All posts filed under: Startups

Superpublic San Francisco: Solving Urban Problems (thru Technology)

Published by Gert Christen

    We today announced* the launch of the Superpublic Innovation Lab in San  Francisco, to tackle urban problems. This is the result of a two-year effort by many in San Francisco, led by City Innovate Foundation, which I joined as COO. Why did I join, what does Superpublic do and why is this important? Cities world-wide grow fast: Two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2020**. Cities do their best to keep up, but problems will arise. Some are of massive ecological, social, and financial nature. However,  some of these problems can be solved thru technology. And that is why I decided to get involved, and that is what City Innovate Foundation does. City Innovate is a San Francisco-based organization taking on urban problems for cities world-wide. The approach is unique because cities are not only members of City Innovate but also the beneficiaries of the developed solutions: The cities provide input which problems should be worked on and they can get involved in the process as much if they desire. Once a solution is ready for global rollout, they have access to tried and tested solutions. What’s more, the development, …

“State of the union” of the Swiss Sharing Economy

Published by Gert Christen

The association of the Swiss shareconomy startups met at BlueLion Incubator on November 24, 2015 to exchange on best practices for Go2Market strategies. Here is the digest of the evening’s presentations and discussions. Key take aways: Getting customers to pay for sharing services is still difficult, but acceptance is rising Today’s projects know they are trail blazers Many pivot to B2B to find first revenues, intending to expand to B2C lateron Must know the needs of your target segment very very well & design solution precisely And: The enthusiasm and ideas remain strong! Opening remarks by Gert Christen, CEO BlueLion Incubator Sharing economy business ideas will get more important, as they can solve problems, which are not solvable today. In addition, sharing fits with the lifestyle of the young generation. There have been many and impressive ideas over the last several years. However, the success rate has been rather sobering…. We are still waiting for the “killer app” in the sharing economy. All entrepreneurs in this space must know that they are trail blazers and that their time …

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Angestellte träumen von Selbständigkeit

Published by Gert Christen

  In der Schweiz werden immer mehr neue Firmen gegründet. Oft endet der Traum der Selbständigkeit aber vorzeitig – vor allem für die Jungen. Der Wunsch, sein eigener Chef zu sein, ist in der Schweiz weit verbreitet: Laut einer Umfrage von Geschäftspartner.ch würden rund 70 Prozent der Angestellten die erfolgreiche Selbständigkeit einer Lohnerhöhung vorziehen. Die aktuellen Daten des Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) zeigen, dass in den letzten Jahren auch immer mehr Leute den Schritt in die Selbständigkeit wagten: 2013 wurden in der Schweiz 12’440 neue Firmen gegründet – die höchste Zahl seit 2001. Laut Adrian W. Müller, Leiter des Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship an der ZHAW School of Management and Law, sind in der Schweiz Unabhängigkeit, Selbstverwirklichung, Flexibilität und der Wunsch, eine eigene Idee zu realisieren, sehr wichtige Treiber für die berufliche Selbstständigkeit. «Nicht selten auch aufgrund von Unzufriedenheit, weil man sich im Angestelltenverhältnis nicht wohl fühlt», sagt Müller. Beziehungen sind entscheidend Gert Christen, Geschäftsführer vom Startzentrum Zürich, einer Organisation, die Zürcher Start-ups unterstützt, beobachtet zwei Hauptgruppen bei jenen, die den Schritt in die …

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Digital Lifestyle is Inevitable – Resistance Futile and Unnecessary

Published by Gert Christen

Today’s confluence of new digital technologies, new devices and people’s lifestyle preferences is a revolution and offers vast opportunities for innovation, new businesses, and a better life. The digital revolution concerns all industries. Embracing the revolution has many benefits. Trying to resist is very risky. Startup companies are at the forefront of this digital revolution and are commercializing innovations in many areas. Startupfair 2015 makes the digital revolution visible by showing “Digital Lifestyle Showcases”; Swiss startups demonstrate their solutions for the digital age. All industries are touched by the arrival of new digital technologies, and some will be transformed forever: Farmers increase crop yield by using drones with sensors and cameras to compute fertilization patterns. Large supply chains may be replaced by on demand and on site production: A 3D printer recently printed 10 single family houses in just one day*. And service businesses continue to be disrupted by internet businesses and the sharing economy, as can be witnessed by the very public conflict between traditional taxi and delivery service operators and the Silicon Valley company UBER. Resistance has been the choice of some …

Swiss Startups are too modest – Startup-Battle to break the spell!

Published by Gert Christen

Swiss startups are often too modest compared with their international peers Gert Christen, CEO of Startzentrum Zurich and founder of the national Swiss Startupfair: “Entrepreneurial thinking must be learned earlier.” Courage to take risks is a challenge for Swiss society Startupfair and Startup-Battle created to break this cultural spell The decision to remove the support for the cap on the Swiss Franc exchange rate against the Euro, and the unexpected popular vote to restrict so-called “mass immigration”, continue to occupy the news in Switzerland. In addition, ominous news about the industry and the downgrading of growth expectations, are heating up discussions about Switzerland as a competitive country. These negative news seem to drown out the positive impulses coming from innovating Swiss startup companies. Studies see Swiss startups among the most innovative in the world. However, even with such a high ranking, some discomforting deficits are showing upon closer examination – Swiss modesty and perfectionism, are but two of them. Modesty, very well paying jobs as an alternative, and the lack of business ambitions are hampering …

UBS enters partnership with BlueLion for corporate innovation

Published by Gert Christen

BlueLion has introduced a program to apply its start-up methodology to corporate innovation projects. The largest Swiss Bank UBS is the first to enter into a partnership with BlueLion and the „UBS Y“-think tank team has been working alongside startup teams in the incubator since the early summer. Startupticker, January 5, 2015. The BlueLion Incubator in Zurich is a complete incubator for high-potential ICT and Clean Tech startup projects: a program in four phases over a maximum of three years. To fulfill its mission BlueLion has created a complete and methodical program to incubate promising startup companies. BlueLion is pioneering the incubation of startup companies and corporate innovation projects in the same location. UBS is also using this creative environment offered by BlueLion alongside startups. BlueLion offers corporate clients tailored programs ranging from sponsoring of the exchange with startup entrepreneurs to incubation of spin-off projects, to premium partnerships resulting in deep insights into the startup way, which spill back into the corporate culture. The „UBS Y“-think tank team based at the Bluelion Incubator is working …

Corporate Innovation at Startup Speed. Necessary and becoming commonplace!

Published by Gert Christen

When corporations cooperate with startup companies they can pursue more innovation projects at a lower cost. BlueLion Incubator facilitates just that with its Corporate Innovation Partnering Program. Collaborations with startup companies can speed up corporate innovation, add flexibility, lower costs, and add a “go get it” culture for higher chances of success. First corporations are reaping the benefits of cooperating with startups. Cooperations between established companies and startups are becoming more commonplace, and the first best practices emerge. BlueLion is leading the way with a dedicated program to incubating corporate innovation projects, “the startup way”. Find more information about the Corporate Innovation Partnering program at BlueLion Incubator or in this cover story of the 2014 Swiss Venture Guide.

“The Future Makers”. Inside the Swiss Startup Scene

Published by Gert Christen

The leading Swiss business magazine BILANZ portrays the Swiss startup scene in the August 2014 issue. A concise and realistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of our industry.Gert Christen, CEO of BlueLion was one of the interviewees. The article mentions severalBlueLion Startups: Skybotix, Eaternity and Shrebo. And experts of the Swiss startup scene also gave their inputs, such as Jean-Pierre Vuilleumier of CTI Invest, Beat Schillig of IfJ,Nicolas Berg of Red Alpine, serial tech entrepreneur Dominik Grollimund, Florian Schweitzer of brains-to-venture as well as Dominique Maigret of Swisscom Ventures. Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/1rrFXv1