Two new Swiss startup teams selected to conquer the US market and its investors in June
14.04.2016
As novelty in 2016, not only one, but two “Swiss startup teams” have been selected for the US journey as part of the international program venture leaders. Nine Venture Kick alumni are part of the teams. Don't miss them.
 Andrea Maesani from Intento, captain of the venture leaders Boston
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 Michela Puddu from Haelixa, captain of the venture leaders NYC
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The venture leaders in Life Sciences and the venture leaders in Technology teams, composed of 10 high potential startups each, will fly to Boston and New York this summer for a “business boosting” week which will enable them to accelerate their development on the US market, meet top investors and experts. Selected after a highly competitive process, both teams offer an amazing display of startups to watch for future success.
Over the past 15 years, the venture leaders program has been a cornerstone behind the success of numerous Swiss startups at a global scale such as STAFF FINDER, Europe’s Nr. 1 on-demand marketplace for temporary staffing, who announced the completion of a growth equity investment led by One Peak Partners and Goldman Sachs Private Capital early March. “The biggest learning with the venture leaders in Boston was without doubt the glance outside Swiss frontiers. The contacts and experience were a gold mine. We could also find an investor for STAFF FINDER while there“, explains CEO and founder Viktor Calabrò.
A once in a lifetime opportunity for world-class startups
“venture leaders pursues its mission to play a key role in identifying and accelerating the development of some of the most promising Swiss startups at the international level”, explains Jordi Montserrat, Director of venturelab. “For the winning startups, to spend this intense week with top entrepreneurs who have global ambitions in thriving entrepreneurial and business ecosystems such as New York and Boston, is a once in a life time opportunity.” Whereas Switzerland is a fantastic place to launch and establish a startup, growth takes place at the international level: “Early exposure to the US market and its investors is a necessity for any startup with global potential.”
A more targeted offer for the winning startups
After 15 successful editions of venture leaders USA bringing 20 Swiss entrepreneurs to Boston and New York during 10 days, the program was split in two this year to better fit with the needs and expectations of the two ecosystems’ investors and to offer a more targeted option to the winning candidates. “Boston and New York are both world class innovation ecosystems, but have different strengths. For example, Boston is extremely strong in domains such as biotechnology, medtech or energy, whereas New York offers great opportunities in fields such as mobile apps, fintech, media or Big Data”, explains Felix Moesner, Swiss Consul and CEO of swissnex Boston, venturelab’s longtime partner and co-organizer of the venture leaders trips in the US. New York and Boston now await the next ambassadors of Swiss innovation in the US. Stay tuned to follow their adventures: Hashtags: #vleaders, #vleadersBOS, #vleadersNYC.
#vleadersBOS: the venture leaders in Life Sciences Boston 2016 at a glance
Andrea Maesani, Intento (medtech), EPF Lausanne, Venture Kick (30'000) 2016
A solution for the rehabilitation of severely paralyzed stroke patients, helping them to perform and recover upper limbs movements again.
Martin Ostermaier, InterAx Biotech (biotech), PSI and ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2015
InterAx Biotech helps pharmaceutical companies to develop new and better drugs. Their unique combination of computational methods and innovative biological products allows for fast and comprehensive characterization of potential new drugs. Costly clinical trials can then be performed with reduced risks.
The team of InterAx Biotech
Philipp Knechtle, Selmod (biotech), Uni Basel, Venture Kick (10'000) 2016
Development of innovative small molecule therapies for the treatment of life-threatening invasive fungal infections, which represent around 2 million new cases every year worldwide.
Sabrina Badir, pregnolia (medtech), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2015
A diagnostic tool that measures the cervical stiffness in pregnant women, allowing to reliably identify women at risk of preterm birth, thus solving the long-standing problem of preterm birth risk assessment and management in pregnancy.
Sabrina Badir, CEO of Pregnolia
Tomas de Wouters, PharmaBiome (biotech), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2015
Antibiotic resistances make intestinal infections (i.e. C. difficile infection) life-threatening. Fecal microbiota transplant, the transplant of feces from a healthy donor to the infected patient, is currently the only lifesaving but experimental therapy with success rates of over 90%. PharmaBiome develops a scalable, controllable and efficient alternative to the use of fecal material to make it the treatment of choice for intestinal infections.
Check all venture leaders in Life Sciences profiles online
#vleadersNYC: the venture leaders in Technology New York 2016
Alberto Hernando, SthAR (software), EPF Lausanne, Venture Kick (130'000) 2016
Algorithms that draw on large quantities of telecommunications data to identify where and when to deliver a message most effectively. The software product could be useful in both electoral and advertising campaigns.
The founder of SThAR Alberto Hernando
Daniel Meier, Aerotain (engineering), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2016
Fun and interactive flying solutions to boost the attention and coverage of brands and products. Applications range from advertisement and entertainment to live streams of events from the air. Check an example in video here
Mathias Haussmann, Uepaa AG (web, mobile), ETH spin-off, Venture Kick (130'000) 2012
Uepaa is a quickly growing «peer-to-peer»software company (SaaS) based in Zurich that enables developers to integrate proximity features into their apps. Internationally awarded for its disruptive p2p safety app in 2013, the company launched its Software Development Kit (SDK called www.p2pkit.io) in October 2015. Uepaa has already seen tremendous uptake, with over 300+ clients from over 40 countries. Additionally Uepaa was recognized by 451 Research among others, as being a first-mover and leader in the proximity-based services space! Check out their video here
Founders of Uepaa
Michela Puddu, Haelixa (materials), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (10'000) 2016
Haelixa provides intelligent DNA-based tracing solutions allowing fluid/item tracking and parameter monitoring (temperature, light, pH, oxidants) to support the energy industry (underground exploration and monitoring), and ensure product authentication and quality control as well as liability management.
Check all venture leaders in Technology profiles online
Over the past 15 years, the venture leaders program has been a cornerstone behind the success of numerous Swiss startups at a global scale such as STAFF FINDER, Europe’s Nr. 1 on-demand marketplace for temporary staffing, who announced the completion of a growth equity investment led by One Peak Partners and Goldman Sachs Private Capital early March. “The biggest learning with the venture leaders in Boston was without doubt the glance outside Swiss frontiers. The contacts and experience were a gold mine. We could also find an investor for STAFF FINDER while there“, explains CEO and founder Viktor Calabrò.
A once in a lifetime opportunity for world-class startups
“venture leaders pursues its mission to play a key role in identifying and accelerating the development of some of the most promising Swiss startups at the international level”, explains Jordi Montserrat, Director of venturelab. “For the winning startups, to spend this intense week with top entrepreneurs who have global ambitions in thriving entrepreneurial and business ecosystems such as New York and Boston, is a once in a life time opportunity.” Whereas Switzerland is a fantastic place to launch and establish a startup, growth takes place at the international level: “Early exposure to the US market and its investors is a necessity for any startup with global potential.”
A more targeted offer for the winning startups
After 15 successful editions of venture leaders USA bringing 20 Swiss entrepreneurs to Boston and New York during 10 days, the program was split in two this year to better fit with the needs and expectations of the two ecosystems’ investors and to offer a more targeted option to the winning candidates. “Boston and New York are both world class innovation ecosystems, but have different strengths. For example, Boston is extremely strong in domains such as biotechnology, medtech or energy, whereas New York offers great opportunities in fields such as mobile apps, fintech, media or Big Data”, explains Felix Moesner, Swiss Consul and CEO of swissnex Boston, venturelab’s longtime partner and co-organizer of the venture leaders trips in the US. New York and Boston now await the next ambassadors of Swiss innovation in the US. Stay tuned to follow their adventures: Hashtags: #vleaders, #vleadersBOS, #vleadersNYC.
#vleadersBOS: the venture leaders in Life Sciences Boston 2016 at a glance
Andrea Maesani, Intento (medtech), EPF Lausanne, Venture Kick (30'000) 2016
A solution for the rehabilitation of severely paralyzed stroke patients, helping them to perform and recover upper limbs movements again.
Martin Ostermaier, InterAx Biotech (biotech), PSI and ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2015
InterAx Biotech helps pharmaceutical companies to develop new and better drugs. Their unique combination of computational methods and innovative biological products allows for fast and comprehensive characterization of potential new drugs. Costly clinical trials can then be performed with reduced risks.
The team of InterAx Biotech
Philipp Knechtle, Selmod (biotech), Uni Basel, Venture Kick (10'000) 2016
Development of innovative small molecule therapies for the treatment of life-threatening invasive fungal infections, which represent around 2 million new cases every year worldwide.
Sabrina Badir, pregnolia (medtech), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2015
A diagnostic tool that measures the cervical stiffness in pregnant women, allowing to reliably identify women at risk of preterm birth, thus solving the long-standing problem of preterm birth risk assessment and management in pregnancy.
Sabrina Badir, CEO of Pregnolia
Tomas de Wouters, PharmaBiome (biotech), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2015
Antibiotic resistances make intestinal infections (i.e. C. difficile infection) life-threatening. Fecal microbiota transplant, the transplant of feces from a healthy donor to the infected patient, is currently the only lifesaving but experimental therapy with success rates of over 90%. PharmaBiome develops a scalable, controllable and efficient alternative to the use of fecal material to make it the treatment of choice for intestinal infections.
Check all venture leaders in Life Sciences profiles online
#vleadersNYC: the venture leaders in Technology New York 2016
Alberto Hernando, SthAR (software), EPF Lausanne, Venture Kick (130'000) 2016
Algorithms that draw on large quantities of telecommunications data to identify where and when to deliver a message most effectively. The software product could be useful in both electoral and advertising campaigns.
The founder of SThAR Alberto Hernando
Daniel Meier, Aerotain (engineering), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (30'000) 2016
Fun and interactive flying solutions to boost the attention and coverage of brands and products. Applications range from advertisement and entertainment to live streams of events from the air. Check an example in video here
Mathias Haussmann, Uepaa AG (web, mobile), ETH spin-off, Venture Kick (130'000) 2012
Uepaa is a quickly growing «peer-to-peer»software company (SaaS) based in Zurich that enables developers to integrate proximity features into their apps. Internationally awarded for its disruptive p2p safety app in 2013, the company launched its Software Development Kit (SDK called www.p2pkit.io) in October 2015. Uepaa has already seen tremendous uptake, with over 300+ clients from over 40 countries. Additionally Uepaa was recognized by 451 Research among others, as being a first-mover and leader in the proximity-based services space! Check out their video here
Founders of Uepaa
Michela Puddu, Haelixa (materials), ETH Zurich, Venture Kick (10'000) 2016
Haelixa provides intelligent DNA-based tracing solutions allowing fluid/item tracking and parameter monitoring (temperature, light, pH, oxidants) to support the energy industry (underground exploration and monitoring), and ensure product authentication and quality control as well as liability management.
Check all venture leaders in Technology profiles online