Fabio Tommasini

Entrepreneurship and Educational Background: Differences Between Entrepreneurs with Academic and Non-academic Background in Switzerland Fabio Tommasini

Switzerland is a small, landlocked country with nearly 8 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, it is a widely accepted fact that it belongs to one of the richest and most stable countries in the world. The backbone of the Swiss economy is traditionally the SME sector. It accounts for 99.7% of all Swiss companies, thereby, providing a competitive advantage for Switzerland. This strong presence of SME companies is owed to Switzerland's extraordinary quality of professional and academic education and fervent cultivation of entrepreneurship. Despite this, there has only been a limited amount of research regarding the educational background of entrepreneurs. This leaves a variety of questions to be answered. In what ways are entrepreneurs different? Are founders with an academic background more innovative? If so, what is the actual effect in terms of success? What can be done to empower all stakeholders in the field of entrepreneurship? Finally, what steps does Switzerland have to take to maintain and extend their strength in the SME and startup sector? From analysis, this paper draws conclusions and provides practical suggestions to improve policies regarding startup companies in Switzerland.