Eight start-ups have completed the HSG START Accelerator programme

“Start-ups shouldn’t just think in terms of the product. Even the best technology is useless if you don’t fully understand customers’ needs, their daily lives and the challenges they face,” said Nimrod Malinas. The young robotics entrepreneur from Altstätten (SG) addressed the audience on Tuesday 12 May at the Switzerland Innovation Park during the Demo Day of the second edition of the programme. On this day, the eight start-ups that had completed the HSG START Accelerator programme over the past few months presented their business ideas.

Following the start-ups’ pitches, Malinas said: “Every pitch centred on a real problem. Real factories, real hospitals, real customers. No ‘We are building the future of…’. Just difficult problems that need solving.”

The HSG START Accelerator start-up support programme, based in St. Gallen, aims to prepare European deep-tech start-ups in the early growth phase for scaling up through professional support and a dedicated programme. The start-ups receive intensive coaching, are introduced to a network of investors and are thus made ‘investor-ready’. The programme is the result of a joint initiative between the University of St. Gallen (HSG), the START Foundation and Switzerland Innovation Park Ost (SIP Ost). It is funded by the Canton of St. Gallen, other foundations and private donors.

The review of the second run over the past few months is impressive: 200 start-ups from 27 countries originally applied, and eight were selected. During the accelerator programme over the past few months, these eight had a total of 72 contacts with investors and 167 industry hours – that is, visits to companies to discuss ideas and products. 

Prospects for investment

At Demo Day, the start-ups presented their ideas and outlined their current progress. The audience included interested parties as well as investors. In addition, the start-ups stand to receive investment awarded by an independent investment committee in conjunction with the Foundation Board: up to 200,000 Swiss francs in investment is available for selected start-ups during this second cohort.

The presenting start-ups: 

•    Aithon Robotics (drones for inspection work)
•    ExoSphere (early detection of cancer via blood test) 
•    FireDrone (drones for extreme operating conditions),
•    Lightlink Instruments AG (hyperspectral cameras)
•    NoxBlanc (personalised sleep systems),
•    optohive (wearable brain imaging)
•    SurfAce Cleantech (coating technology for sustainable packaging)

The evening concluded with a presentation by representatives from START Global. The organisation is run entirely by HSG students and organises the START Summit, Europe’s largest start-up conference, in St. Gallen every March. 

A drinks reception afterwards provided an opportunity to exchange ideas and make new contacts. Furthermore, the application deadline for the next batch of the HSG START Accelerator is already underway.