START Global: The story behind the name
"Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it." - Harvey Mackay McKinsey, PwC, Bain & Company and EY. They are all among the most popular employers for business graduates. Preferably, students complete an internship at one of these companies every summer to make a promising start to their career after graduation. A guarantee of a secure salary, fixed working hours and social standing.
Despite all these advantages, every year courageous entrepreneurs dare to break out of this security. As Robert McKee points out, the irony of life is that the part worth living is not the rosy afternoons, but the moment of uncertainty.
For this reason, around one hundred students from the University of St. Gallen get together every year to organise the START Summit X Hack in spring. Despite exams, written assignments, jobs, and other engagements, they are not deterred from getting a glimpse of an entrepreneurial career. After all, the reward for the effort spread over the entire semester is not financial incentives, but new friendships, growing networks, and the courage to perhaps one day break out of the box themselves.
This student commitment has enabled START Global to become one of the largest startup conferences in Europe, welcoming over 7000 founders, investors, media professionals, and other participants worldwide last year.
With this in mind, it does not seem far-fetched that some START alumni have plunged in at the deep end to launch their entrepreneurial careers with the help of the experiences at START.
It is therefore not surprising that START alumnus Adrian Locher accepted the uncertainty of founding a company and co-founded Merantix in 2016, which is now one of the largest Al companies in Europe. To ensure this year's summit doesn't overlook this cutting-edge technology, he will discuss his experiences in the Al business and the nuances of investing in it.
Another alumna appearing at this year's summit is Bettina Hein. Her first project, "Svox", was the development of innovative speech recognition software. She put her heart and soul into it and sold Svox for USD 125 million in 2011. What the headlines don't show are the constant uncertainties caused by setbacks and self-doubt, as well as the question of whether the hard work would ever pay off.
Together, these two careers do not show that START Global promises entrepreneurial success. Rather, they show how important it is as a young person to seize every opportunity that presents itself and not to be satisfied with ready-made careers. After all, the real challenge lies in believing in yourself and shaping your career proactively and with a certain amount of courage.
