Scale up Bootcamps Prove Fertile Ground for Swiss Corporates and Growing Startups to Partner
16.04.2019
More than 40 growth-orientated entrepreneurs mingled at Zurich’s startup space, exchanging business development proposals during a successful day of entrepreneurial matchmaking. Two Scale up Bootcamps, powered by Venture Kick, gave 22 innovative Swiss startups and 21 of the country’s leading corporates the chance to explore partnerships across fintech, cybersecurity, digital health and wellbeing.
 Scale up Bootcamp at startup space
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Lightning pitches set the tone at the start of each industry vertical’s half-day session. Scaling startups and Swiss corporates alike had 90 seconds to present their areas of interest and lay the foundations for 1-on-1 meetings. The entrepreneurs and decision-makers then enjoyed as many as six intense exchanges, each 10 minutes long, with additional opportunities to discuss with other potential partners during the lunch and coffee breaks.
“The format of this Scale up Bootcamp was fantastic!” said Pierre-Mikael Legris, CEO and co-founder of Pryv, a seven-year-old startup whose software helps healthcare companies preserve the privacy of patient data, while handling data in the cloud. “We really appreciated the size, as we had time to meet the participants we wanted, while staying productive!”
The balance between size and intimacy was noted by Helsana Versicherungen AG’s head technology scout, Medea Imboden, and echoed by Willi Peter, who co-leads Microsoft’s Swiss Startup initiative: “Keep the size! Great to get in touch with everyone.”
Digital health and wellbeing
Startups in the digital health and wellbeing vertical enjoyed access to seven of the country’s biggest health insurers, as well as other health-related corporates. In turn, the corporate executives could discuss potential synergies and collaborations for growth with entrepreneurs at the cutting-edge of technology.
“Super event! It was just exactly what we were looking for, which was to get all the insurance companies into one room, said Jonathan Campell co-founder and COO of hystrix medical AG, the growing medtech procurement hub that connects healthcare providers with suppliers.
Fintech and cybersecurity
The morning’s fintech and cybersecurity session attracted Switzerland’s largest banks, insurers and auditors, as well as global software and security players. The growth-orientated Swiss startups, all with annual revenue already exceeding 1 million francs, included technology leaders encompassing AI document management, blockchain security, data breach detection, identity verification, online payments, and cross-border money transfers.
“Great format for first contact with 90-second pitches and 10-minute one-on-ones,” said Klea Gorgievski, an investment manager at Swisscom Ventures. The Scale up Bootcamp allowed for “great encounters and opportunities for cooperation,” said Fabiola Imhof, of ChainSecurity AG. The Zurich-based startup, which audits the security of smart contracts automatically, identified critical security weaknesses in Ethereum’s planned upgrade earlier this year.
The morning’s fintech and cybersecurity session attracted Switzerland’s largest banks, insurers and auditors, as well as global software and security players. The growth-orientated Swiss startups, all with annual revenue already exceeding 1 million francs, included technology leaders encompassing AI document management, blockchain security, data breach detection, identity verification, online payments, and cross-border money transfers.
“Great format for first contact with 90-second pitches and 10-minute one-on-ones,” said Klea Gorgievski, an investment manager at Swisscom Ventures. The Scale up Bootcamp allowed for “great encounters and opportunities for cooperation,” said Fabiola Imhof, of ChainSecurity AG. The Zurich-based startup, which audits the security of smart contracts automatically, identified critical security weaknesses in Ethereum’s planned upgrade earlier this year.
Today we presented @chain_security at Scale Up Bootcamp for Fintech & Cybersecurity. Thanks to @venturekick for having us. Great encounters and oportunities for cooperation. pic.twitter.com/nRdZt7GsJ8
— Fabiola Imhof (@fabs_imhof) April 4, 2019
Future partnerships
“We had very fruitful discussions with these companies,” said Susanne Dröscher, co-founder and co-CEO of CARU AG. Her startup makes devices that monitor the air-quality and temperature of rooms, can warn users about anomalies, and have voice-activation to connect users with carers or medical services in an emergency. The Scale-up Bootcamps are a cooperation between Gebert Rüf Stiftung and digitalswitzerland, powered by Venture Kick. Details of the next industry verticals and how to apply.
