Companies that last
Hi, I’m Stefan 👋 I’m the founder of Friendly, Wortspiel and Clarity.swiss – and a father to two daughters.
I have worked with the internet since 1999. I’ve built companies, made mistakes, taken responsibility and started over.
Exist, not exit
I have an exist strategy, not an exit strategy. I don’t build companies with the goal of selling them as quickly as possible. They are meant to last, remain financially healthy and do something useful over the long term.
That doesn’t mean holding on to everything forever. But it changes the decisions you make along the way: How you treat customers. How you build a team. How much dependence you accept. And how you measure success.
My companies
Today, my work revolves around three things: digital sovereignty, good marketing and sound decisions.
Friendly
At Friendly, we offer Swiss alternatives to Google Analytics and HubSpot: web analytics and marketing automation for organisations that value digital sovereignty.
As Switzerland’s first Open Startup, we publish everything unless there’s a reason not to: revenues, costs, salaries and even employment contracts.
Wortspiel
Wortspiel is my Swiss boutique digital marketing agency.
We support a select group of companies from strategy through to implementation – with experience, pragmatism and no unnecessary agency overhead.
Clarity.swiss
The decisions that truly matter rarely fail for lack of information. They get hard when too much is true at once.
Clarity.swiss is a focused, confidential conversation for entrepreneurs, business owners and others carrying significant responsibility – when a decision costs more than money.
Work should serve life
Family comes first. That shapes how I think about work and success.
Companies can be important. But they are not life itself. Good work should create freedom – financially, in terms of time, in our relationships and within ourselves.
Work and business should serve life, not the other way around.
Selected media coverage
Over the years, various media outlets have reported on my companies, my work and some of my personal experiments. That was very kind of them. A selection:
Tages-Anzeiger
«Minimalism: What’s It Like to Live with Just 76 Things?» · 2025
A personal account of my attempt to radically reduce my possessions – and the question of what we really need.
Blick
«A Completely Transparent Company» · 2024
Several Friendly team members published their employment contracts. Blick reported on the idea behind it – and the questions it raised about employment law and data protection.
Handelszeitung
«Open Books» · 2021
Handelszeitung devoted a full page to Friendly and reported on Open Startup approach: publicly sharing our revenue, costs and progress as a company.
NZZ
«Casting the Net for Customers» · 2016
NZZ wrote about Wortspiel and how companies can use Google Ads to reach people at precisely the moment they have a specific need.
Blog
I write occasionally about entrepreneurship, marketing, decisions, minimalism, personal development and what I learn along the way.
Some pieces have been read by a surprising number of people. Others mattered mostly to me. Both are fine. I’ve written a book, too.
Not getting enough emails yet? There’s a newsletter.
Contact
I’m happy to hear from people who are building something meaningful, making something better or facing an important decision: