Yesterday, the ten Venture Leaders Fintech 2023 selected to represent the Swiss National Startup Team inaugurated a thrilling journey that promises to shape the future of fintech. During their week-long roadshow in early December, the entrepreneurs will connect with investors, experts, and industry leaders, strengthening their network and advancing their global expansion. The founders introduced themselves and their startups in Schlieren, presenting their innovations in an online pitch session.

Levent Künzi (Properti), Tobias Angehrn (Tresio), Philippe Naegeli (GenTwo), Thomas Rappold (Divizend), Stephan Kolz (Yourasset), Riccardo Balsamo (Delega), Rutger Verhoef (GOWAGO), Stefan Klauser (Aisot), Adrian Edelmann (Instimatch global), Marcel Harmann (THORWallet)
The webinar started with an introduction of Stefan Steiner, Co-Managing Director of Venturelab, who traced Venturelab's journey from its inception to global scalability, highlighting its role in empowering over 10,000 participants and nurturing hundreds of startups on their path to success.
The ten Venture Leaders shared their startup journeys with an inspiring three-minute public pitching session, each presenting their innovative fintech solutions to a virtual audience, which had the opportunity to cast its votes to select the team captain: Stephan Kolz, CEO and Founder of Yourasset.
One of the highlights of the kick-off was the workshop with the law firm Walder Wyss, during which the entrepreneurs gained insights into the legal aspects of their fintech endeavours

The day also saw an interesting public team presentation — anticipating the challenges that lie ahead of the startups, and the keynote speech by Maximilian Rofagha, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded DeinDeal, making it a Swiss e-commerce giant before its acquisition by Ringier in 2011. In 2016, he launched Finimize, the leading information platform for modern retail investors, acquired by abrdn plc in 2021, inspiring the next generation of fintech leaders. Max shared practical advice on creating a thriving company culture, developing a robust company culture, and building a successful business. He emphasized key points such as:
Building a strong mission: Start by establishing a clear and compelling mission for your company.
Building a culture around the mission: Encourage a workplace culture that revolves around and supports the defined mission.
Attracting talents: Attract and retain top talent who are aligned with your mission and values.
Thoughtful fundraising: Be cautious and deliberate in your approach to fundraising, focusing on strengthening your business model rather than solely seeking funds.
Proximity to end users: Stay as close as possible to your end users to better understand their needs and provide value.
Persistence and belief: Maintain a strong and resolute belief in what you're striving to achieve and stay persistent in your efforts.
Venture Leaders Fintech 2023 promises an intense roadshow that will offer these ambitious entrepreneurs an accelerated learning curve, market exposure, a solid network through exchanges with their peers, feedback from investors and experts, and hands-on business development. Organized by Venturelab, this initiative has been supporting Swiss National Startup Teams for 18 years, introducing them to investors and potential customers in leading technology hubs worldwide.
"The Venture Leaders Fintech 2023 team presents an impressive array of products tailored to revolutionize financial services," said Jordi Montserrat, managing partner of Venturelab. "These innovative solutions have the potential to create a meaningful impact. We look forward to the London roadshow."
The roadshow is organized in partnership with
Swissnex, and supported by
EPFL,
ETH Zürich,
Postfinance, and
Walder Wyss.
Follow the entrepreneurs and the Venture Leaders Fintech roadshow on social media by using the hashtag
#VLeadersFintech on Twitter, or
www.venturelab.swiss/fintech.
Learn more about the Venture Leaders Fintech 2023: