Switzerland’s economy is projected to grow by 3.2% in 2021 and 2.9% in 2022, supported by the easing of containment measures and stronger sentiment amid the subsiding pandemic. The country occupies a leading position on various global rankings for its innovative strength and competitiveness. The three most important ingredients for a thriving startup ecosystem are talent, capital and customers. In addition, there are leading universities, renowned companies, mentors, incubators and accelerators, innovation support programs, associations and special events. Greater Zurich has developed into a very attractive location for successful startups.
Noting that startups play an increasingly important role in a country’s innovative strength, the Swiss government has introduced incentives to help startups recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic. Some of the initiatives introduced by the government include state-backed bridge financings at zero or low interest rates to re-establish liquidity, hardship indemnities to reduce labour costs, and the extension of tax and social security payment due dates. Angel investors play an important role in expanding the pipeline of investible businesses by providing early-stage ventures with essential resources including capital to bridge the funding gap and by sharing their expertise and networks to unlock business opportunities that facilitate growth.
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Top Angel Investors in Switzerland
1. Raphael Leiteritz:
Raphael Leiteritz is the Former Senior Director of Product Management at Google. He is currently working as a Product Management Advisor and Investor at Raphael Leiteritz. Raphael is an active angel investor and he has invested in more than 100 startups. He earned his MBA from INSEAD. Raphael has built an angel portfolio of foundational companies.
Sector: Marketplace, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software.
Portfolio: Ampool, Asseta, Campaign, Burrow.
Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn
2. Christopher Kile:
Christopher Kile is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Zeno Ventures, a Venture Capital firm that invests primarily in Silicon Valley based software and internet enabled businesses. Christopher is also a Co-Founder and Board Member of ACE & Company, a global investment management platform. He has actively invested in more than 50 startups.
Sector: Social Media, Education, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software.
Portfolio: Acunote, Afrostream, BOTAN, Asseta.
Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn
3. Alexander Fries:
Alexander Fries is a Co-Founder and Partner at Alpana Ventures, a Swiss VC focusing on digital transformation. He has backed 45 founder teams, supporting them in their journey towards a positive impact. Alexander is an executive with a vast experience in Venture Capital, Private Equity, Board Seats. He earned his MBA from University of San Francisco.
Sector: Information Technology, Consumer Internet, Fin-Tech, Healthcare.
Portfolio: Beekeeper, CloudGuide, GYANT, OpenPeak.
Connect With Him: AngelList | LinkedIn
4. Michael Sidler:
Michael Sidler is the Co-Founder and Partner of Redalpine Venture Partners, a firm that provides venture capital to highly scalable European start-ups. He is a Passionate investor, coach and supporter of startups and the whole ecosystem around them. Michael Sidler is also an Advisory Board Member at Maximon.
Sector: Life Sciences, Cosnumer Internet, Mobile.
Portfolio: N26, ZenJob, Acredis, Base58.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
5. Teodoro D’ Ambrosio:
Teodoro is the Founder and partner of Luxembourg investment vehicle Neurone Ventures with an investment portfolio of over 80 investments with 14 successful exits. Teodoro started his career, as a techie, in 2000 by joining the founding team of Emaze; he brought the company to become market leader in Italy for software and network security. He is a serial entrepreneur with 20 years of experience.
Sector: Mobile, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software.
Portfolio: Adore Me, AirHelp, CornerJob, Caer.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
6. Sean Park:
Sean Park is the Founder and Chairman at Anthemis Group, a financial services company. He is also the Non-Executive Director at Maxwell, a digital mortgage platform and value-added services designed exclusively for small to midsize mortgage lenders. Sean is also a founding investor in innovative companies such as Betfair, WeatherBill and BankSimple and has extensive experience over the past decade investing in and advising start-up and high growth companies.
Sector: Big Data, Fin-Tech, Consumer Internet.
Portfolio: Blueleaf, Weatherbill, BRCK, Cohesive Networks.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
7. Nathan Kaiser:
Nathan Kaiser is a General Counsel at SIX Digital Exchange, a company that drives the digital transformation of the Swiss financial center and provides the roadmap to Switzerland‘s future financial infrastructure. Nathan Kaiser is an active angel investor and mentor. He has invested in more than 20 startups.
Sector: Healthcare, Biotechnology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence.
Portfolio: Astrobotic, Bliq, Planet, Scantrust.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
8. Florian Schweitzer:
Florian Schweitzer is a Partner at btov Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm backing outstanding European Startups in non-obvious Digital and Industrial Technologies since 2000. Florian has studied international business administration at the University of St. Gallen, where he and other partners established an entrepreneurs’ organization which then became btov Partners.
Sector: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology.
Portfolio: Equippo.com, equal1, Procuros, Quanta.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
9. Mathias Ruch:
As a serial entrepreneur and investor Mathias Ruch has been involved in the digital startup scene for 20 years. Founder and CEO at CV VC (previously Lakeside Partners), a next generation investment company, where cutting-edge blockchain technology meets traditional venture capital. He is a driving force behind the development of the global blockchain startup ecosystem.
Sector: Blockchain, Fin-Tech, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software.
Portfolio: Coinrule, Pravica, Blocksport.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
10. Alex Stockl:
Alex Stockl is the Founding Partner of Wingman Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Switzerland helping Swiss tech startups to achieve their ambitious goals in becoming international market leaders. He is a serial entrepreneur, mentor and an active investor. Alex is also the Founder and Volunteer of SwissVC, a community of 200+ professional VC investors who joined forces to further strengthen the Swiss ecosystem.
Sector: Clean Technology, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software.
Portfolio: Urbio, RoomPriceGenie, DePoly, Backbone.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
11. Roger Lienhard:
Roger Lienhard is a serial entrepreneur and business incubator. He is the Founder and initiator of the Blue Horizon Corporation and the affiliated Blue Horizon International Foundation, which invests in sustainable social entrepreneurship and international development projects with a focus on food and agriculture around the globe.
Sector: Biotechnology, Agriculture, Consumer Goods.
Portfolio: AgBiome, Planted Foods, Bramble, Chromologics.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
12. Peter Neiderhauser:
Peter Niederhauser is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Redalpine Venture Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm providing venture capital to highly scalable European start-ups. Peter is an active angel investor. He has also been a Board Member of Bexio.
Sector: Enterprise Software, Consumer Internet, Financial Services, Cloud Computing.
Portfolio: Kenjo, Bexio, N26, JUNIQE.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
13. Alain Nicod:
Alain Nicod is the managing partner of VI Partners. He is mostly active in the information technology sector but also contributes through his entrepreneurial background to critical decisions within other portfolio companies. He actively invests in early stage companies mainly in Switzerland. Alain is a board member of two banks and financial institutions in Switzerland.
Sector: Manufacturing, Analytics, Information Technology.
Portfolio: MESA Imaging, Nexthink, Avalon Photonics.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
14. Diego Braguglia:
Diego Braguglia is the Managing Partner of VI Partners, a leading Swiss venture capital firm providing promising start-up companies with smart capital and networks. He brings over 10 years of experience in life science, medical devices and pharmaceuticals in Europe and the US. Prior to his entry into the VC industry Diego has held various managerial positions in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sectors, as well as in biotech startups in Europe and the US.
Sector: Healthcare, Biotechnology, Medical Devices, Artificial Intelligence.
Portfolio: iOnctura, Endoart, Endosense.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
15. Jochen Gutbrod:
Jochen Gutbrod is the Executive Chairman and Partner of btov Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm that has been backing outstanding European startups in non-obvious digital and industrial technologies for over 20 years. He is a serial entrepreneur and investor based in Switzerland.
Sector: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology.
Portfolio: Raisin, Debitos, Getsafe, IDAGIO.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
16. Lucas Weder:
Lucas Weder is the Founding Partner of Wingman Ventures, a venture capital and private equity firm helping founder teams of Swiss tech startups to achieve their ambitious goals in becoming international market leaders. Lucas also sits on the board of CareerLunch, Archlet and Wingtra.
Sector: Clean Technology, Consumer Internet, Enterprise Software.
Portfolio: CareerLunch, UniSieve, Urbio, Kollabo.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
17. Steffen Wagner:
Steffen Wagner is the Co-Founder and CEO of Verve Ventures, a leading European startup investment platform for qualified and institutional investors. He is also a Member of the Private Equity Investment Advisory Committee. He earned his MBA from Freie Universitat Berlin. Steffen Wagner has actively invested in more than 50 startups.
Sector: Healthcare, Medical Devices, Software.
Portfolio: Sleepiz, Clinpal, iMusician.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
18. Rochus Mommartz:
Rochus Mommartz is the Chief Executive Officer of responseAbility Investments AG, a leading impact asset manager, responsAbility manages USD 3.5 bn of assets invested in over 250 fully ESG-managed companies across 68 emerging economies. Rochus Mommartz is an active angel investor and mentor.
Sector: Clean Technology, Financial Services, Enterprise Software.
Portfolio: ePaylater, Fourth Partner Energy, Origo,
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
19. Christian Schuetz:
Christian Schuetz is a Partner of btov Partners. He is a partner in the Industrial Technologies Team. Its Industrial Tech fund is focused on early stage start-ups working on the most promising technological innovations (hardware as well as software companies) across the entire industrial value chain. He is leading the btov Core Groups in Cleantech and Medtech and has been responsible for the btov investments in both areas. He studied Business Administration at the European Business School (EBS) in Oestrich-Winkel.
Sector: Internet of Things, Consumer Internet, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics.
Portfolio: LynxCare, Quanta, Procuros, equal1.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn
20. Herald Nieder:
Herald Nieder is the General Partner at Redalpine Venture Partners AG, a venture capital firm investing in highly scalable European start-ups. He prefers to invest in disruptive business models with a moderate total capital need in the fields of information technology (ICT) and life sciences in seed and early stage.
Sector: Information Technology, Analytics, Fin-Tech, Financial Services.
Portfolio: Inkitt, 9fin, Donut, Felmo.
Connect With Him: LinkedIn