Small and medium-sized companies are the backbone of the British and Swiss economies. Discussions revealed that while there are country specific success factors, some lessons learned are universal. These are, for example, the importance of long-term partnerships as well as a physical presence in and thorough knowledge of the foreign market.
The entrepreneurs on the panel agreed that innovation is a key element to success. Eagerness to push in new directions and to turn new ideas into useful products is important and helped these companies to be internationally successful.