Four independent hub rankings — one per discipline. Evaluated on track record, programme substance, and above all: the verified feedback of founders who completed your programme.
THE PRINCIPLE
A pre-incubator helping students develop ideas does something fundamentally different from a venture builder that co-founds startups. That is why we create four independent rankings — with the same methodology, but calibrated to the reality of each hub model.
Hubs are assigned by programme format. Rankings launch once 20+ members per discipline are recorded. Hybrid hubs apply the 60% rule to determine their primary category.
WHAT YOU GAIN
The Selection delivers measurable advantages for hubs — not just "visibility". Here is what you actually get.
Swiss founders filter by programme type, sector, and stage — and find you directly. Higher match quality in your pipeline, less time on pre-screening.
→ Stronger cohorts, lower drop-out rateSilver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond — as a quality signal for investor pitches, sponsor acquisition, public funding applications, and hub communications. NZZ-ZHAW validated.
→ Differentiation from 90+ other hubsSelf-declarations are interchangeable. Anonymous founder feedback from your cohorts makes the real impact of your programme visible — for Innosuisse reviews, cantonal funders, and foundation applications.
→ Substance for funding pitchesAnnual report with your position per dimension — including concrete indications of where your programme excels in peer comparison and where there is room for improvement.
→ Data-driven programme iterationTHE CORE
Glossy brochures can be produced. Founder experiences cannot. That is why we weight anonymous alumni feedback more heavily than any other data source.
You list up to 8 alumni from your recent cohorts. We contact them with a standardised 12-item survey. At least 4 completed reviews are required for a Selection Status — if fewer are returned, your profile is marked "Provisional". This means even smaller hubs can qualify as long as 4 alumni respond.
The complete survey instrument (12 items) is available in the methodology documentation. Bias protection via trimmed mean and plausibility cross-checks against the alumni list.
HOW IT WORKS
Self-assessment, anonymous founder feedback, and expert validation from the Swiss ecosystem — each data source feeds its own dimensions. Single-layer model without double weighting.
Strongest dimension — a hub exists for founders, not for sponsors
One ranking per hub discipline, no cross-type comparison
Each dimension has its own data source — no double weighting
WEIGHTING
Founder Outcomes is the strongest dimension. A hub exists for founders, not for sponsors or self-promotion.
The five dimensions and their weightings are identical for all four disciplines. But the bucketing thresholds are calibrated per discipline, because a "large accelerator" has different metrics than a "large pre-incubator". A venture builder pursues equity returns; a pre-incubator fosters idea maturity — both must be measurable fairly.
SELECTION STATUS
These four tiers apply independently in each hub discipline. A Diamond Accelerator and a Diamond Incubator are both at the top of their respective rankings — not compared with each other.
Nothing is published without your explicit consent. You receive a private, detailed breakdown showing exactly which dimensions to improve — and you can reapply after 6 months. Many hubs use the first result as an internal development roadmap before going public.
DATA & PRIVACY
Hub data is handled with the same rigour as startup data. You decide what is published — and you can withdraw at any time.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
READY TO APPLY?
Submit your hub profile, complete the assessment, and receive your Selection Badge. You decide whether the result goes public — no risk, no cost.
Submit your hub profile →