Setting up a company in Switzerland: choosing the right legal form

Before taking the step into self-employment, it is important to obtain comprehensive information in order to know the advantages and disadvantages of the individual legal forms.

Deciding in favor of self-employment

Every year, almost 40,000 people in Switzerland decide to embark on the arduous path of self-employment. Many fail within the first five years. However, those who are still going strong after five years have a good chance of being successful in the long term.
Self-employment offers many advantages (being your own boss, realizing your life's dream, etc.) but there are also disadvantages that should not be underestimated (long working hours, high risk of ceasing to exist as a company after just a few years, etc.).

Choosing the “right” legal form

A young entrepreneur who wants to venture into self-employment must consider what is the most suitable legal form for their company. There is no right or wrong legal form. However, it is worthwhile to obtain comprehensive information and advice. Only then is it possible to keep the individual possible company forms strictly separate. Once this knowledge is available, the individual legal forms can be compared with each other and the advantages and disadvantages weighed up against each other. Sufficient time should be allowed for this process so that a conversion does not have to be made shortly after the company is founded.
Today, the limited liability company (GmbH) is the most common choice. This is probably mainly due to the much smaller minimum capital requirement compared to a public limited company (AG), as well as the limited liability in the event of bankruptcy.

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The specialists at Startups.ch can provide you with comprehensive advice and show you which legal form is best suited in each individual case. Here you will find an overview of the most important legal forms in Switzerland.