Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin welcomed a small group of members of the management of the most successful Swiss startups to the Federal Palace. These are characterised by the fact that, on the one hand, they have been very successful in their search for investors and, on the other, they are already active internationally. Companies from various industries and sectors were represented. At the beginning, the Minister of Economic Affairs explained the importance of innovation and young entrepreneurship for the future of Switzerland before summarising the parliamentary initiatives and current efforts of the Federal Council as well as the work of the administration to improve the framework conditions for startups. In the subsequent committed discussion, the young entrepreneurs reported on their milestones during the growth phase, the challenges in the search for investors and the successes and failures in internationalization. The focus was on the strengths of the Swiss startup ecosystem, the limiting growth factors for companies and important international benchmarks.
The insights gained from the discussion are to be made available to start-ups that are on the verge of internationalisation and to further sensitise the Federal Council to the concerns of young entrepreneurs.