As a student at the Stiftsschule Engelberg, I dealt with a question that is central to the future of Switzerland in my Matura thesis in economics: Why do many young start-ups succeed in finding initial funding, but later fail to obtain enough money for further growth, so that in the worst case they migrate abroad and innovation is lost for Switzerland?

Innovation is a key driver of any economy, especially in Switzerland, whose prosperity is based heavily on new medicines, technologies and scientific developments.

Under the title “Barriers and Perspectives on Swiss IT and Pharma Start-up Financing”, I examined the obstacles that arise particularly in the important growth phase (Series A/B). This phase often determines whether a good idea can become a successful company. It is then a question of building a team, entering international markets and, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, very high development and regulatory costs.

I combined two perspectives for my work. On the one hand, I analyzed numerous data and studies on the Swiss start-up landscape, and on the other, I conducted five expert interviews with people from the field, including founders, investors, family offices and finance and M&A specialists. This part was particularly exciting for me: preparing interviews, conducting conversations, evaluating statements and comparing them with data. This allowed me to analyze the challenges of the Swiss start-up scene from different perspectives and to better bring together the individual problems in order to work out the central challenges of the entire industry.

My analysis shows three key reasons for the funding gap:

Firstly, many Swiss investors tend to invest cautiously and avoid high risks. Secondly, there are only a few large investors in Switzerland who can invest very large amounts in later financing rounds. Thirdly, there is sometimes a lack of specific industry knowledge, for example in the case of complex IT business models or pharmaceutical start-ups with long development times.

My conclusion: Switzerland is very strong at launching new ideas, but often not at making them grow. In order for more innovative companies to remain in the country in the long term, more risk capital, more venture expertise and long-term investors are needed for the growth phase.

Overall, the work was an exciting challenge for me and has enabled me to already focus intensively on an area in which I would like to study later. As I know that my topic raises many other questions, I am always happy to talk to people in person or ask questions and to exchange ideas with interested parties.

Henri Koller
Matura class 2026