SEF.Growth Event with UBS 

From Start-up to Exit: Overcoming the Hurdles of Growth.

This inspiring event will explore the challenges faced by entrepreneurs as they grow their Start-ups into thriving Scale-ups. Alongside the inspiring success stories from Coorpacademy SA and Unit8 SA, participants will gain valuable insights into overcoming common obstacles during the scaling process, including securing funding, building teams with the necessary skills, expanding market reach and navigating operational complexities. Participants will also learn how UBS supports Scale-ups through this process with financing tools and its network.

23 November 2023

Pl. Saint-François 16,
1003 Lausanne

Overcoming the hurdles of growth beyond Röstigraben 

Finally, SEF.Growth overcame the hurdle called "Röstigraben": For the first time, a SEF.Growth event took place in the Romandie, a step that Alain Conte, Head of Corporate & Institutional Clients UBS Switzerland, advocated. This first edition in French-speaking Switzerland assembled almost 100 entrepreneurs to learn about overcoming the hurdles of growth in the cases of Jean-Marc Tassetto from Coorpacademy SA and Dr. Marcin Pietrzyk from Unit8 SA.

"It's just a polite way of saying that we will talk about difficulties, cash shortages, sleepless nights, etc. And that eventually we got to positive outcomes like an exit", Jean-Marc Tasseto, Co-Founder of Coorpacademy SA, makes fun of the event title. With that said, he has already captured the audience, eagerly waiting to get insights into the growth journey he went through with his startup. The following is some of Jean-Marc’s and Marcin’s gained wisdom to take with you.

Find a great startup-environment

He started his storytelling pitch with some crucial milestones beginning on day one. "It took me one day to found my startup," he said. From talking to his professor to the Head of Innovation Park in Lausanne, he was set to start within one working day. This is one of several times when he mentioned the importance of being in the right ecosystem.

Be prepared not to be prepared

But as he started his journey, he realized it was comparable to what Magellan experienced: "You have an idea with a global intention, and once you leave the land, things sometimes happen uncontrollably. And you need to be prepared for what cannot be prepared," Jean-Marc says. And what rarely gets said: "Luck is also important on the journey."

Team is everything

Nobody will be surprised to hear how vital a driven, diversely skilled team is. The team also includes investors, advisors, and even private family! Jean-Marc is strict about this: they all need to have your back and support your vision. Be strict about that when you choose your investors: They give you cash, often become Board Members, too, and bring seniority, experience, network, and know-how into your team.

Execution is key

"Execute, execute, execute. You're not a CEO at a large corporation. You can't only be concerned about strategic planning but mostly about operational tasks." says Jean-Marc, adding an example from Steve Jobs, who checks product development results to find details that need to be adapted for the success of the iPhone.

You need ego and storytelling to sell your startup

We are not talking about the exit here but selling to investors, media, and customers. "We had a headline saying that we were the Netflix of education to explain our gamification approach. You need to feel confident to do this, but it will get you there. Probably the only situation where gambling high is not recommended is the valuation of your startup when you go into the next financing round."

Transparency builds trust

The communication to investors should always be open – especially with bad news. This is crucial to building trust. "Everyone is happy to share good information, but only those who also share bad news – as early as possible – will be trusted and credited for that transparency. As mentioned in the team section, the investors might even be able to help get over the bad news with their know-how.

It's about the vision, not the exit

The potential exit of your startup should be something other than your focus. If you focus on the vision and the purpose and stay persistent, the exit is a consequence.

Text by Alyssia Kugler

Impressions

Programme for 23 November 2023

Time

Description
18.00Door opening & refreshments
18.30

Welcome Note by 

  • Alain Conte,  Head Corporate & Institutional Clients Switzerland / Member of Executive Committee, 
    UBS Switzerland AG and
  • Corine Blesi, Managing Director NZZ Connect
18.40Introduction to the topic and presentation of the Start-ups
18.45

Keynote on the growth story of the scaled & exited
company by:

  • Jean-Marc Tassetto, Strategic Advisor EMEA, Go1, co-founder of Coorpacademy and former GM of Google France
19.05

Introduction of the company in the scaling process, Unit8 SA and Panel discussion by Damita Pressl, journalist at NZZ and moderator,  with:

  • Dr. Marcin Pietrzyk, CEO & Founder, Unit8 SA
  • Jean-Marc Tassetto, Strategic Advisor EMEA, Go1, co-founder of Coorpacademy and former GM of Google France
  • Philippe Schlegel, UBS Corporate Finance Growth Advisory
19.30Closing words by SEF.Growth and UBS
Networking-Apero
22.00Door closing

Moderator

Damita Pressl

Journalist at NZZ | presenter & event host | founder @publicspeakingschool.cc

Damita is an award-winning journalist and presenter who has previously hosted a broad range of on- and off-air formats, including news shows, her own debate show on a national TV channel in Austria, broadcast interviews, live panels, conferences and explainer videos.  Born and raised in Vienna, Austria, she is currently based in Zurich and working for NZZ. She holds degrees in psychology and journalism and is fluent in German, English and French with a working knowledge of Spanish, Romanian and Russian.” LinkedIn

Speaker

Person 1
Dr. Marcin Pietrzyk

CEO & Founder, Unit8 SA

Before establishing Unit8, Marcin was Head of Big Data & Business Intelligence at Swisscom. He regularly advises CxOs on AI, advanced analytics, and data science to solve business challenges and also drives the AI for Good activities at Unit8. He completed his PhD in data mining and machine learning at Orange Labs, Sophia Antipolis, complemented by executive education in INSEAD. He was also a visiting lecturer for the EMBA at HSG St. Gallen.
LinkedIn

Person 1
Jean-Marc Tassetto

Strategic Advisor EMEA, Go1, co-founder of Coorpacademy and former GM of Google France

Jean-Marc co-founded Coorpacademy in 2013, revolutionizing corporate digital learning. It was acquired by Go1 in 2022. Formerly, he led Google France operations (2010-2013) and held key positions at SFR, Vivendi, and Vodafone. With a background in FMCG marketing, Jean-Marc is an ESCP Europe graduate and an affiliate professor at HEC-Paris. He serves on multiple startup boards and contributes as a digital expert to Fondation du Patrimoine and Fondation Ardian.
LinkedIn

Philippe Schlegel

UBS Corporate Finance Growth Advisory

Philippe Schlegel is a seasoned finance professional with 12 years at UBS. He specializes in Corporate Finance - Growth Advisory, focusing on financing and fundraising for start-ups and scale-ups since 2019. Previously, he held roles in corporate finance and PE/VC activities - and was involved in start-up and SME boards of directors. He holds an MBA in economics from the University of California, Berkeley and a degree from HEC Lausanne.
LinkedIn