
SuccessionStartup with Ownership Strategy:
Swiss SMEs need to continuously evolve. A company’s life cycle can include challenging phases, whether at the ownership strategy level or company strategy level. Ownership strategy is influenced by the fact that succession often remains unclear or challenging. Around 15% of Swiss SMEs are dealing with succession issues, and about 30% disappear because a succession plan fails.
Therefore, proactively planning succession is crucial. The chances of successful succession (within the family, employees, third parties) are significantly improved when the SME is successful financially, technologically, organizationally, in processes, and branding. This requires keeping up with the times, recognizing trends early, and engaging deeply in corporate/offer strategy.
Transformations—whether through portfolio expansion, digitalization, automation, or AI—can trigger significant or minor changes, often met with resistance from employees or management. Nonetheless, initiating these changes is essential for the company to remain sustainably successful.
SuccessionStartup Concept
Transformation doesn’t happen overnight; it can take years. Agile and forward-looking approaches, such as those used by startups, can help accelerate this transformation. This strategic concept starts three to five years before the planned succession and ensures the company is optimally prepared for the upcoming handover or reorientation.
The “Successor Startup” concept can also be very appealing for founder teams. An innovative, economically viable, and future-oriented idea does not necessarily mean that all processes, the environment, and daily work need to be reinvented.
We believe it can sometimes be more efficient to take over a company and revitalize it with the new idea, rather than spending a lot of energy on building up a startup. However, every situation and starting point is unique.
SuccessionStartup Strategy Schema

Owner Strategy
Developing the Ownership Strategy:
Clear definitions of goals, values, and the scope of influence for owners are essential in ownership strategy. It defines how resources are used, risk appetite, growth, succession planning, and long-term orientation.
Specific service: Refinement of ownership strategy with in-depth personal engagement, succession process support, identification of potential successors or buyers, implementation of ownership or succession strategy. Potential board or advisory board roles.
Developing the Corporate Strategy:
Developing the Company Strategy:
Based on the existing corporate strategy, a tailored innovation strategy is developed. This serves as the foundation for all further decisions and measures.
Specific service: Support in adapting or developing the corporate strategy as a mentor, consultant, board member, or owner.
Company Strategy
Organizational Strategy
Developing the Organizational Strategy:
The organizational strategy defines how a company achieves its goals. It includes structures, processes, resource allocation, and leadership culture to enhance efficiency, foster innovation, and secure competitive advantages.
Specific service: Identifying optimal structures and methods for the company to succeed and compete effectively.
Developing the Innovation Strategy:
The innovation strategy defines how the company integrates new ideas and technologies to remain competitive and prepares for future leadership. The core objective is to develop or acquire new business models to diversify the company.
Specific service: Support in implementing or adjusting an innovation strategy, potentially alongside necessary organizational changes.
Innovation Strategy
Implementation Decisions:
Once the innovation strategy is established, practical implementation steps are decided upon, with various solutions available:
Company Building:
A new, independent business unit is created within the company, focusing on innovative projects and business ideas. This fosters entrepreneurial thinking and creates space for new business areas. This might involve potential successors, such as family members.
Specific service: End-to-end support in setting up and launching the new business unit.
Acqui-Hire:
This strategy involves acquiring startups primarily to bring in their talented employees. These new team members bring fresh ideas and an innovative culture to the company. Ideally, they have already worked on or launched a technology that fits into the company’s innovation strategy.
Specific service: Support in finding suitable startups and management teams, integration.
Investment in Startups:
By investing in promising startups, the company not only benefits financially but also gains access to new technologies and business models. These investments allow innovation to be brought in from the outside. Later, the startup can be fully acquired and integrated into the company.
Specific service: Support in identifying suitable startups, finding co-investment partners, transaction support, setting KPIs for acquisition/integration decisions, potential board or observer roles.
Venture Clienting:
The company acts as the first major client for startups. This collaboration allows new technologies and services to be tested and implemented before they hit the market. If the startup’s business model aligns with the innovation strategy, it can be acquired and integrated later.
Specific service: Support in identifying suitable startups, defining KPIs for acquisition decisions, finding co-investment partners, transaction support.
Implementation and Further Development:
Depending on the chosen implementation strategy, the company is continuously developed over the following three to five years. By integrating new approaches and technologies, the company becomes future-proof and prepared for a leadership tran
Outcome:
After this multi-year process (3-5 years), the company is optimally prepared to continue strengthened and revitalized, or to successfully complete the succession process. New structures, an innovative culture, new but integrated management teams, and expanded business areas ensure that the company not only navigates the transition smoothly but remains competitive in the long term. This structured process creates value that can also lead to a higher price/value. In the end, all parties benefit—whether it’s the owner, employees, or potential buyers.
In some cases, succession rather than a startup can be a faster route to success. It’s worth considering.