Category: Business Owners

Mike Baur grew up in Friborg, Sweden. He spent several years in the world of private banking before deciding he’d rather do something else with his life. That “something else” was helping fellow entrepreneurs develop companies around groundbreaking new technology that could transform industries. He is a Co-founder of Swiss Startup Factory which helps digital entrepreneurs launch their companies through engaging in their three-month accelerator program.

Mike Baur has compared putting together a new business as being similar to creating a watch. The task is completed by putting each piece together in a way that makes the whole functional and beautiful. He co-founded Swiss Startup Factory with two business partners, Oliver Walzer and Max Meister. The company is based in Zurich and was established in December 2014. He has said that there are other businesses like his but they are backed by the government rather than privately like their company. He says their way is superior because it’s more entrepreneurial, effective, nimble, and not bogged down in bureaucracy. They specialize in the earliest stages of a business being put together by a sole entrepreneur or partnership. The entrepreneur(s) are put through a three-month acceleration program where Swiss Startup Factory provides them with the office space and business services they need to thrive. They are also coached on how to put together an effective pitch for their product that they deliver to venture capitalists as a way to get funding for their fledgling company. Additionally, Mike Baur and his team at Swiss Startup Factory have developed a wide network of venture capitalists they can pitch as well as entrepreneurs who can help them improve their products and/or services as well as provide mentoring on how to start and sustainably run a company.

It was in the private banking industry that Mike Baur got his professional start. He started his career as a banker at UBS in Friborg. Eventually, he was promoted to the assistant of the Managing Director of the company. He then joined another Swiss bank, Clariden Leu, as a Business Area Head. His success led to him becoming the company’s Head of Private Banking in May 2011. He also served in this role at Sallfort Privatbank AG before deciding to exit the private banking industry and becoming an entrepreneur.

 

 

Since he graduated from an Austin, Texas high school in 1975, Marc Sparks has become quite the successful entrepreneur (http://thebrotalk.com/bro-recommendations/dallas-entrepreneur-marc-sparks-spills-must-visit-list-wineries-dfw/). Marc has since been involved in many startups, some of which have been very successful, and some that have not been very successful. However, Marc has learned from not only successes, but also his loses. With thirty-four years of experience in entrepreneurialism Marc has finally decided to put his experiences down on paper. Motivated by his colleagues, Marc has written a book called They Can’t Eat You. It is full of wisdom to help other entrepreneurs to learn not only form his mistakes, but also form his successes and to never give up on their dreams.

 

Marc Sparks believes that God gives us challenges that can turn into success to help keep us humble. Even though Marc is a high-school graduate who mostly earned C+ grades, he has sold and built self-made products and companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It helps that he was born with a keen sense of instinct.

 

Marc has a passion for building companies and his portfolio is quite impressive including successful private equity firms such as Timber Creek Capital.Learn more : http://timbercreekcapital.com/

 

Marc is a strong believer in faith, focus, passion, tenacity, monetization, and a sense of urgency to get things done. He relies on these qualities and believes it is important to treat people the way that you want to be treated.

 

Marc has a real passion for helping others and has been involved with The Samaritan Inn, a homeless shelter in Texas, since the eighties. The shelter is helping people to get counseling, financial education, jobs, family services, and get health care. Marc has also been involved in many other organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the American Can! Academy. He has also founded Sparkey’s Kids which is a foundation that has given new computers to at-risk kids in order to break the cycle of poverty.Learn more : http://sparktankdfw.com/

 

Marc Sparks is very humble despite all of his success and finds that he gets most of his inspiration form his travels around the world. Marc has travelled around the world in just twenty-three days and has travelled to exotic locations such as Tibet, Easter Island, Morocco, Xi’an, and the Serengeti. Marc enjoys the outdoors and is considered a health enthusiast. He enjoys fishing, biking, golf, and hunting and is competitive in business as well as in sports.