«Anyone can become an entrepreneur»

The evening event Tuesday by the Schweizer Monat and Le Regard Libre was dedicated to entrepreneurship. The aim: to arouse the interest of the younger generation in entrepreneurship.

The event organized yesterday in Berne by the Schweizer Monat and Le Regard Libre was about the two most important things in life: money and love, as moderator Lukas Leuzinger humorously pointed out. His guests: young entrepreneur Laura Matter, of dating app Noii, and Julian Liniger, Bitcoin entrepreneur at Relai.

Visit Schweizer Monat and Le Regard Libre are particularly keen to stimulate interest in liberal ideas and entrepreneurship among young people in German- and French-speaking Switzerland. To this end, they have launched the «Esprit entrepreneurial» project, supported by the Bonny Foundation and the PEMOL-Baumann Foundation.

After an introduction by Jonas Follonier, editor-in-chief of Regard Libre, Lukas Leuzinger, editor-in-chief of Schweizer Monat, asked its guests what they considered to be the best thing about entrepreneurship. For Laura - in startup circles, we're on first-name terms - the appeal lies in building something and improving people's lives - or, as she puts it: «making an impact». For Julian, it's all about the learning curve: «No school offers as much learning as entrepreneurship.» He's thinking less about numbers, marketing or technology - areas in which there's also a lot to learn - and more about human relations. For convincing people is one of the main tasks of entrepreneurs.

From online to offline

The road to achieving this often starts with nothing more than an idea. «In the beginning, I had nothing more than an idea and a pitch deck». Armed with this brief presentation of your business idea, the next step is to seek out the right partners, collaborators and investors – and convince them. As an entrepreneur, you're always short of time and money. Driven by the desire to make the biggest possible impact, he has inevitably learned to use his time and energy efficiently. «It's not something you learn at the SBB or the Post Office,» smiles Julian in the Swiss capital.

Laura also stresses the importance of the environment in which to motivate people. «In my daily life, about a third of things go as I planned. A third go less well, a third better.» With her company, she creates offline events where singles can fall in love in real life. In this way, she offers an alternative to online dating, where her company also has its roots. When it was founded four years ago, Noii still relied on digital matchmaking and video speed dating. Today, Laura focuses entirely on events for her 70,000 users, organizing around 15 events a month. Noii now employs 12 people and has an office in Zurich. The technology comes from Ukraine.

Perseverance in the search for money

The question of financing – or fundraising, as they say in business jargon – has also been the talk of the town. After all, what good is the best idea if there's no start-up capital, or if you can't find the money? On this point, Laura and Julian agree. Lack of money shouldn't be a reason not to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams. Because beyond the banks, which are generally reluctant to finance start-ups, there are many alternatives. These include business angels (private investors), the crowdfunding, They may be friends and family, professional venture capitalists (such as venture capital funds) or partners such as the pioneering Migros fund.

At first, Julian had no money either - and deliberately refused to accept any more. In retrospect, he even speaks of a mental block. «Six years ago, I didn't even know what a venture capital fund was. Today, we've raised 20 million francs,» he says. Today, he knows that entrepreneurs need not be ashamed of borrowing money. Indeed, professional investors invest in a large number of startups. If just one of them makes it, it's worth the risk. Julian is thus implicitly referring to the other side of the entrepreneurial coin: only a fraction of all startups actually succeed.

Read also | Venture capital: it's not the money that's lacking, it's the will

Fundraising is a challenge in many ways. It's not just a matter of building up a solid network and convincing them of the relevance of your idea, but also of perseverance, «because the search for new capital is a never-ending process», as Laura puts it. To date, she has raised around 1.5 million francs, thanks in particular to the help of small investors who have each contributed 500 francs. Noii now has over 400 co-owners.

«Having no money shouldn't be a reason not to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams.»

«Being flexible and stubborn»

Finding one or more co-founders is also central to success. Laura advises working together for a few months before making a commitment. She believes that setting up a company when you're young is a huge advantage. «Speed is king,» agrees Julian, who adds: «You have to hold on stubbornly to your vision, but be flexible and quick in implementing it.» It's essential that the co-founder shares this vision, while bringing complementary skills to the table. They agree on one point: you don't become an entrepreneur thanks to an innate gene. Entrepreneurship has to be learned, and in principle is accessible to all.

In terms of framework conditions that could be improved, Laura referred in particular to the strict restrictions imposed on events in Lausanne. The city also levies taxes on tickets, which doesn't exactly facilitate expansion in French-speaking Switzerland. Julian deplores the fact that rich Switzerland has very little venture capital. His wish: better incentives, such as a tax exemption for venture capital. «In the UK, I can tax deduct venture capital investments. In Switzerland, it's the other way around. The more I invest, the more tax I pay.» In the USA, pension funds are also allowed to invest in venture capital funds. As a result, sooner or later, many promising start-ups settle here.

Read also | Fostering entrepreneurial spirit

Among the fifty or so participants were an impressive number of young people. It was inspiring to see how many of them were attracted by entrepreneurship and talked about their own projects, at various stages of development. From a self-designed water bottle and cell phone bag to their own property management company. And don't forget: if «functional jelly sweets» with stimulating mate – whose effect is comparable to that of caffeine – ever become a real success, you'll have read it first in the Schweizer Monat.

You have just read an open-access article from our operation «Entrepreneurial spirit». The original version, by Fabian Gull, was published in German. in the Schweizer Monat.