“Every promising startup project in Switzerland should apply for Venture Kick”

You started working at Venture Kick since its very start in September 2007. Can you explain how you came across the program as well as your débuts as program manager in Romandie?
After my studies in business administration, I co-founded a startup called KeyLemon and we were part of the first teams to present at Venture Kick. A few months later, Jordi Montserrat and Beat Schillig offered me the unique opportunity to join the newly formed Venture Kick team and manage the program in Western Switzerland.

It was an amazing opportunity for me to learn both professionally and personally. My activities gave me a unique perspective on the entrepreneurial scene with a proven track record of successfully launching new businesses and managing operations. Additionally, I could build a great network of talented entrepreneurs and experts, and contribute to launch something completely new in the startup ecosystem. Back then, everything was still to be done. Looking back, I am very proud of the success achieved with the Venture Kick team.

What were the best encounters with talented entrepreneurs that you made during your 8.5 years of career at Venture Kick?
I remember meeting Arnaud Bertrand in my office (founder and CEO of HouseTrip) when he was still a student at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). He came to apply for Venture Kick. He gave me a visit card of EHL where he had traced “EHL” and replaced it by “HouseTrip” by hand. This is how it all started.

A second great experience is when I tested MindMaze’s first ever prototype in their lab at EPFL. There were only a few machines and sensors in a room back then, and look at their progress made: the value of MindMaze is of one billion dollars today! I am proud to have identified them and supported them since the start with Venture Kick.

More generally, what makes me especially proud is that we were able to identify amazing startup projects generating thousands of jobs and adding value to the Swiss economy. One great example is senseFly, who won the Venture Kick final in 2010: they were bought by the Parrot Group in 2012, and have created more than 100 jobs so far.

In total, the 320 incorporated companies resulting of Venture Kick since 2007 created 3.500 highly qualified jobs and attracted investments of more than a billion Swiss francs. I am sure that the program will continue on the same success path and identification of the best cases at Swiss universities in the future.

“A great idea without an excellent team will never succeed.”

A new person, Patrick Biro, will now take over the project management of Venture Kick, starting in August. What advice would you like to give Patrick before you leave? 
One of the most important thing in this position is to always keep an eye on the future and to identify the visionary entrepreneurs that have convincing leadership skills. I remember a startup back in 2007, who during their pitch in front of the jury enumerated Twitter as a social media to watch closely. At that time, Twitter only had a few thousand users. And see how big they are now.

The main challenge at Venture Kick and in my job was to identify the entrepreneurs with convincing execution skills. These visionary people are be able to attract the right team members, investors, partners and clients. They know how to convince key stakeholders. In my opinion, a great idea without an excellent team will never succeed.

In your opinion, what makes Venture Kick so unique?
Every promising startup project in Switzerland should apply for Venture Kick and go through its clear and simple process. For a Swiss university or institute of higher learning spin-offs, Venture Kick is the best program to be financed, get exposure and be challenged enough to be ready for the market.  A pool of experts, jury members and the Venture Kick team in Zurich and Lausanne help them every day to become successful startups. They are also seen by investors and the media more easily: some startups such as Flyability told us that the pathway to each stage of Venture Kick is recognized as a serious pledge by Swiss business angels and institutional investors, and that makes me really proud, too. 

Most importantly, from 3 supporting members of the private Venture Kick consortium at the start, Venture Kick has been able to grow it to 10 members in 8.5 years, such as Hansjörg Wyss, Martin Haefner or the ProTechno Foundation very recently. This enabled us to support more projects of high quality over the years and build an outstanding program. I am confident that more supporters will join Venture Kick and help the next generation of successful entrepreneurs in the future!

Venture Kick can also count on a pool of skilled and dedicated jury members who vote for the best startups all year long…
Today, more than 130 quality experts (investors, entrepreneurs or industry innovation directors) are part of the Venture Kick’s jury pool. With Venture Kick, they can watch the best of Swiss innovation. We are very grateful that they are part of the program and contribute to its overall success.

What are the next steps in your career now?  
After a wonderful 8.5 years working at Venture Kick, I have decided to move on and accept a new position in the Entrepreneurs & Executives team at Credit Suisse. It's not goodbye, it's see you later.

Meet Venture Kick’s new program manager for Western Switzerland, Patrick Biro
After having studied micro-engineering at EPFL, Patrick worked for 3 years in the space sector as sales engineer. He was responsible for large proposals management, contract negotiation and business development. To challenge his entrepreneurial skills, Patrick joined a web startup based in Madrid whose objective is to develop an online recruitment platform for students and graduates. He worked there one year and half as head of product and was also part of the founding team. Wishing to move back to Switzerland, Patrick joined IFJ AG as program manager for the Venture Kick program in August 2016. We wish him a great start!