Mike Baur is the Co-Founder and Director of the Swiss Startup Association

Mike spent almost 20 years in Swiss Private Banking and made his way up from a commercial apprentice at UBS to an executive board member of a large Swiss Private Bank. In 2014 at the age of 39, Mike started his entrepreneurial journey and founded together with his two partners the Swiss Start up Factory which is the No1 independent and privately financed early stage ICT Startup Accelerator in Switzerland. Mike invests a lot of time in the Swiss youth entrepreneurship and supports various Swiss Startups both financially and as a mentor. He is also Co-Founder and Director of the Swiss Startup Association. Mike holds a MBA from University of Rochester New York as well as an Executive MBA from University of Berne.

One of Leonteq's founders has decided to join Mike Baur's Swiss Start Up Factory as an investor and adviser to companies hoping to establish themselves in the market.

Two years ago, Michael Hartweg gave up his operative role at Leonteq and has since sold his stake in the derivatives specialist.

Today, he's joining the ranks of those who dropped out of the day-to-day finance business: he becomes an investor in the fledgling fintechindustry, joining Swiss Start Up Factory (SSUF), the company said in a statement. Hartweg will coach founders and companies in the fintech business.

Selecting the Best

MikeBaur, a former banker at Clariden and Sallfort, founded SSUF with the purpose to support young entrepreneurs specializing in digital technologies.

Hartweg, 44, will invest in carefully selected startups developed from within the «factory», SSUF said. He will earmark those startups with potential for investors, evaluate and coach them during their development.

Accelerator Program

SSUF is planning to launch an accelerator program this summer, focusing on fintech companies. Baur's firm is working hand-in-hand with the Geneva-based fintech-accelerator Fusion.