Startup Academy Basel: We help people with great business ideas succeed!

What made you originally launch the Startup Academy?
Markus Kindle: In the beginning, when we founded the Startup Academy association in Basel on 23 June 2010, our basic idea was to bring together people and their entrepreneurial ideas from the worlds of business and academia. The idea remains the same today. However, we have changed the way how to make it happen.

What services are you currently offering to start-ups, and what are your plans for further developing these offerings?
Relying on a tutorial programme we developed ourselves, our association has supported young entrepreneurs for more than ten years, offering its knowledge, expertise, experience and access to our network. Every start-up is attended to by a mentor. Entrepreneurs have the option to participate in a diverse range of workshops and events. They receive input and expertise from proven experts answering any concrete and industry-specific question they might have, while enjoying the benefits of an enormous network. Approximately 300 start-ups have successfully completed the programme to date. And their contribution has been the creation of about 700 new jobs in the Basel region.

The Startup Academy is now physically present at seven sites all over Switzerland. However, not only have we added new locations, we have also professionalised our course and support offer during the past ten years: Especially when planning our workshops and informative events, we have made it a point to keep adding new subjects and of course up-to-date topics that are of the utmost pertinence for start-ups. In addition, we have managed to expand our network significantly over the years, which enables us to recruit the most suitable individual mentors from a growing pool of talent and experienced professionals.

The Migros Pioneer Fund (formerly known as Engagement Migros) has thrown its support behind the Startup Academy. In your opinion, what has brought them on board?
The partnership of the «Startup Academy Switzerland» initiative and Engagement Migros is based on a shared conviction that Switzerland is blessed with a practically inexhaustible supply of brilliant business ideas and know-how. In order to elevate these ideas to the level of successful business models, young entrepreneurs and seasoned experts will have to work together – not just locally, but all over Switzerland. That was the reason for Engagement Migros to support Startup Academy with the launch of new sites and locations since 2018. Meanwhile, not only can we account for seven locations in Switzerland, but also one in Lörrach, Germany.

Picture source: Rightpics

Can you let us in on the Startup Academy’s plans for Basel and Switzerland?
We intend to offer the benefits of our tutorial programmes to start-ups in all of Switzerland’s four linguistic regions. Currently, for instance, we are considering the launch of a site in the canton of Grisons. When it opens, the Startup Academy will be present with locations in the German-, French-, Italian- and even Romansh-speaking parts of Switzerland.

At the same time, we’re actively expanding our tutorial programme. At present time, start-ups are coached and mentored for a maximum of two years. Even if a large share of the companies remains in touch with the Startup Academy, they are formally on their own after this period – which very often happens to be during the all-decisive «scaling stage». It is our declared goal for the future to support start-ups during this critical stage as well, to continue providing networking assistance and to see them through their growth towards a successful SME.

In Basel we try to implement this strategy with our Vision Startup Academy Village Basel. Our aim in Basel, accordingly, is to offer support to start-ups in the midst of the scaling stage (through an extension of our tutorial programme to three to five years) and to position them locally at neuralgic points within the dynamic network of universities and the business community (with all its local, regional and international ties and relations). This framework will allow us to accompany and support start-ups from year zero up to their seventh year in the most dedicated and focused way. Simultaneously, we are intent on offering companies access to our own Startup Academy network and launch a collaboration that yields stimulus and momentum to our economic location overall – in other words: by creating an actual innovation network in the Basel region.

More in general, who is best served by the Startup Academy’s tutorial programme?
The Startup Academy should be your first point of contact if you’re thinking about professional independence and self-employment. We’re also here for any person considering professional re-orientation. Whether you’ve come up with a great business idea while still fully employed, or if you want to re-enter the workforce after a sabbatical or parental leave, is not of importance to us. We just want to offer our long-time experience and support budding entrepreneurs ready to leap into the adventure of professional independence.

About Markus Kindle

Markus Kindle is president of the non-profit association Startup Academy Basel and a board member at Startup Academy Switzerland. He is fully committed to Startup Academy where his aim is to advance motivated young entrepreneurs and support inspired professionals eager to make their visions and dreams a new reality. For Kindle, not only is discussing and promoting exciting ideas of innovators and creators a personal gratification and fulfilment, but above all a priceless experience.