We Unlock the Innovative Potential of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems.
We firmly believe entrepreneurs drive societal change and prosperity in our world. However, Europe is falling behind economically on a global scale, and we believe only way to combat this trend is by creating more new ventures powered by entrepreneurs. Since Europe has is a major gap between being a student and entrepreneur building products for real customers, we believe we can contribute to the quality of life and prosperity of future generations by building a program that closes that gap by drawing students into entrepreneurship, creating equitable access to entrepreneurial resources and doubling down on those that demonstrate tangible proof that they’re on the track to success
The Challenge
Talented students in both commercial and technical disciplines show strong entrepreneurial potential, yet they face structural barriers and cultural hurdles in the European ecosystem that often prevent them from moving beyond ideas. Most university programs still operate in single-discipline silos, limiting cross-disciplinary collaboration, while entrepreneurial education at school ranks among the weakest of all framework conditions. Insights from conversations with hundreds of students and ventures, pilot projects, and leading entrepreneurs in Central Europe confirm that without early opportunities to experiment, collaborate, and test ideas in practice, Europe risks losing its next generation of founders before they even get started.
St.Gallen, Switzerland
2006
Our Approach
We are working to create serendipitous environments where students can learn how to be entrepreneurs through real-world practical experiences rather than theory exercises. We expose students to concrete challenges incl. validating a problem with real customers, building early prototypes, or securing a first paying client. At key moments, we support with targeted questions & inputs to help guide decision-making and we connect them directly to relevant mentors, industry experts, potential partners, and potential clients. This structured exposure ensures they face the realities of entrepreneurship in an environment designed to accelerate their individual development and causes entrepreneurial serendipity at scale.
What we do
We work are pursuing a dual approach in which we create programs for students as well as as working to create opportunities with student organizations and the broader ecosystem. All formats we offer are aimed fostering learning through practical application. In combination with existing ecosystem offerings our programs are able to spark students’ interest, enable them to build strong cross-disciplinary relationships and support them to build ventures based on validated problems. We are building the first structured approach in Switzerland where students can develop competencies necessary to start, build, scale and lead commercially viable ventures. As part of this we are creating the first structural link between student bodies at large of the University of St. Gallen and ETH Zurich.
“ My time at START was a very entrepreneurial experience and laid the foundations for much of what I later achieved as an entrepreneur and investor. In fact, I am still working together with some of the amazing people I met at START.”
Stefan Jeschonnek
Co-founder | SumUp & Discovery Ventures
Creating the Environment
“Creating the environment” means shaping a setting where entrepreneurial talent can grow, experiment, and thrive. Instead of focusing on single programs or isolated initiatives, it is about weaving together multiple facets into one coherent ecosystem.
This environment brings together spaces that spark curiosity and collaboration, formats that help people meet and build trust, and opportunities to test ideas in practice with real partners and customers. It lowers barriers for people from different disciplines to work together, provides room to fail and learn, and creates pathways to progress from first ideas toward market ready ventures. At the same time, it intentionally builds in serendipity, the chance encounters and unexpected connections that often lead to breakthrough outcomes.
In essence, creating the environment means constructing an interconnected system of people, spaces, and opportunities that steadily supports talents along their development journey, from first sparks of interest to building real companies. It is less about one program and more about a holistic context that increases the probability of entrepreneurial success.
