FAQ about being a Youngpreneur

The costs to set up a company depend on the legal form you have chosen, your founding canton and the chosen and confirmed partners of STARTUPS.CH. With careful selection, you can even set up a company free of charge.

With STARTUPS.CH you can start up your business quickly, easily and without complications. Here you will find an overview of the duration of the steps. In any case, you should expect at least two weeks to set up your company.

With us, you can record the entire foundation online via our homepage or with one of our consultants during a consultation. It is best to first calculate a non-binding and free offer. If you then accept the offer, you can create your personal user login.

Afterwards you have the possibility to enter all company details (with name, address and persons) online and to send the foundation definitely to us. Within the period of time indicated in the package, a lawyer from STARTUPS.CH will contact you by phone (on weekdays) to discuss the incorporation.

In the first step you will make all the necessary clarifications for your company foundation, from company name to financing.

Then you can calculate the offer for your foundation on STARTUPS.CH and send us your order. Afterwards, one of our experienced lawyers will contact you within the period (on working days) indicated in the package to discuss the incorporation.

We will be happy to advise you personally at one of our numerous locations throughout Switzerland. Such a consultation lasts about one hour and is included in the start-up costs (for the Business and Premium packages).

However, after the consultation you will receive a voucher of the same value, which you can have deducted directly from the foundation costs in the event of a later company formation via STARTUPS.CH (only for Business and Premium Packages). The interview is based on your individual questions. So you do not need to bring any specific documents with you.

Arrange a personal and non-binding consultation near you or online now. Like that you will be informed in detail about the exact procedure and further steps regarding your self-employment.

You are welcome to visit our website to find out about our tips during the preparation phase, the start-up phase and Mompreneurs everyday life.

No, in principle you do not have to appear on site as a founder for the foundation via STARTUPS.CH.

However, if you wish to be authorised to sign in the Swiss Commercial Register, you must have your signature personally certified by a notary public or the local authority and forward the documents to our competent staff.

A residence permit is required by those who stay in Switzerland for more than three months or who work during a stay in Switzerland.

A dual system is used in Switzerland for the admission of foreign workers. Workers from EU/EFTA states benefit from the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons.

Well-qualified workers are also admitted from other countries. For further information and to apply for a residence permit, you can contact the relevant cantonal migration office directly.

Only if you set up a partnership (sole proprietorship or general partnership) and have been recognised by the cantonal equalisation fund as a self-employed person is it possible to draw pension fund money as start-up capital. In addition, self-employment must be your main occupation. If you set up a limited liability company (GmbH) or public limited company (Aktiengesellschaft), you are not entitled to receive your pension fund.

In most cases, the employers consent is required on the basis of the concluded employment contract. Normally, this is granted if you are not competing with your employer's secondary employment and your own performance does not suffer as a result. If your employment contract includes an obligation to notify your employer in the event of a sideline job, you have to obtain your employers consent.

There are no rules regarding the nationality of the founders of companies. Only the composition of the company’s organs is subject to rules:

If you wish to change the legal form of your company, you have to do so in accordance with the Swiss Merger Act. Art. 54 of the Merger Act conclusively determines the permissible conversions.

You cannot convert a sole proprietorship directly into a limited liability company or a public limited company, but you have to transfer it with all its assets and liabilities to a newly formed corporation and then liquidate it.

However, it is also possible that you voluntarily subject yourself to VAT (if your turnover is less than CHF 100,000). If your company expands its business and therefore expects to exceed this threshold, it will also be subject to VAT and must register with the FTA.

Therefore, an extrapolation must be made after three months. If the extrapolated turnover exceeds the threshold of CHF 100,000, the company has to register with the FTA. However, if the threshold value is only exceeded some time after the company is founded, your company must register with the FTA on 1 January of the following year.

Basically, you can freely choose the company name. For sole proprietorships, you have to note that your family name has to be included. Limited liability companies and public limited companies require the suffix GmbH or AG. In addition, the name must not be deceptive about the purpose of the company and it must not be descriptive: