Participating in the bench2biz workshop as an idea champion was an enriching and insightful experience. The hands-on approach and the expert mentorship provided me with the tools needed to transform my concept into a business proposition. The interaction with fellow innovators and experienced mentors created a dynamic environment that fostered creativity and strategic thinking. The hands-on sessions and personalized feedback have helped to advance my entrepreneurial journey, as well as to refine my ideas and develop a clear roadmap for the future. I recommend this workshop to anyone looking to take their scientific innovation to the market.
— Tsvetan Kardashliev, Idea Champion 2023
The bench2biz program helped me get a lot more done in a short time, pushing my project forward and helping me understand entrepreneurship better. Going over the basic challenges of making a business was tough but really helpful. It felt like going back to school for business basics, looking again closely at how businesses work and what makes them successful. The mentors and coaches were super helpful too. They gave me clear advice when things felt confusing and kept me motivated to keep going, even when things got tough. One of the best parts of the program was facing new questions that I hadn’t thought about before. It made me rethink how I approach things and understand entrepreneurship even better. Plus, meeting other people in the program, as well as experts and successful entrepreneurs, was awesome. It gave me a chance to learn from them, share ideas, and make connections that can help me in the future.
— Sabrina Stöckli, Idea Champion 2023
bench2biz is the perfect jump-start to valorize your idea in a start-up. You are surrounded by friendly experts who will help you in every step during this intense course. Ultimately, you have a clearer idea and a formidable pitch deck that covers all aspects from the underlying magic to financials.
— Donato Rubinetti, Idea Champion 2022
In 2022, I had the fortune to participate in the bench2biz workshop, which was an unforgettable and impressive experience for me. I have always been exploring more possibilities, and for me, this is one of the most interesting things in life, without a doubt. Entrepreneurship is a way to fulfill this dream. I have always been curious about how to transform scientific research discoveries in the laboratory into market outcomes. Our laboratory has a protein-based coagulant drug, and I am inquisitive about its market transformation possibilities. While receiving entrepreneurship training from the Basel Innovation Office, I learned about the bench2biz workshop, which allowed me to put the entrepreneurial theories I learned into practice. Here, I met 9 other idea champions who share the same aspirations as me. I worked with professional coaches from different fields, including Wino, who is full of innovation spirit and has a wealth of experience supporting academic transformation, scientific officer Aleksander with an academic background from NCCR MSE, Andrea who is familiar with European and Swiss patent law, and Prof. Klaus who has rich entrepreneurial experience. They were very enthusiastic and helped me weave a complete blueprint covering aspects such as idea uniqueness, technology-market map, value communication, market research, profit space, growth potential, and organizational structure. Spending several days at the bench2biz workshop and working intensively with all team members was a pleasant experience. I gained a better understanding of the business background of market transformation, and how to conduct research that meets market needs, which has significant guidance for my current research and career planning.
— Yang Sun, Idea Champion 2022
From the first interview with the organizers, I liked that they emphasized the intensity and working in short time intervals. This makes it more realistic as out in the market, we do not always have the time we have in our lab during our research endeavors. Although the project was already quite mature, I got to “fine-tune” some small (yet important) details that can make a big difference during future pitches. I got to improve my skills in summarizing the project and find out what is important to include during an elevator pitch.
