Selected publications

Swiss Creative Tech Startups Report 2024

The Zurich Centre for Creative Economies (ZCCE), in collaboration with Fuelarts, USA, are pleased to announce the publication of the Swiss Creative Tech Startups Report 2024 – a pioneering initiative designed to spotlight the burgeoning Creative Tech sector in Switzerland. This report promises to be an invaluable annual resource for industry stakeholders both in Switzerland and internationally.

The meticulously crafted 100-page report features comprehensive insights into the Creative Tech ecosystem, highlighting educational initiatives, venture support, and various partnership opportunities that foster growth within this vibrant sector. Beyond its academic significance, the report will serve as an essential resource for Creative Tech startups seeking to establish and expand their operations across the diverse cantons of Switzerland.

The Creative Tech Startup Report Switzerland 2024 addresses a significant gap: although the intersections of technology with sectors like finance, health, and biology have been extensively explored and strategically developed, the connections with the creative industries have been overlooked. This collaborative report highlights substantial potential for Switzerland that warrants further development in the upcoming years.

5 key findings form the Swiss Creative Tech Report 2024:

  • 277 startups in the Swiss Creative Tech Ecosystem, 17% of the total.
  • $1.75B in total funding since 1985, 13% of all Swiss startup funding.
  • 40% of investment rounds led by local Swiss investors.
  • 26% success rate with 73 of 277 startups having successfully exited.
  • 69% of startups  report a conservative business environment as the main local market challenge.

The report unveils some unexpected findings, including the significant challenges faced by Swiss Creative Tech startups post-pitching, identified as a key investment hurdle by 46% of respondents. This issue is linked to the generally low preparedness for delivering successful elevator pitches and maintaining investor relationships. Additionally, 62% of founders expressed interest in establishing a venture fund to invest in other startups after exiting their current ventures, highlighting the prevalent investment-oriented mindset among Swiss entrepreneurs. The survey also revealed a notable demand for creative entrepreneurship skills, which 77% of respondents felt were lacking in their education. This underscores the necessity for Swiss universities to integrate practical training in team building, market fit, and fundraising into their educational programs to better equip future entrepreneurs.

This report includes a series of interviews with leading figures in Swiss Creative Technology. Renowned art collector and tech investor Uli Sigg highlights Switzerland's high-quality education system as its most significant asset. Nathalie Pichard, Executive Director & Curator of the ArtTech Foundation, emphasizes the importance of fostering exchanges between culture and technology to attract experts and entrepreneurs from around the globe to Switzerland. Rodrigo Esmela, Chief Commercial & Product Officer at Arcual, attributes Switzerland's prominence in the Art+Tech sector to its rich cultural heritage, robust educational landscape, and strong financial market, which collectively foster artistic innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. Benjamin Bollmann, CEO of Swissnex in Boston and New York, underscores the crucial role of creativity in driving innovation and highlights Swissnex's mission to connect Swiss education, research, and innovation with global opportunities.

Conrad von Grebel, Business Developer & Co-Founder at Seervision, discusses the pivotal role of firsthand market experience
in B2B startups and the significant advancements in AI within the creative industries. Ryan Zurrer, VC Investor and Art Collector, emphasizes the potential of cross-sector synergies, particularly the integration of crypto and AI, as key areas for future growth. Looking to the future, Marc Spiegler, former Global Director of Art Basel, believes that collaboration within creative industries and co-creation are pivotal for the future of the creative economy, with Switzerland poised to take a leading role.

Christoph Weckerle, Director of the Zurich Centre for Creative Economies (ZCCE):
"We see this first report as substantial contribution to outlining the creative tech ecosystem in Switzerland. Further reports will follow and will lead to a robust argument. Arguments that we believe will play a central role in a new soft power narrative for Switzerland."

Denis Belkevich, General Partner at Fuelarts:
"It is our sincere hope that this report serves as a beacon for the youthful vanguards of creative economies — students, entrepreneurs, and startup founders alike — empowering them to forge a better world through the pursuit of their innovative and entrepreneurial visions."

Online-Presentation
There will be an online-presentation 19 June 2024, at 3pm CET. Please join with this link.

The presentation will be led by Christoph Weckerle, Director of ZCCE and Denis Belkevich, General Partner at Fuelarts, followed by a Q&A session.

The downloadable version of the report.

Report
Report
Report
Report

    Strategic Creativity

    Shaping the future to change the present

    Are we shaping our live the way we want it to be? Are we committed to endeavours that create real value? Are we working effectively for a desirable future? This book is written for readers who want to be challenged and inspired. The core idea is that the present can only be meaningfully reflected upon and changed if we design and shape convincing perspectives for the future.

    This requires creativity. And strategy. In dynamic interaction and in ever new connections. Simon Grand and Christoph Weckerle develop a model of strategic creativity in order to find precise and convincing answers to two central questions: What is possible today - "what works"? And what can become possible - "what if"? Let's take action: as artists and designers, as researchers and entrepreneurs. In creative organisations and political movements, seriously and playfully. Ambitious and modest.

    Authors: Simon Grand and Christoph Weckerle
    ISBN: 978-3-03909-342-7
    Language D
    Link to order the publication.

    The authors
    Simon Grand is a knowledge entrepreneur and strategy designer, researcher and author. He is an adjunct professor for Strategic Management and Management Innovation at the University of St. Gallen (Swiss Institute for SMEs and Entrepreneurship) and a permanent research fellow at the Zurich University of the Arts (Zurich Centre for Creative Economies). He is involved as a member of the board of directors of entrepreneurial, globally active family businesses. Conducts strategic dialogues with experienced entrepreneurs. Works as an entrepreneur himself. And writes books, essays, non-papers and academic articles (further information at: simongrand.com).

    Christoph Weckerle is the founder and director of the Zurich Centre for Creative Economies (ZCCE). As a professor at the Zurich University of the Arts, he teaches and researches the cultural sector and its multiple interfaces. Issues of value creation, governance and specific skills of the creative economies are of central importance. He acts as a national and international consultant, including on the boards of European umbrella organisations and funding agencies. He is also an Associate Fellow at the Collegium Helveticum, where he works at the interface between art, technology and science.

    [Translate to English:] Umschlag

      Research Notes

      → Research Notes on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative industries.