News
February 11th, 2023
My university debut - speaking at the HWZ (Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich) to a class in the framework of the EMBA Digital Leadership course. The topic was Intrapreneurship: how Innovation works in big companies, what the most common stumbling blocks are, and what mindshifts can help overcome them. In addition, I shared the learnings from Founder Institute about the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur.
February 8th, 2023
One of the best ever startup events I have had the privilege to host, and a welcome reminder of why I do so much pro bono work for the startup ecosystem in Switzerland. In the very cool premises of our location partner Ginetta, I discussed early stage fundraising with three exceptional people who have real life experience and provocative thoughts - Jan Fülscher, Patricia Kastner and Thomas Ackermann. And with an full room of people who would have asked question until midnight.
December 2022
Nice to be acknowledged with the Global Leadership Award for the work I do with a team of directors, year after year since 2019, in service of earlystage startups at Founder Institute Switzerland.
I takes all kinds of support across the lifestages of a startup to create a functioning ecosystem. The Founder Institute preseed program is for new and aspiring entrepreneurs, from idea stage to early growth.
November 20-24, 2022
An amazing week in Israel with the Greater Zurich Area delegation, meeting future foodtech companies that are ready to scale – and identifying those that could benefit from coming to Switzerland, to continue their journey to maturity. An honor to be invited to join the GZA delegation and Alphorn Ventures team, and a great opportunity to meet new people who play a role in scaling up food companies - both in Switzerland and Israel.
November 13th
Once more serving as a judge at Startup Weekend Switzerland, where aspiring founders can get a first taste of entrepreneurship. Always hard to select the winner - and always impressive to see how much can be done by a determined team in only 54 hours.
September 14th 2022
Hosting a panel of Founder Institute Switzerland alumni who I helped graduate. An honest discussion of what early stage entrepreneurship is like, what obstacles arise and how to overcome them, with authentic perspectives from our alumni.
September 2022
Founders of later stage foodtech startups / scaleups, who made it through the rigorous screening process and have been selected for the 2022 program, get to introduce their companies on a large stage in Kraftwerk Selnau in Zurich. The number of Swiss industry partners who are looking for proof-of-concept collaborations across all verticals is impressive.
September 2022
The Kickstart Innovation program 2022, which builds proof-of-concept collaborations between later stage startups / scale-ups and industry partners, is kicking off with a meetup of experts, advisors and founders. Good to meet like-minded people in the foodtech ecosystem.
September 2022
SwissVR knowledge building event on the topic of cyber security. What is the role and the duty of the Board of Directors in protecting companies from cyber attacks? What are the most effective measures that can be taken at each step? And what can each of us do to role model behaviors that make companies less vulnerable?
September 2022
It was a true pleasure hosting the female founder roundtable in person, for a change! Full house at Coworking Lounge Tessinerplatz and lively discussions with these amazing entrepreneurs Majbritt Byskov-Bridges, Elisa Chiarelli, Alexandra Pinto and Sonia Eterno and angel investor Sophie Neuhut sharing their stories and hands-on advice.
August 2022
As a long serving advisor and mentor of Kickstart Innovation, I had the opportunity to see the longlist as well as the shortlist of applicants for the 2022 program. Winners were selected together with Coop and Galenica, Kickstart's partners in the Food and RetailTech vertical.
July 2022
A big audience at our panel of successful Swiss entrepreneurs: many did not want to miss the chance to meet Lukas Böni (Planted), Mine Uran (Alver), Simon Dössegger (modum.io), Greg Beardwell (Connie's Kitchen) and Alejandro Garcia (AI Retailer Systems) in person at the Ginetta premises.
(no time to take pictures!)
June 2022
An opportunity to get fresh perspectives on my board roles and responsibilities at the in-person experience sharing event organized by Swiss Board Forum, with input speeches and discussions around topics such as Board Governance 2030.
June 2022
Speaking at an event hosted by Women in Digital Switzerland about the Science behind the characteristics of a successful company founder and builder, and the science-based admissions test developed and refined by Founder Institute. Gender, of course, is not a factor.
June 2022
Hosting a panel of entrepreneurs. Great to see our previous graduates from Founder Institute Switzerland come to the fantastic premises of Ginetta to talk about their entrepreneurship journey, their learnings and takeaways, and engage in a lively Q&A with an audience of aspiring founders.
May 2022
Happy to support our ecosystem partners at Techstart Startup Weekend Switzerland, and spend a Sunday at Bluelion Incubator, serving as a pitch judge for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
May 2022
Finally, after a two year pause, in-person events resume at Founder Institute and I get to interact with people. With excellent speakers Alain Nydegger, Julia Devecchi-Mas and Nathan Evans at Creative Space in Zurich. Great to speak in front of a large audience again!
April 2022
I am proud and thrilled to be joining the team of Chicago based Aqua Cultured Foods as a member of the Advisory Board.
I met the two impressive founders Anne Palermo and Brittany Chibe in 2021 through my work at Kickstart Innovation and was immediately impressed. Aqua is at the forefront of alterrnative proteins with their unique whole-muscle cut sushi-quality seafood alternatives created using mycelium fermentation.
It will be a privilege to help scale the future of seafood. The picture shows an actual product.
February 2022
When Andrew Ive, Founder and Managing Partner at Big Idea Ventures, asked me to serve as a mentor, I couldn't resist. First mission was a Customer Development session as Big Idea Ventures expand their FoodTech Accelerator program to Paris, with two cohorts per year.
November 2021 - Inno Talks with Ewa Ming
Ewa Ming invited me to share my perspective on Innovation - and why it is so damn hard for established companies - in the framework of her Inno Talks at Innovation World. Great questions and discussion points from the audience!
October 2021 - Panel discussion about the biggest Food Trends for 2022
At the invitation of Kickstart Innovation, where I serve as a startup Advisor for FoodTech and RetailTech founders, I participated in a public virtual panel about the Future of Food. Exchanging some provocative perspectives with high calibre panelists from Givaudan and Blue Horizon, and breakthrough FoodTech founders.
September 2021 - hosting an event with women entrepreneurs
Four female founders from different backgrounds and industry sectors, and in different stages of company building, share their experiences and advice to encourage more women to take the leap into entrepreneurship.
Always a pleasure to host events where difficult questions get honest answers.
August 2021 - joining the newly created Global Food Ecosystems program by Founder Institute as a co-director.
In addition to my role in Founder Institute Switzerland, I now help FoodTech founders from all over the world create new companies to solve the urgent issues in our food system through innovation.
August 2021 - jury member for the Food and Retail Tech vertical of Kickstart Innovation.
In my third year as an advisor to the program, I helped select the participants for the Zurich based Kickstart Innovation Accelerator.
From a large number of startups in FoodTech and RetailTech, our small jury chose the 9 winners who will collaborate on proof of concept projects with Coop, Migros and other Kickstart partners.
July 2021 - graduation of Spring 2021 cohort of Founder Institute Switzerland
An exceptional semester with a record dropout rate, mainly due to the toll the pandemic is taking on the lives of aspiring founders. Six founders made it to graduation and created new companies in FinTech, hospitality, edge computing, supply chain services, autonomous drones for construction, and a startup services platform.
April 2021 - Innovation Leadership seminar
Speaking at the invitation of LIS Woman about one of my favorite topics: what are the challenges of Innovation leadership, especially in established companies? And what behaviors are required to make it work?
Great questions from an audience of senior women.
March 2021 - speaking at START Summit, Europe’s biggest student-run conference for entrepreneurship and technology.
The format was a virtual "Masterclass" on the topic of how innovation comes into the world - is it discovered or created? And some facts and fiction about what makes a startup successful.
February 2021
As part of the Founder Institute Switzerland outreach program in preparation for the Spring 2021 semester, I hosted an excellent Roundtable with a diverse and high-caliber group of women entrepreneurs sharing their stories with a highly engaged large audience.
Sasha Schriber, CEO and Founder of nanos.ai
Léa Miggiano, Co-Founder of Carvolution
Raphaela Kurer, Co-Founder and CMO of Meloncast
Mine Uran, Co-Founder and CEO of Alver
January 2021
Shaping a company's strategy in a way that ensures a responsible use of resources over the long term is indeed the role of the Board of Directors; and this includes the non-renewable planetary resources.
A excellent event and learning opportunity, discussing the role of boards in combating climate change, with a high-caliber panel of speakers. Co organised by the International Board Foundation, the INSEAD Corporate Governance Center and Chapter Zero Switzerland.
January 2021
Another important milestone for the Swiss chapter of Founder Institute, the world's largest pre-seed accelerator, where I serve as a Co-Director. Another 10 founders graduated from the Fall 2020 semester, which was run in cooperation with our Israeli sister chapter. Another 10 companies created from scratch!
December 2020
Together with a few of my Founder Institute Co-Directors, serving as a mentor and industry expert at the bench2biz workshop organized by the University of Geneva.
The purpose is to help science students and inventors get an understanding of what it takes to create your own company - and inspire the step from workbench or laboratory to business creation.
It can be a big step!
October 2020
As an advisor of Kickstart Innovation, I am more deeply involved with the two startup companies I have been partnered with this year; but as the program is fully virtual due to Covid-19 measures, reaching more of them is easier. My Marketing Skill Share "Breakfast" was attended by founders from Austria, Switzerland, France, .....and even India.
October 2020
Contributing as a mentor in the InnoDays Bodensee 2020. Three corporate partners - Rhomberg Bau, Rauch Fruchtsäfte and SIE - define specific innovation challenges. 15 teams composed of employees, students and external UX designers work on ideas, customer development, business models and prototypes for 48 hours, and pitch their solutions in the Grand Finale.
Winners may be given the opportunity to continue their project for the company.
October 2020
I am a member of Swiss Food Research because I want to contribute to a more effective food innovation ecosystem in Switzerland, where excellent but often isolated initiatives and players join forces to accelerate their impact. The General Assembly of Swiss Food Research was an uplifting experience (despite the occasional technology glitch): the ecosystem seems to be growing together.
October 2020
I am always happy to make room in my calendar when Mass Challenge calls. This time, to act as a judge in the pre-finals of the EIT FAN program. An intense day with a broad range of ideas pitched, many questions asked and tough choices to be made. Always rewarding to see how tomorrow's entrepreneurs will help change a food system that urgently needs fixing.
September 2020
There are not many in-person events left that are worth attending, but this invitation by the Women Corporate Directors Foundation was one of them. Nathalie Wappler presented and discussed her strategy for transforming the historic institution SRF into a leading digital-first player.
September 2020
The team at Alver is going from strength to strength, despite - or fuelled by - the crisis. New marketing strategies, new distribution channels like Brack.ch, new portfolio developments. And a crowdfunding campaign which was successfully concluded ahead of time.
September 2020
I agreed to sign up for another term at Kickstart Innovation as an Advisor to their Food and Retail Tech vertical. Many later stage startups have benefited significantly from this program which creates collaboration projects with industry leaders. Kickstart, of course, has gone fully virtual in 2020.
July 2020
An incredible achievement: 15 new founders graduated from the Founder Institute in the fully virtual Spring 2020 semester, 15 new companies created. Their average survival rate is over 75%, thanks to the rigorous and demanding FI program. These amazing individuals made it - and met for the first time face to face at graduation.
June 2020
More opportunity to flex our strategic muscle: a high-calibre discussion with Professor Rita McGrath, hosted by the Innovators Serendipity Academy, a community I have been actively supporting from the very early days. A bootcamp for the mind - great insights on how accepting uncertainty will drive better, faster innovation.
April - June 2020
When a few projects get postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis, it's an opportunity to invest time in learning. I am a member of Swiss VR and Swiss Board School, and both offer excellent excellent webinars and training during those months. I attended a Swiss VR virtual event on how board members can enable innovation in their companies, and a Swiss Board School discussion on how to make supply chains more resilient. Both offered excellent insights that I can build on in my two board roles.
April 2020
When my Co-Directors and I at the Founder Institute Switzerland started the new Spring Semester 2020 in March, it coincided exactly with the lockdown introduced to curb the spread of Covid-19. Founder Institute reacted immediately and took the whole program online. It is working extremely well! After 6 weeks, our founders cleared the first big milestone - Mentor Idea Review: a highly complex event with almost two dozen pitches and 6 judges.
The digital DNA of Founder Institute helps - and the grit and resilience of our aspiring founders.
April 2020
Alver World S.A., a later stage startup whose board I serve on, does not just sit back and watch revenues slide in the Covid-19 crisis. The core product, a vegan high-protein powder made from microalgae, apparently also has immune system bolstering properties. The team at Alver has pivoted quickly to communicate this new benefit.
April 2020
SV Group, the Swiss leader in community catering, where I have served as a board member and member of the Innovation Committee since April 2019, is pivoting in the Covid-19 crisis. If people are no longer in the offices to eat our food, we must bring the food to the people in home office. ANDIAMO Delivery is just one of the new business models accelerated by the Innovation team at SV Group.
April 2020
What to do in a pandemic and lockdown when your usual customer acquisition tools - fairs and events - get cancelled? The team at naanu (formerly known as Happy Bites) took a leap of faith, initiated a crowdfunding campaign on Swiss platform wemakeit, and exceeded the funding target.
Naanu is a Swiss food startup empowering plant based lifestyles with delicious cookies that each contain the daily dose of nutrients. I have served on the team as a Senior Advisor since CEO and founder Julia Devecchi graudated from Founder Institute in 2019.
February 2020 - co-hosting the Female Founders night together with my Co-Directors at the Founder Institute Zurich, and LEAN IN Zurich.
The room at Creative Space in Werkerei Schwamendingen was packed with over 100 aspiring - mostly, but not exclusively female - founders.
Among the speakers, Erin Chen, CEO and founder of Gilly, who I accompanied through the Founder Institute Program in 2019 as a mentor. And Mine Uran, CEO and founder of Alver, with whom I have the privilege to serve on the Alver board of directors.
February 2020 - speaking about Technology and The Future of Food at the first ever KidsTechWorld event in Kloten.
This event is the pilot of an initiative aiming to bring kids, parents and teachers together in a fun, interactive environment to foster the understanding of new technologies, and reduce fears.
The way we grow, choose, buy, cook and eat food is changing irreversibly through the digital revolution - peer economy, digital platforms, instagramable meals, sensors, robotics and machine learning - and the urgency to change our food system to combat climate change.
Jan 2020 - "How to Pitch Your Idea" - The first event of the 2020 spring semester of Founder Institute Zurich.
Full house with over 50 aspiring founders in attendance, speeches from 4 mentors, and 4 spontaneous pitches from the audience.
It was an honor to introduce the Founder Institute, talk about my experience as a mentor, and my reasons for choosing to serve as a Co-Director this semester.
January 2020 - elected as a Member of the Board (Verwaltungsrat) at Alver Golden Chlorella S.A.
Alver is a successful start-up company from the Fribourg (CH) area, led by two founder ladies Mine Uran and Majbritt Byskov-Bridges.
Alver produces everyday foods that are based on Golden ChlorellaTM. This nutrient-dense micro-algae is a truly sustainable source of high-value vegan protein.
January 2020 - signing up as Co-Director at the Founder Institute, Zurich Chapter.
I served as a mentor at the Founder Institute program of 2019, and was profoundly impressed with the quality and rigor of the program. Also, the Founder Institute's business model is very much aligned with my values and convictions on how start-ups should be supported. Therefore, I am proud to join this year as one of the Co-Directors.
The Founder Institute is the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 180 countries.
December 2019 - CannaBiz Innovation Hub, London
Speaking to a diverse audience of participants connected to the cannabis industry about the Future of Food, the potential of the hemp plant, and the role it could play in a new food system. This is a whole industry in start-up mode - with all the entrepreneurial spirit, the drive for growth, and the teething problems you would expect.
November 2019 - proud to be a contributor to Kickstart Innovation's 2019 book on the Swiss start-up Innovation ecosystem.
Switzerland has everything that is needed to be a leader in Food and AgriTech innovation. Many separate initiatives have been launched by academia, companies, governments, accelerator programs and foundations to create a support network for start-ups. But true to Swiss culture, there is no central entity holding it all together, like it is the case in France.
Strength or weakness? Time will tell. In the meantime, we work with what we have.
October 2019 - ETH Zurich
Cocoa Hackathon by ETH Zurich in collaboration with EIT Food. A late night lecture on Innovation in Chocolate and Cocoa to the group of hackers who signed up for this challenge. Chocolate is always great to talk about - and the cocoa value chain is certainly worth hacking!
October 2019 - the first cohort of the Founder Institute Swiss Chapter has graduated! Nine founders have successfully completed the famously tough program; among them Happy Bites Co., the start-up that makes delicious cookies serving as nutrient supplements for a vegan lifestyle. I am proud to have accompanied co-founders Julia and Elissar through this journey, and will continue to support them as an Advisor.
October 2019 - speaking at Innovators Serendipity at Impact Hub Lausanne about Circular Economy, and how existing operations get in the way of new business models.
This peer community is getting stronger every time, with more participants from more companies and industries, impressive speakers and hot topics.
October 2019 - two days of mentoring and lecturing at Inno School Dornbirn.
A new initiative in Vorarlberg that combines intrapreneurs and external software and UX designers into diverse teams to tackle a pre-defined challenge in 3 months.
September 2019 - a rare opportunity to attend a B Leaders Training in Zurich! A 2-day intensive bootcamp that helps a group of committed individuals navigate, understand and use the B Impact Assessment. It is probably the most thorough, comprehensive and actionable assessment tool that measures the impact a company makes on the world.
Organised by B Lab Switzerland.
September 2019 - signing up as an Advisor at Kickstart Innovation, the Accelerator by Impact Hub and digitalswitzerland in Zürich. I will be helping the 2019 cohort of start-ups.
August 2019 - joining Happy Bites Co as an Advisor. Founder Julia Devecchi Mas wants to make sure that people with a vegan lifestyle can stay healthy and happy, by offering an alternative to supplements: delicious cookies - each enriched with the daily dose of nutrients commonly lacking in a vegan diet, and all natural!
Happy to help!
August 2019 - speaking at Mass Challenge in Lausanne about the pain points of large companies working with start-ups - and trying to work more like start-ups. If Incubation is the answer, what was the question?
July 2019 - participating in a workshop hosted by Engagement Migros on Nutrition and Production. Intense discussions on how we can inspire people in Switzerland to eat healthy and sustainably.
July 2019 - at ETH Zürich giving feedback to students on their ideas, which they have developed and prototyped in the EIT Food Summer School program.
July 2019 - completing a 6 part intensive course on duties and best practises of a Board in Switzerland. Offered by Hochschule St. Gallen, in collaboration with Swiss Board School.
June 2019 - Mentor Review at the Founder Institute, rating founder pitches and giving feedback.
June 2019 - Speaking at the Innovation Roundtable Conference in Berlin about 21st century innovation models. How to successfully use internal and external start-ups for New Business Creation.
June 2019 - after 26 years of amazing personal and professional growth, I am saying goodbye to Mondelez International. Thank you for trusting me with daunting challenges and ventures into unknown territory.
I am proud of the legacy I've been allowed to leave.
One of the highlights must be SnackFutures, the brand new innovation hub that is dedicated to unlocking emerging snacking opportunities around the world. It took me and the team the better half of a year to figure out its design, remit, and way of working, and the required internal talent and ecosystem of external partners. I am sure the team will do great things!
May 2019 - Workshop at the Royal Institution in London
A workshop on Collaborating for Breakthrough Innovation, organized by Arthur D. Little.
May 2019 - Signing up at Founder Institute as a start-up mentor
The famous Founder Institute from Silicon Valley, the largest pre-seed accelerator, is opening a chapter in Switzerland. I'm in! Helping the entrepreneurs of tomorrow shape the Future of Food.
25 April 2019 - Joining the Board of SV Group
I am proud to be serving on the Board of SV Group, a market leading Swiss food service and hospitality company that has big growth ambitions - and gives back to society in a big way.