Start-ups meet seniors

Start Ups meet Seniors – Review of our 2nd Start Up Speeddating on 18.5.2022

Start-ups and seniors, how do they work together? We at seniors@work know: it's a great fit! For the second time, we organized a speed dating event in May 2022, where we brought start-up founders together with retired executives. As with a real speed dating event, all participants only had a few minutes with their counterpart before they had to move on to the next person to talk to.

It's not easy to interrupt the discussions and move people from one table to the next! But it shows that all sides had a lot to say and a lot to ask each other.

The retired executives, all members of the seniors@work community, were very well represented. In addition to the former CEOs of homegate.ch, Volg, Basler Kantonalbank, Microsoft Switzerland and Nokia Switzerland, a number of HR experts, coaches and sales and digital experts were also there to support the founders. They found the exchange with the founders very exciting. "It's great to see the ideas and drive with which the start-ups work. And the fact that we can use our experience to help the companies move forward is a great thing!", one of the sparring partners summed up the evening.

From the start-up side, eleven founders were there, who received insights from our retired managers on topics such as business development, growth, customer acquisition, marketing, leadership, etc. The spectrum was broad; in addition to some real estate technology companies, the topics of health, new work and the sharing economy were well represented - from desk sharing in the workplace to the rental model for baby clothes. "The sparring partners' assessments of the market approach, what works and what doesn't, were particularly helpful," said one of the founders. And of course, their network in the industry was also in demand.

That the event was a complete success was also clear at the subsequent aperitif: There was a lot of talking, lots of laughter, and everyone continued to discuss things in an informal setting (and with a cold drink) for a long time – it got late, despite the hot summer temperatures!

If you want to take part in the next Start Up Speed Dating, you can put yourself on the waiting list here:

For start-ups / founders: https://forms.gle/UYSNNaq4PyHA4oPE8
For retired sparring partners: https://forms.gle/PX9V5hnNkZenf5sL6

Participants in this round were:

Retired sparring partners:

Heinz M. Schwyter, former CEO homegate.ch
Ferdinand Hirsig, former CEO Volg, former Chairman Landi
Guy Lachappelle, former CEO of Basler Kantonalbank
Peter Waser, former GL Microsoft Switzerland
Iris Lentjes, HR expert & coach, former GL of various companies
Peter Wyss, PWP – Start Up / SME Support
Jürg Hofer, former GL Nokia, Start Ups, Gamification
Hermann Willaredt, former Deutsche Bank, financial expert and management consultant
Erica Maurer, former Human Resources Manager WorldVision
Marianne Högstedt, former GL Skyguide, HR Consultant
Andre Schmid, Sales & Business Development, IT/IS

Start Ups / Founders