Fähripitch 2026

Moritz Kistenmacher is an organisational developer and business economist with a focus on innovation and project management. As CEO of Startup Academy Baselland and President of Startup Academy Switzerland, he supports founders on their journey from idea to market and in building their companies. He is also an entrepreneur himself, having built his own company and been involved in several startup projects.

Anja has extensive experience in developing startup programmes and sustainability consulting at Impact Hub. Today she is active at BaselCircular and FHNW, driving the development and implementation of circular economy activities.

Thérèse Susan Schmutz is Startup Innovation Manager at BaselArea, supporting the startup community in the Basel region.

Violeta is the Founder & Executive Director of TaSuVal, with 20 years of international entrepreneurial experience across Europe, alongside 15+ years of corporate experience in Swiss multinational environments. Bridging science, business strategy, operational transformation and innovation, she brings expertise in business development, partnerships, and program & portfolio management. She is also a diversified investor across Biotech, MedTech, AgTech, real estate and financial markets, and an active startup mentor across Europe.

Michael M. Nussbaumer is the founder of M8 in Basel and an interim CIO for energy utilities and industrial companies. For over 30 years he has been getting digitalisation projects off the ground, usually where business, IT and OT have to grow together and cybersecurity is not optional. His work has earned him multiple awards. In a pitch, he is less interested in the tech stack alone than in whether the technology delivers what the business model promises.

Janene Liston is a Certified Pricing Professional and Commercial Strategist who helps businesses move beyond pricing guesswork to building pricing they can stand behind.