Kickstart Accelerator: Things Are Heating Up

On the surface it's running Kickstart Accelerator, which is under the umbrella of Digital Zurich 2025 was launched, everything was splendid: it was announcedthat the companies UBS, Credit Suisse, Swisscom, Swiss Life and EY are joining forces to support the fintech vertical of the Kickstart Accelerator, and the team will be expanded in the next few days.

However, there is a lot of rumbling behind the scenes. Core team member Nico Luchsinger, responsible for Programming & Communities according to the website, left the accelerator at the end of February. There are also the Zurich Council of States Ruedi Noser, after all, President of the Steering Committee, as well as a well-known mentor resigned.

Does the Kickstart Accelerator break before the first batch?

Nobody wants to comment officially. According to rumors, there were different views on the direction of the accelerator program. The role of sponsors in particular seems to have required a lot of discussion. The fact that these very important names are leaving before the first startups go through the program in the summer is definitely not a good sign. Nico Luchsinger confirms that he gave up his operational role in the team at the end of February. He's full focus on another project want. The strategic direction of Kickstart has also changed. The departure of an experienced mentor must also be seen as a warning signal if a cooperation with well-known players from the financial industry is announced at the same time. Also Noser's exit, which is still ongoing Launch event campaigning for the accelerator in a public panel discussion is tantamount to an earthquake.

According to various sources, operational management will apparently be handed over to the Impact HUB team. Officially there is talk of a team expansion. Working with the HUB makes intuitive sense, after all the HUB already has extensive experience with startup support programs. Nevertheless, the question arises as to what the reasons for this exodus in the core team are.

Focus on startups that benefit corporates

In conversations with various exponents, it becomes clear that Kickstart is a compromise between a wide variety of interests. The aim is actually to attract disruptive startups from abroad, to position Zurich as an innovative startup location, but on the other hand, in no way to cannibalize the Digital Zurich 2025 companies, but rather to bring the greatest possible benefit to the sponsors.

The Kickstart Accelerator is financed on the one hand by the Kick Foundation, but also through sponsors who stand behind Digital Zurich 2025. The setup stipulates that, in addition to classic startups, corporate startups from the sponsoring companies can also go through the coaching program. There is therefore a risk that Kickstart will develop from a startup accelerator to an outsourced innovation department for the sponsors. The financing model supports this thesis: The sponsors apparently paid CHF 250,000 for the first batch - and of course want to see results at the end of the year. Contacts with some startups that have gone through the program are most likely not enough. But with the best will in the world, I can't imagine that the innovation guy at a large corporate with his generous salary is compatible with the requirements of early-stage startups.

What is almost more important is that the paying companies are of course not interested in supporting a startup that could pose a threat to them, especially since the startups do not have to give up any shares. So no entrepreneurs with big, disruptive ideas are selected, but rather those who can bring some benefit to the corporates. Sunnie Groeneveld, Managing Director of Digital Zurich 2025, defends herself against this interpretation. The Kickstart Accelerator - founded by a location initiative - is not a copy of Y Combinator, which takes shares from the participating startups at an early stage and thus enables deal flow for the partners (VCs and business angels), but rather the goal is for foreign startups to gain access to large Swiss companies so that they can, for example, use an attractive sales channel or implement a pilot project with them.

Kickstart Accelerator is important for the Zurich location

I believe that strong players who are committed to Zurich as a startup location and the ecosystem are extremely important. In addition to the classic actors such as the IFJ, this of course also includes the Swiss Start Up Factory and DZh2025 with kickstart. All of these institutions bring great added value to Zurich as a location by using their power to lobby in the interests of entrepreneurs. In the current tax debate, they spoke up, stood up for the startups and actually made a difference. The fact that the various stakeholder groups could tear the Kickstart Accelerator apart is an example the ominous Blick article on:

@BarJack @marcwalder @blogstone That makes you wonder what it is about @dzh2025 really works. Sentiment: “Protect the old economy.” Too bad... — Dennis Just (@dennisjust) March 13, 2016

It wouldn't be a good sign if one of these prestige projects disappeared again. It is essential that a clear strategy can be found that meets the needs of all stakeholders (startups, enterprises, politics). But I am sure that Sunnie can weather this storm and that the Kickstart Accelerator can be successful with a clear focus on entrepreneurs.