Jérôme Rütsche, co-founder of the start-up mySaess, convinces with pictures instead of numbers. Read more about his recipe for success and the influence of the Corona pandemic on the business development of mySaess in this interview:
Mirjam Viviani: Congratulations! You were able to qualify for the next round of the STAGE UP competition. What are you looking forward to the most?
Jérôme Rütsche: “To the network that we hope will open up for us. To further conversations with people who give us input and feedback. In the current phase, that’s the most valuable thing for us.”
MV: How did you come up with the idea of “mySaess” in the first place?
JR: “It came out of a need of our own. From the desire to be able to stay overnight in nature – with a certain level of comfort. As a frequent traveler with a family, overnight stays in hotels have often disappointed me in the past: the prices are high, the quality of the infrastructure mostly average. Our accommodation box shows that it can be done differently. This idea has been in our heads for three years. The support from the Berner Design Stiftung then really accelerated the project development.
MV: Elevator pitch means getting to the heart of an idea in three minutes and convincing the jury. How did you go about preparing for the pitch?
JR: “We are designers, not business people. On our slides, we simply show what we have. There are no numbers, statistics and diagrams of assumptions and projections in our presentation. Nevertheless, we tried to highlight the market potential of our idea. The templates on stageup.ch helped us a lot in our pitch preparation.”
“Corona actually gives our idea a boost.”
MV: Many companies are currently facing drastic Corona-related restrictions. While some companies have had to close altogether, you guys are in the process of building a new business idea. How does that feel?
JR: “Our offer is fortunately compatible with the measures taken to contain the Corona virus. We are out in the fresh air most of the time and, as self-employed professionals, enjoy a lot of flexibility in other ways as well. Therefore, the Corona pandemic fortunately does not affect us much. On the contrary: Corona even gives our idea a boost. The need to spend vacations in Switzerland and within one’s own four walls is, after all, very current.”
MV: What are your next steps in the mySaess project?
JR: “We want to strengthen our team. In the near future, we want to create 5-20 of these living boxes. At the same time, we want to push the communication of mySaess, because ideally, the 5-20 residential boxes can be rented out immediately after completion. Topics such as identifying target groups, increasing awareness, acquiring locations and hosts are therefore very important to us. A person with marketing skills would ideally complement our know-how.”
MV: What is your recipe for success?
JR: “Our way is based on aggressive communication and word-of-mouth. We talk to as many people as possible about mySaess. Their feedback in turn helps us to develop the project further. Whether and how we will be able to grow with the mySaess project, or how successful it will be, is something we do not yet know. But the entrepreneurial journey, either way, was worth it.”
MV: Thank you, Jérôme, for the interview.
More about the start-up mySaess: www.mysaess.ch
Photo by Christian Pfander
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