Infographic: How To Start Your Startup In Bern

Read the full Bern Startup City Guide!

40.000 – that’s the number of startups emerging in Switzerland every year. These young companies massively contribute to the economic growth and innovation of the country. Switzerland’s capital, Bern, is located in the Alps, surrounded incredible landscapes, which are so unique UNESCO declared them a World Culture Heritage.

But Culture & Nature aren’t Bern’s only charms: the city is constantly being ranked as one of the top 20 cities with the highest quality of life, with a high-level education system. The canton of Bern is also home to the international watches industry like Rolex, Longines, Swatch, Rado located in Biel-Bienne, the 2nd largest bilingual Swiss City.

Why Bern’s The Place To Start

Yes, Switzerland is tiny but it’s located in the heart of Europe, providing easy access to other major European startup hotspots like Germany, France, Italy, and Austria. It’s size also makes Switzerland a good test market, especially because the country has a high diversity when it comes to languages and culture. The stable economic system only plays into these advantages. Switzerland is known for its prosperity, wealth, and banks but also for its innovative culture and high-quality Swiss-made products – a label which still stands for reliability and high standards.

Bern itself has a good education system, resulting in talented & highly motivated graduates which is one of the reasons it’s home to some of Switzerland’s biggest companies like Swisscom (telecommunication), SBB (transport), and Post (mail).

However, there are also some things to be aware of before founding in Bern: though its diversity is usually a big plus, having four different official languages can be a challenge at times (think about launching your product in at least 2-3 languages). Moreover, starting out in Bern you will remark, that people on the streets, your neighbors, potential customers/partners will be speaking in Swiss German. It might be hard to communicate in the beginning as the various dialects differentiate much from the high German spoken in Germany.

Additional obstacles are the costs of living and salaries that are really high in comparison to other countries in Europe. Still, it’s possible to work in one of the city’s coworking places, as the active startup community has grown a lot during the last years. A lot of different events and meetups are organized in Bern, and they are open-minded to start new events e.g. the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Let’s have a look at how much the city really has to offer:

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