Jordi Montserrat is a pioneering force in Switzerland’s startup ecosystem, with over 20 years of experience in high-tech innovation, entrepreneurship training, and venture financing. As co-managing director of Venture Kick and managing partner at Venturelab, he empowers world-class startups while also serving as a board member and active business angel.
Why Startups are Crucial to Advancing the SDGs
Entrepreneurs are at the heart of innovation. They are unconventional problem-solvers and can create new momentum. When they create a startup, they’re not weighed down by the structures of large corporations—instead, they move fast, take bold steps, and can create a unique bridge between the new technology solutions—often emerging in research centers or universities—and their application to solve industry problems. This combination allows them to tackle challenges where traditional systems and companies often fall short—whether in the circular economy, access to education, or climate resilience. Many of the startups we support work on SDG-related challenges not because it sounds good, but because they’re solving real, global, and urgent problems the market is already signalling.
Startups Driving SDG Impact across Key Sectors
We’re seeing strong momentum in areas like health (SDG 3), education (SDG 4), sustainable cities (SDG 11), and climate action (SDG 13). Switzerland has a world-leading ecosystem in healthtech, combining research and university hospitals in Zurich, Lausanne, Bern, and Geneva of global reputation. Last year, Swiss life sciences startups attracted over 991 million in venture investment in a difficult environment, which is an amazing tribute to their quality. Cleantech is an area where we also have a very strong footing. DePoly and Corintis—two of our startups active in plastic recycling and cooling efficiency in computing—were named numbers 1 and 2 of the top 100 Swiss startups. At the global level, Climeworks and Planted were named in the top 5 of the best 250 green tech startups of the decade.
Challenges in Scaling SDG Startups
The biggest bottleneck is resources, in particular funding, and the willingness of the industry to take risks, both financially and technologically, to implement new solutions. Earlystage funding still leans too heavily on traditional KPIs and often doesn’t reflect impact potential. Another key challenge is talent: startups working across disciplines—like AI and robotics in healthtech or circularity and materials—need highly specialized expertise. That kind of talent is still rare and competitive.
“If you want to scale impact, you need customers—not just good intentions.”
Authenticity vs. SDG-Washing
That risk exists, but it is rapidly addressed. Startups need to demonstrate real value with a new solution; they don’t need to “greenwash” an existing business. It’s why it’s crucial to make an impact measurable. At Venture Kick and Venturelab, we assess whether SDG claims are backed by real business logic. If you want to scale impact, you need customers—not just good intentions. Sustainability is a process, not a label.
Enabling Infrastructure & Partnerships
Three things: First, access to markets—especially internationally. Second, patient capital that looks beyond short-term returns. and third, strong partnerships. A single startup won’t change the world, but when it collaborates with strategic industry partners, research institutions, NGOs, or public actors, it makes a major difference: the collective impact can be huge.
Turning SDG Impact into Scalable Business Models
If SDG solutions aren’t financially sustainable, they simply won’t scale. The best startups build impact directly into their core business. This is particularly the case for industry solutions, such as energy efficiency, decontamination, and waste management, as well as healthcare, or even bringing better governance! When we finance startups or go on investors' roadshows, startups need to demonstrate that they're solving real needs, in existing and in new markets. Impact has to be thought of as something valuable, and valuable things are monetized.
We’re seeing a variety of models according to the type of SDG. Efficiency gains or novel therapies are using traditional business models, whereas decarbonization can use carbon credits. We also see the use of more specific models, such as tiered pricing, where high-income markets help make products accessible elsewhere. Or platforms that distribute renewable energy and use the data layer as a source of added value. In AgriTech, startups are creating tools that make sustainability measurable, which in turn helps investors see the potential return. Again, impact needs to be priced, not just communicated. It is, however, important for customers to realize that sustainability has a cost and can often not be achieved just by doing business as usual.
Advice to Founders
Don’t start with the buzzword—start with a real problem. Where is the gap? Who’s affected? What’s technically possible? Then: test it, improve it, and grow. The SDGs are a helpful global framework—but the real work happens locally, at the customer's site—by people who dare to think differently. And be resilient; it takes a lot of effort and convincing to bring change and innovation to market.
Why Climate Action Would Be My Startup Focus
I guess I would go for SDG 13. Today, experts are warning us that the climate crisis can bring our societies to a collapsing point and jeopardize our survival in many areas of the planet. We also have strong educational activities in Venturelab, training the next generation of entrepreneurs in the Innosuisse startup trainings, also a topic close to my heart.
