The bench2biz workshop takes place since several years in Switzerland, hosted by NCCRs and powered by the Pre-Seed workshop, created by Mark Wilson in 2004 in Rochester New York, USA as a Neworks trademark product. Currently, it is driven by a consortium of several NCCRs and it is a long term cross-NCCR project in the field of knowledge and technology transfer. 

The workshop targets very early to early high-technology entrepreneurial ideas from all fields and from academic institutions all over Switzerland. It prepares participants (idea champions) for the entry into the existing Swiss start-up promotion ecosystem. Idea champions benefit from fast-paced sessions, guidance specifically adapted to their project, support from recognized industry experts from various backgrounds and networking opportunities. At the end of the workshop, participants leave with the business elements of their new venture well structured. Individuals or teams can submit an application form with no admission fees. The event is free of charge for all accepted idea teams. The high-technology business idea may or may not have been recently patented, or applicants may have a high-tech business idea but are still wondering about the next steps to take.