An independent ranking that documents your program's real impact —
based on alumni feedback, track record, and substance. Four discipline rankings.
NZZ-ZHAW validated. No fees.
The Selection brings programs measurable advantages – not just "visibility". Here is what you actually receive.
A NZZ-ZHAW-validated Selection Status (Silver to Diamond) for funding applications to federal and cantonal bodies, sponsor acquisition, and stakeholder communication. Independent of self-reporting.
Funders increasingly demand outcome data, not just output. Aggregated alumni feedback gives you defensible evidence of programme impact – ready for re-funding rounds, donor reports, and political stakeholders.
Annual report with your position per dimension and concrete guidance: where you excel against comparable programs, and where there is improvement potential.
Swiss founders filter by program type, funding range, and sector – and find you with intent. Better application quality, fewer off-topic submissions, less screening overhead.
Awards measure talent identification. Grants measure funding impact. Education measures learning effect. Foundation initiatives measure mission impact. Different functions need different yardsticks.
No cross-type comparison. A Diamond Award is a Diamond Award – not "better" or "worse" than a Diamond Grant. Both are at the top of their discipline.
Application → cash, no hub infrastructure
Venture Kick · BRIDGE · Innogrant · Innovation Cheque
Competition → prize for best performers
de Vigier · ZKB Pionier · Swiss Medtech · Top 100
Curriculum-based, learning-effect measured
Innosuisse Training · Venturelab · Startup Academy
Climate · social · health initiatives
Botnar · KlimUp · ClimAccelerator · Innovation Booster
Self-reports can be polished. Founder experiences cannot. We anonymously survey your alumni and weight their aggregated voice as the strongest dimension in your score – because that is the data quality that distinguishes evidence from marketing.
SHEET B SURVEY · ANONYMOUS · AGGREGATED
You list alumni from your last three cohorts (or for awards: the last three award years; for education: the last three training years). We send a discipline-specific survey, send reminders, and aggregate the results. You never see individual responses — only the aggregated score per dimension. Until 8 reviews come back, your profile stays in private "Provisional" mode — nothing is published without your consent.
SAMPLE FROM THE FOUNDER SURVEY (5 OF 12 ITEMS, CALIBRATED PER DISCIPLINE)
Self-assessment, anonymous alumni feedback, and expert validation from the Swiss ecosystem
each data source feeds its own dimensions. Single-layer model, no double weighting.
| Dimension | Weight | What is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Founder Outcomes | 40% | Sheet B Survey · Min. 8 alumni reviews · anonymous & aggregated |
| Track Record & Alumni Performance | 25% | Top startups, follow-on funding rate, market traction |
| Programme Substance & Quality | 20% | Coaching, mentoring, BD, investor access (self-assessed) |
| Funding Capacity & Fairness | 8% | Funding amount, equity stake, non-cash resources |
| Scale & Reach | 7% | Cohorts, throughput, alumni network |
These four tiers apply independently within each program discipline.
Submission today, full Selection Status with the public release in October 2026. Sensitive data beyond the published profile is never disclosed.
Register with your work email and select your program discipline. No credit card, no subscription. Your profile stays private until you actively choose to publish it.
Structured questions across the five dimensions. You can save and resume any time. Sensitive fields (budget sources, sponsor agreements) stay private and never appear publicly.
Provide email addresses for alumni from your last three cohorts (or award years, or training years). We handle dispatch, automated reminders, and aggregation. Survey runs 4–6 weeks.
Your final score and Selection Status arrive with the public release in October 2026. Sensitive data beyond the published profile is never disclosed.
The assessment requires detailed information about your startup.
Here is exactly what we do — and do not — do with it.
Choose your discipline, complete the self-assessment in 25 minutes,
and list alumni for the anonymous feedback.
