Build your next chapter

Are you ready to turn your decades of experience into an entrepreneurial new career chapter? Join our community for experienced professionals.

You’ve built a career. Now build what’s yours.

Novapreneurs is for experienced professionals who are ready to move beyond conventional career paths and create something new.

Whether you are leaving corporate life, academia, or an established professional role, Novapreneurs supports you to design an entrepreneurial next chapter with the right learning, the right community, and the right support.

What you’ll find at Novapreneurs

A like-minded community

Join a high-calibre network of experienced professionals who are starting their journey to entrepreneurship and benefit from collaboration, meaningful connections and peer support.

Learning for your next chapter

Access learning experiences – both e-learning and in-person – on entrepreneurship, innovation, AI, resilience, and venture-building – designed for people who bring real-world depth and are ready to apply it in new ways.

Matchmaking that matters

Finding the right people is a key part of building what comes next. Meet potential collaborators, co-founders, advisors, and peers with complementary strengths through our matchmaking activities.

Inspiring events and more

Take part in speaker events, curated networking evenings, and structured speed-dating formats designed to spark ideas, partnerships, and momentum.

Coaching and practical support

Move forward with workshops, guidance, and expert support across the entrepreneurial journey – from exploration to launch.

A different kind of entrepreneurship community

Longer lives are changing the shape of work. For many professionals, the years after a successful corporate or academic career are no longer a “winding down”. They are a chance to reinvent, find true meaning, and build in autonomous new ways. Novapreneurs exists for this moment. We believe experience is one of the most underused assets in innovation and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is often depicted as the domain of the young, but we see it differently.

Novapreneurs was born at the University of Zurich and is grounded in academic rigor. We combine intellectual depth, practical learning, co-creation and human connection in one unique community for accomplished professionals.

Novapreneurs is for…

Experienced professionals

looking for a meaningful and intellectually stimulating next chapter
curious, driven and ready for change
drawn to self-employment, innovation, or building a business
seeking like-minded people to learn with, build with, and grow with

Seasoned explorers

Don’t yet have a fully formulated business idea, but interested in being part of a start-up?

Novapreneurs also offers experienced professionals a chance to find entrepreneurs who are seeking business partners and collaborators. You don’t need the perfect idea – you need openness, curiosity, and the willingness to build.