The digital one-stop-shop for employee benefits in Switzerland 

The idea for Swibeco emerged around 2014 when Ivan worked for a technology consulting firm. Inspired by the extensive benefits offered by French employers, Ivan recognized the potential for a structured and comprehensive offering in Switzerland. Starting as a side hustle, he created a business plan. Once the idea was put on paper, his motivation started to grow day by day, and so he soon began to seek investors. Ivan was lucky to find a business angel who could support him fully during the first years. That ensured efficient investor communication and a fast decision-making process and kept the cap table clean.

First Merger: When two solo founders continue the journey together

Initially, Ivan was a solo founder, which was often challenging as he couldn't share his concerns with another co-founder. This changed in 2019 when Swibeco merged with "BenefitsForYou", and the founder of the merging company, Alexis de Font-Réaulx, joined in. Ivan and Alexis, both solo founders, finally had someone to share and tackle challenges with. This merger also brought Lunch Cards into their offering.

AXA became a strategic investor shortly before the merger. Their collaboration was crucial in driving the company's growth, particularly through their sales and marketing support. Ivan describes the collaboration with AXA as intensive and multifaceted. AXA is not only an investor and client but also a strategic partner. This close partnership significantly contributed to Swibeco's rapid growth.

Growth markers on the Swibeco journey

Swibeco's rapid growth is mainly due to employee satisfaction, reflected in a Net Promoter Score of 67. COVID-19 boosted the start-up, also thanks to a collaboration with HotellerieSuisse. During COVID-19 gastronomy, they lost many staff, turning their back on the industry and seizing the time to question their profession or get additional education to retrain for jobs in more stable industries. This movement was fatal for hotels and restaurants, and HotellerieSuisse reached out to Swibeco to help their members become more attractive. As a result, Swibeco onboarded many hotels onto the platform – a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Also, the presumably challenging economic environment due to high interest rates and uncertainty in global affairs didn't harm Swibeco. "We haven't noticed any budget cuts on the customer side in 2023. The demand remained stable as many companies tried to increase their employees' purchasing power beyond salary raises. This was possible with our perks platform, Swipoint or Lunch Card," says Ivan.

A look at Swibeco's future plans

In the coming months, the focus will be on product development and integrating the perks platform and lunch card offerings into one App and one Card. Swibeco also aims at adding all the benefits and budgets (eMobility, Leisure, Health & Wellness, etc.) on the app and card to be the true digital one-stop-shop for employee benefits in Switzerland. They want to offer a comprehensive package that HR departments inevitably consider when considering employee perks.

Obtaining the SEF.Growth label was also a significant step for Swibeco, supporting their upcoming plans. Through collaboration with UBS and thorough evaluation by experts, the company gained valuable insights and was encouraged to be even more ambitious. "The feedback and support from SEF.Growth is highly appreciated. One can see and feel how much passion and time the experts put into helping and providing for us. Also, the final report has a high density of quality analyses and recommendations for Swibeco's future growth and development", says Ivan.

Swibeco's story illustrates how a simple idea can become a successful company with the right partners, adaptability to changes, and constant motivation to achieve the best.