Forbes X START Global
START Global SUMMIT 2024
SPEAKER
21. - 22. MARCH, 2024
Benjamin Shaw
Ben Shaw is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Flyla.com, a company that specialises in filling unused aircraft seats with students. Flyla.com focuses on passenger segmentation for airlines to make the most of their capacity. Before founding Flyla.com, Shaw gained experience in various positions, including at Stryber and Insurtech Hub Munich. He studied Business & Management / Computing Science at the University of Glasgow and is completing an EMBA in Innovation & Business Creation at the TUM School of Management.
Anna Gracia Herbst
Five years ago, at the age of 23, Anna Gracia Herbst quit her job in marketing to make a contribution to a better world. She founded the start-up Buy Food with Plastic. The concept? The company enables people in need in Nicaragua, Ghana and India to pay for hot meals by collecting plastic bottles.
Max Zeller
When it comes to climate change, many people look away. Max Zeller does not: together with his partner Benjamin Schulz, the 30-year-old from Liechtenstein founded the venture capital company Carbon Removal Partners and is tackling global warming in a completely new way: the climate tech company Carbon Removal Partners identifies global start-ups that use new technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Sebastian Beetschen
Sebastian Beetschen is CEO and co-founder of Almer Technologies, Europe's only manufacturer of compact AR glasses, with over $7 million in funding, partnerships with industry leaders such as Qualcomm and Teamviewer, and an AR algorithm used on 1.4 billion devices worldwide.
Vanessa Foser
Vanessa Foser is co-founder and Chief Customer Officer of the AI Business School (founded in 2019). The school offers practical and business-oriented continuing education programs for executives, companies, universities and private individuals on four continents on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) in various formats.
SPEAKER
21. - 22. MARCH, 2024
Fabian Bodensteiner
Fabian Bodensteiner is part of the founding team of Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin. The company wants to build the world's largest decentralized financial and identity network. Within that network, each person is to be identified with the help of "orbs" – spheres that scan users' irises. This could, for example, serve as the basis for an unconditional basic income. As Head of Hardware and Manufacturing, Bodensteiner is responsible for the production and distribution of the orbs as well as their legal certification. He has a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Branko Markovic
Branko Markovic, as the co-founder and product lead of influence.vision, is redefining the influencer marketing landscape through a blend of technological innovation and a deep understanding of social media dynamics. At the forefront of the Creator Economy, influence.vision is revolutionizing how advertisers and content creators collaborate through a dedicated software ecosystem. At influence.vision, there is a strong emphasis on simplifying influencer collaborations through technology, ensuring that every partnership is as effortless as it is impactful.
Jessica Farda
Jessica Farda is a Swiss entrepreneur who is committed to environmentally friendly packaging solutions. While studying International Relations and Affairs at the University of St. Gallen, Farda discovered her interest in algae as a sustainable alternative to plastic.Since founding Noriware in 2021, she has been developing an algae-based alternative to plastic film. Her goal is to establish sustainable packaging worldwide and thus contribute to reducing plastic pollution.
Gianmarco Bonaita
Gianmarco Bonaita studied at Bocconi University in Milan, where he earned both a BSc in Management and an MSc in International Management. During his university years, he also had the opportunity to study abroad in Hong Kong and India. Professionally, Gianmarco started at Procter & Gamble (P&G) as an Associate Manager, then at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a Consultant. In 2019, he completed an MBA at IMD Business School, graduating with Honors. Post-MBA, Gianmarco co-founded Alpian, Switzerland’s first digital private bank. He started as Head of Strategic Projects, becoming Deputy CEO in 2022, and eventually CEO in 2023.
SPEAKER
21. - 22. MARCH, 2024
Jannis Kirschner
As an independent security researcher, Jannis Kirschner analyses highly critical IT systems for their vulnerabilities. As a so-called ethical hacker, he analyses information systems from the perspective of a black-hat hacker in order to protect them against precisely such hackers. "It is extremely important to me to pass on my knowledge. Accordingly, I publish detailed vulnerability reports with my research group (suid.ch) and speak on current topics at specialist conferences worldwide," says Kirschner.
Laura Stocco
Laura Stocco is the co-founder and CMO of Openversum, a social enterprise with a mission to make clean drinking water accessible to all. Stocco and her team empower women to distribute Openversum's drinking water filters (including installation and maintenance) in developing countries themselves. In this way, the trained environmental engineer wants to eliminate the lack of clean drinking water in poorer regions of the world and at the same time give women more economic opportunities. Next year, Stocco and her company want to change the lives of 5,000 families in Uganda, Kenya, India and Malawi with safe drinking water.
Remy Lazarovici
Remy Lazarovici is Managing Director DACH at Celonis, the global leader in process mining. As Managing Director DACH, Remy is responsible for overseeing Celonis’ business growth in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He leads all go-to-market functions in the region and is responsible for strategic collaboration with DACH customers and partners. He is passionate about developing a top-talent team and maintaining a culture in which people can grow personally and professionally.
Leif-Nissen Lundbæk
Dr Leif-Nissen Lundbæk is a Forbes Under30 Listmaker and the co-founder and CEO of the next genAI company Xayn. The European startup unlocks genAI for large organizations and develops Noxtua, Europe’s first sovereign Legal AI, with special insights, input, and legal expertise from the international business law firm CMS.
SPEAKER
21. - 22. MARCH, 2024
Hemant Andan
Hemant is the Chief Innovation Officer at Google Cloud for the Alps Region. He is responsible for driving Innovation and Digital Transformation with our enterprise and strategic customers. Hemant has 15+ years experience working in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Industry. His background is in Strategy Consulting, Enterprise Architecture, Cloud Computing, Big Data, AI and Machine Learning.
Eugenia Balyshev
Eugenia Balysheva, co-founder and CEO of Dotphoton, has played a key role in the company’s achievements, including attracting notable clients and securing industry awards. With a solid background in strategic communications and public relations, along with skills in business development and client management, she has significantly contributed to Dotphoton’s standing in the big image data sector. Eugenia combines her strategic insights and entrepreneurial enthusiasm to make a notable impact in the European deep-tech startup scene, driving innovation in imaging. Outside of work, she enjoys photography, swimming, and exploring art history.
Bettina Hein
Bettina Hein is a software entrepreneur who has already founded three successful technology companies. She is currently the founder and CEO of juli, an app that helps people manage their chronic illnesses. Additionally, since 2019, she has served as a TV lion, business angel, and investor on the jury of the Swiss edition of "Die Höhle der Löwen" (Shark Tank).
Forbes X START Global
Event series
Legendary investor Warren Buffett once said: “You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” When starting a company, this is 100% true. And while both START Global and Forbes are about inspiring and motivating, we’re also here to help with actionable advice. That’s why we’re starting the START Global x Forbes event series, which will help founders on their way to the top. By listening and learning from the most interesting entrepreneurs and investors from the German-speaking region and beyond, we will help everyone in the START Global community get the few important things right – without getting too many things wrong.
These events will not only give an opportunity to listen to those that have already done it, but also a chance to meet people that can help you get your business off the ground. This is a one-time chance to learn from and meet the best. Don’t miss it.
The Idea
(Virtual)
September 26th, 2023
Tuesday, September 26th, 7pm
virtual event on forbes.swiss
“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas,
what’s missing is the will to execute them.”
– Seth Godin
Together with young and experienced startup founders, we talk about the most important thing when starting a business: The idea. What’s a good idea? What’s a bad one? And how do you get an idea into action?
Potential speaker lineup
Oriol Hernandez i Fajula (Rever)
Donna Leon (?)
Carlo Badini (Pabio)
Fabienne Hartmann-Fritsch und Daniela Marino (Cutiss)
The Money
(live)
November 21st, 2023
Tuesday, November 21st at 6.00pm
live event
at the Trust Square Paradeplatz
in Zurich
“An entrepreneur without funding is a musician without an instrument.”
– Robert A. Rice Jr.
As soon as you have your idea and business case figured out, you need the money to execute. But how do you get your pitch to the right people? Do cold emails work? And what are investors most interested in in a market that’s flooded with competition?
speaker lineup:
Oliver Heimes
Oliver is Partner at Lakestar and has been at the firm since its founding more than 10 years ago. Oliver leads Lakestar's Healthcare investment group as well as its US-based investments. He led Lakestar’s investments in companies such as Oscar Health, Cedar Health, Rhino and Public.com, as well as Harry’s, Aetion Health, Accurx and Nelly. He also co-lead Lakestar's investment into Auterion. He has been named Forbes 30 under 30, began his career at Goldman Sachs and studied at Universities of St. Gallen, Harvard and Wharton.
The Team
(live)
February 27th, 2024
Tuesday, February 27th
Live event at the HSG Square (St. Gallen)
A strong team is at the top of everyone’s list when it comes to startup success. And we know by a million studies that diverse teams perform better. Still, there’s a huge lack of diversity in the leadership of startups. Why? How do you build a high-performing, resilient and successful team? And what do you need to avoid?
Lea Vajnorsky
Lea is co-founder and CEO of Wo\men Inc, a platform for career-focused women that organizes events around the globe and provides diversity and inclusion advice. She is also a consultant at Russell Reynolds where she specializes in digital businesses as well as media, venture capital, e-commerce and consumer products. In addition, Lea is a member of the firm’s global DE&I practice.
Nielufar Saffari
Nielufar Saffari developed her startup Dolmx in the midst of the Covid pandemic. The young company offers a platform solution that enables intercultural interpreting via video. Born in Austria, she started her entrepreneurial journey in Switzerland with just 150,000 CHF in capital, increasing her turnover tenfold in just the second year. Saffari herself grew up bilingual – speaking Farsi and German – and therefore knows what a hurdle language can be. “I see it as my job to give a voice to people who don’t speak the local language.” Dolmx currently offers 57 languages and translations are carried out by a pool of 300 professional interpreters.
Prof. Dr. Tomas Casas i Klett
Dr. Casas i Klett is a permanent faculty at the University of St.Gallen, the Director of the China Competence Center (CCC) and was the founding Director of the Competence Center for Top Teams, at the Research Institute for International Management (FIM-HSG). Tomas obtained his BSc, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; his MSc at Fudan University in Shanghai and his PhD in Economics at University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He is a visiting professor at universities in China, including the Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management (SEM) in Beijing and he has worked with business schools in Canada, Israel, Russia or Japan.
One of Tomas’ research foci is sustainable value creation; at the macro level with the Elite Quality Reports (EQx2023) and at the firm and new venture level he is developing the Value Creation Rating (VCr). His measurements of value along with his practical frameworks support governance, top management and top entrepreneurial teams. His research often takes global team perspectives (e.g., China team myths). His courses span from Bachelor-level to executive education and include: International Entrepreneurship, International Management, Innovation and Disruption and Sustainable Value Creation and Global Trends and Geopolitics.
Fabian Bollhalder
With Mybikeplan, Bollhalder allows customers to pay off their e-bike in installments in twelve to 48 months, interest-free. Bollhalder started out as a young entrepreneur and is now CEO of Switzerland’s largest BNPL provider (Buy now, pay later), as he puts it. Immediately after university, Bollhalder took part in two accelerator programmes and launched his first startup. In October 2023, Bollhalder launched a new “My-X-Plan” division with Myhomeplan. Here, too, he is relying on a BNPL model – but for furniture. Over the next few years, further such verticals are to be added; Bollhalder is talking about “Mybabyplan” and “Mysportplan”, for example. By the end of 2024, there should be a total of four such verticals, followed by six or seven in 2025.
The Growth
(virtual)
May 7th, 2024
May 7th, 2024,
Virtual event on forbes.swiss
You have the idea, you have the money, you have the team – now it’s time to really start
growing. But what does a company in high-growth mode need? What are the challenges
ahead? And how much growth is too much?
Potential speaker lineup:
Georges Kern (Breitling)
Ines Streimelweger (Hedosophia)
Alex Weber (N26)
