November 25, 2016
Fuelled by passion
Dear reader
The founders on whom startupticker reports can be unimaginably different. However, they all have a few traits in common, and one is a great passion for their innovation. The founders of Indy Guide, a P2P travel platform for Central Asia and Mongolia, provided an example this week. Alexandra and Atahan Tosun left their jobs to travel and discovered their love for this region. The fact that Atahan Tosun comes originally from Kazakhstan also played a role. This week, the start-up was recognised at the London World Travel Market, the largest event for the travel industry.
The company founders on the big stage at the Swiss Innovation Forum also feel the passion – be it movers and shakers, such as the founders of machIQ and Selfnation, or as a finalist of the Swiss Technology Award. The final winners were construction technology project Mesh Mold and the biotech start-up Topadur.
The Mesh Mold team received its prize from CTI President Walter Steinlin. Topadur CEO Reto Naef mentioned in his thank-you speech a CTI project from which his start-up had benefited. In addition, Topadur has also completed the CTI coaching process and has held the CTI Startup Label since June of this year. This week, five other young companies were awarded the CTI Startup Label. The breadth is again amazing: from a biotech company to a cleantech company to a fitness platform.
But it is not just the companies that did well this week. In Berne, 50 people from the worlds of business, science and politics worked on a digital manifesto that they claim could bring Switzerland to the top in terms of digitisation. Squirro CEO Dorian Selz was present – read in our interview what he thought, as a start-up representative, of the day and the manifesto.
Efforts are being made in the start-up scene to foster better cooperation, not only in Switzerland but also in Europe. One result is the European Startup Monitor, which gives an insight into the start-up sector of many European countries. This time, for the first time, it has published a Swiss country report, which provides some interesting insights on, for example, financing, the size of companies and the age of founders.
Speaking of financing, this week Insightness confirmed the conclusion of a financing round with well-known investors.
Next week, you can meet me in Ticino at Swiss Venture Day in Lugano and also at the award ceremony of StartCup Ticino. Find out which 10 projects have made the final in our article by Giacomo Pellegatta, who will contribute regularly from Ticino from now on.
Have an inspiring weekend.
Stefan Kyora
Editor in Chief, startupticker.ch