Die Startup Academy Story

What do successful yet very different startups like MyCamper, Vanillaplan, moveART, SUAN Conceptual Design, Working Bicycle, or The Ninja Concept have in common?

They all utilized the support program and network of the Startup Academy. When the Startup Academy was launched in 2010, it already had a ten-year history at the University of Applied Sciences FHNW in Basel – and ambitious goals: The barriers between theory and practice were to be broken down, students were to gain practical experience in the business world, and universities and society were to be brought together. The fact that it ultimately became a non-profit association that connects startups with businesses and universities was anything but coincidental. The support model assists and connects startups, protects them from encroachments and unwanted takeovers, and is replicable. In short: an innovative approach to making a business idea feasible.

Fueled by success and supported by an increasing number of motivated volunteers, the initiative quickly grew beyond Basel – now with seven locations in Switzerland and one in Germany. Fourteen years later, after supporting 359 startups with 246 volunteers and 230 students, creating over 1000 full and part-time positions, this Swiss initiative can be considered a success.

The richly illustrated book not only documents the idea, history, and people behind the non-profit initiative, but it also provides a concrete action guide with checklists in the appendix: Those who are convinced by the idea while reading and wish to establish a regional Startup Academy network in another economic location, either domestically or abroad, are warmly invited to continue writing the Startup Academy story.