GO ahead and write that 50-page business plan about your fledgling venture if it helps you to focus. Just do not bother showing it to venture capitalists, because it will do nothing to improve your chances of getting financing.But they will read a one-page elevator pitch-style executive summary, and if…
Category: Entrepreneur
The only recipe for your first meeting with an investor
The first step to closing a deal with an investor Valuation of your company Founders tend to overestimate the value of their company. Here is a way to present the investor with a realistic estimate. The development stage valuation approach is often used by angel investors and venture capital firms to quickly come up…
Dr. Jelle Zijlstra Award 2023 Laureate in the Field of Global Impact | CatnClever and its CEO, Dr. Olga Ruf Fiedler
Dr. Jelle Zijlstra was the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, President of the Central Bank of the Netherlands, and President of the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland, with a long-standing engagement with the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands. In honour of this renowned economist, we recognize international leaders whose work champions…
Making an Investment Memorandum
An investment memo is a clear and concise articulation of the key components of your company and what the rationale is for investing in it. Writing an investment memorandum helps the investor to understand why he should invest in your company. VCs also write investment memos of their own, so…
Preparing a killer business plan
Which business models attract investors? 1. Pricing strategy. Many companies think they need to undercut their competitors to attract clients. Actually, this strategy is a recipe for failure. If your only appeal is a low price, there will be no reason for customers to come back to you if they find…
Comparing Swiss and Dutch corporate income tax rates
Switzerland Resident companies are subject to Swiss corporate income tax (CIT) on their taxable profits generated in Switzerland. CIT is levied at the federal, cantonal, and communal levels. Foreign-source income attributable to foreign permanent establishments (PEs) or real estate property located abroad is excluded from the Swiss tax base and only…
Avoid these three communicational hurdles preventing you from getting funded
Investors are putting their money and that of their co-investors at risk when they invest in your company. Investing in an early-stage company can be both a wise and unwise move. Thus, as you are seeking funding, you need to understand that investors may not invest in your business because…
R.A.U. Juchter van Bergen Quast receives honorary doctorate in Kiev for his outstanding contributions to business development
The CEO of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce has received an honorary doctorate from the Institute of Agroecology and Natural Resources in Kiev for his outstanding contributions to business development. The ceremony was attended by an international audience. Visiting Kiev On 25 November 2021, an international delegation visited the Institute…
Heerlen introduces digital rewards for local participation
How do you encourage residents to get involved in their local community? And how do you promote social cohesion in your town or city? In an effort to answer these questions, the Municipality of Heerlen has come together with a number of external parties to launch a ground-breaking project. Residents…
CBS investigates imports of digital services
The past decade has seen our economy undergo a metamorphosis thanks to digitisation. Phenomena such as globalisation, digitisation and the shift in the economy towards services are causing completely new business models to emerge. This begs the question of whether CBS’ existing measurement and registration methods are still sufficient for…
CEO of the European Chamber of Digital Commerce appointed Leadership Fellow at St George’s House, Windsor Castle
Bob Juchter van Bergen Quast, CEO of the European Chamber of Digital Commerce, has been appointed Leadership Fellow of Society of Leadership Fellows at St George’s House, Windsor Castle. St George’s House, set in the historic grounds of Windsor Castle, was founded in 1966 by H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh…
Our free business directory listing | A golden opportunity to reinvent your business (before it’s too late)
Faced with the unpleasant reality of the Coronacrisis, you are compelled to reinvent your business. The ability to pull off this difficult feat—to jump from the maturity stage of one business to the growth stage of the next—is what separates high performers from those whose time at the top is…
Our upcoming events at CNNMoney Switzerland
The Digital Future Board Room is a problem-solving roundtable for experts to provide key direction, perspectives, and solutions to pressing global issues that shape our digital future. All events are televised by CNNMoney Switzerland, digitally distributed, and open to an invited audience. At our events, you can be interviewed by CNNMoney Switzerland in…
ECDC spoke at the Blockchain Economic Forum during the World Economic Forum in Davos
The President of the European Chamber of Digital Commerce, Ria Persad, spoke about the Future of Payments at the Blockchain Economic Forum during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Blockchain Economic Forum gathers government officials, investors and entrepreneurs to discuss potential structural change in capital markets and payments systems, to…
Digital Future Board Room during the World Economic Forum in Davos
The European Chamber of Digital Commerce provides leading solutions for leaders. Our partners enjoy world-class management and technology advisory, global investor and client introductions, authoritative industry whitepapers, and an international Court of Arbitration. The Digital Future Board Room is a problem-solving roundtable for experts to provide key direction on critical issues shaping…
Digital Future Magazine
Promote your company at the World Economic Forum in Davos The European Chamber of Digital Commerce is hosting an event covered by CNNMoney Switzerland during the World Economic Forum in Davos from January 21-24, 2020. Hardcopies of Digital Future Magazine (ISSN 2666-7045) will be distributed throughout the World Economic Forum to the world’s top…
The Environment is the Key to the Economy
The environment is the key to a nation’s self-sufficiency, and self-sufficiency is the key to wealth. Ria Persad Several years ago, I visited my relatives in the countryside of Trinidad and Tobago. My grandparents settled there in the 1930’s under British colonization. My grandmother, now 97, explained to me what…
Demystifying Valuation: What Is My Tech Company Worth?
There are at least 12 different ways of assigning a valuation to a company. In simple, common-sense terms, what are these 12 methods? 1. Your revenue. Not the best for early-stage startups, but after a company has been in business for a few years and has a stable customer base, an investor…
Intermediary commission percentages to raise money from investors
Investment banks and other consultants can plan and execute a fundraising campaign for startups and for companies in the growth phase. A reputable fundraising intermediary will likely speed up the process, reduce the legal risks, and negotiate a better deals. Most brokers will take a monthly retainer plus 5 percent…
Important Message to Cleantech Companies
How Do Tech Companies Cross “The Valley of Death” into Profitability? Engerati covers how the European Chamber of Digital Commerce helps tech companies with the #1 issue confronting them: how to go from innovation to making money. Technology innovators need to understand the markets in which they are operating and…
ECDC Cooperates with Research on Startups at King’s College London
CEO of the European Chamber of Digital Commerce Cooperates with Research on Italian Startups at King’s College London “Made in Italy”–does this label have a negative or positive effect on investors making decisions to fund biotech and medical technology startups in Italy? How is Italy perceived as a country? Does…
Entrepreneurs of Europe featuring innovative tech founders
Entrepreneurs of Europe seeks to lift innovative European entrepreneurs in the spotlight and share their story to the world. Founder Joona Mäntyvaara quotes: You can make the best movie in the world, but if you don’t tell about it, no one will watch it. He sees that entrepreneurs in Europe can…
The #1 Problem Tech Companies Face
The #1 problem that tech companies face, simply put, is making money. We might have a trailblazing innovation, but who will buy it? And how do we get those people to actually BUY it? The first 15 years of my career, I was building technology within the corporate and government…
The intriguing history of IT showcased by the Hellenic IT Museum
The European Chamber of Digital Commerce endorses the Hellenic IT Museum for its rich collection of milestone computers and peripherals that have led to the progress of information technology. This special IT Museum in Greece started its operations in 2009. Since 2012, the Museum constitutes the first official Greek organization…
Solutions for Haiti using Digital Transformation
In 2017, Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School gave an important presentation about a strategy for restoring Haiti’s prosperity. A crucial part of his advice is to “make attracting foreign investment a core strategy“. In this article I will provide a suggestion to implement such a strategy. The…
Becoming an International Offshore Centre – Steps to be taken by African nations
Introduction A number of African countries have began the process of moving away from being a tax haven to being an international finance centre, offering financial products to take advantage of the increasing international mobility of capital and labour. Legislations are continually being written with this goal in mind. It is…
SwissMate Archive
SwissMate is a publication of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands (SCCN), formed in 1933. SwissMate is the predecessor of Digital Future Magazine, published by the European Chamber of Digital Commerce, an activity of the SCCN.