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:
05:58 - From tennis courts to security
11:43 - Getting the team onboard with a major pivot
19:40 - Staying focused vs staying flexible
27:57 - What are the biggest pivoting mistakes startups keep making?
This episode was co-produced with Innovaud, the innovation and investment promotion agency for the canton of Vaud.
This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai ...
Timestamps:
02:24 – Führen wie ein Löwe
06:31 – Warum Sales Chefsache ist
07:31 – Das globale Startup-Ökosystem: USA vs. Europa
10:16 – Erfolgreiche Sales-Strategien strukturieren
21:29 – Rückschläge meistern und Resilienz aufbauen
This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout.
(Disclaimer: Relai servi...
Timestamps:
2:48 - Why ETH generates so many startups
7:23 - From research to commercialization
14:00 - Does ETH invest in startups?
21:50 - Perfectionism vs move fast and break things
29:23 - It’s not hard to convince people to work for startups
This episode was co-produced with the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation.
Click here to order your copy of “Swiss Startups” today.
About Roland Siegwart:
Timestamps:
13:03 - How much equity did Relai give away?
31:00 - How to delegate as a CEO
39:13 - Why product roadmaps change
47:10 - Why Julian is cautious to expand his team
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.
This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the R...
Timestamps:
9:33 - Leaving a corporate and starting your own company
18:00 - Why pet food is terrible
29:08 - Why there’s a market for Loonawell
33:32 - Pet food made by an executive chef?
36:14 - Why established pet food companies can’t compete with Loonawell
Resources Mentioned:
Silence: the Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise, by Thich Nhat Hahn
About Maria de Bettencourt Tavares:
Maria de Bettencourt Tavares is the founder a...
Timestamps:
11:04 - How the Swisspreneur team grew
14:16 - Why most people at Swisspreneur are volunteers
25:00 - How the syndicate got hundreds of signups after a few weeks
30:42 - Why does Swisspreneur produce free masterclasses?
39:43 - How Swisspreneur wrote a book
This episode was sponsored by Google Cloud. Join their Founder's Story event on June 24th to hear directly from blockchain startup founders about their journeys of...
Timestamps:
5:07 - Thomas’s leap from cybersecurity to founding Rivero
15:07 - Building partnerships with Visa and Mastercard
21:10 - Bootstrapping until Series A
23:00 - Founder salary realities
27:43 - Why it’s hard to sell to banks
Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today. Click here to profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout.
(Disclaimer: Relai services are exclusively recommende...
Timestamps:
8:35 - Why enter a crowded market?
15:24 - Language learning in AI
28:02 - When Univerbal got into YC
37:30 - How to get into YC
41:00 - Getting 50K+ people to test your prototype
DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded several months ago, and since then Philipp has left his role at Univerbal. We nonetheless thought the episode was still worth sharing, as it is a great startup story about building an AI language tutor and m...
Timestamps:
7:29 - How does the Swiss ecosystem compare to others?
18:09 - Which Swiss scaleups is Nicolas excited about?
23:46 - Does Swiss shyness hold us back?
30:23 - Investing in companies with long development cycles
35:08 - Creating outbound investment opportunities
This episode was co-produced with the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation.
Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today. Click her...
Timestamps:
6:10 - Quantifying innovation for investment purposes
10:53 - How Evelyne met Tobias Reichmuth
20:43 - Can innovation outperform ETFs?
34:18 - How to build trust with potential investors
38:34 - Why Evelyne’s team is mostly women
This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout.
(Disclaimer: Relai services a...
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:
4:00 - What’s a data breach?
10:21 - What’s a phishing campaign?
13:50 - How expensive is it to fix a data breach?
20:35 - How are startups being targeted?
22:07 - Why strong passwords are not enough
This episode was co-produced by NordPass. Use code “swisspreneur” at checkout to get 30% off Business and Teams plans.
This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app
Timestamps:
4:30 - Wie konnte Alex Frei immer die höchste Leistung abrufen
9:20 - Liegt der Fokus auf Input oder Output?
19:30 - Was bedeutet Fairplay im Business?
33:50 - Mentale Gesundheit im Sport
39:22 - Kurze Abschlussfragen
Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checkout.
(Disclaimer: Relai services are exclusively recommended for Swiss a...
Timestamps:
6:21 - How much equity to give up in a Series A
13:32 - How investors assess valuation at Series A/B
17:55 - What makes a good vs. bad investor
26:29 - Why some investors lead founders on
36:50 - Don’t spray and pray: smarter ways to reach investors
This episode was sponsored by Relai. Get started with Bitcoin by downloading the Relai app today, and profit from 10% less fees by entering code SWISSPRENEUR at checko...
Timestamps:
3:51 - How T3 Pharma launched a clinical trial
15:44 - When a partner wants to acquire you
30:55 - Selling for more than you expected
44:56 - Why they publicly disclosed the acquisition cost
52:52 - How the company changed post-exit
Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, Christof Roduner from Scandit, and Viviana Gropengiesser from Talent Kick.
About Simon Ittig:
Timestamps:
2:49 - How Sherpany got acquired
18:05 - Discounting vs additional free features
23:20 - Should you hire salespeople or marketing people first?
32:03 - Where to hire salespeople
45:47 - The fixed/variable salary split
About Tobias Häckermann, Lars Mangelsdorf & Laurent Decrue:
Tobias Häckermann is the co-founder and CEO of Sherpany, a provider of meeting management software for leadership meetings that was acquired by Data...
Timestamps:
7:51 - Why is entrepreneurship a lonely journey?
13:55 - Comradeship in entrepreneurship
15:04 - Is post-exit depression a thing?
23:56 - Thinking about the meaning of life
26:23 - The social responsibility of founders
This episode was co-produced with EO Zürich. Check out their upcoming event, Entrepreneurs Summit 2025.
Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie ...
Timestamps:
8:01 - What drew Brynne to entrepreneurship
15:10 - Brynne’s political debut
24:12 - What’s a smart society?
27:05 - Measuring growth as a VC
43:25 - How can you find the right co-founders?
This episode was produced in collaboration with startup days, taking place this year on May 14th 2025. Click here to purchase your ticket.
Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, C...
Timestamps:
12:48 - Anyone can have a mental health crisis
26:30 - Creating trust in a mental health tool
29:12 - How to measure mental health
35:48 - Realizing you don’t want to work with a client
40:43 - Earning the SEF.Growth High Potential Label
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.
Click here to check...
Timestamps:
2:29 - How Sami became interested in cinema
11:15 - How to define visions and impact
22:55 - What can Largo.AI actually do?
27:55 - Does AI kill creativity?
53:23 - Largo.AI’s plans for the near future
This episode was co-produced by SICTIC, the leading angel investor network in Switzerland.
Click here to check out our free Founders Agreement masterclass, with Melanie Gabriel from Yokoy, Christof Roduner ...
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