Swiss USAccelerator to help Swiss companies enter American market

Swiss entrepreneurs seeking to enter the American market will soon have a new source of support and business intelligence.

On September 4, the Swiss-based think tank Center for Innovation & Digitization (ZID Bernapark) will launch the Swiss USAccelerator to help research and draft business plans between the two countries.

The Swiss USAccelerator will offer nonbinding help to Swiss businesses via research, business plan drafting, and follow-up planning, including peer-to-peer exchanges for inside tips on working and growing in the USA. The organization will also offer webinars, playbooks on best practices, an extended network in the USA, and other perks. These offerings are scheduled to become available on September 22. Membership costs CHF 250 per semester.

“Get your questions answered and deliberate different approaches with people who know the US market like the back of their hand,” said the Swiss USAccelerator’s website. “Convince your team, board, and investors with a well-planned and validated plan and reduce the risk of wasting time and money.”

The free launch event will take place at the ZID Bernapark in Deisswil, Switzerland from 4:30 to 6 pm. The Swiss consul general in San Francisco, Balz Abplanalp, will deliver the opening address. Venture capitalist Alex Fries, who has invested in numerous companies in Switzerland and the US, Swiss TV and video tech innovator Stefan Würmlin, and New York-based Swiss founder Raphael Schaad will also deliver remarks. 

Digital participation in the event is public, participation in Deisswil is by invitation only.

“Let's remove barriers and catapult Swiss companies to a thriving future in the land of opportunities,” wrote Kaspar Zimmerli, a Bern-based entrepreneur who cofounded the USAccelerator, on LinkedIn.

BILANZ Wirtschaftsmagazin recently named Zimmerli and the Swiss USAccelerator’s other co-founder, Michael Sauter, as two of this year’s 100 Digital Shapers in Switzerland. ce/jd