ZNIPP builds custom business software for Swiss companies and startups. We are small and have deliberately stayed that way — because our work depends on direct contact, fast decisions, and a deep understanding of each client's business.
Software runs in the family. Back in 1982, Stefan's father and uncle founded coMember AG, which developed accounting and ERP software for large systems. Stefan is the second generation carrying on the craft — with ZNIPP, which he founded in 2000.
He spent his first ten years as an IT consultant for Swiss private banks — across practically every IT discipline that comes up there: network and security, system administration, operations, output management, core banking, user support, software development, and finally deputy IT manager. Alongside this came certifications at Sun Microsystems and Oracle and the Swiss federal IT certificate with a Business Process Management specialisation.
In 2010 came the move to full-time independence. A banking client had asked whether the engagement could continue remotely — at a time when remote work wasn't yet the norm. That mark of trust became the step to make ZNIPP the main occupation, with a clear focus: startups, SMEs, and custom business software instead of corporate routine.
Since ChatGPT became public in November 2022, Stefan has gone deep into AI — an early adopter who had his own internal AI tooling platform running productively just weeks later. Today AI shapes every working day at ZNIPP, but always on the same principle: tool, not pilot.
My parents' generation dismissed the personal computer as a toy. I won't make that mistake with AI. I use it every day, learn where it works and where it doesn't — so we deploy what actually helps, not what merely glitters.
— Stefan Hess
What hasn't let go of Stefan over the years is the challenge of building software that genuinely helps — not the tool people grumble about because it stands between them and their actual work. Breaking large goals into small reachable steps and seeing them through with persistence — and watching, at the end, the product being used voluntarily, sometimes millions of times a month. The question 'How was it even possible to build all of this?' drives every new project.
Curated, not scaled.
ZNIPP runs as a small, long-standing team. We deliberately don't grow beyond the size that lets us stay directly in the project and avoid responsibility being passed around until it disappears. Three profiles shape our work:
Software architecture, business logic, client relationships. Two decades of experience across banking, insurance, healthtech, education and veterinary medicine. Sets the strategic and technical direction on every project.
Sanya has worked closely with Stefan since the early days of ZNIPP. Across many demanding projects — technically and in the client constellations — he has proven himself a loyal partner with quick grasp and pragmatic solution-finding. Strong on both backend and frontend, with a sharp eye for the architecture that holds up long term.
Svetoslav brings deep mobile development experience — native for Android and iOS as well as hybrid, a space ZNIPP is particularly active in because one code base can cover all platforms. Reliable on the frontend for modern web applications too.
Classical agencies have to refinance hierarchy and overhead. We're built differently — and that has concrete consequences for how we work with you:
In hours, not weeks. Talking directly with the developers on the project avoids the delay that builds up between sales, project management, and execution.
You work directly with the team building your software. No stand-ins, no junior pass-through, no reports about reports.
Deliberately kept small so the share of work that actually goes into the product stays high. You pay for development, not for structures.
Software that feels magical after three weeks and is no longer understood after three months is not a success. We build so the system still holds up five years on.
We'd rather commit quietly and deliver beyond expectations than promise loudly and disappoint. That's the foundation of long-running client relationships.
Not every project fits us, and not every requirement is the best solution. We recommend standard software when it fits — and decline when we're not the right partner.
AI makes us faster. We pass part of that gain on — in shorter project timelines or lower hourly rates, depending on the arrangement.
ZNIPP is based in Horw near Lucerne and works remote-first. Our main market is German-speaking Switzerland and the DACH region, but we take on international projects when needed. We meet clients in person when it's useful — but most of the work lives on the discipline of digital collaboration we've practised for more than a decade.
So do we. First calls are non-binding, free of charge and confidential — and thirty minutes are usually enough to give a first read.
