The board experience: Igor Fisch
29.11.2017
Entrepreneur Dr. Igor Fisch joined the board of Venture Kick in 2007 at the very beginning of the program. Here he describes why he’s stayed committed to the program, how the landscape has changed for startups in that time, and his personal successes.
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In your career you moved from an academic background, having been an assistant professor at EPFL, into the business side of your company, Selexis, followed by joining the board of Venture Kick. That’s a packed career, what motivated you to move in this direction?
A single word has motivated and shaped my career: ”independence“. I created Selexis SA as a means to becoming this independent person. Along the way, I was lucky to meet unique individuals who allowed me to become an entrepreneur and create this successful venture. It was an easy decision to accept a seat on the board of Venture Kick because it is it so important for me to help shape the future of startups in Switzerland. Venture Kick is unique in that it not only provides money to the entrepreneurs, but also the education and mentorship necessary for success.
What does the role of board member involve? Is there any particular part you enjoy?
My role with Venture Kick is to offer a hands-on view of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It’s important to consider the best way to manage a new initiative to ensure that it will be around for the long term. Additionally, we represent the donors and partners of the private initiative of Venture Kick. It was vital for me to explore different ways to guarantee the sustainability of the organization. Today we have established a promising way of ensuring the future of this initiative by encouraging each entrepreneur who has benefited from it to return some of his or her wealth back to the Venture Kick Foundation.
Venture Kick has given kicks to 522 startups in its 10 year existence. What do you think sets it apart from other startup support organisations?
Today, Venture Kick is novel in how it supports entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. Firstly, it can provide up to CHF 130,000 to an entrepreneur to support his / her ideas. Secondly, Venture Kick provides entrepreneurs with a unique kicking approach. It helps the entrepreneur tounderstand the amount of business development work he or she must deliver to succeed in leading the startup. Furthermore, Venture Kick entrepreneurs have the opportunity to meet with many other entrepreneurs, some of whom may also become competitors. This is extremely helpful as such interaction helps a leader to understand the market.
Engagement Migros and Swisscom joined the Venture Kick consortium this year. What makes Venture Kick attractive for corporates?
Major corporations realize that by supporting Venture Kick, they are investing in the future of our country. Venture Kick has demonstrated that it indeed creates many companies, jobs and, ultimately, wealth in Switzerland. Beyond investing for personal return, I believe we should also invest in the community that has financed, educated and mentored us.
Last year, you received the ”Excellence in Leadership Award“ from BioProcess International. What did this award mean to you?
This award meant that my company, Selexis, lived up to its brand promise: ”Driven by Excellence. Guided by Science.“ We have always been innovative in science, which is represented by the number of patents we have filed. To impact the production of novel biologics for unmet medical needs, our R&D investment was essential in generating better solutions for our industry. This award was given to me because we have maintained and nurtured this corporate philosophy for over 15 years. Selexis was founded in 2001.
What has changed for startups in Switzerland since then?
Other than the number of opportunities, the world of startups has not changed since 2001 when I created Selexis. Today we see many more opportunities for entrepreneurs because there’s more of an appetite for investing in and supporting young companies in the market here. In the past, the creation of a startup was always associated with high risk / high reward, which was not well accepted by people here in Switzerland. That’s changed, in part, because of initiatives like Venture Kick.
Selexis exited very successfully early this year. What brought you to this decision and what are the next steps?
Selexis has matured for more than 15 years and we had reached an important turning point in the growth of our business. The company wanted to expand its market segment. This could have been achieved as a stand-alone company by seeking a large investment or by looking for the right partner via acquisi tion. Our board decided that seeking the right partner would be the most effi cient way to expand our global reach into new business segments. Now we are poised to be part of a complete contract development manufacturing organization for the biopharmaceuticals industry.
Many Swiss startups move into international markets. How do you think that Venture Kick helps that process?
Venture Kick helps the startup entrepreneurs to understand the surrounding environment much better. By meeting other entrepreneurs in many different sectors, I noticed that we all have the same problems; we need money to grow the business and identify new markets, and we all concluded that we need to go global in order to survive.
In addition to being a board member, you are also joining the consortium of Venture Kick donors. What is your motivation?
I have experienced the great impact and importance of early support myself. When I was at the very beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I was supported by NETS, the predecessor program of venture leaders. After a successful exit with Selexis, I promised myself I would do my best to help Venture Kick to continue offering such invaluable help to startups. Let’s kick the next generation of entrepreneurs and enable them to shape the future!
ABOUT IGOR FISCH:
Entrepreneur Dr. Igor Fisch is CEO of Selexis SA, which he co-founded in 2001 after having previously worked in research in the fields of protein chemistry and molecular biology. Selexis SA is a global leader in mammalian cell-line development. In June 2017, Selexis was acquired by JSR Corporation, a Japanese company that is entering into the business of life sciences.
See what people are saying on Twitter using the hashtags #10YVentureKick for our anniversary and #VentureKickGS for our Global Shapers
A single word has motivated and shaped my career: ”independence“. I created Selexis SA as a means to becoming this independent person. Along the way, I was lucky to meet unique individuals who allowed me to become an entrepreneur and create this successful venture. It was an easy decision to accept a seat on the board of Venture Kick because it is it so important for me to help shape the future of startups in Switzerland. Venture Kick is unique in that it not only provides money to the entrepreneurs, but also the education and mentorship necessary for success.
What does the role of board member involve? Is there any particular part you enjoy?
My role with Venture Kick is to offer a hands-on view of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It’s important to consider the best way to manage a new initiative to ensure that it will be around for the long term. Additionally, we represent the donors and partners of the private initiative of Venture Kick. It was vital for me to explore different ways to guarantee the sustainability of the organization. Today we have established a promising way of ensuring the future of this initiative by encouraging each entrepreneur who has benefited from it to return some of his or her wealth back to the Venture Kick Foundation.
Venture Kick has given kicks to 522 startups in its 10 year existence. What do you think sets it apart from other startup support organisations?
Today, Venture Kick is novel in how it supports entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. Firstly, it can provide up to CHF 130,000 to an entrepreneur to support his / her ideas. Secondly, Venture Kick provides entrepreneurs with a unique kicking approach. It helps the entrepreneur tounderstand the amount of business development work he or she must deliver to succeed in leading the startup. Furthermore, Venture Kick entrepreneurs have the opportunity to meet with many other entrepreneurs, some of whom may also become competitors. This is extremely helpful as such interaction helps a leader to understand the market.
Engagement Migros and Swisscom joined the Venture Kick consortium this year. What makes Venture Kick attractive for corporates?
Major corporations realize that by supporting Venture Kick, they are investing in the future of our country. Venture Kick has demonstrated that it indeed creates many companies, jobs and, ultimately, wealth in Switzerland. Beyond investing for personal return, I believe we should also invest in the community that has financed, educated and mentored us.
Last year, you received the ”Excellence in Leadership Award“ from BioProcess International. What did this award mean to you?
This award meant that my company, Selexis, lived up to its brand promise: ”Driven by Excellence. Guided by Science.“ We have always been innovative in science, which is represented by the number of patents we have filed. To impact the production of novel biologics for unmet medical needs, our R&D investment was essential in generating better solutions for our industry. This award was given to me because we have maintained and nurtured this corporate philosophy for over 15 years. Selexis was founded in 2001.
What has changed for startups in Switzerland since then?
Other than the number of opportunities, the world of startups has not changed since 2001 when I created Selexis. Today we see many more opportunities for entrepreneurs because there’s more of an appetite for investing in and supporting young companies in the market here. In the past, the creation of a startup was always associated with high risk / high reward, which was not well accepted by people here in Switzerland. That’s changed, in part, because of initiatives like Venture Kick.
Selexis exited very successfully early this year. What brought you to this decision and what are the next steps?
Selexis has matured for more than 15 years and we had reached an important turning point in the growth of our business. The company wanted to expand its market segment. This could have been achieved as a stand-alone company by seeking a large investment or by looking for the right partner via acquisi tion. Our board decided that seeking the right partner would be the most effi cient way to expand our global reach into new business segments. Now we are poised to be part of a complete contract development manufacturing organization for the biopharmaceuticals industry.
Many Swiss startups move into international markets. How do you think that Venture Kick helps that process?
Venture Kick helps the startup entrepreneurs to understand the surrounding environment much better. By meeting other entrepreneurs in many different sectors, I noticed that we all have the same problems; we need money to grow the business and identify new markets, and we all concluded that we need to go global in order to survive.
In addition to being a board member, you are also joining the consortium of Venture Kick donors. What is your motivation?
I have experienced the great impact and importance of early support myself. When I was at the very beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I was supported by NETS, the predecessor program of venture leaders. After a successful exit with Selexis, I promised myself I would do my best to help Venture Kick to continue offering such invaluable help to startups. Let’s kick the next generation of entrepreneurs and enable them to shape the future!
ABOUT IGOR FISCH:
Entrepreneur Dr. Igor Fisch is CEO of Selexis SA, which he co-founded in 2001 after having previously worked in research in the fields of protein chemistry and molecular biology. Selexis SA is a global leader in mammalian cell-line development. In June 2017, Selexis was acquired by JSR Corporation, a Japanese company that is entering into the business of life sciences.
See what people are saying on Twitter using the hashtags #10YVentureKick for our anniversary and #VentureKickGS for our Global Shapers