Being an entrepreneur oneself is a dream shared by many, with several tens of thousands of companies being founded in Switzerland every year. At the University of St.Gallen (HSG) alone, hundreds of start-ups have emerged over the past few years, including household names like Abacus, Namics or Wefox, but also younger and up-and-coming start-ups like Planted, OnlineDoctor, and Collect-ID. Over 160 of these companies bear the official HSG Spin-Off label.
We aim to specifically cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of HSG students. Startup@HSG introduces students to the many facets of entrepreneurship and promotes technology-oriented and knowledge-intensive start-up projects at the HSG.
The core of Startup@HSG is the HSG Entrepreneurial Talents programme: Every year, 20 scholarships are awarded to selected students of the HSG, enabling them to work intensively on their business idea for one semester and to bring it to market maturity, closely supported by Startup@HSG. More than 130 start-ups have meanwhile emerged from this programme alone.
Headed by Prof. Dr. Dietmar Grichnik, the Center for Entrepreneurship is the driving force behind Startup@HSG and advises prospective founders and University of St.Gallen students. It brings together students and academics from the HSG with external partners from research and practice and coordinates the courses on entrepreneurship and much more.
Students and other HSG members are always welcome to seek individual coaching, to exchange ideas with the Startup@HSG team and get a start-up going. All other offers can be found on the Startup@HSG website.
“At HSG I learned the tools I needed for my entrepreneurial career. Even as a 22-year-old student body president, I was responsible for a budget in the millions and 150 student volunteers. What other university can offer you this?”
“In Europe, there is no better springboard and network than that of HSG for achieving sustainable business success as a founder.”
“As a real hands-on institution, HSG gave me a taste of entrepreneurship early on. The joy of having a positive impact in business is exemplified at HSG.”
Together with other well-known partners, HSG is also the responsible for Switzerland Innovation Park Ost AG, which operates its own start-up promotion with Startfeld. The incubator is the heart and hub of the Startfeld ecosystem and has already accommodated numerous HSG spin-offs.
START Global is a leading student organization for entrepreneurship and tech. They lay the foundation for fostering and accelerating regional entrepreneurship ecosystems globally and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs with their community of several hundred active (student) members in START Network. START Global want to help create a better understanding of tomorrow's technological opportunities.
