Venture Kick: More than 1400 new jobs

In 2011, a total of 223 projects applied to the venture kick program. The number of submissions is usually around 18 per month. Approximately 60% came from the German part of Switzerland, and 40% from the French part. 67 projects were supported. The full list is shown in the annual report.

54% of the supported projects originate from the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology of Zurich and Lausanne, a considerable increase compared to 2010. The remaining projects are distributed among 20 different universities, indicating that venture kick is well implanted on a national level.

The analysis of submissions by sector shows that all high-tech disciplines are represented. However, most projects can be counted in the “Information & Communication Technologies”, the largest sector in 2011, followed by Electronics / Mechanics, Medtech, Biotech and Cleantech sectors. The remaining submissions are difficult to assign to a specific sector due to their diversity and interdisciplinary character.

The quality of the projects supported by venture kick is demonstrated by the impressive number of companies effectively created, as well as by the amount of funds raised by these spin-offs. Out of the 203 projects, supported with a cumulated CHF 7.41 Mio since the start of the program:

• 151 have turned into spin-offs;
• they have raised over CHF 210 Mio in additional financing (own funds, business angels/VC’s investments, loans, CTI projects, prizes, etc.);
• they have created 1,421 new jobs.

The results and the positive feedbacks from experts, universities and spin-offs strongly motivate the initiators to further develop the support program. For 2012, the following figures are planned:

• 200+ applications;
• 82 projects funded (48 at CHF 10,000/24 at
• CHF 20,000/10 at CHF 100,000);
• 29 kickers camps (2-day intensive workshops in small
• groups);
• CHF 1.96 Mio in granted support.

The major challenge is to secure a sustainable funding of venture kick for the coming years. In addition to the existing commitments of the donating foundations CHF 1.5 Mio is needed for the 2013/2014 budget, in order to valorise the existing innovation potential of Swiss universities and to realise the vision of doubling the number of spin-offs in Switzerland. To bridge this financing gap, foundations and private individuals with an entrepreneurial background are invited to join the successful initiative as donors.

venture kick is an initiative of private donators and is organized as a fonds of «Fondation des Fondateurs». As an umbrella foundation, it is monitored by the Swiss Federal Supervisory Board of Foundations. Today, the initiative is financed by five foundations : GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG, ERNST GÖHNER STIFTUNG, OPO-Stiftung, AVINA STIFTUNG and Fondation 1796.