Boris Manhart

Chief Executive Officer

Innosuisse

Startup and Scale-up Coach

Growth Unltd.

After almost 25 years as an entrepreneur and co-founder of five companies - a unicorn and apps with millions of users - I decided to change my focus and advise other founders and leaders together with a team of experienced business leaders and specialists.
As an entrepreneur, it always made me happy to have an impact. Now, it makes me incredibly happy when I see how entrepreneurs become more comfortable and practical as a result of our collaboration.

Founder

Career coaching to executive MBA students who want to enter an entrepreneurial career path.

Startup Strategist

Guest Speaker

Peakora

Product-Market Fit Expert & Coach

TRIQ Triathlon

TRIQ is a revolutionary, dynamic app for triathlon training plans.
It combines the latest knowledge of renowned coaching scientists with an intelligent algorithm that constantly adjusts the plan to fit the athlete. TRIQ saves time and adapts on its own to ensure you’re fresh and motivated enough to keep training hard.

CodeCheck

CodeCheck is the first shopping matchmaker. It matches consumers with the right products, retailers with the right customers and brands with the right insights.

Numbrs

Numbrs Personal Finance is a financial technology company based in Switzerland. The company offers an app called Numbrs that aggregates bank account and credit card information and facilitates mobile banking and personal financial planning.

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Y&R Group Switzerland

Group Account Director

Compresso AG

Compresso is a communication and promotion agency with a broad portfolio of well-known clients and a wide variety of projects.

Co-Founder

As the founder of Growth Unltd., I've dedicated my career to helping startups reach product-market fit. With a proven track record of co-founding five ventures, including a unicorn, I understand the intricacies of startup success.

At Growth Unltd., we're redefining the startup journey. We provide invaluable guidance to entrepreneurs, leveraging our years of entrepreneurial expertise and a proven success formula. Our mission is clear: to accelerate your startup's path to Product-Market Fit, saving you time and money.

In addition to my role at Growth Unltd., I am a startup strategist at IMD Lausanne, one of the world's top business schools. I've also been a guest speaker at Stanford, where I've shared insights with the next generation of entrepreneurs.

I'm honored to have been recognized as one of Switzerland's 100 Digital Shapers by Bilanz, and I'm passionate about making a lasting impact in the digital landscape.

Join me on this exciting journey of growth and innovation. Let's connect and explore how to work together to take your startup to the next level.

4di2

2022-today: The ppl.Kickstarter is here 
⚒️ helping tech founders fix team chaos & scale culture without losing control or burning out
🤩 coaching and mentoring startups and scaleups directly or via Innosuisse, Impact Hub Zurich, Founder Institute, Kickstart Innovation, and VCs
🙌 because great ideas deserve to not die because of basic management mistakes

3 ways The ppl.Kickstarter can help you:
1️⃣ ppl.bytes: learn the basics in DIY, online, whenever you like in our mobile app
2️⃣ ppl.advice: work with me 1:1 and access all I've learned, tested, and proven over 2 decades
3️⃣ ppl.rampup: boutique workshop or project to solve your People & Culture challenges heads-on

Tune in to my mini Podcast "People & Culture Stories" (8 inspiring convos with founders)
👉 Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/r7s7nk2k 🎧 Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/yc7htzrx


Pivoting to ⬆️

2019-2022: People Tech Startup 
building the 4di2 App, a powerful tool to help people find things faster, thus being more engaged, thus being high-performing while enjoying the experience. 
(A piece of "New Work"-guided workplace and people experience design.)

The 4di2 App was benched by the pandemic and then made obsolete by advancements in AI. So I shut it down eventually with a heavy heart but clarity on what matters more.

Founder & CEO

Kickstart Innovation

Advising Startups mainly in the New Work & Learning vertical on product, market, messaging (HR Tech) and People & Culture in general

Startup Advisor

Accredited Special Coach for innosuisse startups and scaleups on HR, helping with People & Culture, Organisation, Efficiency, Team Performance, and Team Management.

Special Coach (HR)

QAI Ventures

Contributing as the mentor on People & Culture (Team, Culture, Leadership) to the QAI Ventures Startup Accelerator Program: a unique program tailored to support entrepreneurs and innovators in Quantum Technologies and Advanced AI with strategic startup investments and collaborative ecosystem building.

Startup Mentor on Team, Culture, Leadership

Founder Institute Switzerland

Mentoring early-stage founders by contributing a session to the curriculum and offering business hours for 1:1 sessions.

Startup Mentor on People & Culture

allygatr

Advising the Portfolio Startups as HR Expert

Advisor to Portfolio Startups & VC Investor

Impact Hub Zürich

Being part of the Business Helpdesk as HR-Expert, I support Startups with advisory on any HR-/people-related challenges, needs, or questions. Free for Impact Hub Members, for a fee also available for non-members.
Let's talk about your people challenges!

Advisor to Startups

Backpacker Trail

Advising the CEO, COO and Head of People & Culture on all things related to people strategy, people operations, company culture, and employer brand.

Advisory & Angel Investor

Willis Towers Watson

Project leader for merger of all local companies and harmonization of local employment practices and benefits for all national group companies within only 12 months, while at the same time building smooth internal HR operations with an international team focusing on decentralized process design, integration and efficiency, and introducing new HR programs (e.g. an onboarding program). 
All the while being Human Resources Partner for Switzerland (Zurich, Lausanne, Geneva), a total of up to approx. 130 employees, reporting to the Western Europe Region Head of Human Resources (in UK), global matrix organization with HR Shared Services model since mid-2017.
Really outdid myself here!

HR Partner Switzerland (FTC)

Quantum

Human Resources Manager for Switzerland, Germany, Russia and Emerging Markets, a total of approx. 140 employees; part of EMEA region; reporting directly to US HQ.
Driving change through pointed strategic initiatives on all things people, e.g. in organizational design, talent acquisition and development, and collaboration and communication; valued Business Partner to Management, and trusted go-to-person for employees; leading and participating in, international as well as local strategic projects on HR Analytics, Employer Branding, Employee Development, digitalization; managing employee relations, legal requirements, and day-to-day HR operations A-Z; ensuring compliance and managing external payroll.
Most of the time being a one-woman-show I really had to be efficient to survive - which drove me to perfecting my efficiency level. So I even on top of it all gave German lessons over lunch!

HR Manager - EMEA Central & Eastern Europe

Attention: tech founders scaling your startups

You want to scale without burning out - without culture chaos, hiring headaches, or endless management fires pulling you away from growth.

That’s how simple it is.

You need a team that moves fast, solves problems on its own, and scales with you almost effortlessly, right?

The first step?
Building a culture flywheel that drives momentum - without getting stuck in process bloat or leadership bottlenecks.

In the next 90 days, I help you turn your culture into a strategic growth driver so you can scale with confidence.

With The ppl.Kickstarter and hands-on guidance, together we:

🙌 Clarify what makes your company thrive so you attract the right people and keep them engaged.
🎯 Streamline how you hire, compensate, and operate *without* turning into a corporate machine.
🛠️ Give you plug-and-play tools so leading your team feels natural, not like an extra job.

A selection of the startups I’ve worked with:

1️⃣ LEDCity (HR & Culture Management): Structured their compensation approach to align with company growth.

2️⃣ AUGENTIC (People & Culture in International Expansion): Taught their leadership team how to hire and employ in Switzerland, embedding local culture into their People Management strategy.

3️⃣ Industrial Tech Startup (Scaling Culture): Transformed leadership alignment and internal communication to reduce friction in a growing team.

Send me a DM with the words "CULTURE KICKSTART" to get the details.

🚀


#people #culture #scaling #startups #startup #HR #growth #thepplkickstarter

Carolin Schneider

Kickstart Innovation just hit 10 years. 🥳 
And we broke records with the most PoCs in the New Work and Learning vertical ever 🤩

Such a big milestone 🙌

Still soaking in the energy from the anniversary.

I looked around that room and felt so much pride for what this team has built.

Katka Letzing, Jürg Stuker, Anikó Ivanics, Tiziano Luccarelli, Andrea Bianchi, Elisabetta Maria Chiarantoni, and so many more - what a crew!

And in this anniversary year, we set a new standard for what’s possible in the New Work and Learning vertical.

The number of PoCs this year? Highest ever. 📈

The sheer amount of unicorns we 'produced' in Switzerland over the past decades, shown by Thomas Dübendorfer? Incredibly impressive.


But numbers only tell part of the story:

What matters most is the people behind them.

Every advisor, every expert, every founder who trusted the process - thank you for showing up and shaping this program.

I am grateful to be part of this journey.

Being invited on stage was a real honour, and that unexpected gift? Love it so much. 😍


Moments like these remind me why I do what I do.

Building teams, scaling culture, and helping founders grow - it all comes back to community, too.

The Kickstart Innovation family is proof that when you bring together the right people, big things happen. 💪


Congrats again, Katka and team, and to all the startups participating in this memorable cohort! 

Here’s to the next chapter 🥂

I can’t wait to keep going for the next 20 years (at least 🤩).

🚀


PS. Curious how we make it happen? Follow Kickstart Innovation, and who knows, maybe next year, I'll see you on that stage, too 🔥


Such a joy to see or meet you all: Ingeborg Gasser-Kriss, Leo Marty, Philipp Blumer, Lara Mogge, Anna Rosenkranz, Linda Aerne, Oana Ria, Veroniek Vermeulen (Silatha), Jochen Lohmann, Dr. Stefan Piel, and all the others!


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👋 𝘐'𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 & 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘙 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢)

🚀 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘱𝘭.𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 ➡️ 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴

🚀 Fixing team chaos & scaling culture with tech founders | The ppl.Kickstarter | People+Culture Expert | Coach+Advisor at Innosuisse FounderInstitute ImpactHub KickstartInnovation VCs

Last week, Swiss (startup) offices turned into classrooms for the next generation of changemakers.

National Future Day means children across Switzerland step into our world of work, literally.


My son joined me for a morning at rrreefs, and the energy in the air was 
full of curiosity and excitement.

He learned about marine biology, yes. 

But he also saw why protecting nature is a mission, not a task.

He watched how 3D printed bricks can help rebuild coral reefs. 

He got to print his own blue piece-hands-on, bright, and full of pride.

The team at rrreefs made the whole process real and the setting so welcoming. 

Thank you to Josephine Graf, Tim Day, and Mauro Bischoff for showing not only what you do, but why you care.

(Because the office is shared with Dehgraf Design AG, my son even got a test-printed designer lamp shade that's now decorating the kids' room - Thank you, Eduard Dehgraf, for your generosity 🤩)


What I love about Zukunftstag is how it flips the script for all of us, if we let it.

Children see work through fresh eyes. They ask questions that cut to the heart of what matters.

But the biggest shift? We adults remember what first sparked our own curiosity.

I watched my son’s face light up as he learned, touched, and tried things for himself.

I felt a wave of hope thinking about the impact these moments have - on their dreams and on ours.


We talk about building teams and scaling culture every day. 

But the true legacy we leave is the next generation learning what is possible.

Zukunftstag is not only for them. It is for us, too.

It reminds me why I do what I do.

🚀



PS. I'm curious - did you have kids at your startup, too? Was it similarly exciting for you?



————————
👋 𝘐'𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 & 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵. 

🚀 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘱𝘭.𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 ➡️ 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴

Launching The ppl.Kickstarter is the boldest move I've made in my career. And I'm far from finished. It's time to fix team chaos for good. Here's what I am up to:

Teams break down fast when nobody owns the chaos.

Startups move quickly. 
Culture gets messy. 
Clarity disappears.

Why? Too many “HR afterthoughts” and playbooks that are way too long.

I want ruthless simplicity.

Years in People & Culture turning into a real system founders can use - not theory, not fluff. Instead:

Scaling team cohesion made easy.
A way out of micromanaging.
A trust engine.

▶︎ The culture flywheel.


What I build in The ppl.Kickstarter is what founders need but can never get from big companies:

🤩 full access, no barriers
🤩 tools made for small, moving teams
🤩 culture that fuels growth for everyone


The hardest part?

Making everything simple enough for ANY founder to use - bootstrapped or VC-backed, steadily going to profitability or growing at lightning speed.

Because when you get culture right, everything changes.

It’s the most-missed opportunity for smooth execution, trust, and growth.

Deep-level team alignment is a force. It changes everything.


What I do works. But I'm far from finished with The ppl.Kickstarter. In fact, I'm just getting started. 

And I got big plans for 2026 and beyond (scaling included) 🙌


If you’re scaling and feel the friction - team drama, hiring mess, unclear culture - you’re not alone.

Don't wait for things to “fix themselves later.”
Take the direct path: more clarity, less chaos.

And if you want the fast track: I'm right here with you

(in 2026 - even a bit closer if ...*)

🚀



*PS: DM me “SPRINT” if you want a private waitlist link for the ppl.Kickstarter digital/on demand fast-track (for all founders aiming bigger in 2026) ▶︎ I'll build it with at least 5 signups - your DM counts 😃

————————
👋 𝘐'𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 & 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 90% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵.

🚀 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘱𝘭.𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 ➡️ 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴

Most startups run smooth ops, but chaos starts when this one thing is missing. Here's what most (first-time) founders overlook (as my data shows):

You can have sharp recruiting, a solid payroll, and a feedback process that ticks the right boxes.

But when these run as separate lanes, things get bumpy fast.

I see it all the time in my "status quo assessments," I run with every client.

Most core ops are there, good enough, running when needed.

Founders think “we’re handling people stuff” because each task is checked off - on it's own.


The real magic? That comes when all these tasks connect into one flywheel.

One simple thread that links how you hire, how you give feedback, how you reward, how you say goodbye.

That thread is: culture.


Not the words on the wall or the nice “about us” page.

Culture is the way your team acts when nobody is watching.

It’s the choices people make in hard moments.

It’s how you do things (and how you never do things) around here.


That’s where I step in.

But we don’t try to fix everything at once.

We start with the most urgent piece - maybe it’s compensation, maybe it’s recruiting, or maybe it’s how you handle exits. (I've done all of these this year and more)


We turn values into clear actions. Sprint by sprint, one step at a time:

Suddenly, the hiring process speaks the same language as your feedback talks.

Separation becomes less painful, more fair, and less personal.

Compensation goes from 'patchwork puzzle' to one cohesive model.

Operations turn into one smooth system, interdependent, but without the triple-checking.

No more circles, no more second-guessing, no more “why is this so hard?”

Just one culture flywheel that keeps turning, building trust and speed as you grow.


I call this 'operationalizing culture', and it's what most founders miss after pinning down a list of values. 

If you feel your team is strong on tasks but weak on connection, you’re not alone.

I help founders build the missing link.

DM me if you want that, too.

🚀



PS. Next slots open from mid-January (and filling up) 


————————
👋 𝘐'𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 & 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.

🚀 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘱𝘭.𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 ➡️ 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴

These 5 phrases weren’t helping my team or my coaching clients. Here’s what I say now:
(for more clarity, credibility, and ownership)

I did not expect a simple workshop moment to stick with me.

But while working through the whiteboard and post-its, a founder said, “Operationalizing values is so much about communication.”

They were right.

When you want your team to move in the same direction, every word counts.

Saying things out loud helps people truly know what you expect.


Here are 5 things I stopped saying as a founder and coach, and what I use now:

1️⃣ “Sorry for my late reply”
→ “Thanks for your patience.”
(Unless someone is chasing me every hour. Then I let the silence do the work.)

2️⃣ “I think this could be because of x most likely...”
→ “In my experience, this is clearly connected to x in most cases.”
(I know what I know. I say it as I see it.)

3️⃣ “Ehm”
→ Deleted.
(Still slips in, and I am training myself, too.)

4️⃣ “If you don’t think that’s needed, that’s fine, too.”
→ “This is important and required because it is relevant for x.”
(If I see the value, I say so and back it up.)

5️⃣ “This does not work as I want it, please change it to my original requirement”
→ “I see this turned out differently than expected. Can you walk me through it so I understand your approach?”
(Most times, the team knows better and the outcome is even stronger.)


Small swaps. Big shift.

I see more clarity, more credibility, and more ownership in every conversation.

That is what I want for myself, and for every founder I work with.


It is a muscle.

The more you use it, the more natural it gets.

The more natural it gets, the more results you will see. 

🚀


What is one phrase you stopped using that changed how your team works? I’d love to hear it.


PS: If you struggle with what to say (or what to say less) to align your team, reach out. 
I help tech founders like you find the words that align teams and make culture clear 🙌 (my Q1 is already filling up)

————————
👋 𝘐'𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 & 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

🚀 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘱𝘭.𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 ➡️ 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴

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Boris Manhart

Carolin Schneider

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The Battle

Boris Manhart

Carolin Schneider

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Engagements

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Carolin Schneider's LinkedIn Performance

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