The saldia Story
The company that was born in a wrestling club and connects Swiss wrestling with e-commerce.
How it all began
In 2019, after a long board meeting of the Schwingklub Kirchberg, Men Wälti and Stefan Sempach once again found themselves deep in entrepreneurial thought.
"There should be a simple solution so that even Trudi from Trub can easily sell her hand-knitted socks from the Emmental to the whole world."
That's how the core idea of saldia was born. An online shop that anyone can use!
On the way to visit Trudi in Trub, they made a short stop halfway. As is their nature, they quickly struck up a conversation with a stranger who was also passing through the Emmental. The three immediately hit it off. They soon realised that fate had brought them together. The stranger was Lorenz Schmid — a man with years of experience in e-commerce who had been looking for a new challenge. In 2020, Men and Stefan brought Lorenz on board as CTO, turning the duo into a trio.
During the first concept draft — already sketched on the way to Trudi — it was clear to the trio that they wouldn't get far without the necessary seed money.
Wrestling Kings as Investors
Two Swiss Wrestling Kings who brought not just seed capital, but their values and their network to saldia AG.
Christian Stucki
Investor & Board Member
From Lyss, BE. Swiss Wrestling King and one of the most recognisable Swiss athletes of his generation. Brings his profile, network and grounded business mindset to the saldia AG board.
Matthias Sempach
Investor
From the Entlebuch. Brother of Stefan Sempach and Wrestling King of the 2013 season. Among the first backers and helped secure both the seed capital and saldia’s regional footprint.
After the first pitch to Trudi, they drove from Trub towards the Entlebuch to visit Stefan's brother, the Swiss Wrestling King Matthias Sempach. They explained their concept and their request. Matthias was immediately captivated by the idea and their enthusiasm.
Since wrestlers like to help each other, the trio — now a quartet — drove to none other than the Wrestling King Christian Stucki in Lyss. As if written in a screenplay, he too was thrilled by the idea and the enthusiasm of his wrestling colleagues.
The quartet, now a quintet, drove back together to Burgdorf with not a single seat to spare in the car.
After the final round of that day, it was clear that the two Wrestling Kings Sempach and Stucki would provide the necessary seed capital. Inspired by the concept and the team's enthusiasm, they decided to become part of the saldia team as well. The Wrestling King of 2013 as co-owner, and the Wrestling King of 2019 as co-owner and member of the board of directors.
«Innovation, down-to-earth values and Swiss reliability.»
Our values — from the very beginning
From the start, everyone agreed that saldia should stand for three values: Innovation, down-to-earth attitude and Swiss reliability. With the goal of offering an e-commerce all-in-one solution that had never existed in Switzerland before.
Today, with ten employees, we are a company that is young, motivated and always gives its best for our customers as a team. Always following our motto: "Simply sell!" Our team today includes more than just "non-wrestlers", of course. Still, the values that this sport embodies are upheld and lived by our entire team.
Simply sell!
We believe that every business should have the opportunity to succeed online. Our mission is to make e-commerce as simple as possible.