The biggest disruption in history is happening.

AI is redefining the economy and the shift is already underway.

The window to adapt is narrowing.

The economy is splitting into AI-First and Legacy.

AI-First companies move faster, hire less, and compound their advantages. Legacy structures are being outpaced by teams a fraction of their size.

Why this matters now

Skill requirements are changing. Smaller teams move faster. Interdisciplinary project competencies are becoming decisive.

decrease in entry-level job postings for university graduates in Switzerland compared to 2023

[Swiss Federal Office of Statistics, 2024]

But AI is also redefining the entrepreneurial playbook.

This creates an unprecedented window of opportunity for those who move first.

8 months

zero to $100M ARR

Lovable (Sweden)

AI-first companies build in months what used to take years. The speed of company creation has fundamentally changed.

Anyone.

can now build and ship a full product

The barrier between idea and execution no longer exists. A non-technical founder can build, iterate, and launch — without writing a line of code.

$211B

invested in AI startups in 2025

Over 50% of all global VC investment

Capital is decisively shifting toward AI-first companies.

The Missing Link

But world-class inputs don't automatically create world-class outcomes.

Switzerland produces world-class talent. It has top-ranked universities, deep research, and capital. Yet world-class inputs don't automatically produce world-class outcomes — the bridge from talent to team to company is missing.

Talent

Team

Product

Company

START Foundation is that bridge.

The problem starts at the talent stage.

Promising students in both commercial and technical disciplines are confronted with structural barriers:

Silos

Disciplines, universities, and industries rarely cross-pollinate at scale. Talent stays trapped in its own lane. No starting point for cross-disciplinary teams and thinking.

Cultural barriers

Risk aversion and low tolerance for failure discourage bold, early-stage action before it starts. Missing entrepreneurial mindset in institutions, missing role models, fear of failure.

Practical project competencies

Lack of focus on practical implementation, especially with the latest AI tools. Abstract education without real-world application leaves talent underprepared for what building actually requires.

Our Approach

Build on what already works.

START Foundation builds on proven concepts and best practices — and adapts them to the gap that needs to be closed here. Our flagship project builds on the ETH Student Project House model, a program in Zurich with over 10 years of track record.

Learn more about ETH Student Project House

HSG ETH Student Project House

Built on the proven ETH Student Project House model.

Build on a proven ETH concept and create a sister project in St. Gallen

Create the first structural bridge between ETH and HSG

Create a practical interdisciplinary builder environment

Learn more

Core principles.

Four principles that form the foundation of how students develop practically relevant competencies inside the Student Project House.

Project-Based Learning

Build something real. Competencies compound through doing, not listening.

Peer-to-Peer Learning

The builders around you teach as much as any curriculum.

Education Beyond the Curriculum

The most important skills don't appear in a syllabus.

Low Barrier to Entry

Any motivated student from any discipline can walk in and start.

Built in a region of real economic consequence.

From Lausanne to Munich and from Stuttgart / Heilbronn to Milano, the Alpine cluster is one of Europe's most potent economic regions. START operates along the St. Gallen–Zurich axis inside that wider context.

Explore the Alpine Cluster

10-Year Vision