Welcome to the Education Session Library

In this online session, participants explored whether Qatar is the right market for their startup and how to prepare for Web Summit Qatar 2027. Suhail El Obeid, Senior Consultant Middle East at Switzerland Global Enterprise, and Sarra Messaoudi, Economic & Commercial Officer at the Embassy of Switzerland in Qatar and the Swiss Business Hub Middle East – Qatar, spoke about how Qatar's startup ecosystem and business networks work, who makes the decisions and how to engage them, and how to build partnerships with investors, corporates and government bodies. They also covered how the Swiss Pavilion can help startups gain visibility and make connections at Web Summit Qatar 2027.

In this online session, participants gained practical insights into building truly AI-first products and moving beyond simply adding AI to existing solutions. Tony Beltramelli, Head of Product for AI at Miro and Laurent Decrue, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Holycode, shared perspectives on AI-native product development, including product architecture, data pipelines, experimentation, and the organisational capabilities needed to build and scale intelligent products.

In this online session, participants gained practical insights into expanding Swiss startups into the Indian market. Deepika Prithviraj, Head of Innovation, and Dr. Angela Honegger, CEO and Consul General at Swissnex in India, together with Kevin Kleber, Co-founder and CTO of SUIND, shared insights into India’s innovation ecosystem, market opportunities, and the realities of entering and scaling in the country. Attendees learned how Swiss startups can approach the Indian market strategically, navigate key challenges, and benefit from practical lessons from an Indo-Swiss startup journey.

In this online session, participants gained practical insights into expanding Swiss startups into the US market. Nicholas T. Hillman, Michael Mosimann and Evan Johnson from Eversheds Sutherland shared guidance on legal structures, regulatory requirements, and cross-border considerations between Switzerland and the United States. Attendees learned how to align their US expansion strategy with their Swiss operations and prepare their companies for sustainable international growth.

In this online session, participants learned how AI and data-driven startups can identify and protect their key competitive advantages. Kamran Houshang Pour, IP Expert and Senior IP Trainer at Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and Thomas Kuster, Attorney at law & Notary at LEXR shared practical insights into patent protection, copyright, trade secrets, and contract-based strategies for safeguarding data, source code, models, and proprietary know-how. Attendees gained a clearer understanding of how to align IP protection with their company’s unique competitive moat.

In this online session, participants explored what it takes to build high-performing startup teams beyond the founder role. Janine Bosshart, Gregory Inauen, Lavinia Heimerdinger, from grape insurance AG, shared insights on the importance of operators, early team members, and hiring the right people to scale a company. Attendees gained practical perspectives on building strong teams, empowering ownership, and creating organizations that grow with the business.

In this online session, participants learned how to prepare effectively for an exit or strategic transaction. Marco Brunner, Managing Partner at BV4, shared practical insights on early M&A preparation, key focus areas during due diligence, and common pitfalls founders should avoid. Attendees gained guidance on structuring processes and negotiation strategies to maximise valuation, deal certainty, and overall outcomes.

In this online session, participants learned how to make compliance a growth enabler rather than a bottleneck. Jill Henriques, GRC Subject Matter Expert at Vanta, shared practical guidance on preparing for enterprise requirements, building customer trust, and streamlining security processes. Attendees gained insights on avoiding common compliance pitfalls and using frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 to support sales and accelerate deals.

In this online session, participants learned which KPIs and metrics matter most to investors at different stages of a startup’s journey. Patrick Griss, Co-Founder and CEO of Zühlke Ventures, shared practical insights on aligning metrics with business models, interpreting key indicators, and using KPIs as a leadership tool for decision-making and growth. Attendees gained guidance on communicating metrics clearly and credibly to strengthen investor trust and fundraising efforts.