May 2013
5 posts
11 tags
The Swiss Ice Hockey national team - a role model
If you are a fan of ice hockey (as I am), you may have lived two amazing weeks watching and following the Swiss national team. Not being ranked in the top 8 of ice hockey nations, qualifying itself to quarter final would have already been considered as a success. But that was before… before the tournament which happened in Sweden. Which was magic!
Switzerland won every game, beating top ice...
14 tags
Where to find new startup talents?
Now that you’ve gone through the first steps of your startup, from building product to getting customers and hopefully some liquidity to staff up, one of your current challenges is to find great talents you need to bring your startup to the next stage. Where do you go?
Yes, you can go on Linkedin (for every kind of profile). Or GitHub or Geeklist, for software developers. Or Dribbble for...
7 tags
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10 questions to the founder of the Festival of...
Last week, the Festival of Media Global 2013 happened in Montreux. I was fortunate enough to be invited as an official blogger (again!) and I had the chance to interview Mr. Risicato, winner of the startup competition M.A.P. (but in 2012) with his startup VideoHub. Many thanks to Anthony to answer my few questions. Here they are!
Could you introduce yourself with a few words about your career...
16 tags
Discover 8 web & mobile startups on 13th of May!
On Monday 13th May, the first ICT Investors Day in Romandie will take place. Kindly hosted by Debiopharm Group, the event will start at 17:00 (door opening at 16:30). Event is open to anyone interested by startups… but especially if you are investing in startups! You can register until 11th of May, so hurry up to secure your seat now!
8 web and mobile startups from Western Switzerland have...
April 2013
6 posts
12 tags
WatchPublic Relations is not easy to master when you’re doing your startup. Yes, you’d like to get press coverage. But you don’t know how to handle it and how to get in the mind of the journalist you try to attract attention. In one sentence: you don’t know how to hack public relations.
There are many public relations agencies out there, but most don’t tell entrepreneurs...
6 tags
Berlin startup hotspots
As you already probably know, the two biggest startup scenes in Europe are London and Berlin. The last one is growing. And making extremely good progress to catch up.
I’ve published some thoughts and facts about London some weeks ago. As well as you often hear about the European startup capitals, you often don’t know where to go to get the pulse of the scene.
Here are the two hotspots I’ve...
10 tags
One week left to Next Berlin!
We are getting closer to NEXT Berlin, happening next Tuesday & Wednesday.
Program of the conference has just been released (discover it) and… it looks really exciting! For keynotes to workshops, actionable content and advices are key. The only problem I see: I cannot duplicate myself!
The conference has now selected the NEXT100 Top Influencers of the Digital Industry in 2013 (remember...
17 tags
A unique chance to network with top media...
Did you know that one of the biggest media event of the world will happen in Lausanne area end of April?
As well as I know that there are many things that I don’t know, this event hasn’t reached my ears… until Eileen asked me if I was interested to attend as an official blogger! Of course, it has directly excited my curiosity. And what I’ve discovered is that it seems to...
13 tags
A new opportunity to pitch your startup in...
In Switzerland, many people think you have (too) many opportunities to pitch your startup. A recurring comment I’ve been hearing for a while is that there are not enough valuable/promising startups… I can only disagree to this!
If the condition for a valuable startup is to be enrolled in CTI Startup program or beeing a spin-off from ETHZ or EPFL, yes, it’s probably right. But in Switzerland, too...
14 tags
You'll fail... so what?
If you’re planning to start a business, you probably know that the odds are big that you’ll fail your venture. Or if you don’t know it, wake up. There are many smart guys out there who did many things right and finally failed their startup. You’ve probably heard about these statistics: on 10 investments, only one will be a big success, 2-3 will reimburse the investment and...
March 2013
8 posts
16 tags
Where to get the skills you need for your startup...
It is (or it should be) common sense that the team is what matters the most in a startup. And its ability to execute. Because if you have a rockstars team which fails to work together, well… It doesn’t bring the venture anywhere!
You can be extremely competent in sales or in UX or in software development. But starting is a business is often tricky. You have suddenly many things to...
12 tags
It's time to plan your trip... to Berlin!
We are already only 28 days away from NEXT BERLIN 2013… which is special for me, as it was the first conference I attended as a blogger, last year!
Next is one of the leading European tech conferences, and probably the biggest in Germany. The conference’s main theme is, as you’ve already guessed with it’s name, “what’s next?”. Many technology and...
12 tags
SBB.connect, an awesome idea! BUT...
Last December, the Swiss national railway company SBB/CFF launched a new mobile application to connect rail travelers. The basic idea is to let you check-in for all your trips and… BOOM: you see who is in the place or in the train (Facebook and twitter connections, random people), and you can even chat with them. As well as I didn’t put much value on at first, I’ve experienced it...
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And so suddenly, your startup is “on the map”
This is a guest post from Christophe, CEO and co-founder of the the e-commerce startup Kireego.
A couple of weeks ago, we participated to the London WebSummit, where our little venture was nominated amongst the 25 Startup Award finalists.
The news came quite as a nice surprise in January, while we had still our hands full and heads down trying to finish some last tweaks before our Beta Release.
We...
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Don't miss Start Summit 2013!
We often hear people complaining there are no big startup events in Switzerland (except Lift Conference, but which is not so directly startup centric).
But how many of you (especially in Western Switzerland) know Start Summit, happening next week in St.Gallen? I know it’s a bit far away from Geneva (just kidding… if you’re a startup entrepreneur and St.Gallen is the end of the...
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Hack finance at Open Data Camp!
Data is everywhere… What about encouraging our government and businesses to put more data online, and make it easier to extract knowledge and insight… adding value to currently disconnected pieces of information? Everyone generates many new data each minute, each second… and most of them are just stored and not really valued.
Opendata.ch, the national chapter of the Open...
9 tags
Don’t know any female entrepreneurs from...
It’s a coincidence this week that the 2 posts published on startupolic are on women in tech… as you’ve probably seen my post on Wednesday about Lady Pitch Night happening in Paris in April. Most of us, startup founders, has already seen that tech entrepreneurship is rather populated with men. We could debate the reasons, but that could be a subject for another post.
I’ve...
6 tags
Lady Pitch Night 2013
For the third year, Girl in Tech Paris and Orange partner to organize the only European startup competition dedicated to female entrepreneurs.
There is a few days left to apply (deadline: 10th of March) and be selected to the final event happening in Paris on 4th of April 2013.
Conditions of participations are wide open to every European (yes, Switzerland-based companies too!) startups which is...
February 2013
5 posts
5 tags
London - some learnings
London is the older European startup hub that everybody is talking about, even if Berlin, Dublin and Stockholm are gaining a good reputation to launch businesses.
As well I’ve heard and read a lot about London, I’ve never been there (except half a day as I was in language school in Brighton!) and I’ve seized the opportunity of London Web Summit (happening today) to fly...
10 tags
My take-aways from DLD Conference
The serie “Does Switzerland exist on European tech startup scene?” is now over. I was waiting for 2 additional posts, but that didn’t work for my fellow foreign bloggers. Anyway, being a bit short on time, you’ll find here next week some of my thoughts about how we could transform the startup landscape in Switzerland.
In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some of my...
5 tags
Does Switzerland exist on the European tech...
At Lift Conference, I had the chance to meet Trista Bridges, the co-editor of the English-written (!) French blog Rude Baguette.With the slogan “Pardon my French”(you know, it’s very uncommon to write in English in Paris), they cover the Internet and technology sector in France, combining breaking news with in-depth analysis. If you’ve never heard about it before, give them...
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Does Switzerland exist on the European tech...
After one week interruption (sorry for that), I have the pleasure to publish the third post of the serie (you can read Part I and Part II).
Dimitris Kalogeropoulos, an engaged Greek blogger that I’ve met last year at Next Berlin, is sharing his thoughts today about Swiss startups.
I have to be honest here; when Sebastien asked me to write a blog post about Swiss startups and if...
15 tags
NEXT top 100 digital influencers - time to vote!
Last year, I had the chance to be invited to NEXT Berlin 2012 (I’ve posted about it). I’ll attend again in 2013… What a lucky guy I am! Berlin is one of the top startup hub in Europe (the only real rival is London I think) and beeing there is an opportunity to meet prominent actors of the European startup scene.
As you maybe remember, Next Berlin is looking for the NEXT 100 top...
January 2013
5 posts
4 tags
HOW TO win over your co-workers
I’ve read an interesting and funny printed article sometimes ago about how to win over your co-workers (unfortunately, I’ve not found who has written this). Here is what was in this excellent piece (I’ve not credit for this!):
Make sure your desk is as messy as possible (others will read it as a sign of productivity)
Always send emails at random times (22:45, 07:00) and on...
4 tags
Does Switzerland exist on the European tech...
Last week I’ve started a blog post serie from international bloggers to get their view on Swiss startup scene (see Part I). You’ll find in this second post the impression of Fred Zimny, a Dutch blogger specialized in services design and management.
The Next Berlin 2013 event was the trigger for an Internet encounter with Sébastien. He wonders if Switzerland really exists on the...
4 tags
Does Switzerland exist on the European tech...
National media and politics often congratulate themselves about the success of Swiss innovation. For instance, the Global Innovation ranking index puts Switzerland at the first place worldwide, but how relevant is this index? You have to know that it is based on the number of patents regarding to the country population. Maybe it’s a good indicator of patentable innovation like in pharma,...
6 tags
The internet of energy
A current hot topic in the innovation world is the Internet of Things, which was in the center of LeWeb last December in Paris. Every object will be (is already) able to connect with other objects, and simplify your life!
The apparition and the rapid penetration of smartphones have definitely changed how we behave. Information is now ubiquitous and we can consume everywhere, anytime.
Some of...
6 tags
What is the influence of social media on the music...
This interesting topic will be discussed on 21st of January in Lausanne. The young Swiss Community Managers Association (SCMA), started in May 2010, is gathering social media enthousiasts around every 2 months around a specific area of interest.
Representative of the famous Paléo festival and musicians will discuss how social network dynamics have changed their way of doing business and what...
December 2012
3 posts
5 tags
10 hot things you didn't know about e-commerce
At LeWeb, I’ve mainly met people rather than listening to keynotes and attending workshops (even if some of them were amazing… it’s unfortunately difficult to duplicate itself!).
One of the workshop I have listened to was hold by LaPoste.fr and was about e-commerce. Here after you’ll find some key learning from this workshop!
Behind an enviable growth, e-commerce is an...
4 tags
Is wine the new goldmine?
There are many entrepreneurs out there desiring to start an incredible business to change the world. You sometimes hear people expressing they’d like to launch something, but they don’t have THE idea now. Or you meet people reinventing the wheel, copying a business that was already successful in the US (on this topic: in the recent years, business models originally launched in Europe...
5 tags
7 tips for a successful social media campaign
Last week was LeWeb conference happening in Paris. Again, a lot of interesting talks and amazing people to meet during these 3 crazy busy days.
Alexis Thobellem, Global Digital Manager at Evian and one of the guy involved in the amazing “Roller Babies” video clip success (60M + views by now), gave a talk about Evian’s experience on brand curation and editorialization of content...
November 2012
5 posts
5 tags
HOW TO get press coverage for your startup?
When you’re starting your awesome startup, you’re facing many challenges and you have a lot of assumptions you have to test. For instance, you often don’t know if your Minimum Viable Product will find its market fit (OK, you can meltdown this a bit thanks to customer development), if you’ll be good enough to motivate people (read: other fools) to join your journey, if your...
5 tags
Learnings from luxury watchmaking industry
Earlier this month, I’ve attended the 16th “Journée Internationale du Marketing Horloger” in La Chaux-de-Fonds (you know, the other watch capital alongside Biel/Bienne).
This year’s theme was about experiential marketing, which can be defined as a concept that integrates elements of emotions, logic, and general thought processes to connect with the consumer.. Which...
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Cloud & Big Data Summit - catch the opportunity!
Every year in November, the Tech Tour stops by in Lausanne region to match web & mobile startups with investors community. Since 1998, this association has organized more than 55 events throughout Europe and so has a wide reach and awareness among investors.
Around hundred of investors (among ones the top notch Index Ventures, Doughty Hanson, Iris Capital or Sofinnova Partners) will...
7 tags
It's time to lift up your startup!
Once a year, more than 1’000 people from every corner of Switzerland and abroad gather in Geneva for 3 days at Lift Conference. In contrary to purely startup events like Next Berlin, Dublin Web Summit or LeWeb, Lift is also focusing its efforts on discovering new trends and helping you to transform them into opportunities.
From 6th to 8th February 2013, Lift13 will present you a wide and...
4 tags
Ireland - a European startup eldorado?
As you already know, I had the chance to attend Dublin Web Summit mid-October and I’m going to share what I’ve learnt and experienced there.
First, DWS is probably the best tech startup event in Europe (OK, I haven’t been to all of them - I’ve also heard lot of good comments on Pioneer Festival). Or at least the biggest: Around 300 startups (among them, the Swiss startups...
October 2012
7 posts
4 tags
Dive into the Swiss watchmaking's marketing
A sector often forgotten when we talk about startup ecosystem in Switzerland is that we already have kind of a “Silicon Valley” of the watchmaking industry here.
From Geneva to Basel, there are hundreds of thousands people who work in this industry and we have some of the most famous brands like Rolex, Omega, Patek Philipp and hundreds of other ones. We have high-skilled people who...
4 tags
Seduce your customers... learn how!
My fellow blogger Adelina Peltea, a young actor and supporter of the tech entrepreneurship in Europe, started some weeks ago a new book project: Customer Seduction. Based on more than 100 interviews of entrepreneurs, growth hackers and investors, the goal of the book is to provide first time founders (and also the others!) some practical customers development knowledge from people who have done...
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Swiss investors start to think mobile!
In tech industry, it’s traditional to observe massive disruptive change. Before the rise of internet, the tech cycle time was often lasting decades. Change cycle times are happening more and more often. The last one was the web 2.0, also called the social web. You also hear web 3.0 for some years. It’s not a well-defined concept, but it is mostly referring to internet of things or...
4 tags
HOW TO contact someone you don't know
Some of you probably know that I’m a big fan of Guy Kawasaki, one of the rock star of startup world and former Apple evangelist. I’ve spent part of my holidays this Summer reading his book ”Enchantment”.
This is again a goldmine to help you in your startup journey. In this book, you’ll learn a lot about how to motivate people to join your cause, or evangelize your...
4 tags
Planning my networking at Dublin Web Summit
What’s the goal of tech conferences for entrepreneurs? N-E-T-W-O-R-K-I-N-G! Some guys will tell you they just come to learn about what’s going on. But as a startup founder, can your really afford to “lose” time?
And to make your attendance at a tech conference valuable, the key is preparation. For Dublin Web Summit, I was late to discover the guys I need to meet. To much...
5 tags
Startups on fire!
The first edition of Startup Weekend in Neuchâtel took place from Friday to Sunday at the new HE-Arc campus.
Around 80 innovative guys participated to this event, 34 ideas were pitched and finally 11 teams presented their project to the public and a 7-people jury (which I had the honor to be part of). According to the organizers, Cyril & Alexis, it was an excellent edition… during which...
4 tags
My top 4 VC investors to follow
When you’re a first-time entrepreneur, you have very few knowledge about raising money and convincing investors to bet on you.
Even if you have a MBA or are graduated from a top management school, your financial skills are… not so adequate, as startup and Venture Capital are really different.
Fortunately, there is a lot of blogs online to educate yourself quickly and hardcover books...
September 2012
4 posts
5 tags
Last days to register for CHF 100'000.-!
Yearly since 1987, the W.A. De Vigier foundation awards 5 innovative startup companies with CHF 100’000.00 (à fonds perdus). Which is really not bad for a startup! You can read more about the 2012 winners here.
William A. de Vigier was a successful Swiss entrepreneur, who has transformed the building industry. He started the foundation with one simple idea in mind: give back and help young...
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Boost your networking and be hosted for free with...
Are you often travelling to startup conferences and lacking the connection with local entrepreneurs? Then, StartupStay is there for you!
StartupStay is an accommodation online service, where you can request to stay by a fellow entrepreneur. For free. When you’re preparing a travel to a startup conference (like Dublin Web Summit, which I have the honor to attend as an official blogger),...
3 tags
Get discounted tickets for 2nd Swiss Mobicamp
Like so many British folks waking up this Monday, Martin Coul the founder and energy behind the Swiss Mobicamp (read my previous post) initiative is incredibly proud of the fantastic achievement London has reached over these past few weeks in delivering what is mostly recognized as the “best Olympic games and Paralympics ever”…
Even though Switzerland is now his home (for our...
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Creative Mornings - Swiss chapters
Until this year, not much relevant startup’ events have been happening in Geneva in my opinion (except the yearly amazing Lift Conference).
Mazala, a young entrepreneur on her way to revolutionize the bank industry, and Nelio, a web designer and entrepreneur, whom Startup Weekend participants already know, started earlier this year the local chapter of «CreativeMornings».
Launched by Tina Roth...
August 2012
5 posts
4 tags
Lean Startup Meetup in Geneva
Lean Startup principles are more and more widely accepted in the startup scene. Eric Ries, the initiator of this movement, displays the philosophy behind it:
“Lean Startup isn’t about being cheap [but is about] being less wasteful and still doing things that are big.”
To name the 5 key principles:
Entrepreneurs are Everywhere
Entrepreneurship is Management
Validated Learning
Innovation...
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HOW TO deal with your early stage valuation
There is a recurrent question coming to me for really early stage startup, who haven’t incorporated: how do we get investors without giving the majority of shares in my startup from day one?
For people who already have gone through the process, or for experienced people, that seems easy and obvious (so you can skip it!). But it’s not. Rather than repeating again and again, I’d try here...
