6:30 - Combining STEM and business
8:50 - The fundraising environment
16:19 - Fundraising and keeping the boat afloat
19:27 - What makes a great pitch deck
35:13 - Should investors sit on a company’s board?
Sophie Lamparter is the co-founder of DART Labs, an international fund investing in early stage European climate and health tech startups to accelerate them on the US market. She holds a degree in Communication and Media Studies from ZHAW. Daniel Gutenberg is a business angel and entrepreneur, having founded Gutenberg Communication Systems AG at 25 and sold it 5 years later, in 2000. He holds a diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Ecole Technique Supérieure. Christina Vallgren is the co-founder, CEO and President of Terapet SA, a medtech startup based in Geneva. She holds a PhD in Applied Physics.
Coming in with the American perspective, Sophie Lamparter shared that the biggest difference between the Swiss and Silicon Valley ecosystems is culture: in California, every conversation starts with a yes, and you then figure out whether it stays a yes or turns into a no; in Switzerland, conversations start with a no, and then maybe, after the arduous process of building trust, this no can turn into a yes. For startups to thrive, a yes-culture is obviously more beneficial.
Other topics discussed during this episode include the preparation founder teams must make before they raise funds, how to raise money in uncertain times, what the ideal runway is to start fundraising, and what makes a great pitch deck. Listen to the episode to find out what our guests have to say on these topics and check out Swisspreneur’s free fundraising masterclass (which includes Sophie!) to learn more.
"Next year, we’re going to be looking back at 2023 and saying ‘Boy, 2023 was easy!’" (Daniel Gutenberg)
"As a CEO, you have to build momentum around your company all the time." (Sophie Lamparter)
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