SuisseFund: the Bernese matchmaking platform for investors and start-ups

With several hundred investors active in Switzerland within a very complex start-up landscape, SuisseFund has built a matchmaking platform to easily connect investors and start-ups.

Entrepreneurs Thierry Kneissler, Pawel Kowalski and Benjamin Berger have all founded and led their own start-ups, and thus understand the hurdles start-ups undergo to find the right investors for their businesses. It can also be difficult for investors to find credible start-ups to invest in, especially when they are newcomers on this market or when they are looking for companies from specific business areas.

Launched in March 2022, the “Made in Bern” matchmaking platform SuisseFund seeks to close this gap to complement existing business angel networks and venture capital platforms with a dedicated platform where start-ups and investors can meet.

Upon signing up, start-ups from all sectors looking for investors provide a description of their solution, financial needs, valuation and pitch deck. This information is subject to verification by SuisseFund before publishing.

Registered investors on the other hand get access to the start-ups’ information to find suitable matches. A notification from the platform informs start-ups when an investor seeks to initiate a dialogue to kick off negotiations. The proceeding steps in the process remain a responsibility of the start-up and investor as SuisseFund’s focus is on the matchmaking only.

A growing market demand

As part of the pilot phase, SuisseFund aims to find out whether connections between start-ups and investors can emerge through a matchmaking platform and whether there is market demand. 

The first results from the launch of the public pilot are positive :  60 investors and 40 start-ups have already signed up.

While the platform focuses on matchmaking, upon success, the team plans to expand the solution to include additional offers. “Our long-term goal is to provide the infrastructure for the whole lifetime of the start-up/investor relationship”, said co-founder Thierry Kneissler.