“AS I SEE IT”

Urs Koller, Co-Owner MySign AG, Olten

I am a big optimist in terms of the digital revolution and I am convinced that it opens a wide range of opportunities for Swiss Entrepreneurs and Swiss companies. Virtually every industry is being faced by digital change. And as a matter of fact, not the big players play a big role, on the contrary, they are usually vehemently opposing the new developments. Newcomers are emerging out of the nowhere and are using digital change as their opportunity. 

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Like Uber (2010, 60 billion), the largest taxi company in the world, which has no vehicles. Facebook, as the world’s largest media company, does not create its own content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer in the world, has no warehouse of its own. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation intermediary, has no real estate. But all these companies have the interface to the customer, namely the online platform. And the phenomenon of global digitalization: there are no geographical boundaries, no local ties and “The winner takes it all”! In the end, one is enough. 52% of the 500 largest companies (Fortune 500) from the year 2000 do not exist any more. The large, successful eCommerce platforms are today leading technology companies.

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Opportunities also for local companies?

The international examples are great. And afterwards explaining the success is also something easier than in advance. This is like the biographies of famous, successful entrepreneurs. The digital revolution has reversed previous principles and has an influence on virtually all business and life sectors. Therefore, a successful entrepreneur should deliberately deal with the opportunities of digitalization and the following five topics:

1. Existence of the company: Do the company’s products / services meet a sustainable customer need?
2. Focus: Is the company pursuing a clear strategy regarding the range, service and / or price?
3. People: Does the company have a positive image to win the talents of tomorrow with their commitment, expertise and fire?
4. Innovation and investment: Is the company ready to invest in the future? Digital is not free!
5. Make mistakes! To learn. If no mistakes happen, then there is not enough innovation!

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Here are a few examples to illustrate the opportunities for digitalization:

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The local organic food shop 

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Portanatura – originally a “Natura” shop in Zofingen – has an online shop since 2006 and pursues a clear assortment strategy. Not cheap, but unique. The turnover in the onlineshop today is about the same size as in the store – a second POS. The enormous assortment would never have a place in the shop shelves and Portanatura also speaks of a supra-regional purchasing power. But, online is not free. Online is also not cheap. Online is like a branch and needs constant attention and investment.

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www.portanatura.ch

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The Fittings Factory

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R. Nussbaum is neither concerned about customer acquisition nor awareness of their brand. It is more about service, acceleration of the processes, administrative simplification, efficiency and cost. The installer on the construction site can prepare orders via the “R.Nussbaum App” or, if they are allowed, carry them out immediately. And the material is delivered to the construction site within 24 hours. With the clear focus on service, the company simplifies and accelerates its internal and external processes, thereby offering its customers real added value..

www.nussbaum.ch

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The Disruptor

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In the ticketing industry there is a very great dissatisfaction due to some horrendous charges on the tickets. In David-versus-Goliath-Manner, Ticketfrog plagues the arrogant behavior of the big ticketing providers such as Ticketcorner, Starticket, Ticketino etc. and positions itself as a free alternative. The underlying business model is disruptive and has the potential to fundamentally change the online ticketing market. Ticketfrog is financed through an innovative advertising concept with targeted, attractive vouchers, while the competitors place exclusively on the classic model “fees on the tickets”. The Ticketfrog business model is a WIN-WIN-WIN model in which organizers, advertising partners and ticket buyers benefit equally.

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www.ticketfrog.ch

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Conclusion

I am convinced that the digital change has just began. The biggest changes are yet to come. And above all: In this digital world, our children, the generation of digital natives, are the experts, and we parents and even the teachers are the laymen. Such a reversal of the roles should be a novelty in the history of mankind. This has far-reaching consequences:

1. For the education. For training. We must first be able to deal with this. And see it above all as an opportunity. It’s not just that the kids get along better in the digital world than we do. They behave differently. They deal differently with new information. They develop entirely different strategies to solve problems. It is no longer a matter of memorizing as much as possible.
2. The knowledge of the entire world is now in everyone’s pockets. With today’s smartphones everyone is connected with the whole world and there is, so to speak, no question, which can not be answered immediately. Ask your friends on WhatsApp, search a video on Youtube or simply google something. Google answers today 5 billion search queries. Every day. Who actually answered all these questions earlier and above all, how long did it take?

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What is more important in a digital world than to acquire a lot of knowledge: creativity, passion, social competency, cross-thinking and critical questioning. Because these are qualities that are not taken over by machines tomorrow and beyond.

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About me

• After studying business economics at the University of St. Gallen (HSG), I worked for Winterthur International in Switzerland and the USA.
• In 2000, as co-founder of AgriGate AG, I played a key role in the start-up of the E-Commerce start-up and later became Managing Director of haltestelle AG, Berne.
• Since January 2006, I am co-owner of MySign AG, a 40-FTE e-commerce powerhouse, which designs, implements, operates and implements onlineshops, mobile apps and corporate websites in interdisciplinary project teams.
• Together with my two business partners Mike Müller and Reto Baumgartner, I founded the companies Linsemax AG (contact lenses online at www.linsenmax.ch), VJii Productions AG (Professional Videoreports – www.vjii.ch) and Ticketfrog AG (Toll-free online ticketing – www.ticketfrog.ch).