LIFT

What LIFT does

Lift Global, operated under the legal entity Lift Events Sàrl, is an independent non-profit organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 2006 to promote open innovation as a driver of business and societal change. It serves four primary constituencies: corporations and institutions seeking open innovation strategy design, entrepreneurs and startups seeking acceleration and network access, students and creatives seeking entrepreneurship training, and innovation professionals and thought leaders seeking exposure to emerging technology and societal trends. Its offering is structured around four core programs — Lift:Transform (organizational open innovation strategy), Lift:Lab (hands-on experimental workshop format launched in 2016), Lift:Community (global community co-creation initiatives), and Lift:Events (annual conference since 2006) — supplemented by workshop series such as Urban Entrepreneurs and Health Game Jam, and educational programs including CAS Kick Off delivered with academic partners HEAD and HEG.

The organization does not develop proprietary technology products. Its underlying "technology" is the open innovation methodology itself: collaborative intelligence frameworks, prototyping labs co-designed with partners such as Strategyzer (using Business Model Generation and Value Proposition Design), curated conference programming, and an event- and community-driven knowledge-sharing infrastructure backed by a video library at videos.liftconference.com and structured newsletter categories. Activity spans more than 10 countries, with anchor events in Geneva and satellite editions in China, India, and South Korea; flagship conferences such as Lift15 and Lift16 attracted 1,250 and 1,000+ participants respectively from 35–37 countries.

Revenue is generated through event registration and conference fees, corporate sponsorships and partnerships (including recurring support from Bühler, Nestlé, swissnex offices, and others), and educational program delivery. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Marketing relies on the liftglobal.org website, email newsletters, video content, Flickr galleries, and substantial earned media (63+ pages of coverage across Le Temps, Le Monde, BBC, Wired, Tribune de Genève). The organization employs approximately 20 people and is led by CEO Abir Oreibi. Lift Events Sàrl is a Swiss limited liability company; no parent company, venture backing, or public listing has been disclosed.

Name

LIFT

Legal name

Lift Events Sàrl

Website

https://liftglobal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lift Global is a Geneva-based non-profit that promotes open innovation through conferences, hands-on labs, and community programs for corporations, entrepreneurs, students, and innovation professionals across 10+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Event Registration and Conference Fees: Lift generates revenue through participant fees for its conferences, workshops, and innovation programs including Lift:Lab formats.
2. Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships: Lift partners with corporations (e.g., Bühler, Nestlé, swissnex offices) who sponsor events and selected teams, providing funding and support for innovation programming.
3. Educational Programs: Lift delivers entrepreneurship education programs such as CAS Kick Off in partnership with academic institutions like HEAD and HEG.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LIFT Global is an independent open innovation organization that designs, organizes, and delivers innovation programs, conferences, workshops, and educational courses for organizations, entrepreneurs, and creatives. Its core activities include the annual Lift Conference in Geneva, the Lift:Lab experimental innovation format, organizational consulting through Lift:Transform, and the CAS Kick Off entrepreneurship program for designers delivered in partnership with academic institutions.

Product overview

Lift Global is an open innovation organization offering a portfolio of programs centered around collaborative innovation. The core offerings include four main programs: Lift:Transform (organizational innovation strategies), Lift:Lab (experimental workshop format since 2016), Lift:Community (community co-creation initiatives), and Lift:Events (annual conferences since 2006). Supporting programs include the Lift Prototyping Lab (3-day intensive prototyping workshops), CAS Kick Off (entrepreneurship education for designers), and specialized workshop series like Urban Entrepreneurs and Health Game Jam.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lift:Transform: Organizational programs that give organizations an edge by designing and implementing open innovation strategies.
• Lift:Lab
• Lift:Community
• Lift:Events

Products and services

• Lift:Transform Organizational programs that design and implement open innovation strategies for businesses and institutions, helping them gain an edge in digital transformation and collaborative innovation.
• Lift:Lab Experimental innovation format running since 2016, designed to help project teams re-imagine and accelerate their innovations and connect with broader societal trends through collaborative workshops and prototyping.
• Lift:Community Global initiatives that engage communities around the world to co-create, prototype and find solutions for a better future through community-led innovation activities.
• Lift:Events Conference events organized since 2006 combining collaborative intelligence and open innovation to inspire change makers to solve business and social challenges, including the annual Lift Conference in Geneva.
• Lift Prototyping Lab Three-day intensive program where teams work with experts to go from problem to prototype using Business Model Generation and Value Proposition Design methodologies.
• CAS Kick Off Semester-long entrepreneurship program for designers and creatives covering business models, legal toolbox, finance, branding, and marketing, developed in collaboration with HEAD (Haute Ecole d'Art et de Design) and HEG (Haute Ecole de Gestion).
• Urban Entrepreneurs Global ideation workshop series exploring urban challenges around food, energy, and mobility in cities such as Seoul, Shanghai, Bangalore, Geneva, and Lausanne.

Quantifiable outcome

• Lift16: 1,000+ participants from 35 countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

26 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HES-SO Genève (-Pulse Incubator HES)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 September 2019Lift designed the new interdisciplinary incubator for all HES-SO students and alumni, which opened its doors on September 16, 2019.
• Open Geneva AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Lift is a founding member of the Open Geneva association and is a proud partner of the Crisis and Resilience Innovation Fund launched by Open Geneva.
• HEAD (Haute Ecole d'Art et de Design)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLift collaborated with HEAD on the CAS Kick Off entrepreneurship program, designed by Lift CEO Abir Oreibi. The program combines theoretical learning, participative workshops, coaching, and experience sharing.
• HEG (Haute Ecole de Gestion)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the CAS Kick Off entrepreneurship program for designers and creatives.
• AHEAD FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit foundation partner supporting the CAS Kick Off program for student entrepreneurs.
• ForausminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the SDG Accelerator #PolicyHack, a 2.5-day event aiming to develop tools and innovations tackling gender equality challenges.
• Impact Hub GenevaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the SDG Accelerator #PolicyHack focusing on gender equality innovation challenges.
• Think Tank HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the gender equality hackathon and policy innovation event.
• swissnex IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partnerswissnex India partnered with Lift for the Lift India 2015 initiative and Urban Entrepreneurs workshops in Bangalore and Manesar, providing support and connections to the Indian innovation ecosystem.
• BühlercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBühler sponsored selected teams from Indian Urban Entrepreneurs workshops to participate in Lift:Lab in Geneva, and provided expertise for food innovation challenges.
• Nestlé IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNestlé R&D Center in Manesar hosted the Urban Entrepreneurs workshop and provided innovation expertise for food-related challenges.
• swissnex ChinacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Lift China events and the Shanghai Urban Entrepreneurs Workshop, connecting Swiss and Chinese innovation ecosystems.
• Nestlé ChinacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the Shanghai Urban Entrepreneurs workshop and sponsored the winning team to attend Lift:Lab in Geneva.
• European Space AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA co-created a panel for the Lift15 conference focusing on space technology applications.
• StrategyzercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-designed the Lift Prototyping Lab program alongside Greg Bernarda. Alex Osterwalder participated via robot to challenge participants on business model development.
• MassChallenge SwitzerlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered for the MassChallenge Startup Summit at Lift16, showcasing Swiss startups and international MassChallenge alumni.
• CERNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix-year collaboration for the Geneva flagship conference. CERN hosted workshops at IdeaSquare Lab and participated in various sessions on science and technology.
• HEAD – GenèvecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership for student exhibitions and workshops, featuring MA Media Design graduation projects and ongoing student works.
• CineGlobeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational festival of films inspired by science and technology based at CERN, showcased VR projects using Minima Cinema and Oculus Rift.
• Knowledge PlazaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for participative knowledge sharing experiences, building collaborative models at Lift events.
• Breathing GamesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Health Game Jam to gamify cystic fibrosis therapy for children using breath-controlled games.
• Swiss Game CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized the Health Game Jam at Lift16 with game development expertise.
• Pro HelvetiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Arts Council supported sessions on anti-disciplinarity and creative innovation.
• EmakinaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital agency supported the Digital Customer Experience session at Lift16.
• Republic and Canton of GenevaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the Geneva Urban Entrepreneurs Workshop on Blockchain & Energy.
• Geneva UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Geneva Urban Entrepreneurs Workshop focusing on energy transition.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Next Web (TNW): Tech media and events company running the annual TNW Conference in Amsterdam alongside innovation programming and startup coverage. Directly comparable to Lift as a European-rooted, community-and-event-led innovation platform.
• Pioneers: Vienna-based innovation platform running the Pioneers Festival and corporate innovation programs targeting deep tech and enterprise. Comparable to Lift:Lab and Lift:Transform in its focus on hands-on innovation engagements and corporate partnerships.
• PopTech: Long-running US-based innovation and social-impact conference that convenes leaders across technology, policy, and design. Comparable to Lift in its interdisciplinary, mission-driven event programming and curated speaker community.
• Impact Hub: Global network of innovation hubs and entrepreneurship programs operating in 100+ cities with a mission-driven, community-led model. Comparable to Lift:Community and Lift:Transform in its open-innovation, ecosystem-building approach.
• Web Summit: Large-scale global technology and innovation conference operator running flagship events in Lisbon and regional editions worldwide. Directly comparable to Lift in its event-led, community-driven GTM targeting startups, corporates, and policymakers.
• Le Web (Parisoma / leweb): Paris-based flagship European tech and innovation conference historically focused on internet economy themes. Comparable to Lift as a long-running European innovation conference with strong corporate sponsorship.
• South by Southwest (SXSW): Iconic multi-track festival combining technology, innovation, film, music, and culture with strong corporate sponsorship and an international attendee base. Comparable in scale, diversity of programming, and sponsor-led revenue model.
• Slush: Helsinki-based startup and tech conference operator with global ambitions, organizing large flagship events and founder-focused programming. Closely comparable to Lift's conference-plus-community model serving early-stage ventures and corporate partners.

Broad incumbents

• TechCrunch (Disrupt): Major tech media property operating the flagship TechCrunch Disrupt conference plus year-round startup coverage. Comparable to Lift as a startup-pitch-and-conference operator, though at significantly larger scale and broader reach.

Emerging players

• FWD50: Government-focused innovation conference bringing together public-sector and technology leaders. Tangentially comparable to Lift's policy and innovation programming, particularly its work with Open Geneva and crisis/resilience initiatives.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lift-conference

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 LIFT