Meet the Swiss start-up national team 2012

This year, about 100 entrepreneurs attempted to qualify for the Swiss startup national team in order to get a ticket for the trip to the US. Following two full days of presentations, the experts’ jury has eventually selected the 20 venture leaders winners. The program aims to support the 20 winners on their path for entrepreneurial and business growth, in particular for their international market entry.

 

The venture leaders program – the highlight of venturelab, the national start-up training program offered by the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI – has been one of the cornerstones behind the success of past participants. This is demonstrated by the fact that the majority of last year’s teams have not only been able to secure financing, but have also been growing successful businesses. Furthermore, 58 alumni venture leaders have made the TOP Swiss start-ups of 2011. This list includes today many well-known start-ups such as Doodle, Poken, Dacuda or HouseTrip, which were able to benefit from the program at the early stage of their development. Arnaud Bertrand, Founder and CEO of HouseTrip confirms: «venture leaders was the best experience that I’ve had so far in my life as an entrepreneur. The program enabled us to make important contacts in the US, thanks to which we were able to get one of our first investors on board.»

 

Jordi Montserrat, venturelab manager western Switzerland: «Switzerland is recognized amongst the most innovative nations worldwide. Our national start-up team show how Swiss based entrepreneurs transform this innovation in global businesses. Exposure to the US entrepreneurship spirit, a strong network for business development in the US and tools to master their growth are the edge we want to give to venture leaders.» The trip, which is worth the equivalent of 10,000 francs for each participants, also benefits from the support swissnex Boston and Ernst & Young in the context of their «Entrepreneur of the Year» program. The team will be presenting on Mai 15th at the venture ideas @ EPFL event: the opportunity to hear Arnaud Bertrand sharing his experience of growing a world class start-up. The 20 winners will also pitch their start-up. 2

 

Tobias Häckermann, Agilentia AG, ICT (www.agilentia.ch)

Agilentia develops software for corporate leaders to support business management, such as the Investor Web Service «onlineAGM».

 

Simon Summermatter, Ampard AG, Cleantech (www.ampard.com)

Arling is a Control- and Asset-Management System to realize complex decentralized electricity storage solutions.

 

Christian Fischer, BComp GmbH, Cleantech (www.bcomp.ch)

Bcomp develops and sells patent technologies allowing the fabrication of eco superior products from natural fibres.

 

Jochen Kinter, Biotechnostics, Biotech (website not available yet)

Biotechnostics develops a next generation technology platform enabling simultaneous analysis of thousands of genetic biomarkers for therapeutic diagnosis, making personalized medicine a reality.

 

Denis Harscoat, DidThis, ICT (www.didth.is)

DidThis is the Micro-Actions Platform where you can collect, quantify, visualize and promote Micro-actions worth spreading.

 

Thibaut Weise, faceshift, ICT (www.faceshift.com)

faceshift is a technology for facial expression recognition that allows users to enact virtual characters in real-time.

 

Timo Hafner, Gastros AG, Electronics (www.gastros.ch)

Gastros' InductWarm-System is an innovative new system which keeps food warm in the context of high-end buffets. The system convinces through aesthetics, convenience and the energy efficiency.

 

Shigs Amemiya, iMusician Digital AG, ICT (www.iMusicianDigital.com)

iMusician Digital is a digital distribution platform for independent bands and musicians (with or without a label), enabling them to bring music to nearly 200 online music stores worldwide.

 

Szymon Kostrzewski, KB Medical, Medtech (website not available yet)

KB Medical commercializes a robotic system for spine surgery that enables precise implant placement, reduces patient's risks and decreases health care costs for hospitals.

Yann Tissot, L.E.S.S - Light Efficient Systems, ICT (www.less-optics.com)

Tissot has developed a new technology based on nano-structured waveguides that enables the implementation of energy efficient distributed illumination devices for portable devices. 3

 

Chad Brokopp, Mabimmune Diagnostics AG, Medtech (www.mabimmune.com)

Mabimmune aims to prevent myocardial infarction and stroke through early diagnosis and targeted treatment.

 

Elia Palme, Newscron, ICT (www.newscron.com)

Newscron is an iPhone/Android app to use as powerful news reader, aggregating articles from top newspapers with exquisite features.

 

Elodie Dahan, OsmoTech, Cleantech (website not available yet)

OsmoTech provides industries a sustainable and profitable solution to recycle their waste heat and generate electricity.

 

Davor Kosanic, SamanTree Technologies, Medtech (website not available yet)

SamanTree Technologies develops an endoscopic microscope that will enable medical doctors to have histo-pathological insights into living tissue.

 

Christoph Barmet, Skope Magnetic Resonance Technologies LLC GmbH, Medtech (www.skope.ch)

Skope develops and produces measurement instruments (dynamic field cameras) for the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) market allowing for cheaper and yet more powerful systems.

 

Patrik Elsa, Socential AG, ICT (www.sosense.org)

Socential Ltd. is a social enterprise with a clear focus on social impact to promote and support social entrepreneurship through the online marketplace sosense.org.

 

Viktor Calabró, STAFF FINDER GmbH, Business Services (www.staff-finder.jobs)

STAFF FINDER maintains an internet platform for the efficient management of short notice and short-term work assignments.

 

Emile de Rijk, SWISSto12 Sàrl, Electronics (www.swissto12.ch)

Swiss to 12 opens the frontiers of terahertz applications with a comprehensive range of products that covers the terahertz transmission and probing domain up to 10THz.

 

Patrick Nef, TransCure Biosciences Holding SA, Biotech (www.transcurebiosciences.com)

TransCure Biosciences (TCB) is providing humanized mice for pharmaceutical companies and the scientific community as models for immune diseases (e.g. HIV/AIDS), cancer and antibody testing.

 

Madiha Derouazi, Vector LifeSciences SA, Biotech (www.vectorlifescience.com)

Vector LifeSciences SA delivers several therapies in the oncology sector.