Venture Kick
Swiss philanthropic pre-seed funding for university spin-offs.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- Kick Foundation
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 2007
- Headquarters
- startup space, Wiesenstrasse 10A, 8952 Schlieren‑Zürich (operations); EPFL Innovation Park, Bâtiment C, 1015 Lausanne (contact/EPFL presence).
- Market role
- Private Equity, VC & Investor
- Official website
- venturekick.ch
What Venture Kick does
The organisation runs a philanthropic venture support model rather than a conventional commercial product business. It sources academic startups from Swiss universities, awards staged grants, delivers coaching and venture training, and connects selected companies with downstream investors. Value is created by improving venture formation, readiness, and financing outcomes for science-based startups within the Swiss innovation ecosystem.
Category differentiation
Venture Kick is not a conventional commercial VC fund manager or SaaS platform. It is a Swiss philanthropic pre-seed funding programme for academic spin-offs operated by Venturelab under the Kick Foundation structure.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
Kick Foundation operates Venture Kick, a Swiss philanthropic pre-seed funding programme for university spin-offs and entrepreneurial scientists. The programme provides staged non-dilutive funding, training, and investor access over a structured period, with a stated focus on increasing the number of Swiss university spin-offs. It is operated by Venturelab and backed by a private consortium through the charitable Kick Foundation. The organisation creates value by sourcing high-potential academic startups early, filtering them through a three-stage model, and helping them progress towards fundraising and commercial readiness. Its direct customers and beneficiaries are Swiss startups emerging from universities and research institutions, while its capital base comes from philanthropic support rather than commercial software or media revenue.
Company news briefing
Briefing updated:
Venture Kick has awarded €160,000 (CHF 150,000) to Zurich-based space startup Stellar Alpina to support the development of compact rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs) for in-space propulsion. The funding is designated to expand testing infrastructure, facilitate further hotfire campaigns, and advance the development of the startup's first flight engine.
Business model & monetisation
Venture Kick does not operate a standard software subscription or transaction-fee model. Its operating model is funded through philanthropic backing and private consortium support, which finances staged non-dilutive grants, programme delivery, and ecosystem services. Economic value is expressed through startup creation, follow-on fundraising readiness, and ecosystem outcomes rather than direct commercial monetisation from founders.
- Philanthropic programme funding
- Private consortium support
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
Stellar Alpina secures €160K from Venture Kick
Space Technology · Recorded impact score: 1/5
Zurich-based space startup Stellar Alpina has raised €160,000 (CHF 150,000) from Venture Kick to develop compact rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs) for in-space propulsion. The funding will support expanded testing infrastructure, further hotfire campaigns, and development of a first flight engine. Founded by Rick Röthlisberger, Simi Y. Wespi, Victor Elliesen, and Patrick Egli, the team emerged from ARIS, a Swiss academic spaceflight initiative. RDREs use continuously rotating supersonic combustion waves to generate thrust, offering potentially smaller, lighter, and more efficient propulsion for satellite maneuvers, orbital transfers, and future deep-space missions, addressing the growing need for in-space mobility as launch frequency increases.
- Stellar Alpina secured €160,000 (CHF 150,000) from Venture Kick.
- The funding will expand testing infrastructure and support hotfire campaigns.
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Questions about Venture Kick
What is Venture Kick?
Venture Kick is a Swiss philanthropic pre-seed funding programme for university spin-offs and entrepreneurial scientists, operated by Venturelab and supervised by Kick Foundation.
Who uses Venture Kick?
Its primary users are Swiss academic founders, university spin-offs, and early-stage science-based startups seeking non-dilutive capital, coaching, and investor access.
How does Venture Kick make money?
It is not built on a standard commercial revenue model; the programme is financed through philanthropic and private consortium support rather than SaaS fees or transaction revenue.
Sources & coverage
This profile uses public, official and technically observable information. Missing information does not prove that a product or relationship does not exist. The list below does not imply that every profile statement has been verified.
8 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
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