The StartupDAYs 2018: a dive into the Swiss startup world
Our review of the startup event of the year.
One of the main startup networking events of the year just took place last 25th & 26th September in Bern. The Startup DAYS (organized by Startup INVEST) was the occasion to meet the whole Swiss startup community below the same roof.
We were also there. Here is our general feeling about the event.
A great place to connect and to re-connect
The Startup DAYs are a great opportunity to connect with different stakeholders of the startup world. It is rare to have in one place such a diverse mix of competences. During two days, you could possibly meet entrepreneurs, investors, corporate representatives, incubators, banks, lawyers and other service providers.
The event presented also a dense offering in terms of content (masterclasses, keynotes, workshops, 1:1 meeting, panel discussions). From our discussions, it appears that the pitching battle and the 1:1 meeting were at the center of attention.
There are lots of investors under the same roof.
Flurin Jenal, Founder at Struckd.com
Come prepared!
However, you have to come prepared to make the most out of it. Random meetings around a cup of coffee are still possible but chances are you might miss interesting opportunities if you do not prepare your event in advance and contact the people before.
This is where we see the biggest difference between beginner entrepreneurs and people who are used to this kind of networking event such as LuckaBox or Snowcookie. The latter even put an intern on the task.
Same observation for the pitch contest. People with good training were able to adapt easily to changing conditions.
Small note: On the prep side, you can also add a good pair of sneakers and additional battery packs.
Money, money…
If some entrepreneurs mentioned the need to gain visibility or test their marketing message, most of the people with whom we discussed had a clear goal in mind: find investors.
Many entrepreneurs present at the Startup DAYs were actively preparing Series A funding rounds. If most of them were happy with some contacts they made, many were also frustrated with the difficulty they had to reach top-ranked investors. The dedicated mobile App might be partly responsible for that. Several technical glitches generated some frustration among the participants. The organizers might want to improve the companion App for the next edition.
On the investor’s side, the goals were a bit broader: e.g. improve visibility, startup sourcing, technology scouting. Interestingly enough, some investors, such as Swisscom Ventures, mentioned the need to connect to other investors and exchange on good practices and their respective activities.
Some questions to the participants
Andreas Schlenker, Head of M&A at Tamedia Digital
The Swiss Unicorn: What is so special about this event compared to the other Swiss startup events?
It is one of the oldest events here in Switzerland. You can meet here the entire ecosystem: startups, investors, business angels, lawyers. It is quite established, you have good startup pitches & presentations. It is a nice combination.
What is your personal goal for today?
I am on the jury, I hope to see some interesting startups. In general, we are here to meet startups which are relevant for us, get to know people and talk to other investors.
Do you have specific investment directions with Tamedia?
I am looking for digital investment opportunities. We are looking to invest in companies that fit one of our two different portfolios. The first one is more focused on marketplaces, and the second one is a bit of a mix with Doodle, Starticket, Zattoo, Moneypark, Localsearch and a few others. We are also interested in Fintech, which we are looking closer now.
Julien Halnaut, CEO at Qaveman, Skincare brand for men
The first question that people usually ask me is: How did you have this idea?
It comes from an opportunity. The market is dominated by very traditional brands who were not able to evolve. There is room for new players.
People are often surprised to see a startup such as Qaveman in tech-oriented events such as this one.
Do you play with this surprise effect in your talks with investors?
Yes, a bit, but I usually approach the problem by mentioning examples of startups who were successful with a similar mindset. There is Qoqa in the Romandie or Dollar Shave Club who revolutionized the shaving industry with the service.
We present ourselves as the Dollars Shave Club for man skincare. We revolutionize this industry not with new products but with new services.
Do you go to many events such as this one during the year?
We try to participate in two events per year. We will soon go to the Startup Night in Winterthur.
Flurin Jenal, Founder at Struckd, Gaming platform with user-generated games
The Swiss Unicorn: What do you expect from the event today?
We have been here the last two editions. It is a great event. There are lots of investors in a small room. Connecting with investors is our main expectation. We are also participating in the pitch battle.
Are you currently raising money?
Yes, we are raising two million now. It is a pre-Series A.
The strucked platform is growing. It is an iterative process. We recently launched the multiplayer feature. We have now 50'000 games on the platform.
What would you do first with the investment?
We would build further the product and especially scale the Struckd marketplace. We would like to have more content partners onboard; other gaming companies joining the platform, participating in the marketplace, selling digital assets in the gaming environment.
Marco Pisano, CEO at Lymphatica Medtech
The Swiss Unicorn: What do you expect from the event today?
Touch base with the community, investors, startups, networking. We will participate in the pitch battle and expect to attract new investors.
Do you see something different with respect to past editions of the event?
This one is open to different verticals. It can be confusing sometimes. You need to know to whom to speak to and where to go, but the potential is huge.
What is your strategy?
Try to get the information before on who comes here and try to contact them before.
Martin Kawalski, CIO at Snowcookie Sports, a wearable device for skiers
The Swiss Unicorn: What is your feeling about the event?
I like it. Technological glitches aside, it is a great improvement compared to last year.
On the content, on the structure?
From my subjective startup founder perspective, I like the master classes much better. I found some value there. I did the one of incentivizing employees and it was good.
How did you prepare the event?
I actually put my intern on that. I asked him to go through the list of people and identify the ones who could be interesting to meet.
If you don’t prepare the event, you can’t take much out of it. But I still struggle to have enough meetings. I think we are missing some engagement of the people in the App.
What is your goal in this event?
Finding investors.
The Swiss Unicorn is an online startup media which focuses on Swiss startups.
We publish interviews of different actors of the Swiss startup ecosystem.
