A ten-year-old Swiss technology provider is a blueprint for banks to transform culturally and digitally. finews.com spoke to Inventx founders Gregor Stuecheli and Hans Nagel.

The founding in 2010 of the Chur-based technology firm was a milestone in itself: Swiss banks Migros Bank and Graubuendner Kantonalbank handed over their «heart and lungs» to the industry newcomers, representing a huge leap of faith for the traditional lenders.

Inventx founders Hans Nagel and Gregor Stuecheli were convinced that Switzerland's finance industry needed an alternative to Swisscom, the telecoms operator which had until then dominated outsourcing of services for cantonal and regional banks. The start-up benefited from an era of cost-cutting in Switzerland's banking industry.

Microsoft Referral

Ten years on, Inventx surpassed the 100 million Swiss francs ($109 million) revenue mark, and employs 280 people in Switzerland. «We could grow faster, but we don't want to because too rapid of growth could unfavorably affect our existing clients,» Stuecheli told finews.com in an interview. Several other cantonal banks signed up after Inventx's first two clients renewed their initial contracts.

Inventx has since expanded its know-how to Avaloq's core banking system, where it counts BZ Bank among its clients. The company also won a referral from Microsoft at Swiss Life: the U.S. firm wasn't in a regulatory position to do so itself.

Start-Up Vs Big Tech

Inventx's founders chalk up their success in Switzerland's financial industry to a innovative and interactive company culture and philosophy: major IT firms are clunkier at communicating internally, and an aversion to making mistakes leads to highly standardized solutions not always in the best interest of clients, the duo note. 

The two, which secured a 20 million franc guarantee from a Swiss millionaire backer to start the company ten years ago, have reinvested their profits into growth. «We certainly don't want to pursue a hyped-up public listing,» Stuecheli notes. «We are convinced that Switzerland needs a service provider that is owner-led.»