Start-up, scale-up or SME?

Dear reader

With its 45 employees, Chur start-up Eturnity develops software for the sale, dimensioning and implementation of solar, heating and e-mobility systems. Its customers include energy suppliers, regional installers and global companies, and the company has now closed a financing round of CHF 8 million.

Is Eturnity a start-up, a scale-up or a fast-growing SME? The question is unanswerable and also applies to Industry 4.0 company Plantformance, which French building materials giant Saint Gobain has joined as a minority shareholder. The Aargau-based company wants to use the investment to drive global growth.

The boundaries between SMEs and start-ups are becoming increasingly blurred. Nowhere is this more tangible than at the Swiss Economic Forum in Interlaken. On the one hand, you can meet SMEs such as Megasol, which is growing strongly after an investment – also from Saint Gobain, by the way. And on the other hand, more and more scale-ups and start-ups are present and are met with great interest from representatives of established companies. This is particularly true of the finalists and winners of the SEF Award: this year Daphne Technology, Boostbar and Neho made it to the top of the podium.

Speaking of awards, on Tuesday, digital health start-up Health Yourself won the Startfeld Diamant in St. Gallen, and other awards went to ConcentrAid and Shop Ahoi. All three companies are run by female entrepreneurs and several women entrepreneurs were also in the spotlight at the SEIF Tech for Impact Awards. The three Swiss winners of the prize all come from the agritech/food sector. And security start-up Authena won the first prize of this year's Tech4Trust program. 

SolidWatts has secured CHF 150,000 francs from Venture Kick. The start-up’s heating technology reduces operating costs for power-hungry heat processes while reducing carbon emissions. Some time ago, irmos Technologies won at Venture Kick and then also at the Innobooster program. Read about the progress the company has made since then in our article.

Verve Ventures has secured prominent support in the form of Martin Scholl, former CEO of Zürcher Kantonalbank, who is joining the investor as a board member. And there was also support for the concerns of all Swiss start-ups this week in the Council of States, which decided that simplified work permits for university graduates from outside the EU and EFTA will continue to be discussed in Parliament. Check out our article for the details.

The deadlines for the Swisscom Startup Challenge, Venture Leaders Medtech and the Luxury Innovation Award are imminent, so hurry if you want to apply. Start-ups should also not delay in applying to Venture Leaders Cleantech and the Boldbrain Startup Challenge.

Have a good weekend.
Stefan Kyora 

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch