Third LeadiNNg to Scale-Up Cohort unveiled

IMD and Innovaud have been supporting startups for many years through initiatives such as the IMD Startup Competition and Scale Up Vaud programs. In 2022, the longtime partner institutions decided to launch the LeadiNNg to Scale Up program to fill a gap in Switzerland’s innovation support ecosystem.

The 3rd cohort of LeadiNNG to Scale-up was launched on 23 January 2024. 16 companies represented by their CEOs and co-founders gathered for the first session on the IMD campus. 

• AICA – Baptiste Busch: An adaptable software solution that simplifies industrial robot programming and manufacturing. (Robotics - Vaud)
• Artifact - Montassar BenMrad: Broad set of expertise in the field of data science and Al services, across several industries. (Al/Data Sciences - Vaud)
• Aspivix – Mathieu Horras: Medtech device transforming gynecological procedures and fertility treatments. (FemTech - Vaud)
• Covantis - Petya Sechanova: Innovative digital platform to modernize and transform the global trade. (Commodity Trading and Shipping - Geneva)
• domo.health - Guillaume DuPasquier: Revolutionizing patient care using the power of Al-assisted digital health platform HealthTech Vaud
• Dotphoton - Eugenia Balysheva: First raw image compression software targeted at the very particular needs of machine learning and Al. (ICT - Zug)
• Flybotix - Samir Bouabdallah: Professional drone-based solutions for inspection and digitization of confined spaces. (Aviation/Robotics - Vaud)
• Genknowme - Sébastien Nusslé: Swiss epigenetic company, providing health insight from a blood test with epigenetics for personalized prevention. (HealthTech - Vaud)
• Limula - Luc Henry: Modular solution for on-demand and at-scale manufacturing of cell therapies in a single device. (BioTech - Vaud)
• Logmind - Ketevani Zaridze: Al-based log data intelligence platform that helpsIT teams in proactively handle critical operational issues and improve security of their IT systems. (ICT - Vaud)
• Medusoil - Dimitrios Terzis: Cement-free, low-carbon binders based on mineralization to serve net-zero construction projects. (Materials/Cleantech - Vaud)
• Rigi Technologies - David Rovira: Drone delivery systems enabling faster and more efficient logistics. (Aviation/Robotics - Vaud)
• Roumai Medical - Ivan Istomin: Medical Off-the-shelf, immediately available, tissue-engineered blood vessels that can potentially transform the treatment of various vascular diseases. (MedTech - Vaud)
• Smeetz - Morgan Siffert: SaaS platform for cultural and entertainment places ICT to effectively manage, market, and price their products. Vaud
• Treatech Technology - Frederic Juillard: to dispose waste and convert it into synthetic natural gas, clean water and fertilizers. (Energy/CleanTech - Vaud)
• Volumina Medical - Amélie Béduer: Platform of highly innovative biomaterials for MedTech (Vaud)

The Program’s 10 sessions, spread over 6 months, cover key topics with contributions from experienced entrepreneurs:

• Scaling for customers: understanding the value proposition that your current and future target customers are seeking, with the scaleup expert Roland Siebelink from the Silicon Valley
• Your team and scaling: how to build and incent a scalable organization, with Michel Jaccard from id est avocats and Jean-Marc Wismer, former COO Mindmaze 
• Change leadership: understanding the psychology and process of change management, with Javier Bello, former CEO Imverse

By founders, for founders 
Founding and scaling a startup can be a lonely process, and it can be helpful for founders to know that their peers are facing the same challenges. “We did a lot of research to try to understand what these scaleups needed,” explained Pulcrano. “We looked at the data we had from more than two decades of running the IMD Startup Competition and interviewed founders who were already successfully scaling.

A crucial aspect as explains Eugenia Balysheva, CEO Dotphoton and participant of LeadiNNg to Scale-Up 2024: “I am happy to be part of a course specifically designed for founders at the scale up stage. It's like having a navigation system on the challenging journey of business growth. The LeadiNNg to Scale Up course not only provides the necessary toolkit to manage rapid expansion, but also offers invaluable insights from those who've successfully navigated similar paths. It's an opportunity to learn, network and prepare for the unique challenges of scaling a business. It's about empowering startup founders to turn their vision into a sustainable and thriving enterprise”

(PR - ES)