Kickstart for Start-ups in Büro Züri

The dynamic energy of the Innovation Park Zurich (IPZ) is mirrored on a smaller scale at Büro Züri, where start-ups work side by side on vastly different projects, yet share a common spirit: speed, innovation, and the challenges of early-stage business. All these companies have managed to launch something new in a short period and are now testing how their innovations resonate in the market.

Büro Züri, housed in a small building (the former fire station of airfield Dübendorf) with just over 20 workspaces, an open kitchen, and meeting rooms, offers a year of free residency. A project of Zürcher Kantonalbank, five to seven start-ups are handpicked annually to join. "We benefit from the daily exchange here," says Fabio Wullschleger from the start-up Sanetics. "For instance, we filed a patent for our SaniGuide. You can easily ask around if someone has experience with patents, Innosuisse applications, or funding rounds. This way, you’re constantly sharing knowledge."

This collaborative ethos extends throughout the entire Innovation Park, where entrepreneurs connect at the communal cafeteria, during lunch breaks at the food truck, or at regular events. "And if you ever need a soldering iron, no problem," Wullschleger adds with a smile.

Fabio Wullschleger runs Sanetics with two business partners. Their product, SaniGuide, simplifies the preparation of medications in nursing homes and hospitals. The idea came during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We thought: it can't be that healthcare workers are so overburdened, and all we can do is stand on the balcony and applaud. Nothing against applauding—it was a way to show appreciation and raise awareness, but we wanted to use our expertise to make a real difference."

SaniGuide manages and monitors medication distribution using a color-coded system and a camera, saving time, improving control, and ensuring that everything is digitally recorded.

Experience in the Medical Field, in Independence and Entrepreneurship? All Acquired "On the Go," Just Like Everyone Else Here.

Moritz Futscher and Abdessalem Aribia from BTRY, who sit directly across from us, are among the others working here. "We've known each other for four years," says Futscher. "We were in the same research group at Empa. Abi completed his doctorate there, and I started as a postdoc." Their development—a solid-state battery known for its thinness, longevity, and safety—builds on nearly a decade of prior work by that research group. When asked about the secret behind their breakthrough, they explain: "Today, there are mainly two types of batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, which store a lot of energy but recharge slowly, and supercapacitors, which charge in seconds but store little energy. Our goal is to bridge the gap, combining the best qualities of both."

It seems to be working: the two recently managed to increase energy storage by a factor of 1,000, secured a new funding round of 900,000 Swiss francs, and are now headed to California, where a production line may soon be established. Despite their success abroad, they hope to return to Dübendorf one day. As they put it, "This is where we belong, this is where we thrive."