Originally from Argentina, Sebastian grew up in Geneva. After a Bachelor’s degree in management and an eMBA, he created his first company in 2007, Sponsorize. Interview with an entrepreneur who knew how to adapt to the digitalization of business interactions.

What services do you offer?

Our company Epwise S.A. offers two tools designed to facilitate and save time in the organization of physical and virtual events with Eventwise and to manage requests and make decisions in record time, using the RoboAdvisor from Partnerwise.
The former enables centralized event management on a single platform. An InnoSuisse project is underway with the HE-Arc Neuchâtel to integrate artificial intelligence into Eventwise. This will create a virtual event assistant to organize the different tasks for the good realization of an event and to submit the right suppliers. We are creating a kind of booking.com for events.
Our second tool assists investors in the evaluation of startups but also any type of request (grants, sponsorship). The tool weights different factors and helps in the decision making process.
In April this year, we are aiming to launch Immowise, dedicated to the digital management of general meetings of co-owners for face-to-face and remote meetings.

Who are your main clients at the moment?

Our positioning is that of a software company, with a Business to Business (B2B) target such as the cantons, the Confederation, universities and colleges, but also banks, real estate companies and industrial services.

Our added value lies in a simplified architecture for the users as well as a highly personalized support.

You are currently based in Zurich but have decided to move your company to the Canton of Neuchâtel.

The historical partnership with the HE-Arc to develop intelligent agents and the pragmatic approach of the result-oriented economy department were the two vectors that convinced me to settle in the canton. Generally speaking, the framework conditions and the economic and political stability of Switzerland are very strong assets for entrepreneurship.

What is your development strategy for the next five years?

We want to develop our client portfolio in Switzerland. By being located in Neuchâtel, we are as close to the French-speaking part of Switzerland as to the German-speaking part. IT jobs will be located in Neuchâtel, while our sales force will be based in urban areas.

How do you see the evolution of events following the Covid pandemic?

Digital interactions through applications such as Zoom have shown their limits in terms of social interactions. People need real meetings. In my opinion, I see the continuation of the meetings in a hybrid form. The guest will have the choice between physical and/or digital participation. We are already being asked for additional features, such as immersion, 3D make-up or the possibility to interact more with the room and the participants.