On November 7, Ambassador McMullen hosted the Venture Leader Alumni Event at his residence in Bern. Among the guests were this year’s participants of the Venture Leader program, alumni from previous years, and representatives of the Swiss business and investment communities. Switzerland’s Venture Leaders program is an annual entrepreneurial “boot camp and roadshow” that took place this year for the 18th time. This year, three Swiss startup teams of 10 members each went to the U.S. The technology team went to Silicon Valley, the Life Sciences team to Boston and the Fin Tech team to New York, each for a one-week intensive business-development program. They met with investors, potential business partners and upcoming entrepreneurs, and participated in a public pitch competition with the local startup community. At the event hosted by Ambassador McMullen, all participants received an award for completing the program. Guests also had the chance to talk with Ambassador McMullen and the other guests about doing business in the United States.
