Topic
The Zurich founder ecosystem: communities, workspaces and support
A founder in Zurich rarely needs only money. These four conversations cover the rest of the ecosystem: a founder community for ideas that are not ready for an accelerator, a workspace built for hardware, a programme that helps researchers start companies, and a nationwide series of AI events.
Where can founders find pre-idea support?
Nikos Kaliorakis, President of J Floor, describes a non-profit founder community and workspace rooted at ETH Zurich's Student Project House. It is meant for people whose ideas do not make sense yet and would not survive an accelerator's business-plan filter. His argument is that sitting next to other founders who are pushing hard teaches faster than formal programmes, and that being the least experienced person in the room is a sign you are growing.
What workspace fits a robotics team?
Stefan Zimmer, Head of DARE Campus by FlexOffice, explains why hardware and robotics teams need different space from a standard office: bare concrete, high ceilings, room for rough prototyping and someone else handling the facility so founders can focus on engineering. He also describes the value of grouping related companies, so a founder can ask a neighbour about a supply-chain or firmware problem over coffee.
Which programmes serve which needs?
Raffael Kellner works on academia relations at Venture Kick and Venturelab, which help researchers turn strong intellectual property into companies. Katka Letzing and Anna Hakobyan co-initiated Swiss {ai} Weeks, a programme of AI events across the country's language regions that connects builders, companies and public bodies. Which one fits depends on the stage: a community for the first idea, a programme for a research spin-off, and events for finding partners and users.
Episodes on this topic
Keeping Founders in Zurich
Episode 1 · Nikos Kaliorakis · J Floor
DARE Campus: Where Robots Get to Run Wild
Episode 4 · Stefan Zimmer · DARE Campus
Building World-Class Startups at Venturelab
Episode 3 · Raffael Kellner · VentureLab
Switzerland’s AI Movement Is About to Start
Episode 6 · Katka Letzing and Anna Hakobyan · Swiss {ai} Weeks