L.E.S.S. and Designergy are rewarded the final kick of 100’000 CHF
10.09.2012
The last two startups to be awarded the full venture kick support are active in the energy-sector: Designergy, being the first project from Ticino to get the full 130’000 Frs kick, wants to revolutionize the world of construction with its solar-roof, and L.E.S.S. – Light Efficient System – has developed a nano-fiber-technology for LCD screens which strongly reduces energy consumption.
Gathered at Sciences park on the EPF Lausanne campus, ten experts and business angels have drilled the startups participating in the third and final round of the privately funded initiative. Eventually, two high-tech-projects committed to higher energy-efficiency were able to convince the jury of the entrepreneurial drive and achievements. By winning the final phase, both startups secured 130'000 Swiss francs in pre-seed capital, enabling them to further develop their business as well as to start the search for additional investors.
Tackling the energy guzzling components in notebooks and tablets
Ultra-thin notebooks and tablets are already the name of the game in the context of mobile work. However, their high rates of energy consumption, of which a significant part is due to the screens, remains problematic. Lausanne's based startup L.E.S.S wants to develop the next generation of LCD displays thanks to their revolutionary backlightning system, which can replace 100 LEDs with only one nanofiber. This leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption, which also contributes to higher device performances.
Implementation in tablets and notebooks before 2015
A first prototype equipped with a 7-inch screen has just been completed, and L.E.S.S plans to incorporate the technology into tablets and notebooks before 2015. The giants in the electronics and energy industries have already expressed their interest. Founder and CEO, Dr. Yann Tissot: „In this business you have to be extremely fast. Because of this, we needed as much money as possible, as fast as possible, in order to be able to stay in the game. venture kick trusted us at the very early stage, at that time we didn’t have a lot of concrete results to show, it has just been incredible support. As a team, the only thing that we can say is thank you!“
The photovoltaic system as a roof thanks to Designergy
Daniel Lepori aims to revolutionize the building industry thanks to a new construction element : instead of installing the roof structure, insulation and solar collectors, you’ll have one unique component integrating everything together. This not only increases future energy-efficiency, but also reduces the cost of investment, as the return on investments are much faster. A prototype developed at the University of applied sciences of Lugano (SUPSI/ISAAC) has already passed several tests in the context of a joint CTI research project and is poised to be the basis of the factory pilot-project which will start next year. Daniel Lepori on the venture kick initiative: „What else can you expect when you receive financial support, a really professional coaching, in a process that keeps you on track by forcing you to continuously prove yourself? We wanted to make a big step forward by participating in venture kick. With the 100’000 prize money we have won, we have even made a bigger one than originally planned!“
More about venture kick
The private initiative venture kick is financed by the GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG, the ERNST GÖHNER foundation, the OPO foundation, the AVINA STIFTUNG, FONDATION 1796 and Debiopharm Group. The project is managed by the IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen in St. Gall. The objective of the initiative is to double the amount of startups originating from Swiss universities and technical colleges. The program is open to business visionaries which are active at a Swiss university, technical college or higher institution of learning (students, doctoral-students, professors, etc.), which haven't founded their company yet. Candidates can apply at any time.
Since its inception in the autumn of 2007, venture kick has awarded more than 9 million francs in prize money, and from an original pool of more than 1000 candidatures, supported and coached 243 spin-off projects which can trace their origins back to Swiss universities. Our efforts have resulted in the creation of over 180 highly innovative companies, which have created 1.600 sustainable jobs. Furthermore, the supported startups have been able to attract equity, loans, support and prize money to the total of over 250 million francs.
Tackling the energy guzzling components in notebooks and tablets
Ultra-thin notebooks and tablets are already the name of the game in the context of mobile work. However, their high rates of energy consumption, of which a significant part is due to the screens, remains problematic. Lausanne's based startup L.E.S.S wants to develop the next generation of LCD displays thanks to their revolutionary backlightning system, which can replace 100 LEDs with only one nanofiber. This leads to a significant reduction in energy consumption, which also contributes to higher device performances.
Implementation in tablets and notebooks before 2015
A first prototype equipped with a 7-inch screen has just been completed, and L.E.S.S plans to incorporate the technology into tablets and notebooks before 2015. The giants in the electronics and energy industries have already expressed their interest. Founder and CEO, Dr. Yann Tissot: „In this business you have to be extremely fast. Because of this, we needed as much money as possible, as fast as possible, in order to be able to stay in the game. venture kick trusted us at the very early stage, at that time we didn’t have a lot of concrete results to show, it has just been incredible support. As a team, the only thing that we can say is thank you!“
The photovoltaic system as a roof thanks to Designergy
Daniel Lepori aims to revolutionize the building industry thanks to a new construction element : instead of installing the roof structure, insulation and solar collectors, you’ll have one unique component integrating everything together. This not only increases future energy-efficiency, but also reduces the cost of investment, as the return on investments are much faster. A prototype developed at the University of applied sciences of Lugano (SUPSI/ISAAC) has already passed several tests in the context of a joint CTI research project and is poised to be the basis of the factory pilot-project which will start next year. Daniel Lepori on the venture kick initiative: „What else can you expect when you receive financial support, a really professional coaching, in a process that keeps you on track by forcing you to continuously prove yourself? We wanted to make a big step forward by participating in venture kick. With the 100’000 prize money we have won, we have even made a bigger one than originally planned!“
More about venture kick
The private initiative venture kick is financed by the GEBERT RÜF STIFTUNG, the ERNST GÖHNER foundation, the OPO foundation, the AVINA STIFTUNG, FONDATION 1796 and Debiopharm Group. The project is managed by the IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen in St. Gall. The objective of the initiative is to double the amount of startups originating from Swiss universities and technical colleges. The program is open to business visionaries which are active at a Swiss university, technical college or higher institution of learning (students, doctoral-students, professors, etc.), which haven't founded their company yet. Candidates can apply at any time.
Since its inception in the autumn of 2007, venture kick has awarded more than 9 million francs in prize money, and from an original pool of more than 1000 candidatures, supported and coached 243 spin-off projects which can trace their origins back to Swiss universities. Our efforts have resulted in the creation of over 180 highly innovative companies, which have created 1.600 sustainable jobs. Furthermore, the supported startups have been able to attract equity, loans, support and prize money to the total of over 250 million francs.