

Swisspreneur Show
Swisspreneur
The Swisspreneur Show is a podcast series of in-depth, candid conversations with some of Switzerland’s most successful founders, business leaders and innovators. By getting to the heart of these leaders’ stories - their successes, their failures, their must-have advice and greatest regrets - we hope to both inspire and guide the next generation of Swiss entrepreneurs. Each episode deconstructs and showcases one person’s personal and professional background and provides advice and recommendations for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs in Switzerland.
Episodes
Mentioned books

10 snips
May 7, 2026 • 43min
How Founders Need to Change as Their Startup Scales: Grape Founder Gregory Inauen (EP# 558)
Gregory Inauen, co-founder and co-CEO of Grape — a Swiss digital employee insurance and health-tech builder. He talks about why scaling is mainly an organizational challenge. He explains evolving founder roles, the co-CEO split, disciplined hiring, building trust in regulated industries, and becoming an AI-native insurer. Short, candid takes on reliability, team friction, and long-term product focus.

Apr 29, 2026 • 47min
How to Thrive in the Swiss Startup Support Ecosystem: Pascal Stürchler, Wendy Jordan & Sam Dumelin (EP# 557)
Timestamps:6:38 - What makes Switzerland a unique environment for startups14:42 - Global best practices the Swiss startup world can adopt20:11 - How to network and approach VCs25:46 - The role of academic and research institutes in the Swiss startup ecosystem 28:41 - Top 3 tips for launching a startup in SwitzerlandThis episode was produced in collaboration with Startup Days, which took place on May 14th 2025.About Pascal Stürchler, Wendy Jordan and Sam Dumelin:Pascal Stürchler is the co-founder and CEO of Bloomhaus Ventures, a seed and early stage startup investor, as well as the President of Founders2, a growth program guided by top Silicon Valley coaches. Wendy Jordan is the Founder and COO of Encuentra24.com, the leading online classifieds platform in Central America, and founder of Fyiar Ventures, a private capital firm focused on tech scale-ups. Sam Dumelin is the co-founder of Novu Campus, a state-of-the-art coworking on-site campus in the heart of Zurich, and Novu Office, a full service provider for office refurbishing equipment. In this session we spoke about what makes the Swiss startup ecosystem unique, namely the presence of diverse and innovation-dense industries in close contact with each other, as well as the top quality higher education and legacy around innovation in Switzerland. We also discussed the best practices that can be implemented to level up the ecosystem, such as transitioning from a more specific to holistic approach in supporting early stage start-ups, the role of universities in promoting cross functional talent matchmaking, and how pitches are moving towards a more personal storytelling approach.We then heard the panelists share their insights on best practices for networking and reaching out to VCs in the Swiss context, as well as the how-to’s and value of validating a product before scaling-up, pivoting quickly, and leveraging the mentorship and support opportunities already in place for start-ups in Switzerland.The session ended with a Q&A with the audience, where our panelists shared tips on how to break into the large manufacturing space with limited capital and how to work with banks to secure debt funding.The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.Don’t forget to give us a follow on Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, and Youtube so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners.

Apr 23, 2026 • 54min
Why Startups Win Or Lose On People: Witena Partner Samuel Berger (EP #556)
Timestamps:9:49 - Challenges for Founders in Hiring20:26 - The Role of Boards in Startups38:52 - Incentivizing Management Teams49:00 - Celebrating Swiss Innovation and CompetitivenessEpisode Summary:Samuel Berguer is a Partner at Witena, an executive search firm with a dedicated focus on supervisory board and executive committee appointments. Before moving into executive search, he spent years working closely with growing companies in Switzerland, giving him a front-row seat to what actually drives success as companies scale - and where most of them get it wrong.In this episode, we break down why startups quickly become a people game, and how having the right people in the right roles at the right time separates companies that scale from those that stall. Samuel shares why founders should surround themselves with challengers, not supporters, and why decision-making, not consensus, is one of the most underrated leadership skills. We also dive into hiring mistakes founders repeatedly make, including why they tend to hold on to the wrong people for too long.We also explore the role of boards in Swiss startups: when to set one up, how to structure it, and why most early boards fail to add real value. Samuel explains why boards shouldn’t be filled with “fans,” but with people who bring experience, challenge assumptions, and evolve with the company. On a broader level, we discuss the Swiss startup ecosystem, from its strong technical foundations to its talent pipeline challenges, and what needs to change for Switzerland to build more globally competitive companies.If you’re building a startup and want to make better hiring, leadership, and board decisions early, this episode is a must listen.The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.Don’t forget to give us a follow on Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, and Youtube so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners.

Apr 20, 2026 • 51min
Why Swiss Startups Still Sell Too Early: Laurent Decrue & Sophie Lamparter (EP #555)
Timestamps:6:00 - Big Signals in the Swiss Ecosystem14:46 - US vs Europe - The IPO Landscape30:49 - Concentration and Kingmaking in Investments35:55 - The Role of Founder-Led FundsThis episode was co-produced with Swiss Startup Days, the leading Swiss deep-tech catalyst event for startups, investors, enablers, and corporates.Checkout Newcomers - the ultimate pitching format for pre-seed and seed startups in Switzerland. Applications open in December 2025.Episode Summary:In this Swisspreneur Briefing, Sophie Lamparter (Partner at VitaminºC) and Laurent Decrue (Co-founder & Co-CEO at Holycode) join us to break down the latest signals shaping the Swiss startup ecosystem. From a fresh $20M climate fund launch to major deep tech exits and IPO ambitions, we look at what’s really happening beneath the headlines - and whether Switzerland is finally entering a new phase of growth.We dive into three key themes. First, the tension between early exits and long-term ambition - and why Swiss startups still tend to sell before reaching global scale. Second, the growing gap between Europe and the US when it comes to capital markets, with companies choosing Nasdaq over local exchanges. And third, the rise of concentrated capital in venture, where a handful of funds are increasingly “making kings” and determining which startups get to win.Beyond the headlines, the conversation gets more nuanced. What does it mean for Switzerland if its best deep tech companies are acquired early? Is Europe structurally disadvantaged when it comes to scaling - or does it still have an edge in areas like robotics and physical AI? And how do cultural factors, risk appetite, and investor mindset shape the kinds of companies that get built here? This episode is a candid look at where the Swiss ecosystem stands today - and what still needs to change.The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.Don’t forget to give us a follow on Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, and Youtube so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners.

Apr 15, 2026 • 35min
How Switzerland Is Reinventing Life Sciences: François Capel & Loïc Roch (#554)
Timestamps:2:46 - Understanding Self-Driving Labs6:07 - Defining BioTools and Their Market14:49 - Building an Ecosystem for BioTools18:11 - Future Directions for Ateneri and InnovaudThis episode was co-produced with Innovaud, the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud. Check out https://www.innovaud.ch/en/ to learn more.Episode Summary:In this episode we’re joined by François Capel, Innovation Advisor at Innovaud, the innovation agency behind the canton of Vaud, who is leading the push to define and build a new category in life sciences: BioTools, positioning Switzerland as a hub for companies building tools for research, not just end products. With him is Loïc Roch, the co-founder and CTO of Atinary, a Swiss deep tech AI company building self-driving labs from Lausanne and Silicon Valley. By combining robotics, machine learning, and automated experimentation, Atinary is fundamentally changing how scientific discovery happens. In this episode, we unpack three key ideas. First, why the next wave of AI is moving beyond software into the physical world, automating entire R&D pipelines and accelerating discovery by up to 1000x. Second, how BioTool startups operate under a completely different business model than traditional biotech, avoiding regulation and enabling faster go-to-market, but facing new challenges in sales, pricing, and positioning. Third, how Atinary is building a data flywheel through self-driving labs, turning experimentation into a scalable, AI-driven process.We also go deeper into the nuances behind building in Switzerland. François shares why BioTools require a new category identity for investors, coaches, and founders to understand the opportunity, and how ecosystem coordination in places like Vaud can accelerate entire industries. Loïc reflects on the real bottleneck in deep tech, not technology, but change management, and what it takes to shift decades-old scientific workflows. And together, they highlight why Switzerland’s strength is not just in individual startups, but in building tightly connected ecosystems that can compete globally.The cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.Don’t forget to give us a follow on Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, and Youtube so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners.

Apr 12, 2026 • 1h
How 3 Friends Built a CHF 10M Plant Brand From their Kitchen: Feey Co-founder & CEO Sven Jakelj (#553)
Timestamps:6:02 - Founding Feey: The Birth of a Plant Brand18:11 - Building a Unique Brand Experience33:34 - Leveraging Logistics as a Strategic Advantage42:05 - Harnessing AI For Enhanced Operations Episode SummarySven Jakelj, Co-Founder and CEO of feey, went from cybersecurity to building Switzerland's category-defining plant brand — starting with zero knowledge about plants, a 5th floor apartment in St. Gallen, and a kitchen that doubled as a repotting station.In this Swisspreneur Documentary, we visit feey's headquarters and vertical farm to uncover how Sven, his brother Janko, and co-founder Severin built a CHF 10M business by rethinking everything about how plants are sold, shipped, and cared for.In this episode, you'll learn:🌱 Why a 2B+ CHF market had zero brands — and how feey spotted the gap📦 How they developed their own packaging and logistics to ship living products safely🏭 Why they built a vertical farm with no farming experience ("I didn't even know where to turn it on") ✍️ The handwritten card strategy that still scales today — for less than a paid ad click 💀 How 7,000 plants died weeks before their biggest product launch — and how they recovered🤖 How AI is transforming the way they learn, iterate, and grow faster than ever 📈 Their path from side hustle to CHF 10M revenue — and why retail could 10x the businessThe cover portrait was edited by www.smartportrait.io.Don’t forget to give us a follow on Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, and Youtube so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners.

Apr 2, 2026 • 49min
Build & Share Native Apps From Your Phone: Bloom Co-founder & CEO David Oort Alonso (#552)
David Oort Alonso, co-founder and CEO of Bloom and former founder of Gifted and FireView, built a platform that turns phone prompts into full-stack native apps. He talks about why mobile is still harder than web. He explains Bloom’s app-clip sharing and universal apps, raising $3.4M quickly with a demo, and the future of AI, reliability, and retention in app building.

Mar 26, 2026 • 58min
The $100M TechBio Built Without VCs: Cutiss Co-founder & CEO Daniela Marino (EP #551)
Daniela Marino, co-founder and CEO of Cutiss and biotech founder who turned academic research into personalized skin therapies. She discusses the NovoSkin personalized skin graft, moving from academia to startup life, building in-house GMP production, navigating phase 3 trials and European regulatory pathways, and raising over CHF 100M without traditional venture capital.

Mar 16, 2026 • 52min
Inside Switzerland’s Startup Pipeline: Laurent Decrue & Sophie Lamparter (EP #550)
Laurent Decrue, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Holycode and active angel investor in robotics and medtech. Sophie Lamparter, Founder and Managing Partner at VitaminºC, early-stage investor focused on deep tech and health data. They discuss big March funding rounds and investor sentiment. They unpack ETH Zurich’s record spin-off pipeline and why robotics and industrial tech may be Switzerland’s next breakout sector.

Mar 11, 2026 • 50min
How ETH Zurich Became a Startup Machine: Frank Floessel & Vanessa Wood (#549)
Frank Flössel, ETH alumnus turned entrepreneur and head of ETH Entrepreneurship who builds founder programs. Vanessa Wood, VP for Knowledge Transfer who connects research with industry and policy. They discuss modernizing spin-off processes, speeding up licensing, building student and research startup tracks, and why deep tech plus returning founders strengthen Europe’s startup ecosystem.


