venture kick booklet

Kick Swiss Innovation to Global Markets

Supported by venture kick: Dr. Thomas M端ller and Patricia Fischer, founders of Pearltec AG

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Contents

Let's start businesses and create jobs venture kick – closing the gap in the Swiss innovation chain

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Creating thousands of new jobs – the impact of venture kick

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How venture kick works – three stages to obtain CHF 130,000 in pre-seed capital

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Organization – the people behind venture kick

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Interview with the first venture kick winner – Stefan Tuchschmid, Virtamed

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Success Stories: Celeroton Lemoptix and Attolight

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Poken and InSphero

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Pearltec and Zurich Instruments

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routeRANK and Optotune

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Voices from the Jury

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International and national awards won by venture kick alumni

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Supported startup companies

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The venture kick jury

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Why we donate

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Closing the gap

venture kick – closing the gap in the Swiss innovation chain

venture kick was created to help identify, structure and promote promising business ideas, with a clear set of objectives: Double the number of university startups We want more scientists at Swiss universities to explore the startup potential of their research.

venture kick supports potential entrepreneurs by giving them the opportunity to win up to CHF 130,000 in pre-seed capital. Startups can also take advantage of the expertise of experienced coaches and entrepreneurs and gain access to a national network of investors and startup experts. venture kick provides a unique and cutting-edge approach with a proven track record for creating new high tech startups in Switzerland.

Statement

Launched on June 12th 2007, on the Swiss television show «startup», the venture kick initiative was created to close a gap in the innovation chain. Many research projects carried out in Swiss universities have the potential to be turned into promising businesses. Unfortunately, this transfer between academia and the market often fails due to a lack of business know-how on the part of the potential entrepreneurs, as well as insufficient pre-seed capital to explore the market potential and structure a strong business case to attract investors.

Patrizia Fischer Founder and CEO of Pearltec AG

«Our medtech company Pearltec would simply not exist without venture kick. We benefited not only from the 130,000 Swiss francs, but also from the helpful coaching in the kickers camps.»

Cut time-to-market by half We want to speed up the process of structuring business opportunities and startup companies.

Secure more startup funding and network We want to improve the quality of projects, in order to attract and secure investments from business angels and venture capitalists.

Unique venture kick combines donations «à fonds perdu» with an achievement-oriented awarding procedure to early-stage entrepreneurs. The beneficiaries of venture kick are selected by a pool of highly qualified jury members that includes investors, entrepreneurs and startup supporters.

Leading venture kick works in close collaboration with all Swiss universities and relevant organizations in the field of high tech entrepreneurship. Strong connections are established, thanks to the jury pool of nearly 100 influential individuals who represent a broad swath of the Swiss startup ecosystem. www.venturekick.ch

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Impact

CHF 5.5 million in pre-seed capital, donated to 151 startup projects, led to CHF 80 million in financing and more than 1,000 jobs – this is venture kick's track record since September 2007.

Creating thousands of new jobs – the impact of venture kick Until 2010, a total of 670 projects applied for venture kick funding, an average of 20 applications every month. Approximately two thirds of these originated in the Germanspeaking part of Switzerland, and one third from the French-speaking part.

A third of the registered projects are linked to the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne.

The other applications come from 20 other universities from throughout the country, an indication that venture kick has been able to launch a national initiative within a short period of time.

290 candidates presented Until 2010, 290 candidates out of the 670 applications were invited to make the stage 1 presentation. Of these, 26 spin-offs were granted the final kick of CHF 100,000, i.e. those startups received a total of CHF 130,000 in pre-seed money. The chart below gives an overview of the number of projects supported in the various stages.

151 Supported Projects Applications:

An analysis of applications by sector shows that all disciplines are represented. However, most projects are in Information & Communication Technologies (44%), followed

by Medtech (11%), Biotech (8%), Cleantech (6%) and Micro/Nanotech (5%). The remaining applications (26%) are difficult to assign to a specific category due to their diversity and interdisciplinary nature.

The results of venture kick at a glance • 670+ applications, 16% from women • 151 startup projects supported with a total of 5.5 million CHF in seed-capital • 100+ new Swiss companies incorporated • 1,000+ new jobs created in Switzerland • 80+ million CHF financing volume attracted by the venture kick-promoted startups • 90+ experts across Switzerland in the jury pool to evaluate and support the startup projects

The number of applications from women increased from 11% – 16 % of the total. This is remarkable, considering that the proportion of women remains low among doctoral students, professors and postdoctoral researchers in the scientific and technological disciplines.

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Presented to the Jury: 290 Stage 1 (CHF 10,000): 151 Stage 2 (CHF 20,000):

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Stage 3 (CHF 100,000): 26 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

100+ new startups with 1,000+ jobs The quality of the projects supported by venture kick is demonstrated by the number of effectively incorporated startups, as well as in the amount of funds raised by these companies. Out of 151 supported projects with a cumulated CHF 5.5 million pre-seed money, 100+ projects have turned into companies. They have raised more than CHF 80 million. in financing and have created more than 1,000 new jobs.

Hence, for each CHF of support granted by venture kick, the startups were able to raise another 15 CHF. Taking into account the time lag between support and company creation, the current impact of venture kick is still only partially visible. The creation of new companies and new jobs is growing continuously. So far, more than 90% of the supported projects were incorporated within one year.

Impact

CHF 7 million in additional funding is needed to kick-off another 200 startup companies at Swiss universities, providing 2,000 sustainable jobs for Switzerland.

Strong future impact on job creation venture kick aims at expanding its successful program and increasing its impact by kicking-off another 200 innovative startup companies at Swiss universities, thus creating 2,000 more new jobs. Our goal for 2014: 300 successfully growing startups that provide a total of 3,000 sustainable jobs.

Our goal: 300 startups with 3,000 jobs in 2014 3‘000 2‘700 2‘400

Looking for new donors to increase the impact of venture kick To reach this ambitious goal, venture kick needs to raise CHF 7 million. While the initial funding for venture kick was granted by private foundations, the organization is now looking for additional funding partners to be able to kick more of the great Swiss innovation to market.

2‘100 1‘800 1‘500 1‘200 900 600 300

If you are interested in supporting venture kick, please contact:

0 2007 Actual

2008 Actual

Beat Schillig, +41 (71) 242 98 68 Kirchlistrasse 1, 9010 St. Gallen beat.schillig@venturekick.ch

Statement

Jordi Montserrat, +41 (21) 693 90 71 PSE-C, 1015 Lausanne jordi.montserrat@venturekick.ch

Arnaud Bertrand, Founder and CEO of Housetrip SA

«Without the kick, we simply couldn’t have launched our company! The most useful initiative ever! I can say with confidence that the day I won venture kick ranks amongst the best in my life.»

2009 Actual

2010 Actual

2011 Target

2012 Target

2013 Target

2014 Target

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Process

In order to receive CHF 130,000, applicants must prove the potential of their startup projects in three phases. Each phase ends with a presentation in front of a highly-qualified jury of investors, entrepreneurs and technology experts. In addition, the startups benefit from hands-on coaching to further develop their business ideas.

How venture kick works – three stages to obtain CHF 130,000 in pre-seed capital

Working on innovative business ideas

CHF 10,000 FOR A BRILLIANT BUSINESS IDEA Stage 1: Every month, eight selected projects are given the opportunity to present their business ideas in front of a jury of successful entrepreneurs and investors. The applicants need to have a strong vision and a clear idea of how to turn their research project into a sustainable business. The four winning projects receive CHF 10,000 each, and are automatically qualified for the second stage three months later.

CHF 100,000 FOR A SUCCESSFUL STARTUP Stage 3: Six months later the project teams have to be ready for the market. They have written convincing business plans, formed teams and secured their intellectual property.

They’ve also received expert coaching advice in a second kickers camp. Now all that remains is to convince the jury and investors once more. Two of the four presenting startups get the last financial kick of CHF 100,000.

CHF 20,000 FOR A SOLID BUSINESS CASE Stage 2: During these three months, the project teams structure their business ideas, target initial customers and strategic partners, collect feedback and work out a convincing investor presentation. The teams are invited to a two-day «kickers camp» in which they are coached by experienced entrepreneurs. Once again, they will present their business case to a jury. This time only two projects out of the four pass on to the next stage and receive CHF 20,000.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION The program is open to individuals with a business idea who are currently enrolled in a Swiss academic institution (student, PhD student, post-doc, senior scientist, professor, etc.), in any scientific field, and who wish to start their company in Switzerland. Applicants must not have already received any venture capital.

Application

1st Stage: Business idea

Kickers camp

2nd Stage: Business case

Kickers camp

3rd Stage: Ready for Market

Kickers camp

Selection of 8 projects every month

Presentation in front of a jury: 4 out of 8 projects get CHF 10,000

Coaching by experienced entrepreneurs

Presentation in front of a jury: 2 out of 4 projects get CHF 20,000

Coaching by experienced entrepreneurs

Presentation in front of a jury: 2 out of 4 projects get CHF 100,000

Coaching by experienced entrepreneurs

3 months

6 months

Organization

Legal structure venture kick is a sub-fund of the umbrella foundation Fondation des Fondateurs (FdF), a non-profit, tax-exempt foundation supervised by the Swiss Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations. The Board of Trustees of FdF has delegated all strategic and managerial tasks of venture kick to the venture kick Strategy Board. The FdF Board oversees the business activities of venture kick based on annual reporting.

Strategy Board The Strategy Board defines venture kick’s medium and long-term objectives. It is composed of representatives of the supporting foundations and successful entrepreneurs.

FdF representatives hold a majority in the Strategy Board and select the additional members. Members of the Strategy Board: Dr. Pascale Vonmont, representing GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG, delegate; Evelyn S. Braun, representing AVINA STIFTUNG; Dr. Roger Schmid, representing ERNST GÖHNER STIFTUNG and OPO-Stiftung; Dr. Igor Fisch, Selexis SA. Management The Strategy Board has commissioned the operational management to the Institut für Jungunternehmen in St. Gallen. Two managing directors, Jordi Montserrat (head of French-speaking Switzerland) and Beat Schillig (head of German-speaking Switzerland) share responsibility for managing venture kick.

Beat Schillig

venture kick is a private donor initiative. Initial financing came from four foundations: GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG, ERNST GÖHNER STIFTUNG, AVINA STIFTUNG and OPOSTIFTUNG. New partners are welcome to continue and expand the success of venture kick!

Jordi Montserrat

Organization - the people behind venture kick Jordi Montserrat is in charge of the venturelab program in Western Switzerland and was also one of the founders of venture kick in 2007. For the past 15 years, he has been active in the Swiss high-tech scene, contributing to the development of innovative businesses and stimulating the Swiss startup ecosystem.

Beat Schillig has been Managing Partner of IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen since 1999. As CoFounder, Investor and Board Member, he has been involved in a dozen startups including jobs.ch, Brainsto-Ventures, Umantis, Prospective, Exsila and Supertext. In 2004, he was appointed by the Federal innovation promotion agency CTI to launch the startup training program venturelab. In 2007 he was one of the founders of venture kick.

Jury venture kick has access to a pool of jury members (listed on page 18) composed of qualified technical and business experts. A selected number of jury members evaluate the startup projects during each jury session.

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Interview

VirtaMed was the first startup company to win the complete venture kick pre-seed capital of 130,000 Swiss francs. A short interview with Co-founder Stefan Tuchschmid.

Interview with the first venture kick winner - Stefan Tuchschmid, Virtamed How did you invest the 130,000 Swiss Francs you got from venture kick?

The venture kick money came at the right moment! We used it for the construction of our first devices. The money helped us a lot to speed up the development process of VirtaMed.

Stefan Tuchschmid, CEO VirtaMed AG

venture kick offers not only money but also a coaching program. How did VirtaMed benefit?

The coaching we got had at least the same value as the money we received. Together with experts we developed a trade fair concept that proved itself in practice. We also appreciated the inspiring discussions with other startups.

How did the jury support your startup?

After presenting three times in front of a very challenging jury, we were very well prepared for pitches in front of investors. The experience with the venture kick jury helped us improve our presentation and strengthened our self-confidence.

The VirtaMed system in use

How would you describe the development of your company over the last few years?

So far we have successfully launched two products. We are globally active and could create a great team with very motivated co-workers.

What is your vision for the next five years?

We want to expand our leading position – always with the goal to improve the quality of patient care. We want to be an innovative company that can offer interesting jobs in the high-tech sector in Switzerland and abroad.

About VirtaMed To prepare surgeons for difficult gynecologic and urologic procedures, VirtaMed has developed highly realistic virtual reality trainers. The surgical simulators allow physicians to practice their skills without risk for patients. Dr. Stefan Tuchschmid, founder and CEO of VirtaMed: «Our mission is to develop state-of-the-art training tools for endoscopic surgery of highest possible realism, all with the ultimate goal to improve the quality of patient care.»

Hands-on training tool for urologists VirtaMed has launched two products: HystSimTM, a simulator that provides instructional teaching and training of diagnostic and therapeutic hysteroscopy, and TURPSimTM, for training of transurethral resection of the prostate. For distribution and marketing of the simulators, VirtaMed joined forces with Simbionix in 2009, the world’s leading company for medical simulation systems.

Successful re-orientation «In 2009, we shifted our focus to the industry, i.e. medical device manufacturers. We can help them to make an innovative impression at conferences and reduce training costs. Out of this win-win-situation, we developed the EssureSimTM», explains Stefan Tuchschmid. This add-on software module for the HystSimTM simulator teaches surgeons how to correctly place micro-inserts for permanent birth control.

Realistic simulation based on surgical experience The simulators, developed in close collaboration with the University Hospital of Zurich, are now used all over the world. From Australia to Switzerland to the USA and China, prospective surgeons rely on the new training tool. The VirtaMed simulators are primarily user and not technologydriven. Continuous exposure to clinical reality shaped the development and tailored the simulators to the specific training needs of future surgeons. www.virtamed.com

Success Stories

Celeroton: more than one million rotations per minute This summer Solar Impulse, Bertrand Piccard’s ambitious project, became the first manned solar-powered aircraft in aviation history to fly through the night with no fuel. Piccard plans to circumnavigate the world with his plane in 2013.

The aircraft conceals a wealth of state-of-the-art technology and innovative design. More than 80 partners, including many Swiss companies, are providing Solar Impulse with the components of the plane or are helping to build, test and fly the prototype and the final airplane. One of them is Celeroton, working together with ETH Zurich’s Power Electronic Systems Laboratory, where the spin-off company originated, and German partner companies.

A new world record Celeroton AG, a startup company founded by Martin Bartholet and Christof Zwyssig, develops and manufactures ultra-high-speed electrical drive systems that can achieve more than a million rotations per minute. This is a world record. The drive systems are designed for highest efficiency and lowest volume and weight. The innovation lies in the interdisciplinary design including mechanics, electromagnetics, electronics and software, combined with superior customer support.

Use for many different fields In Bertrand Piccard’s final solar plane, Celeroton’s drive system is planned to be integrated in the compressor, which provides oxygen to the crew. But this is not the only sector in which Celeroton’s technology can be used. The dental and medical industry is also a key market for the young company, for example, in dental drills. Martin Bartholet explains: «Until now a standard dental drill rotates with 20,000 revolutions per minute and needs an electromotor with a gear box. With our system, no bigger than a matchbox, we can replace the old and bulky systems to make the drills smaller and lighter and even more ergonomic for the dentist to work with.»

A great opportunity to build a network Celeroton was founded in 2008, while Martin Bartholet and

Christof Zwyssig were still completing their PhDs. Initially, they had planned to work for a large company, but their professor Johan Kolar and a visit to the venture challenge semester course, which encourages students to develop their own business ideas, led them to change their minds.

Supported by venture kick In December 2007, Martin Bartholet and his team passed the first stage of venture kick. In September 2008 they had gone through the whole process. The money is helping Celerotons’s vision come true. Martin Bartholet: «We want to be the world leader for miniaturized ultra-high-speed electrical drive systems and replace volume and weight with speed across all industries!»

Partners around the world The company, headquartered in the Technopark Zurich, currently has eight employees and sells its products all over the world – from France to Russia over to Japan, Korea and the United States. www.celeroton.com

Martin Bartholet, CEO Celereton AG

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Sucess Stories

Microprojections and great expectations

Lemoptix projectors use RGB laser light sources instead of LED, providing superior image quality

«The problem with TV on mobile phones?

Nobody wants to watch a movie on a 6 cm2 display!» Nicolas Abelé points out the problem encountered by mobile product manufacturers. What is the point of creating smaller and smaller devices if the size of the screens doesn't provide an adequate viewing experience for the user? A key solution to this challenge is to embed a projector into the mobile device. When the device includes projection capability, the user can choose

to use a small display for basic information (such as dialed telephone numbers) and large projection display for information-rich media.

Created in 2008 by Nicolas Abelé, Marco Boella, Faouzi Khechana and Lucio Kilcher, Lemoptix designs, develops and commercializes plug & play laser microprojection systems based on optical MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) scanning micromirror technology. Lemoptix projectors use RGB laser light sources instead of LED, providing superior image quality and high energy efficiency. In addition to the mobile phone market, this technology can be used for form recognition, barcode scanners and information display, for example on car windscreens. In 2008 Lemoptix received its final 100,000 Swiss francs of venture kick financing. www.lemoptix.com

Beyond the limits of size and time

Samuel Sonderegger and Jean Berney (from left to right), the two co-founders of Attolight

«Faster, smaller and beyond.» This could be Attolight's motto. This EPFL spinoff chose another one to promote its technological innovation, however. «We have created the camera of the nanoworld,» Samuel Sonderegger explains.

In 2004, as the young physicist worked with Jean Berney at EPFL’s Institute of Quantum Electronics and Photonics, the team reached a significant milestone, overcoming the intrinsic limitations of optical measurement techniques.

equipment to see what happens in the nanoworld – a unique environment in which the dimensions of time and space behave differently than they do in our daily life.

The EPFL team provides a new, convincing solution working at the nanometer scale (10-9 meters) and measuring picosecond (10-12 seconds) events. «Our system couples electron microscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy and can characterize novel nanostructures.»

«The tool we have developed consists of a modified electron microscope and yields combined spatial and temporal resolution of 50 nanometers and 10 picoseconds – a true scientific breakthrough. These limits were unreachable before,» he adds. A wide range of scientific experiments need extremely accurate measurement systems. In fact, any attempt to work on new light sources or semiconductor structures – in short, any new form of material – would be unsuccessful if scientists did not have the appropriate

After publishing the first scientific measurements using this technology in the prestigious journal Nature, in 2005, Berney and Sonderegger decided to launch their own company.They participated in venture kick, passed all three stages successfully and founded their company in 2008. The startup is currently closing a financing round and plans to start selling to customers in R&D laboratories next year. www.attolight.com

Success Stories

Poken: bridging online and real-word social networking Like many other good business ideas, Poken started as a solution to a personal problem.

When Stéphane Doutriaux was leaving business school, all his fellows started writing e-mail and social network addresses on Stéphane Doutriaux, bits of paper, and promised to Founder Poken SA send each other new cell phone numbers. He was sure that there must be a better way to stay in contact, and invented Poken, an electronic business card based on a simple principle: Hold two Poken palms to-

gether and the data gets transmitted. That was back in 2006. In December 2007, Doutriaux entered the venture kick process and founded his company, whose headquarters are in Lausanne. His business case convinced the jury in all three stages, and Doutriaux won the full venture kick amount of 130,000 Swiss francs. Today Poken is the acknowledged market leader in bridging online and real-world social networking. Partners in major countries around the globe sell the practical gadgets, with which contact details are easily exchanged and imported directly into programs like Outlook. www.poken.com

Fewer animal tests, thanks to InSphero

The founders of InSphero: Dr. Jan Lichtenberg, Dr. Jens Kelm, Dr. Wolfgang Moritz Based on culture systems which allow the formation of three-dimensional microtissues, the startup InSphero has developed a new test method for screening biochemical compounds that can be integrated into established pharmaceutical development processes. With InSphero’s revolutionary and worldwide unique solution, the drug production process can be accelerated. In numbers, this means that the pharmaceutical industries can save tens of millions of dollars.

Founded in 2009, InSphero has already introduced a number of tumor microtissues for efficacy studies to the market.

Six global pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies are among the customers of the young eleven-employee startup company. But this is just the beginning. Jan Lichtenberg, cofounder and CEO of InSphero, sets his sights high: «In 5 years, InSphero’s biological microtissues will be a gold standard for testing new pharmaceutical and cosmetic compounds. They will have replaced a substantial part of common test technologies and some of our customers will completely rely on our methods to identify promising drug candidates at the in vitro stage of their development process. As a result, drug development becomes safer, more efficient and requires less animal testing.» After successfully completing earlier contest stages in November 2008 and April 2009, InSphero's management team also convinced the venture kick jury on August 26, 2009. Jan Lichtenberg comments: «venture kick offers great support, which helped us a lot to speed up our way to market and find suitable investors.» www.insphero.com

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Success Stories

Pearltec: more comfort for patients during medical scanning During medical scanning such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the patient should be positioned and immobilized to obtain high-quality images. Although this sounds easy, it can be very uncomfortable for the patient. This is where Pearltec comes in. The ETH spin-off offers a new, easy-to-use patient positioning device/system with high wear comfort and efficient patient fixation/immobilization.

Patrizia Fischer and Dr. Thomas Müller

Patrizia Fischer and her team have developed a unique system composed of carefully positioned polystyrene pearls and inflatable air chambers. When the chambers are filled with air, the pearls adapt to the patient’s body shape. With

this simple construction, the examination region can be stabilized. The results are better images, fewer sequences that have to be repeated, and relaxed patients.

From its origins as a research project at ETH to a working and successful business model, Patrizia Fischer and her team were supported by venture kick. «We benefited not only from the 130,000 Swiss francs, but also from the helpful coaching in the kickers camps between the jury sessions. Pearltec would simply not exist without venture kick!» www.pearltec.ch

Zurich Instruments: measuring performance, supporting innovation

The fab' three of Zurich Instruments: Flavio Heer, Sadik Hafizovic and Beat Hofstetter

With a Bosnian father, an American mother, a childhood spent in Germany, Saudi Arabia and the USA, and a thesis in Japan and at the ETHZ, Sadik Hafizovic had the core qualities to be elected to the venture leaders team in 2008: a strong experience of how things work in Switzerland and abroad and a strong desire to build his own company.

«While I was studying microsystems technology in Freiburg, Germany, I was earning a living by running a one man company offering software programming and computer installation services. I had to communicate with a wide variety of people ranging from programmers and marketing to management. With the foundation of Zurich Instruments, I realized a long-standing, long-planned-for project: a high-tech spinoff with a group of highly capable people,» he recalls.

With Flavio Heer and Beat Hofstetter, Hafizovic launched an innovative technology company that develops and sells

advanced test and measurement instruments for dynamic signal analysis. These products are used in many fields of application by high-tech research laboratories and industrial development sites. «Our product philosophy is derived from observing the complexity of many laboratory setups; devices are stacked upon each other and numerous interconnects introduce an unnecessary potential for error. We help users reduce the complexity of their setups by combining the required functions into fewer boxes,» Hafizovic explains.

Zurich Instruments' devices can be used in any technological field in which measuring vibration is crucial: semi-conductor manufacturing, quality control for the food industry, and the healthcare industry. Their potential applications convinced many entrepreneurship specialists, including the venture kick jury, which awarded Zurich Instruments with the full grant of 130,000 Swiss francs. www.zhinst.com

Success Stories

Travelling green with routeRANK Many online travelling platforms can be accessed on the internet. But only routeRANK considers all factors of the entire travel route. The startup company, founded by mathematician Jochen Mundinger, provides a software solution for travel planning that integrates rail, road and air connections. In a single search, routeRANK finds and ranks the best possible and the least polluting travel routes, allowing users to sort them according to their priorities such as price, travel time and CO2 emissions. Thanks to a collaboration with the nonprofit organization My-Climate, the re-

maining emissions are easily offset. The success of the EPFLbased spin-off comes not only from its permanent innovations and the expansion of its travelling data across the world, but also from strong partnerships, for example with Nokia and WWF. A customized version of the software is also used by the Swiss Government.

In September 2007 routeRANK entered the venture kick process and went successfully through all three stages. www.routerank.com

Jochen Mundinger, Founder Routerank SA

Revolutionizing the market for optical systems When hard glass and plastic components reach their limits, soft polymer-based materials offer new solutions. The same is true for optics. The startup company Optotune has developed and patented a technology based on electro-active polymers that enables a series of adaptive optical lenses that imitate the principle of the human eye. Instead of moving lenses back and forth, Optotune bends them by applying a voltage.

Optotune’s lenses can be used in a number of different industries. At the moment the market for cameras, especially in mobile phones, is particularly interesting. The company is currently prototyping a miniaturized camera lens which offers optical zoom, high-speed autofocus and a good macro mode in the size of a sugar cube. This means that future mobile phones will contain cameras with the features of today’s digital cameras, without having to compromise on size, weight or power consumption. The market has embraced Optotune’s technology, and the company’s engi-

neers now face the challenge of selecting the best markets.

Products have been shipped to European countries as well as to the United States, Japan, China and India. Twenty employees work for the young company, founded in 2008 and located in Dübendorf. In a few years this number will likely double. Mark Blum, Optotune’s co-founder, is optimistic: «We expect to grow to about 50 people in the next 5 years.

Innovation is very important to us. We are continuously patenting new ideas and have several new products in the pipeline.» venture kick supported the Optotune team on its way to success with the full amount of 130,000 Swiss francs. Not only the money, but also the coaching gave a boost to the startup company. Mark Blum states: «The kickers camp is a great opportunity to discuss and improve your business plan. It's not just a lecture; it's a discussion and working session. Very productive!» www.optotune.com

Mark Blum, Co-Founder Optotune AG

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Jury statements

Close to 100 investors, entrepreneurs and experts from the Swiss startup scene are active on the venture kick jury. They are convinced that venture kick has found the ideal way to support young and innovative entrepreneurs.

Voices from the Jury

«venture kick is a great program for young entrepreneurs helping them to build successful businesses.»

Diego A. Braguglia is partner at VI Partners AG, a leading Swiss venture capital firm that supports university spin-offs as well as other promising startups. The company manages an investment fund of CHF 101 million, with investors representing 10 blue-chip enterprises from industry and finance. «venture kick is definitely one of the best supports a young entrepreneur could find. Not only money but lot of expertise and networking is accessible. Even if the project is not selected, the venture kick application process will provide the entrepreneur with high value tools to best leverage his venture. The initiative represents a genuine and smart invitation to add entrepreneurial flavor in high technology backed minds. Young students have the opportunity to access the entrepreneurial world with solid support and coaching. The jury members are well connected and able to provide entrepreneurs with valid introductions which would not be so easily accessible on stand-alone.»

Pierre Strubin is Director at FONGIT, the high-tech business incubator in Geneva. Prior to joining FONGIT, Pierre worked for many years at ABB, IEC and LEM, as a general manager for the component division. In 1986 he started his first experience as an entrepreneur and set up different startups. «venture kick is presently the most stimulating initiative for entrepreneurs in Switzerland, with clear and well-structured steps to move forward with high-tech projects. It allows a quick decision process for allocation of funds for very early stage projects. The great number of supported projects demonstrates and publicizes the fact that creating companies is something which is possible in Switzerland.

Being part of the support network for startups in the Lake Geneva Region, it gives me the opportunity to contribute to the selection of the most promising projects.»

Prof. Andrea Pfeifer co-founded AC Immune SA in 2003 and serves the company as Chief Executive Officer. Before she was head of Nestlé's Global Research in Lausanne. She is an international expert in Biotech and a Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Lausanne. In 2009 she won the «Swiss Life Science/High-Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award».

«For more than 100 years Switzerland has had a leading position in the area of High-tech/Life Sciences. It is our duty to support the entrepreneurial spirit in our country. In this context venture kick is a very good instrument to ensure the success of emerging companies in the coming decades.»

Philip Bodmer is founder of Bodmer & Partners Consultants AG, vice-president of the Swiss Volkswirtschaftsstifung and active as a Business Angel. He belongs to the members of StartAngels Network and is board member of several Swiss companies. «venture kick is a great program for young entrepreneurs, helping them to build successful businesses which result in vital contributions to the growth of the Swiss economy.»

Michael Moppert has founded the company Day Software 1993 and made it into an international, successful enterprise. In summer 2010 he got a takeover bid from Adobe, one of the world’s biggest technology providers, amounting to more than 250 million Swiss francs.

«In the jury of venture kick we have the privilege to see an enormous range of ideas and personalities. This is very inspiring. As I know some of the situations these teams have to go through, I hope that I can help them with my experience. In my own career I would have appreciated the opportunity to ask experienced experts for their advice.»

Awards

The potential of our supported projects is not only recognized by the jury members of venture kick but also by other awards. This is also evident from the long list of other prizes that have been won by venture kick alumni. A sampling:

Awards won by venture kickers International awards

National awards

Red Herring 100 Europe Award 2010: - SalsaDEV, Stéphane Gamard 2009: - KeyLemon, Gilles Florey

CTI Start-up Label 2010: - Dacuda, Alexander Ilic - InSphero, Wolfgang Moritz - Poken, Stéphane Doutriaux - Palisis, Nico Niesper 2009: - Excellness Biotech, Pierre-Jean Wipff - Lemoptix, Nicolas Abelé - Preclin Biosystems, Bettina Ernst - Pearltec, Patrizia Fischer 2008: - Basisnote, Manuel Kaegi - ACL Instruments, Fabian Käser - Virtamed, Stefan Tuchschmid - Zurich Instruments, Sadik Hafizovic

Get Funded Show (World Travel Market, London) 2009: - HouseTrip, Arnaud Bertrand Red Herring Global 2009: - routeRANK, Jochen Mundinger (nominated) - KeyLemon, Gilles Florey (nominated) Microsoft ICT Award 2009: - routeRANK, Jochen Mundinger (nominated) Tech Crunch Europe-Shortlist 2009: - Poken, Stéphane Doutriaux

Venture 2010: - Malcisbo, Lino Camponovo (2nd Rang) - Swissaudec, Clemens Par (3rd Rang) - Stemergie Biotechnology, Virginie Clément (4th Rang) - Marmota, Michael Iten (6th Rang) - labseed, Pietro Maggiori (6th Rang) - Virometix, Nina Geib (6th Rang) 2008: - Optotune, Mark Blum (1st Rang) - Celeroton, Martin Bartholet (3rd Rang) - Aleva Neurotherapeutics, Andre Mercanzini (4th Rang) - Preclin Biosystems, Bettina Ernst (6th Rang) Swiss Technology Award 2010: - Malcisbo, Lino Camponovo (1st seed) - Optotune, Mark Blum (1st startup)

Heuberger Winterthur Jungunternehmerpreis 2009: - InSphero, Wolfgang Moritz - compliant concept, Michael Sauter - Bioversys, Marc Gitzinger De Vigier 2010: - Pearltec, Patrizia Fischer - greenTEG, Etienne Schwyter - Nanotion, Christopher Latkoczy 2009: - Celeroton, Martin Bartholet - Optotune, Mark Blum - Zurich Instruments, Sadik Hafizovic Tomorrow’s market award 2009: - Imina Technologies, Christophe Canales ZKB Pionierpreis 2010: - Dacuda, Alexander Ilic (nominated) 2009: - Optotune, Mark Blum Swiss ICT Award 2009: - Poken, Stéphane Doutriaux PERL – innovation prize 2009: - Excellness Biotech, Pierre-Jean Wipff

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Supported startups

Have a look at the entrepreneurs supported by venture kick who incorporated their companies in the last three years.

Supported startup companies ICT

Optotune AG was incorporated 2008.

They plan to grow to a 50+ employee company by 2014.

Acevedo Bell Bertrand Burri Christen Crivelli Dell'Endice Doutriaux Egbring Florey Gamard Jörg Jouni Kuhn Lakhwani Mundinger Odersky Pignolet Raps Rizzotti Roduner Rump Schickel Shaame Sorci Volk Yersin Zimmermann

Manuel Dominik Arnaud Nicolas David Zeno Francesco Stéphane Marco Gilles Stéphane Thomas Kassem Marcus Ajay Jochen Martin Yvonne-Anne Michael Sven Christof Flavio Vincent Shaban Matteo Martin Barbara Philip

MadeInLocal GmbH Aeon Scientific AG HouseTrip SA StreamForge GmbH ServiceHunter AG Jime AG QualySense AG Poken SA EPha.ch AG KeyLemon SA salsaDev SA Cinexe AG Hoskit Solutions Sàrl connex.io GmbH Namahe GmbH routeRank SA Scala Solutions Sàrl Fybit GmbH 4DAgent GmbH useKit AG Mirasense AG Goodshine GmbH Prediggo AG EverdreamSoft Sàrl nViso Sàrl TextShuttle GmbH Minsh Sàrl Nebion AG

EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich EHL - Ecole Hoteliere ETH Zurich Uni Zurich EPF Lausanne Uni Zurich IMD Lausanne Uni Zurich HEVS EPF Lausanne ZHAW EHL Uni St. Gallen IMD Lausanne EPF Lausanne EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich FHNW Uni Basel ETH Zurich ETH Zurich EPF Lausanne Uni Geneva EPF Lausanne Uni Zurich EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich

Electronics/Mechanics Angiolini Aschwanden Bartholet Bischoff Bornatico Favre Hafizovic Ilic

Federico Manuel Martin Reinhard Raffaele Cédric Sadik Alexander

iNoCs Sàrl Optotune AG Celeroton AG Decentlab GmbH VirVe, Wilhelm & Bornatico RehaxOne Sàrl Zurich Instruments AG Dacuda AG

EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich ETH Zurich ETH Zurich ETH Zurich HEVS ETH Zurich ETH Zurich

Supported startups

Käser Nairz Niesper Rohrseitz Zufferey

Fabian Knud Nico Nicola Jean-Christophe

ACL Instruments AG Novino Slow-Drink GmbH Palisis GmbH ViSSee Sàrl senseFly Sàrl

BFH Bern ETH Zurich Uni St. Gallen ETH Zurich EPF Lausanne

Markus Virginie Bettina Arin Marc Nils Manuel Behrooz Matthias Armin Johan Christophe Wolfgang Daniel Ariel Pierre-Jean

Malcisbo AG Stemergie Biotechnology SA Preclin Biosystems AG Virometix AG BioVersys GmbH MicroDuits GmbH Basisnote AG Scientis AG QGel SA Qvanteq GmbH Biognosys AG Phistem Sàrl InSphero AG ArenaVax AG Phistem Sàrl ExCellness Biotech SA

ETH Zurich Uni Geneva ETH Zurich Uni Zurich ETH Zurich ETH Zurich ETH Zurich Uni Geneva EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich ETH Zurich Uni Geneva Uni Zurich Uni Geneva Uni Bern EPF Lausanne

Biotech Aebi Clément Ernst Ghasparian Gitzinger Goedecke Kaegi Kasree Lütolf Mäder Malmstroem Mas Moritz Pinschewer Ruiz i Altaba Wipff

Reinert Sauter Schiess Schwenke Thurner Tuchschmid Verin Weydert

Michael Michael Ralph Thorsten Marc Stefan Vitali Serge

NanoClosure AG compliant concept GmbH ProteoMediX AG Thelkin GmbH Delta Robotics AG VirtaMed AG MaestroHeart SA Habtronics GmbH

Uni Bern EMPA ETH Zurich ZHAW BFH ETH Zurich Uni Geneva ETH Zurich

Lemoptix SA Imina Technologies LLC Ninart Sàrl Nanotion AG Attolight Sàrl

EPF Lausanne EPF Lausanne EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich EPF Lausanne

GEROCO SA Climeworks GmbH Enairys Powertech SA greenTEG GmbH

HEIG-VD ETH Zurich EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich

Eric Urs Thomas Lukas Mark

NOVAGAN Sàrl de Cavis AG Enexra GmbH humanikin GmbH

EPF Lausanne ETH Zurich Uni Zurich ETH Zurich

Kristin Clemens

Aiducation International swissaudec Sàrl

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich

Micro-/Nanotech Abelé Canales Koszali Latkoczy Sonderegger

Nicolas Christophe Roland Christopher Samuel

Cleantech Dupertuis Michael Gebald Christoph Lemofouet-Gatsi Sylvain Schwyter Etienne

Materials/Chemicals Medtech Augsburger Baykut Bruno Charrier Eng Fischer Hug Irminger Künzler Martinek Mercanzini Peterhans Pietramaggiori

Luca Doan Alfredo E. Rémi Kynan Patrizia Kurt Irmgard Patrik Igor Emanuel Andre Matthias Giorgio

StrokeLab SA CorasMedical AG Advanced Osteotomy Tools AG StereoTools Sàrl YouRehab AG Pearltec AG Anemon SA BARDiag AG Inno-Motion AG Swisssurgical Sàrl Aleva Neurotherapeutics SA CAScination GmbH Labseed Sàrl

EPF Lausanne Uni Basel Uni Basel EPF Lausanne Uni Zurich ETH Zurich BFH Bern Uni Geneva ETH Zurich Uni Lausanne EPF Lausanne Uni Bern EPF Lausanne

Feltin Gonzenbach Lichtensteiger Richards

Other Kapitza Par

You can find a full list of all supported projects on the venture kick website: www.venturekick.ch/startups

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Jury members

Experts from the Swiss startup scene are carefully selected to be part of the venture kick jury. They decide which projects are selected and which receive the grants.

Jury members of venture kick Investors Dr. Bauer Beauverd Berg Bernegger Bodmer Dr. Bomholt Dr. Braguglia Dr. Brunner Dr. Burckhardt Dr. Comte Ehrensberger Fulpuis Gomez Dr. Grisard Gutenberg Dr. Gygax Heeb Dr. Hehli Mebert Niederhauser Dr. Oswald Paternot Dr. Pfister Plaisted Roth Dr. Schütz Schweitzer Dr. Sidler Strübin Vuilleumier Zrehen

Luc-Olivier Guillaume Nicolas Marc P. Philip Jan Diego A. Eduard M. Peter E. Pierre Walter Nicolas Gabriel Felix Daniel Rudolf Hansruedi Jos Roman Peter Markus Xavier Peter Don Balz Christian Florian Michael Pierre Jean-Pierre Stéphane

NanoDimension AG G2 Ventures Redalpine Venture Partners AG Amiando AG / usgang.ch AG Bodmer & Partner Consultants AG BrainsToVentures AG VI Partners AG EDBRU AG EVA - the Basel Life Sciences Agency Sigma Professional SàrL Parkerhouse Finans AG Affentranger Associates SA DEFI Gestion SA Hiag AG VI Partners AG Nextech Venture Ltd FonApp Inc. Hehli Jos Management Services Caterpillar Financial Sàrl Redalpine Venture Partners AG aventic partners AG Vinci Capital StartAngels Network Draper Investment Company (Zurich) Go Beyond BrainsToVentures AG BrainsToVentures AG Redalpine Venture Partners AG Fongit Seed Invest SA CTI Invest Polytech Ventures

Entrepreneurs Dr. Auf der Maur Bonvin Castle Cook Coquoz Dr. Coquoz De La Rochefoucauld Dr. Deperthes Dutheil Grolimund Prof. Dr. Gunzinger Dr. Hogenkamp Dr. Ihmle Jones

Rolf Jacques Danièle Julian Alexandre Didier Paul David Pascal Dominik Anton Peter Pierre Mark-Eric

VISCHER Anwälte und Notare Tavernier Tschanz Genevensis Healthcare Communications Sàrl Flybaboo Innobridge SA DRDC Pharma SA itaste.com Med Discovery SA Andromede Consulting Sàrl Caleido AG Supercomputing Systems AG Blogwerk AG / NZZ Cinetis SA Innovative Silicon SA

Kyora Lacombe Dr. Mayer Mazzara Metzinger Moppert Niedermann Dr. Oesch Dr. Pelet Prof. Dr. Pfeifer Renggli Dr. Ribordy Salvato Savoy Dr. Selz Dr. Sevinç Wismer Dr. Wyss

Stefan Jean-Pierre Felix Alexander Peter Michael Claus Bruno Thierry Andrea Jost Grégoire Gian-Franco Luc-Alain Dorian Paul Jean-Marc Ralph

Niedermann GmbH Eaton Sensirion AG joiz AG 4C - Campaigning and Crisis Communications Day Software Holding AG Journalistenbüro Niedermann GmbH Prionics AG & Neurotune AG Viroblock SA AC Immune SA Venture Valuation AG Id Quantique SA Aseantic AG M-Scan SA Nektoon AG / Memonic Doodle AG Sensimed AG Wyss Wiesli Rechtsanwälte

Corporate/Institutions Dr. Altmann-Jöhl Amiguet Berthie Dr. Bopp Dr. Crittin Dizac Dubuis Flükiger Gebhardt Dr. Hausamann Henggeler Dr. Hölling Jenni Kämpfen Kern Keusch Lebret Ledermann Lehmann Nahas Dr. Principe Pulcrano Sabeti Dr. Schütt Vogel

Regula Claude Marie-Laure Martin A. Frank Gregoire Benoît Raluca Erich René Wolfgang Matthias Mario Kilian Michael Charles Hervé Daniel Lorenz Aziz Sandro C. Jim Faris Corina Paul-André

HSR Parc sientifique et technologique Neuchâtel EPFL CTI Start-up Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie Logitech SA Eclosion SA UNITEC - University of Geneva Swisscom TECHNOPARK Winterthur Unitectra ETH Transfer BIO-Technopark® Schlieren-Zürich media swiss group / Scout24 Swisscom Innovation Technopark Luzern INNOGRANTS EPFL Swisscom Postlab EPFL Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie Swiss Post IMD CTI Start-up ETH Transfer CimArk SA

An up-to-date list of all jury members, including short profiles: www.venturekick.ch/jury

Why we donate!

Without the initial support of private foundations, venture kick would not exist. You are welcome to join, if you want to contribute to our growing success.

Why we donate Pascale Vonmont GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG «We at the private GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG are involved in venture kick for 3 reasons: 1. The prosperity of Switzerland depends on how knowledge and innovation are successfully developed into products and businesses.

2. However, entrepreneurial support does not yield any profit at the very beginning. Venture capital is needed here.

3. The funding shortfall is not being resolved by the state or the economy. venture kick is therefore a perfect way for foundations and private individuals to get involved. It is extremely effective for the living and economic conditions in Switzerland.» www.grstiftung.ch

Dr. Roger Schmid ERNST GÖHNER STIFTUNG «venture kick not only closes a recognized gap in the innovation chain, but also ensures a seamless transition with other fostering initiative thanks to the co-operation with all important actors in this field. The novelty also lies in the open and thus participative character of the fund. Whether with a larger or smaller contribution, whether as private person, company or institution - venture kick offers the opportunity for all to contribute to the development of the "enterprise location Switzerland".» www.ernst-goehner-stiftung.ch

Evelyn S. Braun AVINA STIFTUNG «venture kick helps innovative and committed individuals use their pioneering spirit to serve the success of their business.

This corresponds to the credo of the president and founder of the AVINA STIFTUNG, Stephan Schmidheiny.» www.avinastiftung.ch

Donations with impact: 3,000 sustainable jobs. venture kick needs to raise 7 million Swiss francs for the next four years to kick-off another 200 innovative startup companies at Swiss universities. The goal for 2014 is to create a total of 3,000 sustainable jobs.

Contact us to learn more about venture kick and how you become a part of it!

Beat Schillig, +41 (71) 242 98 68 Kirchlistrasse 1, 9010 St. Gallen beat.schillig@venturekick.ch Jordi Montserrat, +41 (21) 693 90 71 PSE-C, 1015 Lausanne jordi.montserrat@venturekick.ch www.venturekick.ch

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New jobs for Switzerland Putting innovators at work and turning innovation into jobs. This is the goal of venture kick, an initative started by private foundations. We welcome donations from organizations, companies and individuals who would like to participate in a key project for Switzerland.

Kirchlistrasse 1 – 9010 St. Gallen, Beat Schillig, +41 (71) 242 98 68 PSE-C – 1015 Lausanne, Jordi Montserrat, +41 (21) 693 90 71 info@venturekick.ch, www.venturekick.ch