Zuger Woche interview with Wirz & Partners on executive search in the crypto market
Erik Wirz in an Interview with the Zuger Woche
by: Andy Stauber
In the crypto market, the employee chooses the employer
Zug-based headhunter Erik Wirz of Wirz & Partners on the difficulty of finding executives for the Crypto Valley.
Everyone is talking about Crypto Valley. Zug-based headhunter Erik Wirz searches for talent for tech companies and says it's not an easy task.
Why is it so difficult to find the right people for Zug's Crypto Valley?
Within the technology industry as a whole, crypto is still relatively new. This means that there are not that many people who really understand it, especially in Switzerland. So we either have to recruit people who are qualified from an educational point of view, or we have to look internationally.
But our two ETHs (Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology) are world-class in terms of technology. Surely there are crypto-savvy people among them.
In principle, any mathematician or software developer can get into this field. But the question also arises: Why is another place often more attractive than Switzerland? On the one hand, Zug is undoubtedly very attractive because it plays a pioneering role in the entire crypto world, which is particularly attractive to foreigners. On the other hand, the pool of highly educated young people in Switzerland is relatively small. And if they look over to Silicon Valley in California, they will find a much larger ecosystem.
Perhaps young people simply have more fun in California than in Zug.
That is certainly a factor. But we also have to differentiate. Are we talking about people who own a company or a technical specialist? Their interests are very different. Also, physical presence is becoming less important. There are modern companies that don't even have their own offices.
What about the crypto companies in Zug? Do these companies create new jobs all the time, or do people work in isolation?
It's its own ecosystem, so people know each other. They meet on panels, at events; it's all very international and it's a community. If you look at who's setting up the companies, it's often very international and young. A few weeks ago I had an enquiry from two founders. They were both in their late twenties and they were all self-funded.
A community that is, if I may say so, extremely wealthy. There are trillions invested in the crypto sector.
We need to be a bit cautious here. Cryptocurrencies are not just regular fiat money that you use at Coop or Migros. They are often anticipated assets. These are daily price considerations in a highly volatile environment. And now we also have various regulatory efforts, which means that the value of cryptocurrencies can change very quickly.
Nevertheless, real money is being invested. For example, if I want to buy Ethereum, I have to pay almost 3,000 Swiss francs for it.
There are actually two sides.
There are people who buy currencies as an investment. But a significant part of the wealth creation in the crypto sector is due to a change in valuation. Those who have really benefited are the platform providers and those who were in early and were able to create astronomical value.
Back to HR. What kind of people are crypto companies looking for?
It depends on the area you're looking at: top management, board of directors, C-level or the "ordinary" programmer. We often deal with people who have founded a crypto company and have considerable resources, but are not well known in the community. For these people, the composition of the board is a key element. With well-known, proven crypto experts or relevant figures from the business world, they can build trust in the community. But it's hard to find good people.
So does it require networking?
Let's say you're a crypto specialist, you come to Switzerland and you want to set up a company here. By the time you consult your trustee, the subject of a board of directors will have come up. Of course, it is much more difficult to find suitable board members for such a company than it is for Migros. Everyone wants to get involved with the orange giant. But nobody knows you here, and you're a foreigner... That's why these founders come to us. It's similar at C-level. The crypto sector is a poaching market. The employee chooses the employer, not the other way around.
As a headhunter based in Zug, have you noticed anything about sanctions against Russian companies?
No, we haven't noticed anything in our field. Apart from what we read in the newspapers.
How does the work of a headhunter in Canton Zug differ from that in Canton Zurich?
You have to differentiate. From Zurich, you can get to Zug as quickly by S-Bahn as you can cross the city of Zurich from one end to the other by tram. Geographically, commuting is not an issue, especially for international individuals. If their daily commute is less than an hour, they don't care. But when it comes to the addressable candidate market, it's obvious where you can find more people: Zug has no university. Internationally, it's more a matter of preference. Property prices and taxes can play a role there. From the point of view of a company founder, however, there is a world of difference. The canton of Zug is exemplary in its treatment of such people, being open-minded and pragmatic. It's very different in Zurich. And especially in the crypto sector, Zug has done an excellent job: they have created a community effect that has reached international relevance. That's a fantastic result.
