Events - 11.03.2025 - 12:00
START Summit has established itself as a meeting place for the startup scene for almost 30 years. Europe's leading conference for entrepreneurship and technology, brings together HSG students, young and experienced founders from Europe, Silicon Valley, Latin America and Africa in St.Gallen. In March 2025, for example, the following topics will take centre stage:
The five stages in the St.Galler Kantonalbank hall at the Olma are filled with numerous personalities. The 120 speakers include, for example:
When it comes to early-stage startups, START Summit is a must-attend event – and international investors agree. With players such as Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures and Accel, the conference not only attracts capital, but also ambitious talent. One highlight is the pitching stage, where young founders present their business ideas. The programme is complemented by lectures, workshops and panel discussions. Another format that demands innovation at top speed is START Hack. At the 36-hour hackathon, over 600 students from universities such as ETH, Harvard, Stanford and TU Munich develop solutions for real problems from partners from the realm of working life. The best teams present their ideas to an audience of 7,000 visitors. The winning team can look forward to 10,000 CHF in prize money.
The University of St.Gallen has established itself as one of the driving forces in the European startup scene – and is also playing a central role at START Summit 2025. With its new funding programme, HSG Entrepreneurship, it supports students and researchers on the path from the initial business idea to founding and expansion. "Our mission is to drive innovation, solve social challenges in an entrepreneurial way and promote new talent," says HSG Vice-President and Professor of Entrepreneurship Dietmar Grichnik. According to Grichnik, the Munich-St.Gallen-Zurich axis offers ideal conditions for technology-driven startups: "The expertise of HSG, TU Munich and ETH Zurich creates a unique environment to prepare young companies specifically for their market entry.”
Entrepreneurship has a long tradition at the University of St.Gallen – numerous successful founders have taken their first steps here. In line with the motto "Empowering talents, inspiring leaders", many (former) HSG students are dedicated people with an entrepreneurial spirit who have learnt to put knowledge into practice. At START Summit 2025, President Manuel Ammann and Vice-President Dietmar Grichnik will recognize an entrepreneur with the title HSG Founder of the Year. The award comes with an endowment of 10,000 CHF.
Dr. Werner Jackstädt Foundation will present the award on the main stage on 20 March at 3 p.m. The winner will not only receive recognition but will also be on stage for an academic exchange with the startup community. In addition to the current winner, last year's winners Pascal Bieri (Planted) and Melanie Gabriel (Yokoy) will also be there. Both are part of the "HSG Spin-Off Community", which now comprises over 180 startups – from AI learning assistants to sustainable packaging solutions. The HSG stand will also provide an insight into the University's incubation and acceleration programme. "We accompany founders from the initial idea to market entry – and support them in creating innovations and growing sustainably," explains Maria Luisa Fuchs, who the heads the programme together with Bernd Schneider at the Service Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, HSG.
St.Gallen is positioning itself as a hotspot for founders – and at START Summit 2025, the region will show what it has to offer. In the "St.Gallen Area" at START Summit, HSG and seven other innovation promoters will present their programmes for startups, from financing options to individual mentoring. In addition to the University of also St.Gallen, the location promotion organisations of the City and Canton of St.Gallen, the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences and Arts OST, Switzerland Innovation Park East and private investors such as b2venture will be there.
A central element of this funding is the HSG START Accelerator, a programme that supports national and international startups in their growth. Developed by HSG, START Global and Switzerland Innovation Park East, the programme aims to establish itself as Europe's leading accelerator. After an initial test run in 2024, the first regular participants will start in 2025.
