Topics: Company formation, Commercial register, Company change, Digital solution, Hoop.
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Good morning, Mr. Enzler. You are the COO of Hoop, an online platform that makes company formation easier and faster. Could you briefly explain what exactly Hoop offers?

Hoop is the first fully digital platform in Switzerland that enables not only company formations but also company changes and amendments in the commercial register to be carried out efficiently, securely, and without any media disruptions. This means that whether you want to start a new company, change your company name, move your registered office, register new signatories, or make other amendments in the commercial register – with Hoop, you can handle the entire process digitally and from a single source.

We guide our users through the entire process: from digital identification and qualified electronic signature to automated document creation and direct submission to the relevant commercial register office. Even the bank account opening for capital deposits is seamlessly integrated.

Our goal is to make not only company formations but also all relevant company changes as simple, fast, and legally secure as possible. This allows companies and their advisors to react flexibly and without media disruptions to changes – often in less than 24 hours.

What typical hurdles arise when founding a company?

Starting and changing a company in Switzerland has traditionally been associated with numerous hurdles: These include time-consuming bureaucracy, media disruptions between various stakeholders such as notaries, banks, and commercial register offices, as well as complex documentation and compliance requirements. Intermediaries in particular – such as law firms, fiduciary companies, and notaries – face the challenge of managing these processes efficiently and without errors for their clients, which in traditional workflows often involves significant time and coordination efforts.

An often tedious and lengthy process is thus transformed into an efficient, digital workflow that gives intermediaries more time for strategic advice and offers clients a modern, seamless experience. - Silvio Enzler

With Hoop, we provide these professionals with a smart digital tool that systematically eliminates precisely these hurdles. All processes can be handled entirely digitally and in just a few clicks. The platform operates in the background, remains practically invisible to end customers, and enables intermediaries to manage the entire process without media breaks, paperwork, or physical appointments. The result: you not only avoid classic stumbling blocks such as postal delays, manual errors, and complex coordination, but you can also offer your clients a service that is up to seven times faster.

An often tedious and lengthy process is thus transformed into an efficient, digital workflow that gives intermediaries more time for strategic advice and offers clients a modern, seamless experience.

Which target groups benefit most from Hoop?

Hoop is primarily aimed at intermediaries such as fiduciary service providers, law firms, notaries, and legal professionals who are responsible on behalf of their clients for company incorporations or changes.

What specific functions does Hoop offer?

Hoop provides a comprehensive digital solution for efficiently handling incorporations and all types of corporate changes (mutations) in the commercial register.
In addition to classic incorporations, Hoop can fully process, among others, the following types of mutations:

• Change of registered office (relocation of company headquarters)
• Change of purpose (adjustment of corporate purpose)
• Change of name (modification of company name)
• General amendments to the articles of association (e.g. changes to capital, legal form, or other statutory provisions)
• Personnel changes (appointments and resignations of governing body members, changes to signing authority)
• Transfer of shares in LLCs
• Change of auditor
• Liquidations (initiation and handling of company dissolution)

All processes are designed to comply with legal requirements and – where necessary – integrate public notarisation. The platform guides users and professionals step-by-step through each procedure, automates document creation, enables digital identification and qualified electronic signature, and submits documents directly to the competent commercial register office.

Our offering is continuously expanded to include additional mutation types and new functionalities. The goal is to fully and efficiently digitise all relevant incorporation and change processes in Switzerland.

What common mistakes do you observe in incorporations, and how can they be avoided?

In the traditional incorporation and mutation process, we frequently encounter recurring pitfalls:
Outdated templates or articles of association are often used, leading to legal issues or delays in registration. Incomplete or incorrect information – for example, personal data or address details – is another recurring issue. Often, validated and publicly accessible data is missing, which increases follow-up work and coordination efforts.

With Hoop, we address these challenges directly: our platform uses integrated validation mechanisms and relies on current, publicly validated data sources. This ensures that all information – from personal data to addresses – is correct and complete. The document templates and articles of association used are always up to date and continuously revised.

How does an incorporation with Hoop differ in terms of time and organisation from the traditional approach?

The difference between incorporating or making changes with Hoop and the traditional process is fundamental – both in terms of time and organisation. While the traditional process typically involves numerous media breaks, physical meetings, postal correspondence, and manual coordination between different parties, Hoop offers a fully digital and seamless workflow. With Hoop, all steps are digitally mapped and interconnected. This not only eliminates sources of error but also drastically reduces turnaround time.

From an organisational perspective, this means significant relief for intermediaries: they no longer need to coordinate appointments, send documents physically, and can centrally and efficiently manage all processes. At the same time, their clients benefit from faster, more transparent, and more modern services.

How do law firms, notaries, or fiduciary companies use Hoop in their daily work?

Lawyers, notaries, and fiduciaries use Hoop as an effective digital tool to efficiently, securely, and time‑savingly handle company incorporations and corporate changes for their clients. The platform helps them centrally and seamlessly manage all relevant steps – from data entry to document creation, digital identification, qualified electronic signature, and submission to the commercial register.

Hoop automates many routine tasks, checks the completeness and accuracy of the information, and always provides up‑to‑date, legally reviewed templates. This reduces sources of error, simplifies compliance with legal requirements, and significantly speeds up the entire process.

It is important to note: Hoop sees itself solely as a technical tool. The responsibility for overall client care – in particular legal and tax advice, as well as personalised guidance throughout the process – remains fully with the intermediaries. They decide how to integrate Hoop into their service, retaining full control over case management and communication with clients at all times. Hoop helps them make their service more modern, faster, and more efficient without replacing personal advice.

Can you give a concrete example of how an organisation has achieved measurable benefits by using Hoop?

An excellent example is Acribia AG, a fiduciary company based in Zurich. They carried out an internal test in which two new authorised signatories completed their own commercial register change via Hoop (see case study). The results were convincing: massive time savings of up to one and a half weeks, normally lost to postal delivery times. The efficiency gains were so significant that Acribia now uses Hoop by default for all commercial register changes for its clients. Raffaello Rickenmann, lawyer at Acribia, emphasises:
"We quickly realised that it made no sense to handle the integration with the cantonal commercial registers ourselves when Hoop can take care of it for us."

The cost savings from eliminating postage and travel expenses, as well as improved client satisfaction through faster processing, are further measurable benefits.

Thank you for the insight into company formation and Hoop. We wish you continued success!