When start-ups become brands

Dear reader

The Zurich fintech start-up neon brings retail banking services to the smartphone. It certainly impressed the jury of the TV show Die Höhle der Löwen, as it collected CHF 250,000 and entered into a partnership with brack.ch. For neon co-founder Julius Kirscheneder, the television presence was just as important: the appearance on the TV show was perhaps not quite ‘bank-like’, he told startupticker.ch, “but we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to an interested audience”.

It is among the growing number of Swiss start-ups that address the B2C market. What would have been laughed at 10 years ago, today is a strategy with potential. This is confirmed by a survey commissioned by Zurich-based Rod Kommunikation, in which 1,000 representatively selected consumers were faced with the names and logos of 50 B2C start-ups.

The results showed that start-ups such as Amorana, Farmy and Doppelleu reach a level of brand awareness of between 30% and 44%. Asked if they could imagine shopping at one of the 50 named start-ups, up to 50% of respondents answered positively.

The Biel mountain bike manufacturer Bold Cycles also received a very positive response from end customers, selling about 1,000 high-end bikes every year. Now Vincenz Droux has sold a majority stake in his company to the American sporting goods manufacturer Scott Sports Group. The brand name is retained.

Social media and rising media attention make B2C an option for start-ups. However, the majority of companies in the ecosystem will continue to seek a place at the rear of the value chain, as shown by the three financings of the last week: EraCal improves treatment for obesity, Interprefy supports event organisers and Nexoya is working on an AI platform for the advertising industry.

With one exception, the nine winners in start-up competition >>venture>> are B2B, just like Advanced Sport Instruments, which won the ‘The Spot Startup Battle’, and Bern-based CAScination, which won the Swiss Medtech Award.

They all benefit from the fact that more and more large companies are looking for ideas, suggestions and innovations in the ecosystem, such as Belimo, the leading global supplier of heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology, which has opened a business incubator for start-ups.

Looking ahead, Innosuisse is on the road next Tuesday. As part of an evening event at EPFL, the main funder of the Swiss innovation scene will answer audience questions.

Have a relaxing weekend.
Jost Dubacher

Editor startupticker.ch