SMS Zurichsee

Name

SMS Zurichsee

Legal name

sms zürichsee AG

Website

https://sms-zuerichsee.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nautical Education and Water Sports

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (487210), Water Transportation (483), Coastal and Great Lakes Passenger Transportation (483114)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Sailing Experiences (Lessons, Regattas, Day Sails) (THAJAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Surf, Kitesurf & Wind Sports Adventures (THAJABAK), Surfing & Kitesurfing Experiences (Lessons, Camps) (THAJAJAJ)

Keywords

• Sailing instruction
• Motorboat driving school
• Water sports coaching
• Boat rental services
• Nautical education

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Driving School Instruction: Sailing and motorboat driving lessons with category A (motorboat) and D (sailing) license preparation. Individual and group lessons available with subscription options (5-pack, 10-pack).
2. Water Sports Sessions: Wakesurfing, wakeboarding, wakefoiling, and paddling sessions with coaching. Individual, double, and group sessions available.
3. Boat Rentals: Sailing boats (mOcean) and motorboats (Malibu M240) available for charter with or without driver/skipper. Hourly to full-day rentals.
4. Corporate Events: Customized nautical events for companies and groups, including team-building activities and celebrations.
5. Kids Programs: Kids-Week summer programs for children aged 6-12 covering wakeboarding, surfing, sailing and other nautical activities.
6. Gift Vouchers: Gift certificates available for various amounts and specific experiences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

sms zürichsee AG runs a nautical driving school and water sports center on Lake Zurich, providing instruction and licensing preparation for Swiss boat license categories A (motorboat) and D (sailing), as well as coached water sports sessions in wakesurfing, wakeboarding, wakefoiling, and paddling. The company also charters sailing boats (mOcean) and motorboats (Malibu M240 with skipper), organizes corporate and private nautical events, and runs a Kids-Week summer program for children aged 6–12.

Product overview

SMS Zurichsee AG is a nautical school and water sports center operating on Lake Zurich from the Rote Fabrik area in Wollishofen. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio organized into four core divisions: Fahrschule (driving school) for Category A (motorboat) and Category D (sailing) licenses using mOcean sailboats and Merry Fisher motorboats; Wassersport (water sports) featuring wakesurfing, wakeboarding, wakefoiling, and paddling with Malibu M240 boats; Vermietung (rental) for both sailboats and motorboats with subscription options; and Events for corporate and private occasions. Additional offerings include Kids-Week holiday programs for children ages 6-12 and gift vouchers. The company has operated for over 25 years and recently expanded in 2024 to include wakefoiling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Driving School (Fahrschule) Comprehensive nautical driving school program preparing adult students for Swiss boat license examinations in Category A (motorboat) and Category D (sailing), delivered through individual and group lessons with subscription packages.
• Sailing Lessons (Segeln) 3-hour sailing lessons on Lake Zurich using mOcean sailing boats, covering theory and practical maneuvers required for Category D license preparation.
• Motorboat Lessons (Motorbootfahren) 2-hour motorboat lessons for Category A license preparation using Merry Fisher boats at Wassersportzentrum Tiefenbrunnen, available in individual or group formats.
• Wakesurfing (Wakesurfen) Coached wakesurfing sessions on Lake Zurich using Malibu M240 boats generating optimal wakesurf waves at approximately 17 km/h, offered as single, double, or group sessions.
• Wakeboarding (Wakeboarden) Wakeboarding sessions using boat-generated wakes at approximately 30 km/h for jumps and tricks, offered with rental-based session packs of 4, 8, 12, or 16 sessions.
• Wakefoiling (Wakefoilen) New foil-based water sport introduced in the 2024 season on Lake Zurich using the Malibu M240 setup, available upon request.
• Paddling (Paddeln) Stand-up paddleboarding and related paddling activities available on Lake Zurich upon request, complementing the school's broader water sports portfolio.
• Boat Rental (Vermietung) Rental service for mOcean 26 sailing boats (for Category D license holders) and Malibu M240 motorboats (with optional skipper), with subscription packs of 10, 20, or 30 hours and hourly to full-day rental options.
• Corporate and Private Events Customized on-water events for companies and groups on Lake Zurich, including team-building activities and private celebrations with charter boats and skipper coordination.
• Kids-Week Summer Program Summer holiday program for children aged 6-12 (who can swim) combining wakeboarding, wakesurfing, sailing, and Stand-Up Paddle activities during Zurich school holidays; CHF 850 for first child and CHF 800 per additional sibling, inclusive of lunch, snacks, drinks, and equipment.
• Gift Vouchers (Gutscheine) Gift certificates available from CHF 50 or for specific experiences such as sailing lessons (CHF 230), trial sailing (CHF 160), motorboat lessons, single wakesurf (CHF 85), and double wakesurf (CHF 165).

Quantifiable outcome

• Near-perfect first-time examination pass rate
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Malibu BoatscoreTechnology or IntegrationPremium wakeboard and wakesurf boat manufacturer. SMS Zurichsee operates Malibu M240 boats (2022, USA, 7.32m, 607 PS) for watersports activities. Boats can accommodate up to 17 persons.
• VisitorminorOthersRetail partner for nautical merchandise.
• ShorecoreTechnology or IntegrationBooking platform provider for online appointment scheduling and management. SMS Zurichsee uses Shore for all lesson and session bookings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Click&Boat: European boat rental platform with skipper options and bareboat charters, serving comparable lake and coastal boating customers with or without license. Analogous business model to SMS's rental-with-or-without-skipper offering.
• GetMyBoat: Global boat rental and charter marketplace; comparable on the rental and skipper-supported charter offering that forms one of SMS Zurichsee's core pillars, though operates at much larger scale without regional focus.
• VDWS (Verband Deutscher Wassersport Schulen): German water sports school association certifying wakeboard, wakesurf, and other towed water sports instruction across DACH region. Represents the broader ecosystem of certified water sports schools comparable to SMS's coached wakesurf/wakefoil sessions.

Direct peers

• Marinero (Swiss boat rental): Swiss boat rental and charter platform operating on Swiss lakes with insured boat offerings to license holders, directly overlapping with SMS Zurichsee's mOcean/Malibu rental subscriptions.
• Bootsschule Konstanz: Sailing and motorboat driving school operating on Lake Constance (Bodensee), directly comparable to SMS Zurichsee in business model (license preparation for cat. A/D equivalents, individual/group lessons, subscriptions) and customer segment (lake-region recreational boaters).
• Segelschule Hallwilersee: Swiss sailing school on Lake Hallwil offering Category D license training and sailing lessons with comparable boat fleet and instructor-led individual/group format. Same regulatory environment and customer profile as SMS Zurichsee.
• Bootsschule Bonndorf: German-language boat driving school serving the southern Black Forest / Hochrhein area, offering motorboat and sailing license preparation with similar packaged lesson pricing structure (multi-pack subscriptions).

Others

• Malibu Boats: US premium wakeboat manufacturer and SMS Zurichsee's fleet partner (M240 wakeboats). Functions as upstream equipment supplier whose product positioning (premium wakesurf) directly shapes SMS's competitive offering.
• Swiss Sailing (Schweizerischer Segelverband): Swiss national sailing federation governing license standards and certifying sailing schools for Category D license preparation. Indirect comparator — defines the regulatory framework and customer pipeline SMS serves.

Regional players

• Waveup (Wassersportcenter): Wakesurf and wakeboard school operating in the broader DACH region with similar boat-based coached session format; listed as a partner of SMS Zurichsee but also operates as an independent water sports instruction provider in the same category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smszuerichsee
• Instagraminstagram.com/sms-zuerichsee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SMS Zurichsee