Access to Capital: What Blocks Swiss Startups From Scaling
20 Aug 2026
Access to capital. Still the biggest thing blocking Swiss startups from scaling at home.
Access to capital. Still the biggest thing blocking Swiss startups from scaling at home.
That one chart opened the room. Heather Pace Clark said it at our #OpenDoorInnovation meetup in Zürich yesterday, and the conversation that followed it was worth showing up for alone.
We run this non-profit group two or three times a year. In person, in Zürich, for people who work in or around corporate innovation.
No stage, no sponsors, no pitch deck. Just a room, a speaker who knows the subject, and enough time to ask the questions you actually want to ask. We started building this with Dr. Gitanjali Ponnappa and there is a small core group now supporting.
This time Heather spoke about innovation ecosystems and crisis as a catalyst. A few things that stayed with me:
→ After capital, the next blockers are a shortage of experienced executives and regulation (Startup Barometer 2025)
→ Scaling works when you win one segment, one region and one use case before you even think about going global
→ Beyond AI, the WEF list to watch includes everything-to-grid energy and direct lithium extraction
I was running between two events that evening. I caught the beginning and the end and read the slides afterwards. Honestly, I wish I had stayed for all of it. 😌
Thank you Heather, to everyone who came and had a great chat afterwards. And thank you Implement Consulting Group for the very inspiring location.
Soon we will be planning the next event. Want the invite when it goes out?
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What scaling blockers have to do with leadership, not just funding
The line from that evening I keep returning to is Heather's second point: scaling works when you win one segment, one region and one use case before even thinking about going global. Capital access gets the headline, but discipline about sequencing is the part leadership teams can actually control, and it is the part most often skipped under pressure to show growth fast.
I see the same instinct play out in leadership teams facing any kind of scaling decision, not just startups. When resources are tight, the pull is to chase every opportunity at once rather than prove one thing works first. It rarely comes from bad judgment. It comes from pressure to look like progress is happening everywhere.
If you are leading through a scaling decision right now:
→ Name the one segment, region or use case you would defend if someone asked you to justify focus
→ Separate what genuinely blocks you, like capital or regulation, from what only feels urgent
→ Build in the deliberate pause to prove the first bet before placing the next one
This is exactly the kind of decision-making I work through with leaders one to one, especially when the pressure to move fast is real and the room is not giving you a clear answer. It is also close to how I think about helping leaders build high-trust teams in times of change.