Launching Exit Accelerator with 2 panels, open discussions, and networking.
Exit Accelerator is a grass-roots, not-for-profit association, with the aim to boost the Swiss start-up and SME ecosystem by promoting conversations about exits. Exits can expand Swiss innovation globally, bring returns and fresh capital for our entrepreneurs and investors, and generate local jobs.
Join us on June 21 18:00, to connect with the key players in the exit/M&A space, help understand the challenges and what needs to change, what the focus and efforts should be to improve and increase the number of Swiss Exits.
We are going to have 2 panels sharing their experience from both sides of the table, exiting and buying a start-up in Switzerland. One panel is formed by successful entrepreneurs with recent exits, the other by M&A professionals that have experienced acquisitions from a different perspective.
This will be a highly interactive section where the audience and the panellists co-create the discussion through buzz groups around topics such as:
- Time, costs, and risks involved in the process
- The emotional impact of an exit for entrepreneurs
- Lessons learned, what could have been done differently, and the surprises
- How entrepreneurs are perceived, what to leverage, and where to improve
- Negotiation experience, working with advisors, and dealing with the stakeholders
Agenda:
- Introduction to Exit Accelerator
- Panel discussions
– Exit experiences in Switzerland: Entrepreneurs perspective
– Buying startups in Switzerland: M&A perspective - Networking Apéro
Acquisition and M&A perspective
Colin Turner - Panel Moderator
– 20 years’ Professional Investing in Start-ups
– Extensive Mentor and Angel Investor
– Numerous Exits : most recently managed a significant sale to US corporation of an Australian start-up
20 years of experience in venture capital, operations, fund-raising and as legal counsel. Colin has worked across 5 continents on over 200 investments, acquisitions, listings and divestments in companies operating in high-tech, health-care and bio-technology. Colin worked for Inventages, the “Nestle Fund”, (Geneva, Switzerland), Intel Capital (Swindon, UK, Silicon Valley, USA and Munich, Germany) and Motorola (London, UK and Chicago, USA) after earning an MBA from INSEAD (France) and qualifying as a lawyer (solicitor) with Clifford Chance (London and Kuwait).
Thomas Wittig - WITTIGONIA
Executive and active innovation and investment partner with over 26 years of experience in the high-tech, software and service industry with top brands. A diverse set of global executive leadership experiences in corporate strategy and entrepreneurship, sales & marketing, large scale global operations, change management and performance improvement. Background in quality leadership and managing dynamics of complex systems.
Head Coach – Personnel and People Management at CTI Start-up and Entrepreneurship. Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI). Swiss Confederation.
Independent expert for the European Commission for European research and innovation: Evaluation of proposals, monitoring of projects, and evaluation of programmes, and design of policy.
Marco Superina - Credit Suisse
Head M&A , Credit Suisse AG
Marco Superina has been an M&A practitioner with Credit Suisse since 1997. He is responsible for all m&a activities of Credit Suisse’s Swiss Universal Bank.
Balthasar Wicki
As a business lawyer and an international industry executive, Balthasar Wicki has gained a wealth of experience in dealing with phases of growth, conflict and change. He also has a great deal of practical management expertise and specialist technical knowledge. Entrepreneurs and companies value his in-depth approach to business management, his ability to understand complex economic issues, his readiness to take responsibility and his willingness to support others.
Attorney-at-Law, Mediator SBA/SCCM, Executive MBA (UZH) | Senior Partner Wicki Partners Ltd. | www.wickipartners.ch
Gregoire Michaux
Grégoire Michaux
Redwood Capital Group – Business Development
Grégoire has been in Geneva for more than 4 years working with the Chairman of Redwood Capital on developing the overseas TMT M&A transaction of the firm. His role includes to deal with Swiss and European Strategic and Financial investors in the TMT sector.
Since he is in Switzerland, Grégoire has taken an active role as an investor and advisor in the Swiss Start-up Ecosystem.
Grégoire is also an investor and advisor of an LA based accelerator and investment fund specialized in the digital media industry.
Founder perspective
Sunnie Groeneveld - Panel Moderator
Sunnie J. Groeneveld is the Managing Director of DigitalZurich2025, a cross-industry association that aims to make The Greater Zurich Area a leading digital innovation hub of Europe. Sunnie is also the founder of Inspire 925, a consultancy specialized in employee engagement, as well as of the LunchLottery app, a joint-venture by Inspire 925 and Nexys. In 2015 she was selected by Women in Business for their Top 40 under 40 List and has also been recognized as a member of the Future Work Forum and the Global Shapers Community established by the World Economic Forum (WEF). She wrote the book ”Inspired at Work” (October 2014, Versus) and holds an Economics degree from Yale University.
Dr. Philipp Bolliger
Dr. Philipp Bolliger is Global Director for Smart Systems at Husqvarna Group. After getting his MSc degree in computer science, Philipp received his PhD from ETH Zurich in 2011. The focus of his academic work has been ubiquitous computing and indoor positioning in particular. During his PhD Philipp also worked at Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and published several seminal papers on collaborative indoor localization. The widely recognized Redpin project and two patents are some of the results of his academic work. Philipp’s passion has always been the creation of things that would simplify our lives. Being the entrepreneurial type, he founded Koubachi in 2009 to create smart objects that would revolutionize the way we interact with things and objects around us. Philipp was acting CEO and Chairman for Koubachi from start to end. After six years of successfully selling Koubachi products world wide, Koubachi was acquired by Husqvarna Group, where Philipp for the GARDENA division built up and now leads the new category for smart products.
http://www.husqvarnagroup.com
Mehdi Jacques Aminian
Mehdi is a successful web entrepreneur, co-founder of Jilion (aka SublimeVideo.net), is revolutionizing the online video industry, providing a universal, yet customizable HTML5 video player, sold to Dailymotion in 2013.
He also has extensive knowledge of IP, having worked at the EPFL Technology Transfer Office.
Marco Boella - Exit Lemoptix
Co founder of Lemoptix, acquired by Intel Corporation.
Marco has more than 20 years of international business development: sales, marketing and general management experience within the ICT industry. He has worked for large multinationals such as HP and Nokia as well as smaller technology startups. He has a proven track record in developing new successful businesses from zero, leading geographically dispersed teams and driving profitable business growth across multi-country regions. Marco has a M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland.
Joshua Krammes - Exit SoftLayer
Exit of Softlayer to IBM for $2 Billion
He assists startups go through the formal acquisition process in my current role with MergerTech – a bay-area based M&A firm.
Most recently he was on the executive team with SoftLayer (acquired by IBM in 2013), and was responsible for creating awareness for the SoftLayer brand, specifically the company’s efforts in fostering innovation and its investment into the global startup ecosystem. In this role, he partnered with some of the world’s greatest incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces.
Our founding team.
Sanja Fabrio
Co-Founder
Rodney Reis
Co-Founder
David Butler
Co- Founder
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