Axelra: From idea to revenue generating product in 100 days

Axelra, a Zurich-based tech venture builder, accelerates early-stage technology ventures, companies and start-ups from ideation, validation and launch to scaling. In a comprehensive study by Statista, Sifted and Financial Times, Axelra AG was recognized as one of Europe’s leading start-ups in 2024 for its significant contribution to the development of early-stage technology companies and was ranked #1 in Switzerland and #32 across Europe by the Financial Times.

thebroker talks to Peach Zwyssig, Co-Founder, Board Member & CEO of Axelra AG.

Peach Zwyssig, congratulations on being number 1! What was it like when you found out that you had been ranked number 1 in Switzerland by the Financial Times?

Thank you very much! It was a great pleasure and confirmation of our vision and hard work. This recognition is not only a sign of success for Axelra, but also for our entire ecosystem of partners, corporates & start-ups who are brave enough to walk the path with us. And of course, it motivates us to continue creating innovative solutions and pushing technological boundaries.

Axelra builds and scales technology companies and delivers revenue-generating Minimum Viable Products (MVP) after 100 days. Give us an example.

An illustrative example is the tech venture Moflix with its Swype product launched for Sunrise, for which we developed a revenue-generating MVP within 100 days. Swype offers an eSIM service that enables unlimited Internet access for a fixed price. Moflix offers this service internationally for various telco customers. Following the success story, the company is now even setting up its own telco provider for the American market. This is a good illustration of how efficient and full of potential our approach is, creating value from the idea to market entry in record-breaking time.

New ideas have to be implemented quickly, otherwise someone else will do it. How is it even possible to build a start-up in such a short time?

Execution is like wishing – just more bad ass. Innovation comes from implementation and iteration and not from too many strategy papers and risk-averse slides and plans.  Implementation requires the right attitude, a portion of courage, the right setup (including contracts), a great team with implementation strength and functioning communication from the developer to the end customer.

Like more and more companies, Axelra also works in an agile way. What makes it special, however, is the ability to reduce to the essentials (MVP = Minimal Viable Product) and to learn and iterate quickly along the way (sometimes a release in 1-2 days). In addition, the use of our boosters (components), which we use again and again, also supports our accelerated approach. Couple this with talented people who work closely together (also physically), who understand the market, the technology and the customer, and great things happen in a short time.

What is part of your services?

As a tech venture builder, we specialize in guiding startups and corporates through all phases of tech startup building – from ideation to scaling. Our comprehensive approach combines everything around the digital product/services as well as management and growth. We are industry-agnostic and support B2B, B2C and D2C models that target a digital business model and/or have a disruptive character.

Do you also invest in certain companies?

Yes, we invest in companies that we (co-)build ourselves. Overall, we pursue the goal of creating aligned interests and we ensure this by contributing up to 50 percent of our costs as sweat equity. In principle, we have three different engagement models with which we can flexibly map the needs of cooperation with startups and corporates:

1. joint venture
2. cash & sweat -> investment of cash and sweat
3. time & material

In addition, we founded and tokenized the subsidiary Axelra Early Stage AG in 2022 with the idea of involving employees. Due to demand, we have also opened up the concept to external investors, meaning that anyone in Switzerland can invest in Tech Venture Building at Early Stage in 3 minutes.

Have start-ups from the insurance industry also been involved so far?

Yes, we work with incubators, accelerators as well as startups and corporates from the insurance industry. We can’t name any stealth projects yet, but there are already some visible in the overview in the areas of car insurance, financial wellbeing, etc.

Why is Axelra the ideal partner for everything from small start-ups to large corporations?

Axelra understands how to combine the dynamics of start-ups with the structure and resources of established companies. Our ability to create an entrepreneurial setup with not only cost but also market success accountability, and to quickly deliver thoughtful results, makes us an ideal partner for companies of all sizes looking to grow in the digital economy. The experience and best practices of the 38 startups we have already accelerated help us to achieve this.

What services does Axelra offer?

Axelra offers specialized programs tailored to different stages of a tech venture’s development, from ideation to scaling. Our offerings are designed to shorten time to market and significantly increase the valuation of your company. We work in the areas of Product, Management & Growth and the focus is always on implementation and its results.

Here are the 4 programs, which are always adapted to the needs of the founders/sponsors/team of Tech Ventures:

• PowerWeek in 5 days – A part of the digital product will be built as a kind of hackathon and verified with first customers.

• Pre-MVP in 50 days – A prototype/pre-MVP (no-code/low-code) is designed and validated with the aim of getting funding with a great pitch.

• MVP in 100 days – Building and launching the revenue-generating MVP, including incorporation and building the team that iterates and demonstrates traction in the areas of product, management and growth.

• Idea to Scale in 200 days

• The most comprehensive program represents the co-creation and execution from ideation to scaling a successful venture.

Who are the projects you set up aimed at?

We are looking for visionary entrepreneurs and companies who want to build a tech venture that solves a real problem in a disruptive way while pursuing a digital business model. These tech ventures are basically industry agnostic and are B2B, B2C as well as D2C models to scale in different markets.

What does Axelra focus on?

As a tech venture builder, we (co-)build tech start-ups – from idea generation to scaling. Our comprehensive approach is focused on execution in the areas of digital product / services as well as management and growth.

How much does a tech venture need to invest before it is profitable?

A Swiss-based tech venture with its own tech team and product (creation of significant own IP – intellectual property) – and here we are not talking about deep tech, but simply tech – needs between CHF 0.75 – 5 million until it earns more than it spends, depending on the case.

Do you also help to secure external financing?

Yes, as a Swiss tech venture builder, we primarily support the financing of start-ups if we are involved in the (co-)development of the venture.

We also support these ventures in building a convincing pitch deck and accompany them in their search for funding.

What is the Axelra Funding Map?

We interact with startups and investors on a daily basis and have summarized our findings from these encounters in the Tech Venture Funding Map for Switzerland and published it here free of charge.

The map shows the funding available from incubators, accelerators, grants, investors/angelists, syndicates, venture capital firms and family offices according to the growth phase and corresponding criteria for tech ventures in Switzerland.

Our goal is to make a valuable contribution to the Swiss venture ecosystem and help founders and investors to use their time effectively. By being involved in every step of the financing process, we enable founders to get the funding they need faster and more efficiently.

Do you also offer blockchain-based investment opportunities?

Yes, at Axelra we do indeed offer blockchain-based investment opportunities. Interested parties can invest in tokenized participation certificates of Axelra Early Stage AG via our platform invest.axelra.com. This type of investment enables investors to participate directly in the development and success of tech venture building in the early stages.

In addition, we have one of the leading blockchain implementation teams in Switzerland and have accelerated and (co-)built several award-winning blockchain and web 3 ventures. Some of these ventures have now reached valuations of over CHF 100 million. You can find more information about our projects and investment opportunities on our website.

How do the Axelra Booster and the latest technologies developed by you accelerate the market launch and customer acquisition of companies?

We accelerate market entry with our boosters, which are based on disruptive SaaS solutions and the latest technologies. By using these boosters, the time to market can be significantly shortened, which ultimately leads to accelerated value creation and an improved valuation of the company.

• Onboarding Boosters: provide a hybrid or fully digital and compliant customer onboarding solution that is available 24/7 in multiple languages. This booster ensures a smooth, secure and compliant onboarding process into traditional or crypto services through the use of advanced identification solutions.

• Acquisition Boosters: aim to generate leads and turn them into paying customers, while always keeping an eye on customer acquisition costs (CAC). They include tools and strategies to generate targeted traffic, including automated campaign management and conversion mechanisms.

• Retention Boosters: this is about retaining customers and maximizing their value (CLTV) over time by offering personalized experiences and engaging loyalty programs as well as innovative sales processes with gamified elements and academies.

• Operations Boosters: simplify operations, improve customer service and enable global business growth. They combine analytics and dashboard insights with automation and optimization tools to improve service delivery, operational efficiency and customer service.

Peach Zwyssig is a positive energy bomb and has (co-)founded and built over 10 companies and has been shaping digital and analog transformation in retail and finance for over 25 years. The detour into strategy and digitalization consulting helps him, but the implementation was always too slow for him. That’s why he co-founded the tech venture builder Axelra in 2019 and helps companies and start-ups to accelerate their digital business models. Over 35 start-ups and corporates benefit from the experience and implementation power of the team at Zurich-based tech venture builder Axelra.

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