Stages (S1–S4) — how far along the company is
| S1 — Idea / Concept | S2 — MVP / Prototype (Pre-Seed) | S3 — Early Traction (Seed) | S4 — Growth |
| Product | No working prototype, or an early non-functional one | Working prototype/MVP exists — "rough" is fine | Proof of concept demonstrated; product in active use | Fully proven, scaling |
| Revenue | None | None required; any paying customer is a strong positive sign | First customers and recurring revenue exist; business model only partly proven | Established, growing at scale |
| Funding raised | CHF 0, or informal friends/family money only | First institutional/SAFE money, up to CHF 2M | Still within the CHF 2M band if unpriced, moving toward CHF 2M–15M once revenue-backed | CHF 2M–15M, priced round |
| Round type | None | Unpriced (SAFE/convertible) | Unpriced or transitioning to priced | Priced, institutional/VC-led |
| Team | Founder(s) only, possibly still looking for a co-founder | 2–10 people; core team and roles in place | Core team stable, first hires beyond the founders | 10–50+ people |
| Registered as a company | Maybe not yet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
One thing still undecided: whether "first real revenue" marks the line
between S2 and S3, or between S3 and S4. This page uses the S2→S3 reading. Any question whose
split depends on that call says so directly, rather than quietly picking a side.
Sectors (I1–I8) — what kind of company it is
| I1 — ICT | Enterprise software, AI/ML, internet platforms, e-commerce, cybersecurity, VR/AR, IoT, SaaS, and similar |
| I2 — ICT (Fintech) | Payments, banking, lending, wealth/asset management, insurance tech, crypto, RegTech |
| I3 — Biotech | Drug discovery, oncology, diagnostics, genomics |
| I4 — Medtech | Medical devices, digital health, wearables, remote monitoring |
| I5 — Healthcare IT | Clinical software, telemedicine, health-data/AI diagnostics |
| I6 — Cleantech | Energy tech, carbon/climate tech, AgTech, circular economy |
| I7 — Hardware | Electronics, robotics/drones, advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems |
| I8 — Consumer Products | Consumer electronics, beauty, sustainable lifestyle products |
A company is placed in whichever sector its actual product fits best.
Two default groupings come up often in the questions below: sectors with real regulatory
oversight (Fintech, Biotech, Medtech, Healthcare IT), and sectors where grant/subsidy funding
is more common (ICT, Biotech, Medtech, Cleantech) — these are two different groupings, not the
same one.
General notes
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