Some startup ideas begin with an innovative technology. Happy Pot started with a much simpler question: why is collecting money from a group still so complicated in Switzerland?

Switzerland has one of the world’s most advanced financial systems and a population comfortable with digital payments. Yet organizing a group gift, farewell present, wedding contribution or community fundraiser often still means sending an IBAN or phone number in a group chat, collecting TWINT payments, checking who has paid, sending reminders and keeping track of everything manually.

It is a small everyday problem, but one that kept happening. And that repetition is precisely what made it interesting: the problem was small, but it appeared across countless moments in everyday life, from birthdays and weddings to workplaces, schools, sports clubs and local communities.

That frustration became Happy Pot, now the leading Swiss crowdfunding and online fundraising platform built specifically for the way people collect money in Switzerland for everyday moments.

In 2026, Happy Pot reached a major milestone: the company was selected as one of 10 Swiss fintech startups to join the Swiss National Startup Team for Venture Leaders Fintech 2026.

Selected by a jury of investors and industry experts, the ten fintech startups will represent Switzerland during the Venture Leaders Fintech roadshow in London, meeting investors, financial institutions and other players in the UK fintech ecosystem.

For founders, it is a reminder that a business opportunity does not always start with a new technology. Sometimes, it starts with an ordinary problem that happens often enough to be worth solving.

How It All Started

A few years ago, founder Habiba Alami, a natural social butterfly, somehow always ended up being the person collecting money from the group, whether among friends for birthdays or with colleagues at work for farewell gifts.

What should have been an easy task quickly became a full-time mission: she paid upfront for the entire gift out of her own pocket, shared her payment details, chased people for days, kept track of who had paid and who had only promised to pay, dealt with the awkwardness of reminding friends and colleagues about money, checked her bank account over and over, tracked every contribution in Excel, collected everyone’s messages, bought the card and the gift, and somehow became the group’s accountant, debt collector and gift coordinator all at once.

By the end, one group gift had taken almost a full day to organize and removed all the joy from what was supposed to be a happy moment and a thoughtful gesture. So Habiba built a small tool for herself and her friends. There was no plan to turn it into a company or to market it. But then people she didn’t know started finding the tool, creating their own pots, sharing them and coming back to create more. The most convincing validation was not what people said about the idea, but what they did: they found it without being asked, used it and came back.

The same problem clearly existed well beyond her own circle. That was when she realized there was a real market for it. She decided to go all in, invested her life savings, built a team in Switzerland and rebuilt the product from scratch around the same idea, creating the Happy Pot platform as it exists today. That small tool was the beginning of Happy Pot as it exists today, built for everything from birthdays and farewell gifts to weddings, associations, events and community projects.

The Founder Behind Happy Pot

Habiba’s path to entrepreneurship was not a straight one. Before Happy Pot, she built her career in product management, consulting and financial services, working across banking, fintech and technology. After years of building products for established financial institutions, Habiba made a very different bet: she put her own savings behind an idea that had started as a personal frustration and built the company without external investors.

Building Happy Pot required a different level of ownership: taking a product from an initial idea to a live fintech meant moving constantly between product strategy, customer experience, technology, digital payments, compliance, operations and commercial decisions.

That meant learning parts of the business that had never been part of a traditional product role, from payments and regulation to acquisition, partnerships, operations and finance, while still leading the product itself. It also meant making product decisions with real business consequences, balancing what users wanted with technical constraints, regulatory requirements, costs and what actually made sense for the company.

What makes her approach unusual is that she moves easily between the big picture and very small details. One day can involve questioning the company’s business model or international strategy, and the next looking at a payment flow, a sentence on a screen or one unnecessary step that is causing users to leave. For Habiba, those are not separate jobs. They are different parts of understanding why a product works.

That way of thinking has taken Happy Pot from a personal frustration to a profitable Swiss fintech, while Habiba has also been selected for programs including Venture Leaders Fintech and the Swissnex Market Validation Camp in New York.

Today, her experience goes well beyond building a single product. It covers the full journey from identifying a market opportunity and defining the product to launching it, improving it with real users and building a business around it.

From Birthday Gifts to Helping Complete Strangers

Happy Pot was designed to make collecting money as simple as possible. It allows people to collect money online through one link, with contributions made by TWINT, card or bank transfer.

Payment methods, ease of use, trust and how easily people can contribute all matter, especially when a fundraiser needs to reach people beyond the organizer’s immediate circle. Unlike international crowdfunding platforms, Happy Pot was built in Switzerland around local payment habits, including TWINT, while still allowing people outside Switzerland to contribute.

Happy Pot may look simple from the outside, but making it feel simple is actually one of the hardest parts. Behind every pot is a complex payment infrastructure involving security, compliance, identity verification, multiple payment methods and carefully designed user flows.

That simplicity also depends on trust. When people are asked to send money through a platform, they need to understand where it is going and feel confident about how their payment is handled.

Contributors need to understand who they are supporting, why the money is being collected and where it will ultimately go. One of the biggest lessons was that making a product feel simple does not mean it is simple to build. In fintech, much of the complexity should be handled behind the scenes, not passed on to the user.

Participants can contribute without creating an account and leave a personal message, which is automatically gathered with all the other messages into a digital group card, removing the need to buy and pass around a separate greeting card. The experience can also be fully personalized. Organizers can post updates directly in the pot’s News section, whether to share progress, thank contributors, announce an important step or simply let supporters know what has happened since the money collection started.

Each Happy Pot can be private or public. A private pot stays between the people who receive the link and is not publicly listed or indexed by search engines. A public pot, on the other hand, can be discovered on Happy Pot by anyone, allowing a collection to reach far beyond the organizer’s own network, giving solidarity and fundraising campaigns the chance to reach strangers who connect with the story and want to help. Public pots remain visible in Happy Pot’s dedicated “Support a Cause” section, where anyone can discover ongoing fundraisers, browse different causes and contribute even without knowing the organizer personally: Support a Cause

This is where public pots revealed another side of Happy Pot: personal crowdfunding and online fundraising for direct solidarity between individuals in Switzerland.

Instead of donating through a charity, foundation or nonprofit organization, where donors may not always know exactly who will ultimately receive their contribution, many people in Switzerland use Happy Pot to support someone directly, whether a neighbor who has lost their home, a family facing an accident, a friend facing illness or a local business destroyed by fire. With Happy Pot, they know exactly who they are helping, why the money is being collected and who will receive it.

The Crans-Montana fire in January 2026 showed just how powerful this could become. More than 150 Happy Pots were created to directly support victims and their families, with friends, relatives, neighbors and complete strangers contributing to individual collections. These cases show how personal crowdfunding in Switzerland can bring together friends, neighbors and complete strangers around one person, family or local business.

Other events have led to similar waves of support, including a family tragedy in Faoug, the fire at Le Syrien restaurant in Vevey, where hundreds of people came together to help the owner and his family rebuild the restaurant and recover from the fire, and the fire in Aigle.

For Happy Pot, this was an unexpected lesson: users can sometimes discover a use case for a product before the company does. What started around group gifts had naturally become a tool for direct solidarity and personal crowdfunding. Some public pots are also promoted through Happy Pot’s social media channels, helping personal stories reach people who would otherwise never have heard about them. Several collections have attracted hundreds or thousands of contributors and have been covered by Swiss and regional media.

What started as a platform for collecting money among friends and colleagues has therefore also become the leading crowdfunding platform for direct solidarity between individuals in Switzerland, connecting people who need help with people who simply want to help.

From an Idea to a Profitable Fintech

What started as an idea shared among friends quickly proved that the demand was real. Happy Pot grew largely through word of mouth, with each pot introducing the platform to a new group of potential users. Happy Pot remained bootstrapped and reached profitability without relying on external funding. For Habiba, this was important: growth had to come with a business model that actually worked, not simply with more capital.

Happy Pot also has a natural way of spreading. One organizer can bring dozens of contributors to the platform through a single pot. For many contributors, that is their first contact with Happy Pot, and some later return to create a pot of their own. Unlike a product built around one rare financial event, Happy Pot can reappear throughout a person’s life: a birthday today, a farewell next month, a wedding later, a school collection, a sports club or a solidarity campaign.

Happy Pot also qualified for the second round of the Swiss Innovation Challenge 2026, another recognition of the company’s model and its development.

What If the Money Pot Became the Gift?

Whether it is a birthday money collection, wedding money pot or farewell gift, collecting the money solves one part of a group gift. Then comes another question: what should the group actually buy with the collected money?

Happy Pot is now working on that part too. Soon, creating a Happy Pot will be free for users who choose to convert the collected money into a flexible gift voucher instead of withdrawing it. The voucher can be used across a wide network of shops, restaurants, hotels, travel and experiences.

The network includes well-known brands, retailers, services and experiences such as Zalando, IKEA, adidas, Manor, Globus, Rituals, Decathlon, Ochsner Sport, Orell Füssli, GetYourGuide, Smartbox, weekend4two, HotelCard and Lunch-Check. This addresses another familiar problem with group gifts: choosing the right gift.

Instead of a group spending days deciding on the perfect gift, everyone can contribute together and let the recipient choose what they actually want.

For Happy Pot, this means going beyond online money collection and making the entire group gifting experience easier, from collecting contributions to choosing the final gift. Instead of stopping when the money has been collected, Happy Pot can stay part of the journey until the gift is actually chosen and spent. This creates a model that can connect money collection, group gifting and retail in one experience.

From Switzerland to Europe and the US

Happy Pot was built for Switzerland, but the problem it solves is not uniquely Swiss. Birthdays, weddings, office farewells, school collections and community fundraising happen everywhere. The problem is global, but the solution needs to be local. In Switzerland, that means building a Swiss crowdfunding experience around local expectations, payment habits and trust, rather than simply importing a model designed for another market.

While global platforms such as GoFundMe have made online fundraising widely known, Happy Pot is taking a local-first approach to crowdfunding in Switzerland, starting with Swiss payment habits and the way people actually collect money locally.

Happy Pot has already started testing that potential beyond Switzerland. The company was selected for the Swissnex Market Validation Camp in New York, where it tested the Happy Pot model and validated demand in the US market.

In 2026, Happy Pot was also selected as one of 10 Swiss fintech startups for Venture Leaders Fintech 2026. The team will take part in the London roadshow, meeting investors, financial institutions and players across the UK fintech ecosystem.

The ambition is to make Happy Pot the reference for online money collection and group gifting in Switzerland, while bringing the model to other European markets and, eventually, the United States.

The longer-term vision goes beyond building a better online money pot. Happy Pot aims to become the place people naturally turn to whenever money needs to be collected together, whether for a gift, an event, a community project or to help someone directly. From there, the opportunity extends beyond collecting the money itself to what happens before, during and after the collection.

And it all goes back to the same problem that started the company: a group gift that should have been simple but took almost an entire day to organize.

A Practical Guide to Crowdfunding Platforms in Switzerland

How to Choose the Right Crowdfunding Platform in Switzerland

Choosing the right crowdfunding platform in Switzerland is less about popularity and more about fit. The best platform is the one that matches the project, the audience, and the way people in Switzerland actually pay. For some campaigns, that means fast and simple money collection for a private gift or community fundraiser. For others, it means reaching a broader audience, keeping fees transparent, and making the process easy enough that more people complete their payment.

What matters most when choosing a platform

The most important selection criteria are usually payment methods, fee transparency, ease of use, and trust. In Switzerland, contributors are more likely to complete a payment when the platform supports familiar options such as TWINT, card, or bank transfer and clearly shows what organizers and supporters are paying for. A platform that feels simple and reliable can make a big difference in whether a campaign reaches its goal.

Choose the platform based on the type of campaign

Private gifts and everyday money collections usually need speed, privacy, and a low-friction setup. Community fundraisers need clear sharing options and strong trust. Creative projects often depend on visibility and community reach. Sport campaigns may work better on specialized platforms, while investment, lending, and business financing usually require dedicated financial platforms rather than general fundraising tools.

How Swiss crowdfunding platforms differ

Some platforms are built for international reach, while others are better suited to specific Swiss use cases. GoFundMe is widely known but less locally focused. Wemakeit and Crowdify are useful for creative and campaign-based projects. Lokalhelden is geared toward local and non-commercial initiatives. I believe in you is made for sport projects. OOMNIUM, Cashare, swisspeers, C-Crowd, Crowdhouse, and loanboox focus on investment, lending, or business financing. Happy Pot is designed for everyday Swiss money collections, which makes it a practical choice for private gifts, family causes, and community fundraisers.

Why local fit matters

A platform can only work well if it matches how people in Switzerland actually give money. Local payment habits, language expectations, and trust standards all affect whether contributors feel comfortable paying. For that reason, a local-first platform often offers a smoother experience for Swiss campaigns than a platform built primarily for a broader international market.

For everyday collections, the most important criteria are usually local payment methods, CHF support, clear pricing, ease of use, and trust. If contributors can pay quickly with familiar options like TWINT, card, or bank transfer, the campaign is more likely to succeed. If the payment experience feels unfamiliar, contributors may be more likely to hesitate before completing their contribution. That is why the right platform should reduce friction for both organizers and contributors.

Happy Pot was built around exactly these needs. It is designed for crowdfunding in Switzerland and focuses on simple online money collection for birthdays, farewell gifts, weddings, family causes, associations, and community projects. Instead of forcing users into a complex fundraising process, it makes it easy to collect money through one link and manage the campaign without manual follow-up.

When comparing platforms, it also helps to look at the type of campaign. Private collections usually need simplicity, privacy, and fast setup. Public causes need sharing features, visibility, and strong trust signals. Larger or more international campaigns may care more about reach, language options, or how the platform handles cross-border contributions. The best choice depends on which of these factors matter most for the project.

Fees are another important selection criterion. Some platforms appear affordable at first but become expensive once payment charges or hidden costs are included. Others may be free to start but less suitable if the audience expects a smooth local experience. A good platform should make its costs easy to understand from the beginning.

Support and usability also matter. Organizers should be able to create a collection quickly, share it easily, and keep track of contributions without complicated setup. Contributors should be able to give in just a few steps, without creating an account or dealing with unnecessary barriers. In practice, the easiest platform to use is often the one people actually complete their payment on.

For Swiss users, this is where a local-first platform has an advantage. It fits the payment habits, language expectations, and trust standards people already know. It also avoids the mismatch that can happen when an international platform is used for a very local purpose.

For that reason, Happy Pot is a strong choice for crowdfunding in Switzerland. It combines local payment methods, transparent pricing, and a simple user experience built for everyday collections. For people who want to collect money online in a way that feels natural, familiar, and efficient, it offers a practical solution that fits the Swiss market well.

Crowdfunding Platforms in Switzerland Compared: Which One Fits Your Project?

Switzerland has several crowdfunding platforms, but they are designed for different types of collections. Choosing the right crowdfunding platform in Switzerland depends on what you want to fund, who you want to reach and how contributors are expected to participate.

Happy Pot focuses on everyday money collection and personal crowdfunding in Switzerland, covering everything from birthdays, farewell gifts and weddings to family causes, associations and community fundraisers.

Contributors can pay using TWINT, card or bank transfer without creating an account, while organizers can create either a private pot or a public fundraiser. Public pots can also be discovered directly on Happy Pot, helping collections reach people beyond the organizer’s existing network. The platform combines money collection, contributor messages, a digital group card and campaign updates in one place.

Wemakeit is mainly used for project-based crowdfunding, including creative, cultural, social and entrepreneurial projects.

Crowdify supports crowdfunding campaigns across categories including personal, creative, social and entrepreneurial projects.

Lokalhelden, operated by Raiffeisen, focuses on local and community projects, including projects from associations, clubs and nonprofit initiatives.

I believe in you focuses specifically on crowdfunding for sports projects.

Platforms such as OOMNIUM, Cashare, swisspeers, C-Crowd, Crowdhouse and loanboox address other areas of crowdfunding and financing, including startup funding, crowdlending, investment, real estate and business financing.

GoFundMe is an international fundraising platform available to users in Switzerland and is primarily associated with personal and charitable fundraising across multiple markets.

For someone choosing between crowdfunding platforms in Switzerland, the main distinction is therefore the use case. Happy Pot is built around everyday collections, group gifting and personal fundraising in Switzerland, while other platforms may focus on project-based crowdfunding, sports, community initiatives, investment or lending. Payment methods, fees, privacy, audience, geographic reach and ease of contribution should ultimately determine which platform fits a particular collection.

What really matters when choosing a crowdfunding platform

The best crowdfunding platform is not the one with the longest list of features. It is the one that makes it easy for the right people to contribute. In Switzerland, that usually means a platform that feels trustworthy, uses familiar payment methods, keeps the process simple, and fits the expectations of the intended audience.

Why local payment habits matter in Switzerland

For Swiss campaigns, payment behavior can be just as important as platform visibility. If contributors can pay in a way that feels natural to them, they are less likely to abandon the payment process. That is why a platform built around local habits can be a better fit than one designed mainly for a broader international market.

How to match the platform to the campaign

Different campaigns need different strengths. A private collection needs speed and simplicity. A public fundraiser needs trust and sharing. A creative project needs visibility. A sport campaign may work better on a specialist platform. Investment, lending, and business financing usually require a platform designed for that specific purpose.

Why Happy Pot fits everyday Swiss collections

Happy Pot is a strong option when the goal is to collect money quickly for everyday Swiss use cases such as group gifts, family causes, and community collections. It is built for a simple contribution flow, which makes it practical when the priority is ease rather than complexity.

How Swiss platforms differ from international ones

International platforms can offer reach, but they are not always the best match for a local Swiss campaign. Local platforms usually fit better when the audience is mainly in Switzerland and the campaign depends on familiar payment habits, clear fees, and a smooth user experience.

A quick checklist for choosing the right crowdfunding platform

Before launching a campaign, it helps to check a few basics. Does the platform support the payment methods your audience expects? Are the fees easy to understand? Does the platform fit the type of campaign you are running? Can contributors pay without friction? And does the platform feel trustworthy for the people you want to reach? If the answer to these questions is yes, the platform is more likely to support a successful campaign.

 

Featured image by Happy Pot