capital, orders and customers. To make their daily efforts somewhat easier, these emerging companies need a platform that gives them higher visibility. One of the initiators of this project is Beat Schillig (top), Managing Partner of the IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen (Institute for Startups), which has been actively supporting new companies since the 1990s. Next is Jordi Montserrat (above), who together with Schillig is responsible for the venturlab training program conducted under the auspices of the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI ). In addition, Schillig and Montserrat also manage venture kick, an initiative to supply seed capital to university spin offs. A co-initiator is the businessman and journalist Claus Niedermann. The project’s ideals and financing are supported by CTI, the Gebert Rüf Foundation, the Swiss trade promotion organization OSEC and Ernst & Young.
TEXT: CLAUS NIEDERMANN
The concept for the selection of the Top 100 Startups for 2011 is simple and transparent: 100 expert insiders vote for the 100 best recently formed companies in Switzerland. For this purpose, startups must be the result of people establishing their own companies; in other words, true pioneering efforts. Spinoffs from existing companies were excluded during the selection. In addition, the startups must have been established in 2006 or later. If a company changed its legal status during this time, such as by converting a GmbH into a stock corporation, it was also not considered for the Top 100 selection. But who should have the task of selecting Switzerland’s best 100 startups, especially considering that roughly 30,000 new companies are founded here each year? Not an easy undertaking at all! Nonetheless, there are indeed some high-flying young companies that, with their innovations and technological advances, have caused a sensation not only in domestic markets but internationally as well. These are frequently spinoffs from universities and technical colleges. In order to start marketing their innovations, which come
predominantly from the high-tech sector, these entrepreneurs often need the assistance of sector insiders, support agencies, technology transfer offices, business angels and professional investors. So it became clear that these very experts, who help emerging companies deal with their problems on a daily basis, would be the best people to determine the top 100 startups. Through their clients and activities, these 100 experts represent virtually every business angel network, investor platform, business incubator, technology park, training and coaching program for startups, and business plan competition (such as venture kick, venture, W. A . de Vigier, etc.). One concern during the selection was also that the experts needed to take into consideration a wide range of business sectors and regions of the country (see the list of all the experts on pages 32 and 33). These 100 extremely well networked experts have voted and come to a common decision. Each of them put together and submitted a personal ranking of the 10 startups that impressed them the most. The list starting on page 14 presents the results of consolidating all of this input.
L I S T I N G O F T H E TO P 10 0
100 selected from more than 200,000 The experts who determined the Top 100 named a total of several hundred companies. Despite this large number, the firms on the experts’ radar screens are only a small subset of the more than 200,000 companies that have sprung up in Switzerland since 2006. Even so, there’s a high probability that the next Logitech has made it on to the list since these investors, supporters and other experts focus on young technology companies with excellent management teams and exceptional products. Companies that slipped through this net are likely to be operated by entrepreneurs who have avoided contact with the community of Swiss supporters and investors.
This ranking represents a snapshot of the present moment. At the top are those companies that have been able to report significant recent successes. At the fast pace set by the founders of the top startups, this ranking would surely look somewhat different if compiled just two months later. Multiple emerging companies are attempting to complete a round of financing or negotiate key contracts with sales partners or customers. For this reason, it will be worthwhile to keep tracking these 100 Top Startups – a few of them are sure to be making headlines soon.
The initiators
IMAGES: PD
THE SELECTION OF THE TOP 100 STARTUPS FOR 2011
O U T S I D E T H E E VA LU AT I O N
Top spinoffs
The list does not contain spinoffs from major corporations. You can’t really consider these former departments that subsequently become independent entities as true newly established companies. Even so, because these young companies also have considerable potential, we would like to highlight three in particular that were named by the experts. They are CeQur (www.cequrcorp.com), a spinoff from Danfoss that has developed an insulin pump; Okairos (www.okairos.com), a spinoff from Merck that specializes in vaccines; and Selfrag (www.selfrag.com), a mechanical engineering company with roots in the Ammann Group in Langenthal.
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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An economic fountain of youth Daring to launch a product: ever more university graduates are founding high-tech companies and aiming their sights at world markets. TexT: JoST DubaCher
The Computation of Linear Speed for Vi- sual Flight Control in Drosophila melanogaster – this was the title of Nicola Rohrseitz’s doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Neuroinformatics at ETH Zurich, which he submitted in autumn 2009. In it, Rohrseitz proves that the common fruit fly is able to precisely measure its speed in flight, and he also explains how the fly does it. The solution to the puzzle is in the fly’s wide-angle eyes. This “fish eye” structure allows the fly to correlate the spatial and temporal changes in its field of vision and to use that information to calculate his speed – “on board” and without any rotating axis. It sounds quite academic but it’s really not – the fly uses only 100,000 nerve cells to accomplish what a Formula 1 engineer needs considerable computing power and expensive camera systems to do. Taking this “fish eye” structure as a mo- del, Rohrseitz developed a filtering method 6
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
for temporal and spatial data, filed it as a patent and founded ViSSee (#34 ) shortly after getting his PhD. The company’s purpose is to develop and market a semiconductor-based optical speed sensor that sells for just a few Swiss francs.
Intensive support for the entrepreneur Things have progressed at a rapid pace since then. An article in the US engineering journal IEEE Spectrum drew General Motors’ attention to the Ticino startup. Since then, Rohrseitz has been to the US four times. A system-on-a-chip that can be put into industrial production is in development. ViSSee is no isolated case, as a look at the list of the best Swiss startups shows. A solid two-thirds of the company founders have a university background and have commercialized knowledge that they, to-
gether with their professors, have created in university laboratories. This brain-to-brain technology transfer is highly efficient and is being intensively supported in Switzerland. The Swiss Fe- deral Commission for Technology and In- novation (CTI ), for instance, offers comprehensive coaching for entrepreneurs. In addition, CTI finances the “venturelab” – a program where potential entrepreneurs learn to put together a business plan, make a convincing presentation to investors and conquer markets. Since the program began in 2004, venturelab has conducted 2,400 days of courses at various universities and technical colleges. In the process, this modularly designed offer has reached roughly 19,000 people in institutions of higher learning and potential company founders. This situation contrasts starkly with that in the past. In the early 1990s Switzerland was among the countries in Europe
Image: Ben Huggler
with the slowest growth. While emerging high-tech firms in the US such as Microsoft or Intel were causing an international sensation, in this country there was little resembling any kind of dynamic entre- preneurial scene – with the exception of the W. A. de Vigier Foundation’s entrepreneur prize and Technopark Zurich, which was still small at the time. The year of the turnaround was 1996. The McKinsey consulting company, together with ETH Zurich, created a business plan competition called Venture, and in Bern, CTI launched its entrepreneur initiative, CTI Start-up. Since then there’s been a fundamental change in the mindset at universities and colleges. For young engineers and scientists, a position in the R & D department of a large corporation is no longer their top professional goal. “Starting a company has an exceptionally positive image among students,” confirms Marjan Kraak, who is responsible for
technology marketing at ETH Zurich. The numbers confirm what she says. In the last 10 years alone, the number of spin-offs at her university has more than doubled to in excess of 20 per year. And the trend, according to Kraak, will certainly continue. That’s not something you can always take for granted. Thomas A. Gutzwiller, Director of the Executive School of Management, Technology and Law at the University of St. Gallen, draws on knowledge from brain research when he describes the leap from developer to a successful high-tech entrepreneur. During engineering studies, the analytical left half of the brain is predominately used. “On the right side, there’s a lack of organizational energy that can also be transferred to others.” In other words, university courses don’t adequately address what’s critical for successfully building up a growth-oriented company, specifically issues dealing with personnel management, sales or dealing with investors. However, today’s generation of entrepreneurs is learning fast. They place great value on the awareness of organizational dynamics and social skills. “A manager doesn’t have to prove every day that he’s the best development engineer on the team,” explains Dorian Selz, CEO of the Internet company Nektoon (#40). A trained business IT specialist, Selz heads up the development of the search portal local.ch. He knows that a good business person is also a motivator and coach.
Entrepreneurs must quickly become customer-oriented At the same time, a high-tech entrepreneur must have a feel for customers and markets. Zurich resident Stefan Tuchschmid is an internationally recognized expert in the interface between medicine and software. His company VirtaMed (#30 ) develops and markets simulators for endoscopic procedures. “Our original target markets,” relates Tuchschmid, “were hospitals and medical training centers.” Then, however, he started seeing an increasing number of inquiries from a totally different area; manufacturers of endoscopic equipment recognized that the VirtaMed unit was exceptionally well suited as a tool for sales support. Tuchschmid quickly modified his business model. Instead of a standard training simulator, today he builds customer-specific demonstration units. “For young entrepreneurs, learning to orient their efforts towards customer re-
quirements often involves a steep learning curve,” states Walter Steinlin, President of CTI and thus the person with the most responsibility in the country for promoting startups. He adds that the coaches at CTI Start-up thus have a clear philosophy: “The only people who are ultimately successful are those who not only sell a product but who also work with customers to put together a package of services.” One way to implement this guideline is illustrated by Celeroton (#17). The compa- ny founded by CEO Martin Bartholet is among the world’s technology leaders for small electric drives. “Originally,” recalls the founder, “we wanted to operate only as an OEM supplier.” Experience soon showed, though, that he could expand the customer base by pushing further back into the value added chain. Today Celeroton also makes complete compressors. Entrepreneurs such as Bartholet, Tuchschmid and Selz speak the language of purchasing agents and managers. That is something potential investors like to hear. In addition, a dynamic scene of venture capitalists, business angels and lawyers Image: pD
Cows: Trauffer HolzspIelwaren
Top 100 In Focus
Walter Steinlin, President of the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI), plays a critical role in Switzerland’s innovation scene.
has also emerged around the university spin-offs; these people specialize in meeting the needs of growing tech companies. Even the notorious bottleneck in obtaining seed capital has been eased. The “venture kick” initiative, which is sponsored by private foundations, provides selected spin-offs with as much as CHF 130,000 in grants. Since it was established in 2007, more than CHF 7 million has already found its way into this youthful sector of the Swiss economy. Besides the change in mindset and an increasingly professional environment, there’s another reason for the boom in spin-offs from Swiss universities. Technologies, semi-finished products and personnel resources are easier to procure from across national borders as a result of globalization – even for unknown startups. More and more companies are “born global” and operate in the worldwide networked Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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economy as if it were the most natural thing in the world. An example of this is the scanner mouse developed by Michael Born, cofounder of Dacuda (#2), and his partners. As a fabrication site, only Asia was considered. Thus, Born made trips to potential partners in Taiwan and Korea as soon as a prototype was available. “ The doors were wide open,” recalls Born, “even at the biggest names in the electronics industry.” Nowadays even marketing capacity can be created or expanded on the international market. For instance, HouseTrip (#8 ), an international tourism platform, markets its services from metropolitan London. The decisive factor in the selection of this site was the availability of trained personnel. “Today’s high-tech entrepreneur pulls together financial, technological and personnel resources,” says CTI President Steinlin. The origin of these resources depends on the value-added chain they are addressing. The businessman as a lone warrior is a thing of the past; the future belongs to those who network.
High rate of success with young technology firms Approaching a business as a project, with the goal of generating optimal customer benefit within a specific timeframe, also increases the survival rate. Of the 130 ETH spin-offs established between 1997 and 2007, nearly 90 percent are still in business. Conversely, a clear-eyed professional attitude toward founding a business has resulted in the emergence of a new type of career – the “serial entrepreneur.” Nektoon is not the first company that Dorian Selz has founded; similarly, Bruno Oesch at Malcisbo (# 9), Edouard Lambelet at paper.li (#7 ) and Michael Friedrich at Aïmago (#10 ) all have prior experience. Friedrich, who received a PhD in microsystems engineering, took his first steps as an entrepreneur while still in high school. As the co-founder of Berne Byte Bears, he started a price-comparison platform for mobile telephone rates that he and his partners later sold to Comparis. Today with Aïmago − which emerged from the Parc Scientific at ETH Lausanne − he is selling a camera system that performs non-contact visualization of tissue blood circulation. He has pushed into interna- tional markets and won CTI ’s Medtech Award in 2011. Still, he says, “I don’t think I’ll stay in my current position forever.” 8
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
Image: Ben Huggler
Top 100 In Focus
beST PraCTICe
A culture of sales without exploding costs Many business angels and venture capitalists are convinced that compared with their counterparts in other countries, Swiss high-tech entrepreneurs place too little emphasis on sales. as a result they are likely to pass up opportunities for growth. Indeed, the typical reserved character of the Swiss may sometimes restrain them, but businessmen such as herbert bay are helping them get up to speed. While working at the eTh Computer Vision Laboratory, bay developed SurF , a faster, more robust algorithm for recognizing image content. The technology allows the linking of a physical object or its image with supplemental digital information. This innovation has been marketed since 2007 by the spin-off Kooaba (#16). “ We’re addressing both companies and private individuals,” says Ceo bay. For individuals, SurF applications are available as mobile phone apps distributed for free because the most important thing here is creating awareness of the technology. Kooaba generates revenue and profit in the b2b sector through oeM customers that have integrated the image-recognition technology into their own products, as well as through companies in the publishing and advertising sectors that want to link their print and online activities. It’s a tough business in these times as advertising revenues continue to shrink, but bay has adapted to the situation. he hired his first experienced sales person after the first round of financing in april 2008. That person had previously worked for one of his customers and made an immediate impact. “In retrospect I’ve got to call that a true stroke of luck,” admits bay. of 100 people applying for a sales position only a handful are usually viable, while some flops can hide behind excellent resumes. If a businessman doesn’t weed these out right away, things can get expensive. The reason: in the b2b sector it often takes longer than three months to close a deal, so it’s virtually impossible
A role model when it comes to sales: Herbert Bay, Kooaba.
to evaluate a sales person within the legal trial period. he must be permanently hired and, if later let go, continues to be paid for at least three months, during which he’s likely to be unproductive. Then there is another search for a successor and that new person must learn the ropes at his new company. For this reason, bay developed a multi-stage selection process. The highlight is what is known as a case study, which involves the candidate selecting an object that he must then sell to Kooaba’s top man. The second decisive interview follows only when this first hurdle has been overcome. These steps alone, though, aren’t enough with a new hire. bay places considerable value on how well someone integrates. That curbs the star allure of the very top salespeople, while also preventing those who are less successful from blaming their lack of sales closings on product shortcomings. “Managing a sales team takes plenty of time,” notes the 37-year-old, but he enjoys doing it. he’s not one of those engineers who is overly concerned with status when making a sale. he learned to overcome that while a student, working part time as a telephone salesman and doing store promotions to pay for his education.
eer!
The swiss
national start-up team is trained by
venturelab ojektmanager/in
The same is true for most of the
Since its beginnings in 2004, about 20 000 people, passionate about startups have benefited from venturelab training. From introductory events to semester long power workshops, we have it all. The 20 best – the venture leaders – fly every year as the Swiss national start-up team to Boston to pitch to international industrials and investors.
www.venturelab.ch
TOP 100
“Nothing is tougher than the automotive sector” Sensirion CEO Felix Mayer has been successful where many others have only dared to dream. Together with his partner, Moritz Lechner, he has built an enterprise that is setting standards around the world.
IMAGES: BEN HUGGLER
INTERVIEW: JOST DUBACHER
Mr. Meyer, Sensirion doesn’t publish any corporate performance figures. Even so, is there any way you can express your company’s success in hard numbers? Felix Mayer: At the moment we have 250 employees and in the last few years have experienced rapid growth. In 2009 the rate was 34 percent, in 2010 it was 60 percent, and in the current year we expect a currency-adjusted increase in sales of 20 percent or more. Double-digit growth in sales during the worst economic crisis since World War II – how ever do you do it? The secret to our success is the uniqueness of our products. We manufacture sensors for measuring humidity and temperature, the fl ow of liquids and gases, and pressure differential. And to date we are the only company that can integrate these sensors along with the necessary electronics on a single microchip. True, but within the field of microsystems engineering, haven’t people been working on the “system on a chip” concept for years? Here you have to draw a distinction. The essential point with a sensor is the conversion of a specifi c physical parameter into an analog voltage. Then this electrical sig10
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
nal is converted into a digital one that can be processed by a computer. Some physical parameters can be converted directly into an electrical signal by silicon, and light waves are one of these. The camera chip in your mobile phone is based on this property. Water molecules, in contrast, do not interact with silicon. If you want to measure humidity you have to refi ne the chip; you must add the sensor circuitry to the chip in multiple process steps. Our technology platform allows us to do exactly that. Sensirion was founded in 1998 with the intention of commercializing the techno-
“Satisfied customers are the best way to fight off competition”
logy platform you just mentioned. Now we’re in 2011. It’s astonishing that nobody has yet tried to copy what you do. Well, it certainly helps that we have roughly 60 international patents in our portfolio. I would also like to emphasize, though, that we are not just technology leaders; in the premium quality segment, we are also number one in terms of volume. How are your competitors reacting to all this? Some have become our customers and have integrated our products into their own. Others live from their sensors from the period before Sensirion. Certain products have a long life cycle and were developed before our sensors existed. Is it fair to say that you’ve not only taken over the market but have virtually revolutionized it? Yes, you could say that without exaggerating at all. Despite this strong market position, half of your employees are still active in R & D. You invest roughly 20 percent of revenues in innovation. Sensors continue to become smaller, more reliable, more precise and multifunctional. Today, for example, a good gas fl ow sensor also measures the gas temperature.
Top 100 Interview
What role do customer requests play in your R & D? An absolutely central role. Satisfied customers are the best way to fight off com- petition. Here I take a certain amount of pride in being able to say that Sensirion has not lost a single customer in the past 13 years. Sensors are considered the sensory organs in computers. Along with computers, sensors have become ubiquitous in the last few years. In which sectors is demand the strongest? We are very heavily represented in medical technology. A patient in an intensive care unit is monitored around the clock. If a patient is ventilated, for example, a gas flow sensor measures how much oxygen is actually getting through the tube. We are also heavily involved in the H VAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) sector as well as in the automotive industry. That last phrase brings something to mind. If you read business plans from technology startups, the word “automotive” comes up again and again. In your opinion, is that market actually as lucrative as everyone seems to think? Cars are technological marvels and they’re manufactured in large numbers. In that regard, it is indeed a great thing for any company to become a supplier in this market… But…? At the same time it’s an extremely tough sector to do business in. The requirements on quality, reliability and price are enormous all the way down to the very last parts supplier in the chain. That sector is mature, and supplier relationships are well established. For a new company without any track record in other industries, it’s practically impossible to gain a foothold.
F E l I x M AY E R After completing an apprenticeship in electronics and his studies in physics, Felix Mayer earned his PhD at the Physical Electronics laboratory at ETH Zurich. He then used the findings of his doctoral dissertation in the area of sensors as the basis for forming a company with his business partner, Moritz lechner. Today Sensirion is an internationally active high-tech concern with subsidiaries in the US, Japan, South Korea and China. Mayer won the 2004 Swiss Economic Award and in 2010 was named “Entrepreneur of the Year”. Now aged 46, he is involved in promoting startup companies and sits on the Board of Directors at the ETH spinoff Optotune, which is located in Dübendorf.
That is somewhat sobering. What can a startup do to at least get a bit closer to achieving that significant goal? As a newcomer you have to study trends in the sector and, at just the right time, be ready with a product that creates true added value. How did that work for you back then? We entered that market in 2006 – that was eight years after the company was foun- ded, when we already had 50 employees and had built up our own production capabilities. We started discussions because of a humidity sensor that sticks on the wind- shield directly at the base of the rear view mirror. It controls the air-conditioning system, which can turn itself on shortly before the windshield fogs up. That seems like a real luxury item… Not at all! An air-conditioning system often runs when it doesn’t need to, and having it turned on increases a car’s fuel consump- tion by several percent. An intelligently controlled air conditioner saves gas and reduces a car’s CO 2 emissions. Which automotive brands are in your customer base? I prefer not to list specific names. However, you can assume that most German cars and practically all cars in the premium segments around the world are equipped with our sensors. Your export ratio is 98 percent. As a Swiss SME (small to medium-sized enterprise), how have you managed to achieve such a high level of internationalization? Let me start off by saying that we have never manufactured exclusively for the Swiss market. We are what some people would call “born global.” Concerning our leap into international business, I can simply say that we’re not dealing with an exact Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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Top 100 Interview science. You must have a good network of contacts, expand it continuously and be smart about taking advantage of it. And right here in Switzerland, with its many international corporations, the conditions for doing just that are excellent. You manufacture exclusively in the town of Stäfa, and in fact this past July you moved into a new manufacturing facility. Does this create a problem when you think about the current turbulence in foreign exchange rates? Of course, it hurts us that the Swiss franc is so strong at the moment. Virtually the only thing we procure from other currency regions are the wafers for the electronics we develop, and the majority of the remaining creation of added value is accomplished domestically. We pay our employee wages almost exclusively in Swiss francs. Politicians are starting to respond. The Federal Council and Parliament want to increase funding for innovation. Will that help? As a representative of Switzerland as an industrial center, I feel compelled to say clearly that this simply isn’t enough. I’m not professionally trained in fiscal policy, but I believe that the Central Bank should have started printing more money earlier. The danger of inflation is an argument for not doing so… Inflation is only a problem for the wealthy and pension funds. Anyone working in Switzerland and who is trying to create something isn’t afraid of massive currency devaluation. How serious is the situation for our export-based economy? Extremely serious, and I’m especially worried about the future. Which entrepreneurs and managers will continue to invest in Switzerland when they know that at any time there could be such a massive currency revaluation of the Swiss franc? Many well-run companies are in the red because of currency effects. And Sensirion? For us, the strong Swiss franc is turning an excellent year into a difficult one. We would be able to afford another 60 employees if the exchange rate had remained where it still was in 2009. Although we’re not operating in the red, we are holding back on investments. Were there moments in the company’s history when you had doubts about its success? Things were really touch and go only in the months following 9/11. Back then, we were still doing development work for other companies. After 9/11, most of these con12
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tracts were cancelled, and we had to re-orient the company. Who assisted in this? The business angel who had already invested in our company increased his commitment, and we started to concentrate more on our own products and less on engineering services. Professional investors always want to take their profits at some point. Is there already an exit plan for your investors? Over the medium term we want to take the company public. I believe we’ve already reached the level of maturity needed to do
“You always have to be able to take criticism, which requires having a constant errorcorrection mechanism in place”
so. Beyond that, we have to look for the point in time best suited for an IPO . As for yourself, you’re a trained physicist. Many technically oriented people have difficulty switching to management. But not you? No. The conversion didn’t take place overnight. You grow into such a role. As for me, an added factor is that I’m not really your typical tech-head, anyway. If I hadn’t founded a company, perhaps I’d now be the director of research at a large corporation. How important are opportunities to take part in managerial training and continuing education? In simple terms, it seems to me that a course or seminar must have some concrete relationship to a professional challenge. If I as an engineer am suddenly put in charge of a development team, I can certainly learn a great deal from an experienced instructor. In our country, you and company co-founder Moritz lechner are among the absolute leading role models as entrepreneurs. There’s no important business prize you haven’t already won. How do you manage to keep your feet on the ground? You always have to be able to take criticism, which requires having a constant error-correction mechanism in place – a type of feedback loop that includes every- one involved in the company’s success, specifically customers and employees. Studies show that entrepreneurs work between 70 and 80 hours a week. What was your situation? I also had to work long hours, of course, and often during weekends, which definitely isn’t healthy. And today? How do you achieve the much quoted work-life balance? I have three children who naturally take up much of my time and wouldn’t even consider letting me spend all my time at work. My partnership with my wife and family has always been very important for my personal well-being. And if I could give just one tip to today’s budding entrepreneurs, it would be this: make sure you discuss your plans with your partner. He or she must realize what starting a company involves, especially considering the financial risks and the workload. If your partner isn’t on board, then it’s almost certainly going to be difficult.
What elevates companies to new heights? Helping clients capitalize on unexploited potential – that’s one of the things Ernst & Young does best. As a world leader in advising and guiding entrepreneurs we are proud to have implemented the only entrepreneurial program with a global dimension. The Entrepreneur Of The Year® award aims to honor outstanding entrepreneurs who rise above the competition. The sky‘s the limit. www.ey.com/ch/eoy
Image: BeN HUggLeR
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Something to smile about: Mark Blum (left) and Manuel Aschwanden.
founded in 2008 24 employees
A bright outlook for Optotune The adjustable lenses from Optotune represent a revolution in optics, and this startup has enormous potential: successful pilot projects are already underway in seven highly diverse application areas. TexT: STefan KyORa
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
Top 100 Ranking
Conditions were cramped when every- one crowded around the conference table at the former company headquarters in Dübendorf. Employees had to squeeze past each other uncomfortably to get to the coffee machine. Now that’s just a distant memory. The startup left Empa’s business incubator in early September and moved into a new facility in Dietikon that provides more than twice the space and much roomier offices. The primary reason for the move, however, becomes clear only when you take a tour. Two production machines are located in a large cleanroom, surrounded by numerous work areas for manual or semi-automated manufacturing steps. “Starting in January we will be able to manufacture midsized orders right here,” reveals CEO Manuel Aschwanden. Beginning high-volume production just four years after the company was founded is no easy feat. Optotune is based on a groundbreaking new technology that normally requires quite a long time to make the transition from the laboratory to highvolume production.
Optotune lenses need less space and energy The fundamental principles come from the dissertation co-founder Aschwanden wrote for his PhD. Obtaining a sharp image with a still camera, microscope or video camera currently requires a system made up of multiple lenses. Aschwanden came up with a radically different concept. His lenses consist of special plastics, known as elastic polymers, and a liquid. They are focused by deforming them, and thus they operate similar to the human eye. Whereas previously multiple lenses and complex mechanics were necessary, Optotune needs fewer lenses and minimal bending. This not only saves space, the deformable lenses also focus more quickly and need less energy to do so. These advantages make Optotune lenses ideal for came-
ras in mobile phones – a fact that gave the company a big boost coming out of the starting gate. Before the company was a year old, Aschwanden had already signed a contract with a U S telecommunications supplier. This supplier provided the startup with millions of dollars so it could develop lenses for mobile phone cameras. Thanks to these funds, Aschwanden and his cofounders Mark Blum and David Niederer were able to grow the firm without a single cent of venture capital.
Customers for pilot projects bring first revenues Today development of the mobile phone lens is progressing nicely. “ We have working prototypes, and now we’re working on achieving consistently good image qua- lity,” explains Aschwanden. At the same time, the technology transfer to the American partner company has already begun; it will manufacture and market the lens for the mobile phone market on its own. In 2010 the team faced the question of what to do following that transfer to the partner company, and they started looking for new business opportunities. To find suitable application areas, they left the confines of the office and headed out to visit trade shows and seek out customers for pilot projects. Besides bringing them closer to the marketplace, this approach also resulted in significant sales. As a result, the company’s staff has been gradually increased to more than 20 people. As a demonstration of the company’s potential, Blum points to six industrial sectors beyond mobile phone cameras that appear to have considerable promise. These include industrial cameras for tasks such as automated inspection in manufacturing, barcode scanning and microscopes as well as other, totally unrelated markets. These range from medical technology to laser projectors or even laser processing machines, such as for cutting or welding. “In the short term we see the biggest demand for our lenses in LED lamps,” remarks Blum, and it’s quite easy for him to demonstrate why. He picks up an LED bulb that has an Optotune lens mounted in front of it. With a slight turn of his hand he changes the illumination pattern from a spotlight into a floodlight. This can’t be done nearly as easily or elegantly with any other system. Such LED lamps should find applications especially in museums, stores or buil-
dings with special architectural features. Blum is convinced that “there’s a trend here toward LED lamps that we can take full advantage of.” For the lighting industry, Optotune will manufacture lenses that can be integrated quite easily into various designs. It’s a typical decision for this startup. Being close to the market is also a very important element for the technology. In his disserta- tion, Aschwanden developed the concept of an adjustment mechanism that works like an artificial muscle – an idea that attracted a good deal of interest at the time. These days, though, Optotune is working on a different, more cost-effective electromagnetic adjustment mechanism. Many company founders would probably find it hard to abandon a highly praised idea they developed themselves, but Aschwanden views it pragmatically. “If a technology can’t meet customer requirements at the desired price point, then you have to start looking for another solution. It’s a purely rational decision.” www.optotune.com
The 10 industrial sectors in the rankings The Top 100 list is characterized by technology companies, but there are startups with great potential in other sectors as well. A large selection of them can be found at www.startup.ch. Microtechnology, test & measurement, equipment design Software/ IT services Internet Software and services for mobile devices such as mobile phones and iPads Medical technology Biotech, pharmaceuticals Green technologies
entertainment Consumer products (clothing, sporting goods) financial management
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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2
founded in 2009 16 employees
From Zurich to desks around the world With their scanner mouse, the four founders of Dacuda have reached the mass market in record time – thanks to a deal with LG and the use of support services. TexT: STefan KyORa
lab course. Economist Michael Born and IT specialist Alexander Ilic registered for the course in the hope of finding a promising business idea. The four of them discovered they were clearly on the same wavelength and formed a team. The result of the course was an initial business plan, and shortly thereafter the four founded Dacuda. The software was further developed with assistance from seve- ral ETH institutes. Then an intensive period of travel began for CEO Ilic and CFO Born. The team had decided on what is known as an OEM model. Dacuda would develop the software and related technology, then license it to large electronics manufacturers located primarily in Asia and the USA.
IMAGe: PATrIC SPAhnI, SWISS eCOnOMIC FOruM
LG plans to conquer the market for IT accessories with the Swiss mouse
Scanning made easy: Michael Born (left) and Alexander Ilic.
Last summer, when the first distributors were placing orders for LG ’s new LSM-100, there was a rush to get this computer mouse. The reason for this sudden demand: the unit not only scans but can also recognize text and place it directly into a text file, and can do so in more than 190 languages. The technology behind this revolutionary mouse comes from the Zurich startup Dacuda. It all began just three years ago with some very powerful image-recognition software that compares as many as 400 images per second. The basis for this achievement came from work by Erik Fonseka and Martin Zahnert at ETH Zurich before they cofounded Dacuda. With this leading-edge technology, both engineers faced a typical challenge for many university spinoffs: they had to clarify how they could apply this technology to a useful product that customers would be willing to pay for. Fonseka and Zahnert came upon the idea of a scanning mouse during a brainstorming session. In order to implement their idea, the two engineers started looking for colleagues with business experience and found them while attending a Venture16
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
Ilic and Born turned to the Osec export promotion organization, which supported the founders in Japan, Taiwan and the USA. “With the help of the experts at Osec who had experience in these individual markets, we quickly found the right contacts with the manufacturers and distributors of computer mice,” recalls Born. The on-site discussions were critical, because LG initially was not even on the young Swiss company’s radar screen. The Korean company is one of the heavyweights in the electronics market, with annual sales of more than USD 50 billion, and until then it had hardly sold any computer mice as a separate accessory. Now LG is looking for a way to enter this market – with Dacuda’s help. You can gauge how serious LG is by the speed at which the contract was finalized. The papers were signed in mid-December, just a few short months after the initial contact with the company founders. “The first thing we did afterwards was have a big celebration,” Born admits. But they quickly returned to their daily routine, expanded the team and in spring they moved into new, larger facilities in Zurich’s District 4. The number of employees will continue to grow because there’s plenty to do at Dacuda. For instance, the company is developing software for special applications of the LG mouse. The units will be able to read customized forms or to scan barcodes. More products with enormous potential are in the works. “ We’re working on turning mobile phones into scanners,” says Born. www.dacuda.com
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Top 100 Ranking
established in 2006 12 employees
From meetings to a barbecue – Doodle makes it easy Doodle is the global leader among event-scheduling platforms on the Internet – by a wide margin. userfriendly operation, steady technical innovations and market expansion are what makes it so popular.
Image: SwISScom
TexT: STefan KyORa
Placing importance on user-friendly operation: Paul Sevinç (left) and Michael näf.
Some questions are more informative than their answers. This was the kind of question posed to Paul Sevinç, co-founder of Doodle, during a recent event at the Technopark Lucerne. An audience member wanted to know how Doodle deals with the enormous responsibility of having thousands of Swiss so dependent on the reliable operation of this event scheduler. Doodle has fundamentally changed how events are scheduled in Switzerland. The tool has a million users each month in this country alone, but they make up just a small fraction of all the Doodlers out there. Each month, a total of more than nine mil- lion people coordinate their business and leisure events with Doodle. “ We’re by far the most popular supplier of this service anywhere in the world,” says co-founder and CEO Michael Näf. The basis for this rapid increase in user numbers is the tool’s built-in growth mechanism. Once someone sets up an event poll, all the participants see the advantages of Doodle. Some of them will then use the platform themselves, which in the next step increases the circle of users even more.
People who try Doodle once stick with it thanks in large part to its user-friendly operation – which is due to more than just its lack of unnecessary technical bells and whistles. The reworking of the mobile version this year clearly showed the Doodle team’s thorough approach to product development. Before releasing the new version, the company surveyed 1,400 users around the world to find out how they use their mobile phones when accessing the Internet. The new mobile version is not simply a slimmed down copy of the event scheduler but instead offers features not available in the standard web version. “For instance, only in the mobile version can users, when setting up a poll, select their current position as the place for the meeting with a click,” explains Näf. Besides software engineering, Doodle’s 12 employees are simultaneously pushing the product’s expansion. For some time they’ve placed their focus on France, Germany and the US. Although Doodle is operating in Switzerland with financial resources that are quite limited when compared to those available to startups in North America, the Swiss have already made some impressive achievements. “The USA is among the largest and fastest growing of the Doodle markets. In some specific segments, our tool has already established itself as the solution of choice for finding a mutually agreeable time for an event,” adds Näf.
This Internet startup is already in the black As remarkable as this success is for a Swiss Web company, what makes it even more startling is the fact that even though Doodle makes steady investments, it continues to operate profitably. Income comes primarily from advertising. Beyond that, individual users and companies can sign up for a premium service that, unlike the free basic service, is subject to a fee. Given this level of success, it’s no wonder that large corporations have developed an interest in this young company. In May, the media conglomerate Tamedia announced that it was acquiring a 49 percent stake in the company, with plans to increase this amount even further. A nationally oriented media group as the owner of a globally active Internet platform might not necessarily seem to be a perfect match. Even so, Näf is convinced that there are important synergies between the two companies. “Switzerland is an important market for us, not only when we look at revenues. Of even more importance is the goodwill of local users who help us evaluate new products.” www.doodle.com
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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5
founded in 2009 29 employees
Small, stylish assistants replacing old-fashioned cards
founded in 2008 12 employees
A pioneer in a mass market
The small electronic devices from Poken are used at events around the world. They make it fun to collect addresses and other information.
ImageS RaNkINgS 4 to 7: BeN HUggLeR
The market for micro-projectors is in its infancy. even so, Lemoptix is already celebrating its first success.
Success on both sides of the Atlantic: Stéphane Doutriaux.
The first contract in the bag: Marco Boella.
Three of the four founders of Lemoptix have many years of industrial experience. It’s easy to understand why they gave up secure positions to found a startup. Lemoptix is among the world’s leading companies in a market with great future prospects. These engineers from Lausanne have developed a micro-projector that projects video images the same way as today’s clumsy beamers, but is only as large as a credit card. An even smaller unit – the size of a sugar cube – will follow in 2012. These micro-projectors not only need less space, they also consume less power and are significantly less expensive than today ’s projectors. In a few years, they’ll inevitably be found in mobile phones and other portable devices. A further related application area consists of heads-up displays in cars that project key operating information on the windshield. “ Micro-projectors represent a revolution in displays for equipment and machinery,” says Lemoptix CEO Marco Boella. “There will be applications we can’t even imagine today.” Market researchers agree, and already forecast a market size of approximately USD 7 billion in 2014. Lemoptix will certainly take a substantial piece of this pie. The Lausanne-based company is among a small group of international pioneers and, thanks to its mature technology, is receiving worldwide acclaim in a wide variety of market segments. www.lemoptix.com
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
The more than 4,000 convention attendees at the partner event for ABB USA might initially be puzzled when presented with the small device from Poken. Quickly, though, the value of the Pokenpulse becomes obvious – replacing the clumsy exchange of business cards with sophisticated wireless technology. Two people simply hold the gadgets next to each other to establish a link to their profiles on social networks such as Xing or LinkedIn. “What makes this possible is near field communications technology between the units and sophisticated software running in the background,” explains Poken’s CEO Stéphane Doutriaux. At the ABB event, the Swiss-Swedish company also equipped brochures, datasheets and other printed material with Pokentags. Here, too, the participants simply had to hold their Pokenpulse nearby, and in a flash the corresponding documents were sent to them by e-mail. Event organizers generally pay a fee so that their participants can use the small units. In return, the companies receive statistics about visitor beha- vior and also learn which individuals were interested in specific products and services. This allows participants to be supplied with the latest information about topics of interest to them at any time after their visit. The startup came upon such interesting orders thanks in part to the sophisticated technology that makes it easy to integrate into the customer’s IT infrastructure, but also because of the many good business contacts Doutriaux has built up over the years in the events sector. Especially important in this regard are partnerships with MCI in the U. S. and Showcase in Europe, two leading suppliers of event technology. These good business contacts have meanwhile also led to orders outside the business sector. For example, Poken will equip participants at the Winter Youth Olympic Games being held this coming winter in Innsbruck. www.poken.com
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Top 100 Ranking
founded in 2009 12 employees
After Google comes paper.li
founded in 2010 18 employees
every day unimaginable amounts of new information are posted on the Internet. paper.li sorts this information to create a personal daily newspaper for each user.
Microlivers instead of animal testing for many years, people have been calling for drugs and cosmetics to be screened using tissue samples instead of animals. InSphero makes this a reality.
Web company founders with experience: Iskander Pols (left) und edouard Lambelet.
Supplier to pharma companies: Jan Lichtenberg.
The range of products that are both developed and manufactured in Technopark Zurich is amazingly wide. A few months ago, microlivers were added to the list. In the offices of InSphero, industrial robots are manufacturing small, 3D liver microtissues with the help of technology patented by this entrepreneurial company. InSphero sends these tissue samples around the world where they are used to screen drugs and cosmetics for toxicity. This makes it possible to reduce the number of experiments on animals, which are not only expensive but also ethically questionable, and increasingly subject to legal restrictions. Testing on biological cells has been taking place for quite some time, but in the past it’s been possible only to manufacture 2D layers of cells in large volumes in a laboratory, and the ability to draw conclusions from tests was therefore very limited. “Our 3D microtissue livers, which we construct without any artificial scaffolds, are the first to behave exactly like human organs,” explains InSphero CEO Jan Lichtenberg. Long-term damage can be detected just as well as poisonous byproducts that can be produced in the liver. Given these advantages, it’s not surprising that the doors of potential buyers are wide open to this startup. Six of the world’s ten largest pharmaceu- tical concerns are InSphero customers, as is one of the world’s largest cosmetics groups.
The Internet has always been a collection of vast amounts of information. And now with Web 2.0, the sheer volume has grown even more dynamically. Ever more bloggers, media concerns, corporations and organizations upload their latest information to the web every day. Although smart search engines could help in the days of the static Web, users are virtually on their own to tackle these latest dynamics. From this chaos, paper.li creates clarity. Day in and day out, the service processes millions of reports on Twitter and Facebook as well as RSS feeds. With the help of a semantic search algorithm that determines the meaning of the texts, it filters out what is of interest to the user and then presents this content in a comprehensible form as a daily newspaper. The growth in the number of users is enormous. Although the service has been available for just a year, each day 350,000 newspapers are published and read on this platform, and paper.li currently registers 2 million visitors each month. Just as astounding as this level of growth are the areas of interest shown by the active newspaper “publishers” on paper.li. The service is definitely being used by far more people than just Internet addicts. There are news- papers from various religious movements, for example, alongside publications by animal lovers including The Squirrel Daily. This wide variety didn’t happen by accident. “ We designed the service specifically to address the needs of the widest possible audience,” says CEO Edouard Lambelet. This began early with the presentation of the search engine results in the traditional format of a newspaper. This helps users who are less Internet-savvy to clearly understand what the service at paper.li is all about. http: //paper.li
www.insphero.com
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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Top 100 Ranking
9
founded in 2010 5 employees
Vaccines for animals and people founded in 2009 60 employees
Already #1 in Europe
Image: ZvoNImIR PISoNIc
8
Malcisbo is fighting bacteria and parasites with new technology.
Accumulated experience: Lino Camponovo, Bruno Oesch, Irene Schiller and Markus Aebi (left to right).
Image: PD
More vacation apartments are booked through HouseTrip than on any other Internet platform.
Putting a new drug on the market involves a great deal of time and money. To generate sales quickly, Malcisbo is taking an unusual path. Before the founders venture into the development of a new vaccine for humans, they are using their proprietary target discovery platform to design animal vaccines that require far less time and expense during approvals. Their first product fights Campylobacter infections in broiler chickens. The bacteria are not harmful to the chickens themselves, but cause serious intestinal problems for people who eat infected meat. An experienced team of four founders are behind this technology platform and a sophisticated strategy that offers many possible uses. www.malcisbo.com
HouseTrip is a typical Internet startup. Numerous competitors offer exactly the same service, but in the end the supplier that grows fastest will ultimately win out. In this regard, this Lausanne-based company has a good hand. “We’re already the largest online broker of vacation apartments in Europe, and at the same time we’re the fastest growing in terms of bookings and number of users,” states co-founder and CEO Arnaud Bertrand. The team is supported by Index Ventures, a Geneva-based venture capital company that has also invested in other Web-based services such as the Skype Internet telephone service. HouseTrip isn’t surviving from its investors alone, though, but also from its booking commissions, where, as Bertrand notes, “our growth in sales amounts to more than 40 percent – per month.” www.housetrip.com
10
A look under the skin Thanks to aïmago, burns can be treated more effectively.
Successful entry into the market: Aïmago CeO Michael Friedrich shows off the innovative microcirculation camera.
The easyLDI has been in clinical use since last March. This high-performance camera emits a laser beam that penetrates 2 mm into the skin. From the reflected light it determines the intensity of the circulation in the tissue – in just a few seconds and without any contact. This innovation, developed at the Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory at ETH Lausanne, has led to more objective diagnosis and therefore more effective treatment in plastic surgery, diabetes and rheu- matism, and in neurosurgery. In the field of plastic surgery alone, such as in the treatment of burns, its market potential has been estimated at about CHF 250 million. At the moment, Aïmago has 12 employees. The company generated approximately CHF 2 million in equity capital during two rounds of financing. www.aimago.com
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
founded in 2008 12 employees
Image: BeN HUggLeR
Young entrepreneur: Arnaud Bertrand.
Top 100 Ranking
Climeworks, Zurich This might just be the most elegant contribution to averting global warming. With its technology, Climeworks can filter CO2 out of the air and then use it to produce fuel. At the moment, the team is taking the first steps to building a pilot plant that will extract hundreds of tons of CO2 out of the air each year.
data centers using the cloud computing concept. As an open source product, Scala can be used free of charge. Typesafe, the company belonging to Scala’s developer Martin Odersky, earns its income with Scala services such as support, training and consulting.
image: Ben Huggler
11.
www.typesafe.com
16.
Biognosys, Schlieren Proteins control bodily functions and thus are vital for health and issues related to illness. Biognosys can directly determine the amount of various proteins in a sample. The areas of application range from quality assurance in foodstuffs to the development of new drugs. The company, with approximately 20 employees, is already working for large corporations such as Pfizer and Novartis as well as for a series of biotech startups.
Kooaba, Zurich Thanks to Kooaba Paperboy, you simply take a photograph of a newspaper article, an advertisement or a poster with your mobile phone, and in a moment you get related content or even access to an exclusive contest. Numerous publishing companies, both domestic and abroad, are already using Paperboy. The second Kooaba product, called Déjà-Vu, followed last August. Any mobile phone user who wants to remember a special CD, DVD or even a bottle of wine simply takes a snapshot of it; these photos are automatically assigned keywords and archived.
www.biognosys.ch
www.kooaba.com
13.
17.
www.climeworks.com
12.
Redbiotec, Schlieren Redbiotec’s vaccine pipeline includes active agents for three different disease areas. The startup has also set up partnerships with several large pharmaceutical concerns including Roche, for which it produces specific virus-like particles. The large amount of output from the 12-person team is possible due largely to the special nature of the technology platform that allows the design and manufacture of specific particles within just a few months. www.redbiotec.ch
14. Neurimmune, Schlieren Illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease remain as yet incurable. Neurimmune plans to change that by taking an unusual approach. This startup has not investigated the factors that lead to illnesses but rather has focused on those that keep us healthy. The company is applying this knowledge to identify novel therapeutics.
Grew up with the Internet: Johannes Reck, CEO of GetYourGuide.
I N T e R N e T S Ta R T u p S
Now the Swiss are also causing a sensation During the Internet boom around the year 2000, many companies were founded, including in Switzerland. None of them, though, were able to establish themselves internationally. Only recently have Swiss Internet startups started to cause any sizeable sensation, in particular Doodle. Now another wave of companies is coming, started by what are known as “digital natives” – young people who have grown up with the Internet. a good example is GetYourGuide with 27-year-old CeO Johannes Reck running the operation.
www.neurimmune.com
The five best Internet startups
15.
1. Doodle # 3
Typesafe, Lausanne Companies as diverse as Twitter, Siemens and UBS use Scala. This programming language is custom-designed for the development of programs that run simultaneously on different processor cores or servers, and even those that run in parallel at various
2. Smallrivers / paper.li # 7
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
3. HouseTrip # 8 4. GetYourGuide # 18 5. atizo # 21
Celeroton, Zurich Expansion plans are right on schedule for this manufacturer of compact, ultra-highspeed electric motors. Celeroton delivers to customers around the world and currently has 11 employees. In addition to projectbased business, the company plans to deliver motors in low-volume production for the first time by the end of this year. www.celeroton.com
18. GetYourGuide, Zurich It’s simple to book tours, excursions and events of all types and on all continents with GetYourGuide. Organizers can just as easily set up and manage their tours and events on this Internet portal. Both of these features have helped GetYourGuide achieve very rapid growth; the company already employs 30 people. www.getyourguide.com
19. Stemergie Biotechnology, Geneva According to recent medical theories, cells with special characteristics cause tumors to grow. Treatments and technology from Stemergie are targeted specifically at these cancer-initiating cells, which existing therapies have been unable to eradicate. www.stemergie.com
Top 100 Ranking 20.
25.
27.
greenTeG, Zurich The flexible films from greenTEG convert heat directly into electricity. They can be manufactured much less expensively than today’s thermo-electric generators and can be put to use in a wide variety of applications. Possible uses range from increasing the efficiency of motors to serving as a power supply for wristwatches.
Biocartis, Lausanne Molecular diagnostics is presently a timeconsuming process suited only for large laboratories. Biocartis is now bringing this analytical technology to smaller labs and hospitals with a simple and cost-effective technology. With it, illnesses ranging from infections to cancer can be detected earlier, faster and more reliably. This not only improves the chances of a cure but also reduces health care costs.
procedural, Zurich In July 2011, U S-based ESRI , the world’s second largest software company and a supplier of geo-information systems, acquired ETH spinoff Procedural. That start- up caused an international sensation with its CityEngine package, which creates 3D urban environments. ESRI plans to leverage off Procedural to establish a development center for 3D graphics software in Zurich.
www.biocartis.com
www.procedural.com
26.
28.
QualySense, Dübendorf This Empa startup has recently landed two large research projects in the amount of more than CHF 2 million. This young company created a process that sorts tons of grain by biochemical attributes in a very short time period. CEO Francesco Dell’Endice announced in June 2011 that the company had received its first round of financing.
preclin Biosystems, epalinges This young company has developed methods for the early identification and validation of candidate therapeutics. Business is booming because the startup has been able to quickly make an international name for itself in this sector. When it comes to finances, co-founder and CEO Bettina Ernst has no worries. “We are very well financed,” says Ernst.
www.qualysense.com
www.preclinbiosystems.com
21. atizo, Bern More than 10,000 users have answered questions posed by companies on Atizo’s brainstorming platform. Among these firms are some regulars that come back time and again, including Migros, which has en- couraged users to co-develop two new Migros jams named Erdbeermund (Strawberry Smile) and Herbstsünde (Autumn Passion). www.atizo.com
22. LiberoVision, Zurich Even after its sale to the Norwegian company Virzt, LiberoVision remains responsible for the development and commercialization of its software. The sale of its software, which is used to analyze sporting plays and scenes, will become much easier because of this integration into the parent company. For instance, the LiberoVision team is currently negotiating with several potential customers in Asia.
FemaLe CeOS
Female chief executives are a common sight in the biotech sector image: Ben Huggler
www.greenteg.com
www.liberovision.com
23. BioVersys, Basel Innovations in antibiotics are relatively rare but are urgently needed because problems caused by bacteria that are resistant to available drugs are worsening. BioVersys has created an innovative platform for developing antibiotics. Not surprisingly, this startup was able to swiftly acquire seed capital of more than CHF 2.5 million last spring. www.bioversys.com
24. arktis Radiation, Zurich In only four years, the Arktis team has refined its highly reliable devices for detecting radioactive substances to the point where it’s mature enough for a market launch, which is imminent. Further, the technology is currently being evaluated by public authorities in both Europe and the US. www.arktis-detectors.com
Her company Preclin Biosystems is already booking sales: Bettina Ernst.
as innovative as the entrepreneurial companies on this list are, when it comes to the number of female chief executives, they don’t do any better than established technology companies. Female CeOs are leading just six of these startups. However, the different sectors vary considerably in how they are represented. While the Internet appears to remain the sole domain of men, the ratio of female chief executives in biotech companies on the list is an impressive 27 percent. The top company with a woman in
the corner office is preclin Biosystems, which is headed up by co-founder Bettina ernst. The five best companies with female CeOs 1. preclin Biosystems # 28 2. BioXpress Therapeutics # 38 3. GenKyoTex # 45 4. NemoDevices # 50 5. Virometix # 72
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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L e a D I N G C a N TO N S
Excellent company founders can be seen throughout Switzerland
image: Ben Huggler
at first glance, it seems conclusive: when it comes to establishing companies there’s a clear focal point in the Zurich metropolitan area. But things aren’t that simple. In fact, the different language regions are actually represented in relation to their proportion of the population. The French-speaking region makes up a third of the start-
ups, and German-speaking Switzerland two thirds. Further, there are excellent company founders throughout the country, as shown by the 14 cantons represented on the list. That also includes Ticino – two people who grew up in this southern canton, Nicola Rohrseitz and Valeria mozzetti, started ViSSee. The six cantons with the most top startups
BeRN
aaRGau VaLaIS 5
GeNeVa
4
4
OTHeRS 11
20 VauD
50 ZuRICH
High-tech in Ticino: Nicola Rohrseitz shows off his revolutionary speed sensor.
Covagen, Schlieren Covagen’s potential is quite substantial – it has the opportunity to develop an entirely new class of drugs. Its first therapeutic will enter the pre-clinical phase in 2012, when a new round of financing will also be necessary. Until now, venture capitalists have been very generous in supporting Covagen; in November 2010, a round of financing for more than CHF 6.3 million was closed. www.covagen.com
30. Virtamed, Zurich VirtaMed has already brought two series of products to market: simulators for hysteroscopic procedures and prostate operations. Its next feat is coming next year in the form of a simulator to help train medical personnel in knee operations. www.virtamed.com
31. Optical additives, Staufen Optical Additives plans to further accelerate the resounding success of solar cells.
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
www.credentis.com
34. ViSSee, Lugano How does a fly manage to measure its air speed without a rotating axis? This is a question Nicola Rohrseitz pursued while at the Institute of Neuroinformatics at ET H Zurich. The solution to the puzzle is in the fly’s wide-angle eyes. Based on this know- ledge, ViSSee has been working on a revolutionary microtachometer since 2009. Interest in the project, especially in the auto industry, is quite intense. www.vissee.ch
35.
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Together with the University of Leeds, the firm has developed a peptide that causes teeth to remineralize so that small caries lesions in teeth close up by themselves. The drilling and filling common today is then no longer necessary.
The company has an additive that is mixed into plastics and acts as a light harvester. With it, the size of solar cells for a given power level can be dramatically reduced while also increasing design options. The company is currently demonstrating a computer mouse whose semi-transparent case contains this additive, allowing the device to run from solar power. www.optical-additives.com
32. abionic, Lausanne Getting a high degree of certainty while still in the doctor’s office – that’s what the analysis system from Abionic promises. This company, which was awarded the Vigier Prize, expects to start selling its allergy tests in 2013 and plans to gradually expand into other fields. www.abionic.com
33. Credentis, Windisch The mere sound of a dentist’s drill sets off panic in many patients. Thanks to Credentis, this will often be a sound of the past.
Restorm, Zurich The Restorm Internet platform networks musicians with their listeners as well as with event organizers and the media. A series of tools makes it easy for bands to present themselves on the web. Since May 2011, they can also sell their music at attractive terms over Restorm. This autumn the company is adding an innovation; musicians will be able to very easily sell the licensing rights to their music, such as for use in ads or in YouTube videos. http: //restorm.com
36. Secu4, Sierre This startup in the Rhone Valley is initia- ting its second phase. In July, it launched an efficient theft prevention tool that is officially licensed for iPhones and iPads. With Secu4Bags, you can not only safeguard these devices but also protect your handbag or suitcase from theft while trave- ling. Secu4 has already sold several thou- sand devices, some of which also work with Android, Windows or Java mobile phones. www.secu4.com
37. CaScination, Bern Although CAScination was founded just two years ago, its first product – a navigation system for liver surgery – is already on the market. In addition, it closed its first round of financing in December 2010. With it, this spin-off from the University of Bern can shift its marketing into high gear. www.cascination.ch
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BioXpress, plan-les-Ouates The patents for the first biologically manufactured drugs have now expired and many others will soon follow. This is an opportunity for manufacturers of follow-on biologics such as BioXpress, which already has four “biosimilars” in development and 14 more in the pipeline.
Goodshine, Zurich The pace has picked up for the people at this Zurich-based company, which operates the DeinDeal.ch discount platform. Only 15 months after the company was founded, Ringer acquired majority ownership of Goodshine AG last June. The company now has more than 100 employees.
www.bioxpress.com
www.deindeal.ch
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Zurich Instruments, Zurich Many scientific instruments reach the limits of their capabilities at the microcosm. Semiconductor and biomedical companies are thus turning to lock-in amplifiers, which filter out a material’s background noise and track the desired electrical signal over the entire time of a measurement. Zurich Instruments is considered the worldwide leader in this technology and is growing rapidly.
Joiz, Zurich This television station, which links the world of TV with Web 2.0 and targets viewers between the ages of 15 and 35, has got off to a good start. Both the number of viewers and their participation have been high. Now Joiz is taking a step ahead in terms of advertising. Migros, together with Jois, is searching for the “M-Budget shared apartment” and in the process is taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the station’s advertising technology.
www.zhinst.com
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www.joiz.ch
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Nektoon, Zurich With its high rate of innovation, the Nektoon team, which operates a digital notebook called Memonic, is setting standards in the fast-paced Internet industry. Their latest innovation allows you to not only share the contents of your notebooks with other users but also to see which topics are of current interest to others.
GenKyoTex, plan-les-Ouates This firm, founded in 2006 by scientists from Switzerland, the USA and Japan, is in the midst of a significant step. In May, GenKyoTex announced the closing of a round of financing worth more than CHF 18 million. These funds will allow the start of clinical trials of its first drug before this year is out.
www.memonic.com
www.genkyotex.com
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attolight, Lausanne A new website and a vice president for marketing and sales show that Attolight is investing in expanding its market share. First, though, this company wants to sell its film camera for the nano-world to research labs. In a second step, following a further round of financing, it plans to address the quality assurance market.
Quest.li, Zurich Games that merge the real and virtual worlds are a growing trend. During play, you often have to be the first to answer a series of questions or perform tasks in order to prevail over your fellow players at various points. Quest.li is not just another supplier of such games; it offers the ability to easily create games based on your own questions and tasks. The service is targeted at individuals and corporations.
www.attolight.com
42. Kandou Technologies, Lausanne Everyone’s talking about green IT, or environmentally friendly information and communications technology. Kandou is supplying one of the building blocks for this. The founders have developed an algorithm that allows more efficient communications between processors and memory, printers or other peripherals – resulting in energy savings of up to 75 percent. www.kandou.com
image: Ben Huggler
Top 100 Ranking
http: //quest.li
47. YouRehab, Zurich YouRehab demonstrates that computer games needn’t necessarily be simply a way to pass the time. The company has developed a game for physical rehabilitation following brain damage. Studies show that patients participate more intensively and also reach higher therapeutic goals than with conventional methods.
Boss of 40 employees: Alexander Mazzara, CEO of Joiz.
JOB eNGINeS
Young but already at the SME level The number of employees at startups is generally underestimated. The five largest companies on the list alone account for a total of roughly 300 jobs. This often involves firms that are not only growing rapidly but also have started to generate revenue at an early stage. a good example is Joiz, an interactive TV station with 40 team members, including CeO alexander mazzara. The startups with the largest number of employees 1. Goodshine (160) # 43 2. HouseTrip (60) # 8 3. Joiz (40) # 44 4. GetYourGuide (30) # 18 5. poken (29) # 5
www.yourehab.com
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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48. Dectris, Baden The strong Swiss franc is also having an impact on the high-end X-ray detectors from Dectris. Founder Christian Brönnimann has responded by developing a less expensive product line, which should reach the market in the coming year. www.dectris.com
49. Swisstom, Landquart The tomographs from Swisstom deliver images of the lungs in real time, making artificial respiration significantly safer. Thanks to investors coming on board at the end of August, this extremely promising technology can be further developed to the pilot stage. www.swisstom.com
50. NemoDevices, Kilchberg The neuromonitoring system from NeMoDevices protects stroke patients from longterm damage by continuously monitoring circulation and the supply of oxygen to the brain. A working prototype already exists.
The unit’s development to readiness for market launch is guaranteed thanks to EU funding and private investors. www.nemodevices.ch
51. Limmex, Zurich This recently founded company develops personal safety solutions for Swiss watches so they can do far more than just display the time. The company’s potential is emphatically reflected in its Board of Directors, which includes Phonak founder Andy Rihs along with René Braginsky, one of Switzerland’s best known investors. www.limmex.com
52. Fontself, Renens It’s very common for the Facebook gene- ration to send very personal information through e-mails or chats. Now these messages can also be personally designed. Fontself has developed software that makes it possible for users to use any font they wish in the Internet. www.fontself.com
m O B I L e S Ta R T u p S
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Sophisticated technology for intelligent devices from Switzerland
53. RouteRaNK, Lausanne Anyone looking for the fastest, least ex- pensive or most environmentally friendly way to get from Point A to Point B will find RouteRANK indispensable. This travel search engine shows results for trips by air, car or train as well as for combinations of various means of transportation. www.routerank.com
54. aleva Neurotherapeutics, Lausanne In what is known as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy, a surgeon implants electrodes in the brain. This therapy has proven effective for treating movement disorders such as for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, the areas of application and the number of operations are constantly growing. Targeting this medical sector, Aleva Neurotherapeutics develops microelectrodes that stimulate the brain and that also carry fewer side effects. www.aleva-neuro.com
55. The Faction Collective, Verbier Move over, snowboards – skis are cool again, especially if they come from unique brands like The Faction Collective. Founder and head designer Tony McWilliam, a native of Australia, clearly has a good sense for this niche; the sales figures for his company are doubling each year. www.factionskis.com
56. mesa Imaging, Zurich Any person who has to get by with just one eye is seriously handicapped. This is just as true today for robots and vision-based machines – unless they’re equipped with the Swissranger camera from Mesa Imaging, which helps them create a 3D image of their workplace. The technology is currently being put to use in manufacturing environments. www.mesa-imaging.ch
mobile phones have become a driving factor for innovation. In this respect, it’s encouraging that Switzerland has several top startups in this sector that have become successful on an international scale. a good example is Lotaris, founded by Robert Tibbs. The company, with 24 employees in Yverdon and another four in global positions, boasts international customers for its licensing service and has an investor from asia on board.
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A company founder with international contacts: Lotaris CEO Robert Tibbs.
The five best mobile startups 1. poken # 5 2. Kooaba # 16 3. Secu4 # 36 4. Lotaris # 58 5. mirasense/Scandit # 89
57. Imina Technologies, ecublens The electronic manipulators from Imina are no larger than a die for a board game. They make it significantly easier to handle samples being examined with optical or electron microscopes. These precise instruments are already being used in countless laboratories in Europe, and the next order of business is to conquer the North American market. www.imina.ch
Top 100 Ranking
Lotaris, Yverdon-les-Bains Lotaris is known only to a few insiders, which is no big surprise because this company operates in the background. If a user purchases a license for an app or a service for a mobile device, then Lotaris carries out all the steps necessary from payment processing through to license administration. Among this startup’s business partners are well-known corporations such as Sega and Symantec.
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DSwiss, Zurich DSwiss offers digital safe-deposit boxes to banks and insurance companies. The idea of an Internet data safe has successfully been introduced onto the market in Switzerland, a country famous for its banks. Since this summer, the startup has also had a presence in the German market, and beginning in 2012, plans to conquer further international markets. www.dswiss.com
www.lotaris.com
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59. SalsaDev, Geneva SalsaDev’s Nicolas Gamard is pleased to report very high growth in sales – which didn’t happen by chance. The company offers a software package for semantic searches that is significantly less expensive than previous solutions. With this product, which recognizes the meaning of text, documents can be automatically categorized or analyzed. Among its customers are corporations and suppliers of content management systems that integrate this software into their own products. www.salsadev.com
60. enairys powertech, Lausanne Sylvain Lemofouet has been researching a hydro-pneumatic system for storing electrical energy since 2001. It is intended to make it possible for homeowners and energy suppliers alike to store power generated from solar or wind sources, and to do so efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way. This allows electricity generated when the sun shines or the wind blows to be stored and used later on when it’s needed. Now Lemofouet, who holds a PhD in engineering, has come an important step closer to fulfilling his dream. This autumn, a prototype of the storage system will for the first time undergo field trials conducted by the Bernese power company BKW at a facility on Mount Soleil. www.enairys.com
61. picoDRILL, Lausanne This high-tech company has an exclusive technology for processing thin glass. The firm, financed by equity investment companies and private investors, achieved a turnaround in the summer of 2010 and last year enabled its backers to make an exit. Today it is being run as an independent unit in Lausanne. www.picodrill.com
Koemei, martigny Speech recognition isn’t anything special any more, but what Koemei has to offer is still amazing. This startup’s software is able to transcribe speech from multiple speakers. It’s useful for meetings as well as conferences and seminars. www.koemei.com
64. Not slowing down: Marc Thurner, CEO of regenHU.
OuTSIDeRS HOLDING aN INTeReST
Startups as an engine for innovation Once pharmaceutical companies such as Roche would initially acquire young companies, but allow them to retain their independence and innovative power. Now Smes are also starting to follow this strategy. One of them is the Freiburger Cpa Group, which has a financial stake in regenHu. marc Thurner started the company four years ago with the name Delta Robotics. The founder has remained CeO, and for a good reason: together with his team, the 32-yearold has made enormous strides in the development of equipment for the production of 3D human tissue in a very short time. The best startups with outside financial participation
regenHu, Biel The machines from regenHU can manu- facture 3D tissue in a type of printing pro- cess. Multiple units are already being used in laboratories. For instance, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Wädens- wil is applying the technology to print models of artificial skin to test cosmetics for compatibility. In a second step, regenHU ’s CEO Marc Thurner likewise plans to use one of his own machines and become a supplier of bone implants for the dental industry. www.regenhu.com
65. proteomediX, Zurich When diagnosing prostate cancer, testing errs on the side of caution. The consequence is that in three out of four cases following a positive test, a biopsy proves that the results were false. ProteoMediX hopes to cut down the number of expensive and unpleasant biopsies with a more precise test, and this is just the beginning. The startup has a technology that allows the systematic search for biomarkers that indicate specific illnesses. www.proteomedix.com
1. Doodle # 3
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2. LiberoVision # 22
Geroco, martigny Geroco’s system consists of power-saving electricity plugs that measure consumption and then turn equipment on and off as needed, along with the associated software and a web platform. With it, you can follow your own electricity consumption
3. procedural # 27 4. Goodshine / deinDeal.ch # 43 5. picoDRILL # 61
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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in real time and over longer periods. It immediately shows the results of conservation measures, while the Web platform provides tips and discussions about saving electricity. www.geroco.ch
67. Bcomp, Freiburg The level of interest that manufacturers of skis and sporting goods are showing in this recently founded company is quite high. The Bcomp team has developed very lightweight yet strong materials. What’s spe- cial is that the raw materials consist of plant fibers from which a light yet stiff fabric is produced. The technology for converting renewable bio-materials into a high-tech composite is suitable for a va- riety of applications, not only in the out- door segment but also in others such as vehicles. www.bcomp.ch
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millform, Zurich Although Millform might be relatively unknown, its game platform Gbanga is quite popular. The games merge the virtual and real worlds and are being well received by a wider audience than just the Facebook generation. The team has created its own custom-tailored games for a wide range of customers, including Zurich Zoo.
Virometix, Zurich Vaccines are non-hazardous versions of pathogens produced either in a nutrient solution or by genetically altered bacteria – until now, that is, because Virometix has created a platform for manufacturing vaccines chemically. Such a manufacturing process is not only simpler and more costefficient but also safer.
www.gbanga.com
www.virometix.com
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Connex.io, esslingen The software from this startup is analogous to the address book in a mobile phone, an e-mail program or a social network. In the current test phase, connex.io is letting users decide how much they want to pay for this service.
Compliant Concept, Dübendorf Even before the end of 2011, Compliant Concept will introduce its first product to the market. At the same time, the development of its primary product, a bed that prevents bed sores, is continuing. CEO Michael Sauter already has the necessary means for doing so. At this year’s Medtech event at the end of August, Federal Councilor Johann Schneider Ammann presented the entrepreneur with an innovation coupon for the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) with which he can now pay for the services of a research partner.
www.connex.io
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Nanotion, Zurich Nanoparticles in drinking water present a potential source of danger. The ETH spinoff Nanotion has developed an instrument that can examine water in real time for the size, concentration and composition of the nanoparticles it contains. Pilot projects are underway and in 2012 the innovation is expected to reach the market.
Thelkin, Winterthur Implants are subjected to extensive mechanical testing. The test systems from Thelkin are fully electric – as opposed to competing products that use hydraulics or pneumatics – and thus are significantly more suitable for everyday use; you simply need an electric socket to start testing. In addition, these units are cleaner, require less maintenance and have a longer ser- vice life.
http: //nanotion.ag
www.thelkin.com
image: Ben Huggler
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www.compliant-concept.ch
74. adoptics, Brügg bei Biel Cataract patients have a cloudy lens in the human eye replaced with an artificial one. Adoptics is now working on a lens that can
TO p S e C TO R S
The showcase industry of medical technology is also #1 when it comes to the top startups With 23 companies in the Top 100, medical technology accounts for the largest part of the list, which is a clear indication of this sector’s innovative power. This is illustrated quite well by Thorsten Schwenke’s company Thelkin. Schwenke, who holds a phD in engineering and has many years of research and practical experience, including working with the med-tech company Zimmer, has developed an instrument for testing implants. Now customers from completely different sectors such as microelectronics have started to knock at his door. An innovation from medical technology works in other sectors too: Thorsten Schwenke, CEO of Thelkin.
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
Startups by sector medical technology 23 Biotechnology 15 microtechnology 15 Internet 12 Software 11 Cleantech 9 mobile devices 7 entertainment 4 Consumer 3 Financial services 1
focus on objects at various distances following its natural role model. In the best case, the patient no longer needs to wear corrective lenses following the implant procedure. Plans already exist for a feasibility study with patients in the coming year.
image: Ben Huggler
Top 100 Ranking Accounts takes over these tasks; customers merely scan their statements and afterwards authorize payments in their e-banking system. The services of this young company are much in demand as shown by the fact that the number of customers is doubling every quarter.
www.adoptics.ch
www.runmyaccounts.ch
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ChromaCon, Zurich Biotech drugs are expensive to manufacture, and many patents for such medications will run out in the next few years. With the innovative purification technology from ChromaCom, biotech drugs with greater effectiveness can be manufactured at lower cost. At the same time, the technology helps extend the term of patents for the drugs.
Xeltis, Zurich One percent of all children are born with a heart defect. Although valve defects can be addressed with artificial implants, these don’t grow as the child does and must be replaced regularly during risky surgical procedures. Xeltis is now developing tissueengineered heart valves that are manufactured with the patient’s own cells and have the ability to grow along with the patient.
www.chromacon.com
www.xeltis.com
76. Shadow Government, Zurich The idea is fascinating: the US-based Millennium Institute provides software that makes it possible for politicians to assess the implications of their decisions. Shadow Government has developed a game on this basis. Players can experience what it means to govern a country in an extremely realistic situation.
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Automotive manufacturers in his sights:
www.shadow-government.com
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G R e e N T e C H N O LO G I e S
Coguan Group, Zug Cougan is presently active primarily in Spanish-speaking regions, but the company was founded by a graduate of the University of St. Gallen. The firm runs an ad exchange, an online marketplace for advertising insertions in the Internet, and has 100,000 registered users.
Tenacity leads to success
www.coguan.com
Nine cleantech companies made it on to the list. Their products vary quite widely, but all have great potential. at the same time, they exemplify how long the path to success for green technologies can be. This is especial-
78. politnetz, Zurich At its core, Web 2.0 is driven by user contributions and therefore operates on a democratic basis. The founders of Politnetz.ch have implemented a closely related idea of using Web 2.0 for politics. On this plat- form, more than 10,000 citizens interact with politicians, including 25 national councilors. www.politnetz.ch
79. Run my accounts, Stäfa The majority of accounting consists of purely routine tasks: entering statements, monitoring incoming payments, balancing bank accounts, sorting and filing. Run my
kringlan composites. He plans to put his machines for the manufacture of lightweight components to work in the automotive industry – an ambitious goal. even so, the chances are good that kringlan will pull it off. The five best cleantech companies 1. Climeworks # 11 2. greenTeG # 20 3. Optical additives # 31 4. Kandou Technologies # 42 5. RouteRaNK # 53
aOT, Basel Even if they use state-of-the-art tomographs for diagnosis, surgeons continue to cut bones with traditional hand tools such as saws or drills. AOT has now developed a modern solution: a robot complete with planning and navigation software that help a laser cut through and remove bone tissue. The resulting precision is considerably higher than with conventional methods. www.aot-swiss.com
82. unblu, Sarnen The “co-browsing ” solution from Unblu makes it possible for a customer service representative to follow precisely how a customer is interacting with a web site, and it does so without providing any ability to manipulate the customer’s computer. The technology is being used by UBS, for example, to support clients during telephone consulting sessions for online banking. www.unblu.com
83. Kringlan composites, Otelfingen With the circular press at kringlan it’s possible to fabricate round parts from carbon fiber reinforced plastics on an industrial scale, such as for automobile wheels. It might not sound spectacular but it’s a milestone on the path to producing environmentally friendly lightweight vehicles. The automotive industry has shown great interest in the machine, and this year alone the company has been able to nearly triple its staff to 14 people. www.kringlan.ch Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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The Rokker Company, Widnau Co-founders Michael Kuratli and Kai Glatt both enjoy riding motorcycles, preferably in jeans. That’s why they have launched special pants on the market whose insides consist of a breathable protective fabric that also repels wind and water.
Winterthur Instruments, Winterthur Virtually every surface gets a coating these days. Winterthur Instruments builds instruments that are the first to perform nondestructive tests on coatings such as varnishes and which do so quickly and with high precision. This enables continuous monitoring during production. The first machine is being delivered in October. Further units will quickly follow because demand for the innovation is high from a wide range of industrial sectors.
www.therokkercompany.com
85. GlobalanceBank, Zurich A new private bank named Globalance has completely rewritten the book when it comes to sustainability. For instance, the bank can show clients the ecological and social footprint of their investment port- folios. In addition, it adds transparency for fees along with independence, since Globalance does not sell its own products. www.globalance-bank.com
86. epithelix, plan-Les-Ouates While many biotech companies develop slowly, Epithelix has already been able to book sales for a number of years. The team was able to quickly launch a technology that makes it possible to prepare human tissue cells so they survive for a year instead of just a month. The samples are used for compatibility tests and drug development, which leads to a reduction in animal testing. www.epithelix.com
www.winterthurinstruments.com
88. StereoTools, ecublens There are increasingly more brain operations where tissue samples are taken and electrodes are anchored into the brain. StereoTools has developed a system that supports surgeons in positioning their instruments. It is significantly smaller and thus also less frightening for the patient while also being more efficient than existing equipment. www.stereotools.com
89. mirasense, Zurich With Mirasense’s Scandit app, consumers need only scan the barcode of a product with their mobile phone to get plenty of useful information. This includes the current price in Internet stores as well as the
CONSumeR pRODuCTS
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The great adventure for startups
opinions of others who have purchased the product. The startup generates revenue through the sale of its barcode recognition technology as well as through product- related analysis and advertising services for customers in the USA and Europe. www.scandit.com
90. paratus, Windisch Even in Switzerland, young people are increasingly confronted with violence. Paratus founder Luca Tognola has launched a service package that improves personal safety. It consists of a mobile phone app along with services supplied by the alarm center of Securitas Direct, and it allows a user to react to an escalating situation in progressive steps. www.paratus.ch
91. Trigami, Basel Basel resident Remo Uherek hasn’t encountered any startup problems with his blog marketing tool Trigami. The company, founded in 2007, has worked its way up to become the leader in the German-speaking marketplace in just a short time. Now Trigami is merging with the social media platform ebuzzing and will take on that name. This group of companies will assume market leadership in Europe and has plans for global expansion. www.ebuzzing.de
Launching products targeted at consumers from Switzerland is a true challenge. The domestic market is small and fragmented, and abroad no one is expecting competitors from this small country. even so, time and again there are entrepreneurs who take on this challenge. Take michael Kuratli and Kai Glatt of The Rokker Company, for example. Now that these fellows from eastern Switzerland have established their unique motorcycle clothing line, they’re taking on an even more difficult market by venturing into the fashion sector. The best consumer products companies
1. Limmex # 51 2. The Faction Collective # 55 Riding their way to success with motorcycle apparel: Michael Kuratli (left) and Kai Glatt.
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
3. The Rokker Company # 84
92. augurix Diagnostics, monthey Technologically speaking, the quick tests from Augurix are a milestone. Previously it took expensive lab tests to detect celiac disease – or gluten intolerance – but now patients can test themselves within a few minutes. The test kits have been sold in Switzerland for quite some time. At the start of September, the company also took a key step in marketing the product: a large partner will distribute the Augurix test kit, called Simtomax, in several European countries. www.augurix.com
93. GeNeuro, plan-les-Ouates The therapeutic substances from GeNeuro fight illnesses such as multiple sclerosis right at their roots. They prevent the processes that eventually lead to brain damage and invalidity. The first substances are already in the clinical phase and are being tested on healthy volunteers. www.geneuro.com
94. 42 matters, Zurich In Google’s Android Market alone there are many hundred thousand programs to download. Users can get their bearings in this overabundance with AppAware from 42 matters. This app shows in real time by category which other programs users are installing, recommend or have deleted. AppAware has already been downloaded several hundred thousand times, but the team is even more ambitious: the goal is 10,000 new users every day. www.appaware.org
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can even lead to the risk of thrombosis. Qvanteq is now developing stents with the aid of a new surface technology that exhi- bits significantly fewer disadvantages. www.qvanteq.com
97. QGel, Lausanne The hydrogel from this Lausanne startup is an exact copy of human collagen. Cells can grow within it just as they do in the body. The result is a 3D tissue sample for drug development and compatibility tests. QGel is already selling its gel to scientific labora- tories and to its first pharmaceutical accounts. www.qgelbio.com
98. Skybotix, Zurich The miniature aerial vehicles from Skybotix can navigate all by themselves even in closed rooms and can approach an object within a few centimeters. The “Flybox” is intended to ease the work of police and fire departments as well as others such as building inspectors. Pilot projects, including one in a steel plant, are underway.
99. prediggo, Lausanne Web shops offer a large selection, but they lack salespeople who can help buyers differentiate among products. That’s why such shops are using internal search engines and product recommendations – and Prediggo supplies the software for these purposes. Shops such as Mövenpick in Vienna, Brack and Exsila are already customers of the Lausanne-based firm. www.prediggo.com
100. pearltec, Zurich The first expansion phase at this young medical technology company is complete. To further drive international growth, there’s been a change at the top: since the beginning of October, Vincenzo Grande, an economist with many years of management experience in the medical technology sector, has taken over as CEO .
www.aeon-scientific.com
www.pearltec.ch
Qvanteq, Zurich Coronary stents are tube-like screens placed in diseased vessels to protect against heart attacks. Presently, however, the stents do not adapt optimally to the body, which impairs their effectiveness or
Quick out of the gate with AppAware: Andrea Girardello (left) and Ivan Delchev.
www.skybotix.com
aeon Scientific, Zurich Cardiac arrhythmia is very widespread, but only a few highly specialized surgeons can perform the catheter ablation that treats this illness. Aeon Scientific plans to sim- plify this procedure. The company has developed a unit that, with the help of a magnetic field, allows doctors to navigate a catheter with great precision to exactly where it’s wanted.
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Top 100 Ranking
T H e YO u N G e S T C O m pa N I e S
Barely started and already at the top Four firms made it onto the list even though they were founded just this year. The youngest company is 42 matters, which andrea Girardello, Ivan Delchev and five additional colleagues registered with the Commercial Register of the Canton of Zurich on may 26, 2011. The pace of activity in the company is breathtaking. Just a month later, a venture capital company, gcp gamma capital partners from austria, made an investment. With this help, 42 matters can now concentrate fully on boosting the number of users for its app, which provides an overview of other programs for mobile devices. The five youngest companies 1. 42matters # 94 2. Quest.li # 46 3. Bcomp # 67 4. Winterthur Instruments # 87 5. Kandou Technologies # 42
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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The Top 100 Experts Insiders from all over Switzerland named their favorites. Learn more about the experts at www.startup.ch. A
Carole Ackermann, Zurich. President of Business Angels Switzerland (BAS); CEO of the investment company Diamondscull; focus: medtech / greentech. www.businessangels.ch Flavio Agosti, St. Gallen. Responsible for venturelab, a high-tech startup training program in German-speaking Switzerland. www.venturlab.ch
Marie-Laure Berthie, Lausanne. VP of Innovation und Technology Transfer, EPFL; on the Expert Committee of SSF (Seco Start-up Fund). www.epfl.ch Peter Biedermann, Bern. CEO, Medical Cluster. www.medical-cluster.ch
Domenico Alexakis, Zurich. Director of the Swiss Biotech Association. www.swissbiotech.org
Philip Bodmer, Dübendorf. Business angel; President, Volkswirtschafts-Stiftung; member of CTI-Invest and StartAngels Network; expert at the W. A. de Vigier Foundation. www.volkswirtschaft-stiftung.ch
Olivier Allaman, Freiburg. Director of Fri Up, the Freiburg-based center for entrepreneurs. www.friup.ch
Jan Bomholt, St. Gallen. Co-founder / partner at the b-to-v (BrainsToVentures) business angels network. www.b-to-v.com
Urs Althaus, Bern. Former Head Coach at CTI Start-up; Member of the Advisory Committee at the Empa technology center glaTec; in 2010 named as “Supporter of Startups” by the W. A. de Vigier Foundation. www.kti.admin.ch
Dr. Silvio Bonaccio, Zurich. Head of ETH Transfer / Spinoffs; Member of the Steering Committee of the Venture Business Plan Competition at ETH Zurich. www.vpf.ethz.ch
Regula Altmann-Jöhl, Rapperswil. Strategic projects at HSR (University of Applied Sciences, Rapperswil); on the Expert Committee of SSF (Seco Startup Fund). www.les-ch.ch / kontakt Reinhard J. Ambros, Basel. Director, Novartis Venture Funds, globally. www.novartis-venturefunds.com Claude Amiguet, Neuenburg. Director, Neode, Science and Technology Park Neuenburg. www.neod.ch / d / page /110 Richard J. Andrews, Lausanne. CEO, Motilis Medica; founder of various high-tech startups; focus: biotech / medtech; coach at CTI Start-up. www.motilis.com B Thomas Bähler, Bern. Specialist at Kellerhals Attorneys at Law for private equity / venture capital, among other matters; co-founder and Member of the Board of the Swiss Economic Forum; juror for Swiss Economic Award. www.kellerhals.ch
Peter Balsiger, Zurich. Partner, aventic partners; executive management at AM-Tec Credit, Foundation for Promotion of SMEs as Part of Sector Clusters; technical expert at CTI. www.aventicpartners.ch Luc-Olivier Bauer, Zurich. Venture capitalist; Investment Advisory Committee at Nano Dimension. www.nanodimension.com Brigitte Baumann, Zurich. Founder / CEO, Go Beyond business angels network; on the CTI Commission; President, EBAN (European Business Angel Network). www.go-beyond.biz Nicolas Berg, Zurich. Founder of various startups; business angel; initiator of Redalpine Venture Partners; works with CTI-Invest, Swiss Venture Club, venturelab, etc. www.redalpine.com
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
Jacques Bonvin, Geneva. Specialist at Tavernier Tschanz, Corporate and Commercial Law, for venture capital, private equity, M & A and new technologies. www.taverniertschanz.com Diego Braguglia, Zug. General partner, VI Partners venture capital firm; focus: life sciences / biotech. www.vipartners.ch
Benoît Dubuis, Plan-les-Ouates. Director, Eclosion biotech incubator; coach at CTI Start-up. www.eclosion.com Pascal Dutheil, Lausanne. Founder, g stage venture capital; coach at CTI Start-up. www.andromede.ch F
Jérôme Favoulet, Geneva. Director, Fondetec, a municipal institute for startups for the City of Geneva. www.fondetec.ch Igor Fisch, Plan-les-Ouates. Founder / CEO, Selexis SA; focus: biotech; on the Strategy Board, venture kick. www.selexis.com Alban Fischer, Bern. Head, Patent Department, IGE Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. www.ige.ch Peter Frischknecht, St. Gallen. CEO, tebo, technology center for the Lake Constance Euroregion. www.tebo.ch Nicolas Fulpius, Geneva. Business angel; Partner, Affentranger Associates; focus: venture capital / private equity for life sciences startups. www.aasa.com G
Eric Gisiger, Zurich. Venture capitalist, SVC – AG for SME venture capital. www.svc-risikokapital.ch Denis R. Grisel, Bern. Head of Economic Promotion Agency, Canton of Bern. www.berneinvest.com Patrick Griss, Schlieren. Executive Partner, Zühlke Ventures; focus: high-tech startups; on Advisory Committee at Empa’s glaTec technology center. www.zuehlke.com
Christian Brand, Bern. Head coach, CTI Start-up & Entrepreneurship. www.kti.admin.ch
Prof. Anton Gunzinger, Zurich. ETH professor; IT entrepreneur; Member, Investment Committee of Wachstumskapital AG of the Luzerner Kantonalbank. www.scs.ch
David Brown, Lausanne. Business angel; founder / co-founder of various startups, e. g. buy.at / Poken SA; Board of Directors, SalsaDev. www.salsadev.com
Daniel Gutenberg, Zug. Business angel; General Partner, VI Partners venture capital firm; focus: IT. www.vipartners.ch
Peter E. Burckhardt, Basel. CEO of EVA – the Basel life sciences startup agency; initiator of the spinoff incubator for startups from Uni Basel and FHNW. www.eva-basel.ch C Heinrich Christen, Zurich. Partner, Ernst & Young / Head of EOY (Entrepreneur of the Year) Award. www.ey.com
Gert Christen, Zurich. CEO, Startzentrum Zurich. www.startzentrum.ch Ulf Claesson, Thalwil. Partner at the private equity firm BLR Partners AG; coach at CTI Start-up. www.blrpartners.com Pierre Comte, Neuenburg. Business angel, focus: medtech; founder / CEO, Sigma Professional; coach at CTI Start-up; trainer at venturelab. www.kti.admin.ch D Alberto De Lorenzi, Bioggio. Partner at De Lorenzi & Partners, business angels network; focus: ICT startups in Ticino and northern Italy; coach at CTI Start-up. www.delorenzi.ch
Gina Domanig, Zurich. Founder / Managing Partner, Emerald Technology Ventures; focus: cleantech. www.emerald-ventures.com
Rudolf Gygax, Zurich. Venture capitalist; Managing Partner, Nextech Invest; focus: oncology. www.nextechinvest.com H Georges Haas, Binningen. Former Head of Research, Ciba-Geigy; business angel; expert at Global Life Science Ventures – Investing in the life sciences. www.life-science-ventures.de
Jost Harr, Witterswil. Partner, QUILT Solutions investment network; Advisor, Incentive Capital LLC; Member of the Board, Technozentrum Witterswil; coach at CTI; Board of Directors, BioValley Basel. www.quilt-solutions.com Reto Hartinger, Zurich. Serial entrepreneur and business angel (among others search.ch, insider.management, etc.); President, Erfa Group Internet briefing. www.insi.ch René Hausammann, Winterthur. Head, Technopark Winterthur and Transfer ZHW. www.tpw.ch Wolfgang Henggeler, Zurich. Head, Physical Sciences, Unitectra (technology transfer organization of the Universities of Zurich, Bern and Basel). www.unitectra.ch
TOP 100 Experts Dr. Peter Hogenkamp, Zurich. Co-founder, Zeix AG and Blogwerk AG; Head of Digital Media, NZZ; Member of NZZ corporate management. www.blogwerk.com Matthias Hölling, Zurich. Group Manager, Spinoffs, ETH Transfer. www.transfer.ethz.ch Markus Hosang, Basel. Venture capitalist; General Partner, BioMedInvest; focus: life sciences. www.biomedvc.com J Mario Jenni, Schlieren. Co-founder / CEO, BIO-Technopark Schlieren (life sciences center in metropolitan Zurich); co-initiator, glaTec. www.bio-technopark.ch
Urs Jenni, Chur. Manager, SIFE (Swiss Institute for Entrepreneurship); Associate Coordinator, WTT Consortium CHOst; Member, swiTT (Swiss Technology Transfer Association) and ECSB (European Council for Small Business). www.fh-htwchur.ch Mark-Eric Jones, Lausanne. CEO, Leman Micro Devices; former President / CEO, Innovative Silicon, Lausanne. www.home-jones.com K
Fernand Kaufmann, Lausanne. Business angel with focus on cleantech; advisor at Emerald Technology Ventures. www.emerald-ventures.com Cédric Koehler, Zurich. Venture capitalist; Investment Manager at Creathor Venture; focus: ICT. www.creathor.ch Willy Küchler, Horw. Manager, ITZ (Innovations Transfer Central Switzerland). www.itz.ch André Kühni, Aarau. Manager, SME Services / Start-up Consulting, Aargauer Kantonalbank. www.akb.ch Pius Küng, St. Gallen. Founder, Dr. Pius Küng & Partner; Chairman of the Board, IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen; trainer at venturelab. www.kueng-partner.ch Daniel Kusio, Bern. Business angel; founder, BV Partners, succession / growth financing; jury member, SVC Entrepreneurial Prize Espace Mittelland. www.bvpartners.ch Stefan Kyora, Lucerne. Co-founder, startup-ticker; co-owner, Journalistenbüro Niedermann; business journalist with focus on high-tech startups / corporate financing. www.mediacontact.ch L
Maya Lalive d’Epiney, Freienbach. Former National Councilor; Partner, Redalpine Venture Partners; co-founder, ICTswitzerland. www.redalpine.com Jean-Philippe Lallement, Lausanne. General Manager, Science Park EPFL; President, Swiss Parks.ch; coach at CTI. www.parc-scientifique.ch Dr. Hervé Lebret, Lausanne. Manager, Innogrants EPFL; former principal at Index Ventures venture capital firm. www.epfl.ch
M Pascal Marmier, Cambridge MA, USA. Consul; Director, swissnex (Swiss Knowledge Network) Boston; co-organizer, venture leaders. www.swissnexboston.org
S
Dr. Felix Mayer, Stäfa. Co-founder / CEO, Sensirion; winner of “Entrepreneur of the Year” (2010) and Swiss Economy Award. www.sensirion.com
Beat Schillig, St. Gallen. Business angel; Managing Partner, IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen. www.ifj.ch
Dominique Mégret, Bern. Manager, Swisscom Ventures; co-founder, Kickstart Ventures. www.swisscom.ch / ventures Henry B. Meier, Zug. Business angel; founder / Chairman of the Board, HBM BioVentures / HBM Partner venture capital firm. www.hbmbioventures.com Simon Meier, Basel. Investment Director, Roche Venture Fund. www.venturefund.roche.com Didier Mesnier, Geneva. General Secretary, Alp ICT, western Switzerland high-tech cluster; coach at CTI. www.alpict.com Jordi Montserrat, Lausanne. Responsible for management of venture kick and venturelab in Western Switzerland. www.venturekick.ch Carolina Müller-Möhl, Zurich. Chairperson of the Board, Müller-Möhl Group investment management; President, Swiss Economic Award. www.mm-group.ch N Alain Nicod, Zug. Founder / co-founder of various startups, e. g. LeShop.ch; founder / Managing Partner, VI Partners venture capital company; focus: life sciences. www.ventureincubator.ch
Peter Niederhauser, Zurich. Serial entrepreneur and business angel; General Partner, Redalpine Venture Partners venture capital company. www.redalpine.com O Markus Oswald, Schwyz. CEO, Innovation Foundation of the Kantonalbank Schwyz; coach at CTI Start-up. www.szkb.ch / innovationsstiftung P Peter Pfister, Zurich. Business angel; Member of the Board, StartAngels Network and CTI Invest. www.startangels.ch
Eric Plan, Sion. General Secretary, CleantechAlps, Western Switzerland cleantech cluster; coach at CTI. www.cleantech-alps.com Roberto Poretti, Lugano. Manager, Centro Promozione Start-up; Member of the Board, Swissparks.ch; Coordinator, venturelab Ticino. www.cpstartup.ch Jim Pulcrano, Lausanne. Executive Director, IMD (International Institute for Management Development), responsible for the IMD Start-up Competition. www.imd.org Erika Puyal Heusser, Zurich. Manager, Startup Finance / Pioneers, Zurich Kantonalbank. www.zkb.ch
Faris Sabeti, Vice President, CTI; Manager, CTI Start-up / CTI Entrepreneurship; co-founder / Partner, Blue Ocean Ventures. www.kti.admin.ch
Christian Schütz, St. Gallen. Partner / Member of the Board, b-to-v Partners business angels network; jury member, venture leaders. www.b-to-v.com Florian Schweitzer, St. Gallen. Co-founder / Partner, b-to-v Partners business angels network; Board of Directors, SECA (Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association). www.b-to-v.com Michael Sidler, Zurich. Business angel; General Partner, Redalpine Venture Partners; Partner, Intro International; coach at CTI Start-up. www.redalpine.com Philippe Steiert, Alpnach Dorf. Manager, CSEM (Centre Suisse d’Electronique et Microtechnique), Central Switzerland. www.csem.ch Pierre Strübin, Plan-les-Ouates. Technical Director, FONGIT / Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Fongit Seed Invest. www.fongit.ch, www.fongitseedinvest.ch V Paul-André Vogel, Sion. Member of Executive Board, CimArk startup support network; coach at CTI Start-up. www.cimark.ch
Pascale Vonmont, Basel. Associate Chief Executive, Gebert Rüf Foundation; Delegate to the Strategy Board, venture kick; jury member, venture leaders; jury member, SEF-Swiss (Swiss Social Entrepreneurship Foundation). www.grstiftung.ch Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier, Zurich. Managing Director, CTI Invest; CEO, W. A. de Vigier Foundation; coach at CTI Start-up; trainer at venturelab. www.cti-invest.ch W
Rémi Walbaum, Bussigny. Founder / co-founder of numerous startups, e. g. LeShop.ch / Fleur de Pains; trainer at venturelab. http: //info.leshop.ch Josef Walker, Chur. Manager, Entrepreneurial Management Program, University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland HTW Chur; expert at CTI; E-Tower (Technical Advisory Board for Entrepreneurs in Eastern Switzerland); Band of Angels. www.fh-htwchur.ch Alfred Waser, Windisch. CEO, Technopark Aargau Support Foundation; co-founder, IG Cleantech Aargau. www.technopark-aargau.ch Christian Wenger, Zurich. Partner, Wenger & Vieli, Corporate and Commercial Law; focus: private equity/venture capital/M & A; business angel; Member of the Board, SECA (Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association); President, CTI Invest. www.wengervieli.ch
Peter Letter, Zurich. Partner, EPS value AG; Investment Manager of the New Value private-equity company; focus: health care / cleantech. www.epsvalue.ch
R Jost Renggli, Zurich. Co-founder / Partner, Venture Valuation (evaluation / appraisal of high-tech startups for investors); focus: life sciences. www.venturevaluation.com
Z Björn Zern, Zurich. Department Manager, Swiss Equity at NZZ; Chief Editor, Swiss Equity Magazine. www.se-medien.ch
Hansruedi Lingg, Root Längenbold. CEO, Technopark Lucerne. www.technopark-luzern.ch
Balz Roth, Zurich. Business angel; on management team of Go-Beyond business angels network. www.go-beyond.biz
Jürg Zürcher, Zurich. Partner/Biotechnology Leader EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa), Ernst & Young. www.ey.com Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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Four steps to an international break University students and staff members are increasingly starting their own companies. The ETH Zurich alone has produced more than 130 spin-offs over the past ten years. This success is based on a 4-step process that has become established for assisting startups, and it covers everything seamlessly from the initial business idea to the expansion phase. Most of the Top 100 companies in 2011 have gone through this process. It not only delivers the blueprint for building up a company but also provides a structure for the support environment. In collaboration with private and public partners, a modular set of services has emerged; it’s transparent at every level and covers the transfer of know-how, providing advice about running a startup and financial services.
From research to a business idea
From a business idea to a business plan
Particularly in the high-tech sector, most business ideas emerge from research labs at universities and technical colleges because these are breeding grounds for innova- tion. Special support programs send representatives there to seek out future entrepreneurs, who also shouldn’t be shy about having an initial discussion with the technology-transfer office at their respective institutions of higher learning. The motto “from the lab to the market” is being re- peated at almost every one of these institutions in Switzerland. These schools offer special entrepreneurship lectures and training modules for future CEOs. Students can also get additional insight into the world of business through the “venture ideas” courses that are part of the training program at venturelab, which is operated by the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation ( CTI ) (www.kti.admin.ch). In addition, with the first phase of its business plan competition, an organization called venture (www.venture.ch) also addresses how to develop a convincing business idea. As in the high-tech area particularly considerable development work must be done up to completion of a prototype, private foundations provide direct support for applied research projects; for example, the Gebert Rüf Foundation (www.grstiftung.ch). Meanwhile, the media have also discovered the potential offered by collaboration between technology and business. Looking for proof that the entrepreneurial and startup scene is alive and well? Check out Internet blogs such as www.startwerk.ch and www.inno-swiss.com, as well as platforms like www.gruenden.ch, www.ifj.ch or www.startupticker.ch.
The business plan is the actual plan of action and is therefore the blueprint for starting and expanding a company. A good business plan factors in the tips and suggestions from sector insiders and from experts in various areas areas of specialization, in particular those dealing with financing. All related support organizations also rely on these individuals from technology and business, who appear at entrepreneurship lectures at the various institutions of higher learning. During this phase, CTI ’s venturelab training program (www.venturelab.ch) also offers special courses entitled “venture plan” and “venture challenge.” Teams of company founders receive additional support in putting together a business plan through their participation in the business plan competition run by venture (www.venture.ch) and in the startup competition at the IMD (www.imd.org) school of management in Lausanne. The second phase also addresses working with technology transfer offices to clarify the situation with patent rights. This is also the right time to make the public a bit more aware of the project. The venture kick initiative (www.venturekick.ch), which is financed by private foundations, provides the perfect opportunity for this. Here, company founders can get seed capital as well as present their project to experts, business angels and venture capitalists, and the budding entrepreneurs get well prepared for these activities at what are known as “kicker camps.” Further valuable assistance in the form of business plan software can be found on the web sites of many banks.
Step 1
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
Step 2
Top 100 Support Landscape
through
From the business plan to founding the company
From founding the company to expansion
The most important point that must now be addressed is startup financing. Especially when it concerns a hightech project, bootstrap financing and tapping personal resources such as family, friends and acquaintances no longer suffices. In this phase, the CTI innovation agency has assumed a central role. Through its project promo- tion program, it co-finances further development or the creation of a prototype. At the same time, through its startup initiative, CTI offers a coaching process that lasts several months (see page 37). Further, technoparks (www.technopark-allianz.ch), business incubators, entrepreneurship centers (www.swissparks.ch) and even private initiatives offer support and coaching. Company founders find the seed capital needed during the inception phase through financing programs with business angels, as well as through innovation and startup financing provided by various banking institutions. To find appropriate contacts, entrepreneurs attend events conducted by CTI -Invest (www.cti-invest.ch). Private foundations are also active here; for example, the Schweizerische Volkswirtschaftsstiftung (Swiss Economic Foundation, www.volkswirtschaft-stiftung.ch) issues repayable loans of up to CHF150,000. When the prospects of success are good, a healthy injection of funds can be obtained from venture kick (www.venturekick.ch); every project presented there has the chance of receiving a grant of up to CHF130,000.
Without additional growth capital, newly formed hightech firms are generally not in a position to get their products or services to market. To address this issue, CT I , on the basis of a public-private partnership with the Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association (SECA), has started the CTI Invest initiative. Startups introduce themselves here to individual investors and investment companies from Switzerland and abroad. Specialized funds also play a central role here. These include funds from organizations such as Venture Incubator, Redalpine and Brains-to-Ventures, as well as business angel clubs like the StartAngels Network, Go Beyond, Business Angel Switzerland, etc. Another aspect conducive to a successful launch is when a new company can point out it has won one of the highly respected entrepreneur awards. A few examples are Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young (www. ey.com), the W. A. de Vigier Prize (www.devigier.ch), the Swiss Economic Award (www.swisseconomic) and the Technology Award (www.swisstechnology-award.ch). In the expansion phase, no top startup can get around the need to stake its presence in target markets abroad. For this, swissnex (www.swissnex.ch) – which operates under the auspices of the Swiss government and is responsible for bilateral collaboration on innovation in Asia, India and the US – offers innovation meetings and presentations at its Swiss offices. Another way to make connections with potential partners abroad is through OSEC (www. osec.ch), the Swiss export promotional agency, which is present in all markets and also organizes joint exhibitions at trade shows.
Step 3
Step 4 All the contacts for these groups, from A to Z, are on www.startup.ch.
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
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CTI Invest
The Swiss Venture Platform
TOP 100 CTI Support
The complete package for entrepreneurs Using leading-edge technology to swiftly build an internationally successful company – that’s the task facing Swiss entrepreneurs. The Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) supports them in achieving this goal with a process that is unique in Europe.
“The CTI projects were and are a great help to us,” comments Mark Blum from Optotune, the #1 among the Swiss startups. He’s in good company. A great deal of the companies in the Top 100 list have profited from the services offered by this innovations agency. The founders of Dacuda, for instance – #2 on the list – would probably never have met each other without the venturelab courses that are part of the CTI Entrepreneurship program. In addition, most of the companies bear the CTI Startup Label and were supported by experienced CT I coaches. With the services it offers, CTI supports company founders from the initial concept through to continuous innovation projects for an established company. This support is based on three pillars: CTI Entrepreneurship The focus here is on awareness and training courses conducted under the venturelab name. The awareness portion is targeted primarily at university students and staff members. The subsequent training program is also open to others, such as experienced professionals who want to branch out on their own. The services range from joint work on a business concept to assistance in writing a professional business plan and to practicing presentation skills for meetings with investors.
■
CTI Start-up Ambitious entrepreneurs are supported with coaching that takes place as part of CTI Start-up. The process begins with a fundamental review of the business concept. If this hurdle is overcome, what follows is a four to six-week evaluation at the end of which a committee of independent experts conducts a review in what is known as “coaching acceptance.” If they reach a positive decision, the applicant is entitled to business coaching from a CTI coach that,
CTI SUPPORT PROCESS
Project promotion
Venturelab
CTI Invest
Start-up Coaching
depending on the needs, lasts from six months to two years. At the end of this coaching phase, the entrepreneur’s project earns the label “CTI Certified,” which is intended to help the company when it starts looking for capital. CTI Start-up’s most important assets are the approximately 50 experts who take an active part in supporting the budding companies as coaches and mentors. They ’ve all worked at least once at the upper management level during the development of a startup, have experience in crisis management and can access a dense network of national and international contacts in their industry sectors.
research policy; projects dealing with applied research from all industrial sectors and disciplines are welcome. Each proposed project is vetted for two key criteria: what it offers in terms of new scientific or technological advances, and the innovation’s economic potential. The projects are approved by an expert committee within just a few weeks. CTI Invest This public-private partnership is the contact platform for entrepreneurs and investors. Extremely promising startups can introduce themselves to venture capitalists and business angels at regularly scheduled events. The services provided by CTI have proven themselves over the years, but there are constantly new angles. At the end of August, for instance, the first innovation voucher was issued to a company that wanted to start an innovation project. With the voucher in hand, that company can now begin looking for the academic research partner of its choice, and while doing so, receive support from CTI experts. A review of the list of top startups makes it clear that this recent addition is also interesting for entrepreneurs: Federal Councilor Schneider-Ammann handed over one of the first three vouchers to Michael Sauter of compliant concept (#73). ■
“A great deal of the Top 100 startups have taken advantage of CTI’s services”
■
Project promotion Turning knowledge into money is the ultimate goal when it comes to project financing. A CTI project is always set up as a partnership between a company and a research institute recognized by CTI, with CTI assuming the costs of the academic partner in an amount of up to 50 percent of the overall budget. CTI operates according to the bottom-up principle. That means that no preconditions are placed on the topic or ■
Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
37
TOP 100 Column
Startups – the seeds of tomorrow’s growth
“
Whenever I hear the word
in a meaningful way on the international
“startup”, I immediately think
scene. Why is that? Conditions are not
of “Silicon Valley ”. An emble-
worse than anywhere else. Money is
matic and mythical place. Some 100 square
available for good ideas and teams. And
kilometers. The birthplace of so many
thanks to the internet, the world has never
startups. Apple, ebay, Yahoo, Google,
been more open. A desk, a computer
Facebook, Paypal, Twitter, Groupon, to
and a high bandwidth line are all what is
name some of the most visible one; all
needed to become a worldwide company.
BILD: FRED PODOLAK
started there. Today, the market capitaliza-
Daniel Borel, born in 1950, founded Logitech in 1981 with two colleagues. What started on a farm in the small village of Apples in the canton of Vaud is now the world market leader in personal computer peripherals, with approximately 11,000 employees and revenues of USD 2.4 billion. Borel, who served 12 years as CEO, is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors.
tion of these companies is sky high. In
As new fields are developing – nanotech-
some 30 years for the oldest ones, and less
nology and biotechnology for instance –
than a decade for the youngest ones, they
and there is still plenty of room to do great
have become true engines of growth,
things in more chartered territories, I am
employment and … fun. They have chan-
very happy to see new “Swiss” young
ged the way we live, work, learn, enter-
entrepreneurs taking up the challenge. In
tain and communicate. They have develo-
a meaningful way, they contribute to the
ped a worldwide reach and attract the
broadening of our “industrial” landscape
most creative and brilliant minds around
and create high value added and exciting
the world. Not bad, considering that they
jobs.
were born in a “garage”! Our future depends heavily on their ability In a unique way, Silicon Valley has mana-
to dream up and develop the engines of
ged to create an eco-system in which seeds
to-morrow’s growth, which are so necessary to maintain our privileged and high
special is its spirit. It is the dream shared
standard of living.
by so many young and less young people; it is the desire to “be part of it”; the passion to invent the future.
“Our future is riding on the skill and talent of Swiss entrepreneurs”
At the root of everything, a bunch of young entrepreneurs ready to take on the world and make their dream come true. Money is not the driving force. Because money will never compensate the seven-day weeks, sleepless nights, periods of doubt and questioning. Passion is the true motivation. If success is at the “rendezvous”, which is not always the case, it will be a nice plus. But most definitely, the journey is the reward. In Switzerland, we have plenty of very talented and well educated young people. But relatively few entrepreneurs. And too few startups yet that go beyond the development of a small local cluster, and make it
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Top 100 | Start-ups 2011 | www.startup.ch
”
can thrive. But what truly makes it so
Daniel Borel
This is even better than the
TOP 1OO
You can now find the best Swiss start-ups 2011 on startup.ch, the internet platform for innovative companies and investors, incl. the TOP 100, many videos and other infos. Register today and get infected by the start-up groove. Here is where the who’s who of the Swiss start-up scene is listed. Besides, it‘s from here that the next TOP 100 for 2012 get nominated. Start with us at www.startup.ch