First Ventures
Funds Swiss university spin-off ideas from students with up to CHF 150,000.
Gebert Rüf Stiftung structures First Ventures around three sequential funding stages — PROOF, VALIDATE and EXECUTE — each with its own goal, requirements and funding ceiling: PROOF tests feasibility with needs assessment, feasibility analysis and early prototypes for up to CHF 25,000; VALIDATE builds and tests a business case through pilot projects for up to CHF 50,000; and EXECUTE funds market ro…
The program looks for innovation projects with strong impact potential for the economy and society that solve a concrete problem, growing out of Bachelor's or Master's study at a Swiss University of Applied Sciences. It particularly values applicants who show professional expertise, willingness to take risks, and personal commitment to the idea.
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Guides for this application
All guides →Grant Work Plan Template: Work Packages, Gantt, Milestones, and Risks
Use this grant work plan template to structure work packages, tasks, owners, deliverables, Gantt timing, dependencies, and risk registers.
Submit & reportGrant Reporting Requirements: Post-Award Reports and Compliance
Learn what grant reporting requirements cover, how financial and performance reports work, what to track after an award, and how to avoid post-award compliance mistakes.
Write proposalGrant Concept Note Example: Pre-Proposal Structure for Startups
See a practical grant concept note example, with a worked deeptech pre-proposal, section map, invite-to-full logic, and reviewer checks.
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