Contact Us
While our offices are in Switzerland, our team is predominantly in-market.
Best is to contact us via email: ClimbWithUs@tsallen.capital
Investment. Revisited.
Inspired by Swiss mountain wisdom and ethos,
we aim at improving the world we live in through investment and commitment
Taking altitude
The Tsallen Mountains, also known as Dents du Midi, are the crown of the Lake of Geneva. They confront us with our human finitude; they expose us to our world’s timelines.
When you look at them from Montreux, they are majestic; when you climb the Haute Cime, just over 3000 m of altitude, you see the world in a different manner.
The businesses we invest in often find themselves in similar situations: they face daunting challenges, and we help them, much like mountain guides, to overcome those obstacles and gain a new perspective on the world: from the top. A world of opportunities and wide-open spaces.
Our Philosophy
Our investment approach is built around four pillars: assets, people, vision and ethos. We see these four elements as the cornerstones of sustainable business. Equally important but with different respective weights.
These four values are reflected in our logotype following the faces of the Haute Cîme, the highest peak in the Tsallen mountains.
Assets
Assets, are the foundation of every investment we make. Assets lock value and guarantee a healthy investment. They are key and no investment makes sense if the asset value is not solid.
People
We call them entrepreneurs, employees, suppliers, customers. They are our investees’ key success factor. At Tsallen Capital, we build winning teams, we invest in people, to win in the long term.
Vision
No business can strive without a vision. This our sky, our horizon. We only invest in businesses we believe in. Not just to make money but to be an agent of change, a meaningful investment.
Ethos
Very importantly, we believe that our set of values, our ethos, are central to the way we support our investees. The very values that make mountain people able to endure and succeed are the value that we apply to our portfolio companies: integrity, teamwork, respect for others, discretion, commitment.
Building Communities
We do believe that our action has a long-term impact. On people, on the planet, on society.
If you ask mountain people, they will tell you that you can only take what the land can regenerate, you must stand by your word, and you shall build for the next generation, not for the next season.
Our aim is build communities with the future in mind: efficient use of resources, fair employment, transparent governance, and long-term resilience are non negotiable.
Our Investment Timeframe
Adapt your pace
When climbing a mountain, you have to walk at the right pace: not too slow, or else you will never reach the top… but also not too fast because you will deplete your energy too quickly.
Similarly, when supporting companies, we do not have a fixed investment timeframe. We are not a private equity; we are a holding company. We want to give our investees the right time to reach the top.
Give them time
Rousseau’s wisdom, that mountain people would confirm, also applies to investment! Strict timelines discourage thought investment and create a sense of urgency that goes against the long-term success of the businesses we support. We are here to stay until we win together.
Mountain Life
Determination
The Tsallen mountains were named after the tsá, the rocky pastures that lie above the tree line, roughly above 2000 m of altitude. Once the snow had melted , young herdsmen were sent to small chalets in the tsá to look after the cows, sometimes the goats, from midsummer to the end of September.
During their time in the tsá, the young herdsmen were literally cut away from civilization. But these were no holidays… it was hard work determination that made them endure. We are there for our investees, but their managers also show a high level of determination in sometimes rough economic environments. profitable growth.
Value creation
The mountain people were taking advantage of the abundant grass, rich in minerals, that was allowing for an excellent milk production. For practical reasons, the milk was transformed into raclette or alpine cheese locally. Despite the hardship of the situation, it brought the best of what the mountain can offer.
Similarly, the companies we invest in have to go through difficult times. But we see those as opportunities to unlock value and deliver profitable growth.
Resilience
Mountain people, wherever they live in the world, are tough. Not by choice, but by need. Nature is hostile, adverse. And they become resilient.
This sense of resilience is the ethos we instill in the companies we invest in. Results do not always come quickly… you have to work for them. Life sometimes gives you a tough time… but as mountain people know, there is always a way around obstacles.
Our aim is to translate Swiss mountain wisdom into our investees’ management style.
Portfolio & Focus
Our growing portfolio is primarily focused on consumer goods. That is where our team comes from, and that makes us strong. But, much like mountain people, we are pragmatic and seize opportunities when they are right. For our investors, for us, for the planet. This led us to open conversations in the services and environment sectors.
Geographically, we primarily look at the Global South, with a specific focus on Africa and Southeast Asia. We do believe that long-term investment, combined with our philosophy, can deliver sustainable growth in those geographies.