Swisspreneur Show
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
Timestamps:
6:51 - Is it possible to protect your mental health as a Founder?
20:00 - How to know when you’ve transitioned from a startup to a scale-up?
23:42 - What creates the most pressure for Founders?
35:49 - How do we build up resilience?
This episode was co-produced with Innovaud, the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud.
Episode Summary:
Sahar Hosseinian, Co-Founder and form...
Timestamps:
02:25 - Why Angels Invest Beyond Returns
05:40 - Spotting the Gap in Word of Mouth Marketing
10:00 - Investing in Founders, Not Just Ideas
18:48 - Scaling from Switzerland to Europe (and Beyond)
This episode was co-produced by SICTIC, the leading angel investor network in Switzerland.
Episode Summary:
Pascal Sollberger is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Hypt, a Swiss startup helping businesses harness word-of-mout...
Timestamps:
5:20 - Helping European companies set up shop in China
11:43 - SICTIC’s investment program for kids
17:57 - Building AI models to predict fundraising success
26:00 - How being a young investor changes your perspective
This episode was co-produced by SICTIC, the leading angel investor network in Switzerland.
This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit fro...
Timestamps:
3:31 - What’s the best tech team setup?
16:05 - Using OKRs for your tech team
32:53 - The more you automate, the higher the tech debt?
37:21 - Marketing the product before you even build it
This episode was originally a live webinar co-hosted with Holycode, a software development partner that's helped more than 140 startups scale by providing customized products and teams for every stage.
Timestamps
12:16 — Bootstrapping mindset, MVP building, and milestone-based rounds.
17:50 — The trade-offs of bringing VCs on board versus angels.
27:58 — Honest discussion of founder stress, cash flow, and mental health.
41:46 — Final takeaways and practical advice for first-time founders.
This episode was produced by Founders Hive — a community of founders, experts, and investors driving entrepreneurship in Switze...
Timestamps:
13:04 - Spotting untapped markets through first-hand pain
18:49 - Turning CO2 roadmaps into revenue models
26:06 - Building recurring revenues in a capex-heavy industry
32:16 - Why sustainability is already profitable
This episode was co-produced with SEF-Growth, the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss startups and SMEs with growth plans free of charge. Check out the link in the bio ...
Timestamps
00:00 – Tour of Andreas’ self-built "culinary village" (bakery, guesthouse, fermentation lab).
08:05 – The startup struggle: Bootstrapping with 4 people and sleeping in the restaurant.
13:22 – Losing his co-founder/girlfriend: Why he almost quit (but didn’t).
19:06 – Monetization secrets: Licensing deals, Hublot/Audi partnerships, and why "brands need stories."
22:35 – Future projects: Saunas, talent found...
Timestamps:
9:00 – What Is Venture Kick and Kickfund?
12:55 – Why Wanja Joined Kickfund
18:45 – Why Founders & Investors Love Kickfund
27:05 – The Long-Term Vision
This episode was co-produced with KickFund, a VC fund investing in the most promising Swiss deeptech startups. Check out the link in the bio/comments to learn more about them!Episode summary:
Wanja Humanes is the CEO of Kickfund, a Swiss investment fund that inve...
Timestamps:
02:02 — Why Eric quit finance to create instead of comply.
04:20 — Investor Brain as a Founder: 70+ angel deals, stakeholder management, and Switzerland’s funding “missing middle.”
12:50 — Flow > Busywork: How Eric engineers flow states to work efficiently
16:25 — Why Holistic exists: Root-cause care for chronic conditions vs. longevity/prevention hype.
27:40 — A business model that scales, willingness to ...
Timestamps:
6:00 – Deciding between chasing investor money vs. revenues from day one
29:42 – How founder pressure differs across funding strategies (runway vs. cash-flow anxiety)
37:22 – Can a bootstrapped startup realistically become a market leader?
35:10 – In what scenario would they switch financing strategies?
This episode was produced by Founders Hive — a community of founders, experts, and investors driving en...
Timestamps:
03:14 - What even is “operations”?
7:57 - Should OKRs be set top-down or bottom-up?
17:05 - Top 3 key KPIs for early stage startups
26:00 - How to focus on fundraising without losing traction
43:26 - What happens when you don’t have your finances in order?
This episode was originally a live webinar co-hosted with Holycode, a software development partner that's helped more than 140 startups scale by providing customi...
Timestamps:
6:00 - Tackling the early detection of sepsis
17:17 - Why obsess over hard challenges?
27:41 - Marketing a new biomarker
34:20 - Expanding and delegating to distributors
This episode was co-produced with Innovaud, the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud.
About Patrick Pestalozzi & François Capel:
Patrick Pestalozzi is a former management consultant and Silicon Valley exe...
Timestamps:
2:30 - What makes a startup attractive to VCs?
7:44 - Why VC money isn’t for everyone
16:40 - What if the VC tells you no?
21:00 - What is “vibe coding”?
24:25 - When VCs decide to invest
This episode was originally a live conversation which took place at startup days 2025, in Bern. Check out startup days to learn about next year's event!
Click here to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today.
About Ant...
Timestamps:
8:30 - The problem in VA that CREAL is tackling
15:10 - VA as the future
34:45 - What’s next for CREAL after closing another funding round
46:45 - Why don't we see more Swiss startups becoming global category leaders?
This episode was co-produced by SICTIC, the leading angel investor network in Switzerland.
Click here to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today.
Episode Summary:
Bolko Hohaus is the Founder & CE...
Timestamps
3:52 - Past failures that paved the way for success
9:12 - Shifting from finance, to vocation training, to retrofitting luminaries
13:57 How Lumvin found a swiss-based cheaper, faster, and sustainable way to upgrade luminaries
32:28 Tips for driving sales in Switzerland
37:14 - Winning the Swiss Economic Award
This episode was co-produced with SEF.Growth, the Swiss Economic Forum's Growth initiative to support Swiss s...
Timestamps:
2:50 - Building a cloud-native API-first product
5:28 - How will AI change banking?
12:14 - The big regulatory beast
25:24 - Amnis’ growth challenges
This episode was sponsored by infinity.swiss, Switzerland’s most advanced AI accounting tool. Save 25% by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout.
Click here to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today.
About Michael Wüst:
Michael Wüst is the founder and CEO o...
Timestamps:
5:00 – How much should you raise in a Series A?
12:39 – Should you get existing investors to invest again?
19:12 – How to approach investors for a Series A
30:00 – How to mitigate risk for your investors
35:09 – What if you just bootstrapped?
This episode was originally a live webinar co-hosted with Holycode, a software development partner that's helped more than 140 startups scale by providing customized products and...
Timestamps:
4:16 - When does a startup become a scaleup?
18:04 - Prioritizing which issue to tackle next
25:06 - Why properti only has Swiss investors
28:40 - Challenges in scaling up in Switzerland vs Internationally
31:34 - How Levent leverages his advisory board
39:00 - Key advice for early founders
Click here to purchase our book, “Swiss Startups”.
About Levent Künzi:
Levent Künzi is the Co-Founder and CEO of ...
Timestamps:
6:32 - How can lawyers help entrepreneurs?
13:55 - The cost of legal services: hourly rates vs. success fees
23:40 - Essential contracts for startups: what founders must know
40:10 - Understanding term sheets and key negotiations
50:56 - Personal liability and risk management
This episode was co-produced by EO Zürich. Check out their upcoming event, Entrepreneurs Summit 2025.
Subscribe to the Swisspreneur Newsletter to...
Timestamps:
5:11 - Hire your first 15-25 employees super carefully
10:35 - Incentives and ownership in company culture
15:28 - What can Switzerland learn from the US?
Click here to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today.
About Victoria Ransom:
Victoria Ransom is the co-founder of Wildfire, a social marketing software-as-a-service company which was acquired by Google, and of Prisma, a global virtual school (grades 4-...
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