Program overview
Talent Kick is a highly selective, cross-university program over 2 to 4 semesters until your graduation that will help you find an interdisciplinary co-founder team and combine your study with an entrepreneurial journey.
The 1st semester is designed around Bootcamps, events, workshops and coaching which will enable you to form a stable team and a strong bond with your co-founders, develop your leadership skills, get a first direction and prepared you to be in the driving seat for your entrepreneurial journey. The most successful students will get initial funding and move to semester 2 - 4.
The 2nd to 4th semesters are focused on building your network, getting valuable input from experienced entrepreneurs, executives, potential customers, investors and experts to validate your first ideas hands-on, using synergies with your studies and connecting to further programs and funding sources to prolong your runway.
At the completion of the program the best participants will have...
Ideas validated
Funding secured
Co-founder secured and/or company founded
Immersed in the Swiss and international entrepreneurial ecosystems
Runway extended through other support programs Swiss-wide & from global program partners
Semester 1
During the first program semester, in our hands-on bootcamps and events, you will work on achieving the two Milestones of (1) forming a stable team and (2) convincing a successful entrepreneur as your mentor. Furthermore, in 5 individual 1:1 coaching sessions that will continue in semester 2 - 4, you will learn to lead yourself, lead others and lead change.
CE = Cohort Central
RO = Cohort Romandie
21.02.2023
Bootcamp 0
Kick-off
6 hrs - in person
Bootcamp 1
CE - 28.02.2023
RO - 27.02.2023
What makes a good
entrepreneur?
6 hrs - in person
Bootcamp 2
CE - 16.03.2023
RO - 14.03.2023
What makes a
good team?
6 hrs - in person
Workshop 1
20.03.2023
The idea doesn’t
matter
2 hrs - Online
Event 1
24.03.2023
Team bulding
2 hrs - in person
Bootcamp 3
CE - 03.04.2023
RO - 05.04.2023
Problem deep dive
6 hrs - in person
Workshop 2
13.04.2023
Problem exploration
& system thinking
2 hrs - Online
Milestone 1
16.04.2023
Team formed
6 hrs - in person
Bootcamp 4
CE - 21.04.2023
RO - 20.04.2023
Validation
6 hrs - in person
Workshop 3 - Part I
26.04.2023
Market opportunity
navigator
2 hrs - Online
Workshop 3 - Part II
03.05.2023
Market opportunity
navigator
2 hrs - Online
Bootcamp 5
CE - 10.05.2023
RO - 12.05.2023
Convince others
6 hrs - in person
Workshop 4
17.05.2023
Pitching clinic
2 hrs - in person
Event 2
07.06.2023
Steering committee
& partners pitching
2 hrs - in person
Milestone 2
End. Sept 2023
Mentor convinced
Event 3
End. Sept 2023
Peer pitching
2 hrs - in person
Event 4
Beg. Oct 2023
Strategy board
pitching
2 hrs - in person
Event 5
Beg. Oct 2023
Build a team
Over the first semester you will get the toolsets to...
Build a team
The program will help you find a co-founder with complementary skills. Thanks to the many universities participating in the program you will be able to find people with technical, business, medical and in various other backgrounds.
This multidisciplinary and in-depth approach will allow you to build a solid team to start your entrepreneurial adventure.
Develop yourself
Coaches will help you individually on your personal development journey. You will start with a personality test and receive support in overcoming challenges and refining your strengths. You set your goals and schedule your 1:1 sessions individually with your personal coach to ensure the best possible outcome for you.
Find a mentor
You will convince an entrepreneurial mentor to help and guide you through the founding journey with their experience. They are founders themselves who went through the journey successfully only a few years ago. An entrepreneurial mentor has...
-
4+ years experience in a startup leadership position
-
Last hands-on experience less than 4 years ago
-
Openness to potentially give seed investment
-
Regular touch-points with you, typically on a weekly basis for the mentor-mentee relationship to be intensified
Get initial funding and validate your idea
After achieving the last milestone and if you succeed to convince a mentor and our jury your team will received the Spark Kick of CHF 5'000. It will allow you to get into a hands-on mode and validate your ideas over the remaining semesters.
To benefit best from the 1st semester it is necessary to count approximately 2 to 6 hours of investment per week for program components and additional time invested proactively in growing your own development further.
In these eight months, we were able to adapt our product in a very dynamic way, based on the inputs gained from talks with potential customers and the knowledge provided in the Bootcamps. I think our biggest achievement this year was realizing how central the customer is to find the right solution
Semester 2 - 4
Receiving the Spark Kick you are ready to leave the structured part of the 1st semester and validate real opportunities with your team and mentor. Until you finish your studies we will support you on your individual journey of validating your ideas, gaining experience, using synergies, immersing in the startup ecosystem and getting ready to decide for the entrepreneurial career path at the end of your studies.
During this period, your team will grow more independently with your mentor and coach while the Talent Kick team will be there to help you navigate the many options the Swiss startup ecosystem offers.