Domink has produced another very interesting podcast with Oliver Schärli of ZKB Start-up Finance.
Download the MP3 (in German)
Learnings:
#1: ZKB finances start-ups in the seed stage (50.000-500.000 CHF) and has a very good reputation in the Swiss start-up scene
#2: ZKB finances start-ups from the Zurich area. According to insiders even Geneva counts as "Zurich area" ;-)
#3: ZKB finances first movers or high tech start-ups
#4: The program is active since April 2005
#5: In 2005, 10 start-ups were financed, in 2006, there were 20 cases, and in 2007 there will be another 20 cases
#6: The main investment criterion is the team
The financed cases include ESBATech, Covalys, sonic emotion (if I understood them correctly).
So if you’re a Swiss start-up and looking for a good opportunity to raise money, I’d consider the ZKB Start-up Finance program.
Unfortuately they missed the hottest Swiss Startup from 2006 :-)
Remy: Did you apply with Supertext and got rejected?
[...] Die Investition der ZKB erlaubt es Collanos, die Entwicklung der frei verfügbaren Teamwork- und Telefonielösungen fortzuführen und zusätzlich die kostenpflichtigen Collanos Premium Services mit dem Partner Translumina Networks auf den Markt zu bringen. ZKB Start-up Finance versteht sich nicht nur als Investor. „Collanos wird bestimmt auch von unserer guten Vernetzung mit anderen institutionellen Investoren profitieren können“, sagt Oliver Schärli, Head Start-up Finance der ZKB. [...]