The jury experience: Philip Bodmer
29.11.2017
Philip Bodmer is a business angel and president of the Volkswirtschaftsstiftung. In 2002 he opened Bodmer & Partner Consultants AG in order to support and promote SMEs in the field of biotechnology. He has been on the jury of Venture Kick since it began 10 years ago.
 Philip Bodmer
|
 |
What first attracted you to being on the Venture Kick jury?
There were four main reasons; firstly Venture Kick was (and still is) an excellent initiative for promoting startups in Switzerland and is an enterprise that deserves to be supported. Secondly, I felt that the whole Venture Kick process is extremely helpful for startups, as they do not just receive money, but also excellent coaching. Thirdly, I was impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment from Beat, Jordi and the whole Venture Kick team – it made me feel that this was something that was going to be long lasting and make an impact. Finally, as jury members we can make a contribution to something that is significant and relevant for the economy of our country.
What changes have you seen in Venture Kick during these 10 years? Do you see different types of startups coming through?
In the last decade, Venture Kick has been able to attract significant additional donors, giving a much bigger funding ”runway“ to the projects. That’s a very positive development. Also, at the beginning, the stage 3 ”kick“ was a grant, now that has been changed to an adaptive equity participation, meaning that Venture Kick takes a participation in the stage 3 winners. That Venture Kick is a shareholder in companies they fund today means that it remains close to them even after they have left the program. As for the types of startups, the over-all quality has improved. This can be seen through the jury votes, we seldom had close votes at the beginning, but now we have more and more.
In the past 10 years there have been significant changes in the ecosystem surrounding startups in Switzerland, what part do you think Venture Kick has played in supporting these changes?
I would say that through coaching and improving the business case of Venture Kick startups, we have raised the bar of expectations for all startups in Switzerland. This has in turn raised the credibility of the ecosystem. Beat and Jordi are very visible and skilled spokespeople, which has improved the visibility of startups in Switzerland. Venture Kick alumni now make the front pages, 10 years ago startups were lucky to be on page 35!
Venture Kick was the first private initiative to propose yearlong startup pre-financing with multiple stages and giving on the spot decisions for grants in Switzerland: how do you see this model? And how do you think it might have influenced others?
The model is clearly a success, as proven by the disproportionate number of successful startups that Venture Kick has supported. Other startup incubators in Switzerland may have looked to Venture Kick and borrowed elements from it to make their own, but Venture Kick has a number of complementary factors that make it unique; The sheer number of startups wanting to be a part of Venture Kick, combined with professional organization and administration, coaching capacity, the rigorous process with deadlines and reporting, large pool of expert jury members willing to work pro bono and lastly, the visionary team and board of directors, make Venture Kick something special.
This year we’re presenting the greatest success stories from the last 10 years of Venture Kick. Which startups have particularly stood out to you or inspired you during this time?
This is a tough one! Those that have stood out are those that have grown and proved themselves to be viable and sustainable companies. It’s always rewarding to see a group of young people start to earn a living from the idea with which they originally set out. The other ones that have stood out are the ones that were rejected in stage 2, but have gone on to be successful anyway: Dacuda (mobile 3D scanning technology) is the one which always 27 comes to my mind. Along the same lines, companies that initially took off and did well, and were labeled a success, but somehow hit a wall and failed.
You were named Business Angel of the Year 2017, congratulations! What does this award mean to you?
It’s a recognition of my work and my contributions to the Swiss startup ecosystem over the past 15 years. It’s crucial that new technology companies are founded in Switzerland for the sake of the economy and job creation and I would like to use the platform to raise awareness of a very glaring lack of funding that we have for startups in the ’Valley of Death’; the second and third fi nancing rounds. They are inadequate in Switzerland and it is holding all of us back. In my opinion, it’s the greatest hurdle for startups in the ecosystem and this is something which we have to solve.
Aside from the cash injection, what difference do you think it makes to a startup to have the Venture Kick seal of approval?
Venture Kick approval is definitely a boost to the startup for a number of reasons. They and their business case have gone through an intensive selection process, improving every time, meaning that by the end the quality is signifi cantly better. The team are confronted with deadlines which they have to meet. Through the Venture Kick process they also become embedded in the Swiss startup ecosystem because they have so many opportunities to present themselves, e.g. through the team going to the US or to China, or being invited to events where they meet other entrepreneurs and business angels.
See what people are saying on Twitter using the hashtags #10YVentureKick for our anniversary and #VentureKickGS for our Global Shapers
There were four main reasons; firstly Venture Kick was (and still is) an excellent initiative for promoting startups in Switzerland and is an enterprise that deserves to be supported. Secondly, I felt that the whole Venture Kick process is extremely helpful for startups, as they do not just receive money, but also excellent coaching. Thirdly, I was impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment from Beat, Jordi and the whole Venture Kick team – it made me feel that this was something that was going to be long lasting and make an impact. Finally, as jury members we can make a contribution to something that is significant and relevant for the economy of our country.
What changes have you seen in Venture Kick during these 10 years? Do you see different types of startups coming through?
In the last decade, Venture Kick has been able to attract significant additional donors, giving a much bigger funding ”runway“ to the projects. That’s a very positive development. Also, at the beginning, the stage 3 ”kick“ was a grant, now that has been changed to an adaptive equity participation, meaning that Venture Kick takes a participation in the stage 3 winners. That Venture Kick is a shareholder in companies they fund today means that it remains close to them even after they have left the program. As for the types of startups, the over-all quality has improved. This can be seen through the jury votes, we seldom had close votes at the beginning, but now we have more and more.
In the past 10 years there have been significant changes in the ecosystem surrounding startups in Switzerland, what part do you think Venture Kick has played in supporting these changes?
I would say that through coaching and improving the business case of Venture Kick startups, we have raised the bar of expectations for all startups in Switzerland. This has in turn raised the credibility of the ecosystem. Beat and Jordi are very visible and skilled spokespeople, which has improved the visibility of startups in Switzerland. Venture Kick alumni now make the front pages, 10 years ago startups were lucky to be on page 35!
Venture Kick was the first private initiative to propose yearlong startup pre-financing with multiple stages and giving on the spot decisions for grants in Switzerland: how do you see this model? And how do you think it might have influenced others?
The model is clearly a success, as proven by the disproportionate number of successful startups that Venture Kick has supported. Other startup incubators in Switzerland may have looked to Venture Kick and borrowed elements from it to make their own, but Venture Kick has a number of complementary factors that make it unique; The sheer number of startups wanting to be a part of Venture Kick, combined with professional organization and administration, coaching capacity, the rigorous process with deadlines and reporting, large pool of expert jury members willing to work pro bono and lastly, the visionary team and board of directors, make Venture Kick something special.
This year we’re presenting the greatest success stories from the last 10 years of Venture Kick. Which startups have particularly stood out to you or inspired you during this time?
This is a tough one! Those that have stood out are those that have grown and proved themselves to be viable and sustainable companies. It’s always rewarding to see a group of young people start to earn a living from the idea with which they originally set out. The other ones that have stood out are the ones that were rejected in stage 2, but have gone on to be successful anyway: Dacuda (mobile 3D scanning technology) is the one which always 27 comes to my mind. Along the same lines, companies that initially took off and did well, and were labeled a success, but somehow hit a wall and failed.
You were named Business Angel of the Year 2017, congratulations! What does this award mean to you?
It’s a recognition of my work and my contributions to the Swiss startup ecosystem over the past 15 years. It’s crucial that new technology companies are founded in Switzerland for the sake of the economy and job creation and I would like to use the platform to raise awareness of a very glaring lack of funding that we have for startups in the ’Valley of Death’; the second and third fi nancing rounds. They are inadequate in Switzerland and it is holding all of us back. In my opinion, it’s the greatest hurdle for startups in the ecosystem and this is something which we have to solve.
Aside from the cash injection, what difference do you think it makes to a startup to have the Venture Kick seal of approval?
Venture Kick approval is definitely a boost to the startup for a number of reasons. They and their business case have gone through an intensive selection process, improving every time, meaning that by the end the quality is signifi cantly better. The team are confronted with deadlines which they have to meet. Through the Venture Kick process they also become embedded in the Swiss startup ecosystem because they have so many opportunities to present themselves, e.g. through the team going to the US or to China, or being invited to events where they meet other entrepreneurs and business angels.
See what people are saying on Twitter using the hashtags #10YVentureKick for our anniversary and #VentureKickGS for our Global Shapers