#interview Launch of The Swiss Fintech Convention
As part of the very first conference of The Swiss Fintech Convention, to be held in Geneva on Thursday February 2, Alp ICT met two of the project's promoters: Jean-Pierre Chassagnolle, co-founder and president of the association, and Christian Marchand, member of the advisory board.
Alp ICT: The Swiss Fintech Convention (TSFC) presents itself as a "think tank": how did this initiative come about?
TSFC: The DNA of The Swiss Fintech Convention (TSFC) is a think tank on digital transformation, led by professionals from a wide range of backgrounds. Team members have discovered that they share complementary visions (journalistic, IT, technical, etc.) which produce interesting fruits of discussion.
In order to open up these reflections to the public arena and thus become players in Switzerland's digital transformation, the association has come up with the idea of organizing regular events, with a first colloquium on February 2 at the Geneva Forum.
Alp ICT: How did you decide on this theme?
TSFC: TSFC's primary concern is the impact of digital transformation on an economic ecosystem. The theme of the first edition of the symposium followed logically from the current concerns of economic players in Geneva, namely new financial technologies.
The conference is organized in the spirit of a think tank, far removed from the current hype, with a choice of speakers from very different backgrounds and with sometimes contradictory opinions. The format is designed to be fast-paced, with a succession of short interviews and round-table discussions.
Alp ICT: The interactive aspect of the symposium is also supported by the integration of a start-up competition. Can you tell us more about it?
TSFC: This is a pitch competition with two semi-finals during the day, where the ten or so winning startups will take turns. The 5 finalists will pitch again in the evening. Always in the spirit of originality, TSFC wanted to break the highly formatted pitch exercise by creating a "pitch box": in 4 minutes, the winners had to answer 5 questions in an improvised way. These capsules are online on the TSFC Facebook page: voting is open until January 30. The winner will receive a cash prize and legal, marketing, IT strategy and financial support.
Alp ICT: What are the association's next projects?
TSFC: The symposium will be an annual event, and its second edition is already in preparation. In addition, TSFC will be organizing monthly breakfasts and afterworks in a 2-hour format with a thematic focus. Far from generalities, and with a strong spirit of openness to fuel reflection, TSFC hopes that participants will ask themselves even more questions after their events.
All TSFC activities will be relayed on its websiteits Facebook page and its Linkedin group. Membership of the association is open to all.
As a partner of the event, Alp ICT is entitled to 5 free tickets! Register on the link below using the discount code TSFC100%ALP: https://www.tsfc.ch/tickets/
