Swiss Family Holding · Founded 2006

People. Brands. Products.

With substance. With care. With foresight.

Since 2006, Goldcare Holding has been developing — together with passionate people: products · services · brands. At the intersection with and toward people (personal brands), and at the intersection with academia, technology, design, and ecosystem. We commit ourselves long-term, capital-efficient, and with an outstanding standard of quality.

Headquarters
Hertenstein AG
Switzerland
Legal form
GmbH (LLC)
CHE-112.908.361
Portfolio
3 brands
1 active · 2 in build-up
Horizon
10+ years
Long-term
Conviction

Premium emerges where devotion becomes the business model.

The most valuable brands of the coming years are not built on scale, but on substance. Goldcare develops with people who deliver uncompromising quality — and turn it into economic stability and lasting value.

— One

Niche over mass market

We build brands that lead their niche — not those that serve the mass market. Our portfolio operates where passion meets dedication, in segments with high willingness to pay and deeply rooted customer loyalty.

— Two

Quality over volume

We create quality, not volume. Cost efficiency matters — but not at the expense of quality and premium ambition.

— Three

Time over pressure

We operate without exit pressure. Our holdings are long-term. This enables business models built on trust, craftsmanship, and brand reputation — rather than short-term growth targets.

— Four

Local and international

Switzerland provides credibility in the premium segment — in services, products, and design. Our portfolio companies leverage this origin strategically and operate internationally.

— Five

Craft, academia, and technology

We combine craft and academia with due respect, and use technology as an instrument, not a creed. This is how solutions emerge that inspire — and keep people at the centre.

— Six

Method without ivory tower

Academic rigour becomes entrepreneurial success only when proximity to practice is immediate. Methods and models support us. Dogmas and paradigms do not.

Portfolio

Brands with a shared stance.

No. 01
Active
Personal brand · Consulting · Work
Dr. Alain Benz

Personal brand of the founder. One question in six perspectives: how people can live self-determined in their own home — and how companies can build business models that make inclusion economically viable. Person, Consulting, Mandates. Science, Literature, Keynotes.

dralainbenz.ch
↗
No. 02
In Build-up
High-End Audio · B2C
Dr. Benz Akustik

Uncompromising high-end audio for what matters: emotion — from source to loudspeaker. Swiss-made engineering in the high-end segment.

drbenzakustik.ch · Launching 2026
→
No. 03
In Build-up
Interior Design · B2C
Maison Benz

An independent line for interior design and curated living objects. Craftsmanship, restrained elegance, Swiss origin.

maisonbenz.ch · in build-up
→
No. 04
Open
Next brand · yet to come
Your place could be here.

Goldcare continuously develops new brands or takes stakes in existing ones — at the intersection of technology, design, and ecosystem. Founders, entrepreneurs, and families with premium projects are invited to get in touch.

Start a conversation
→
Track Record

Quality shows in execution.

What grows is strategic and operational experience.

Goldcare was founded in 2006 and, in the years that followed, built a direct-to-consumer mail-order business for premium automotive care products under its own brand — at a time when direct-to-consumer retail was not yet mainstream in Switzerland. Through online platforms, new sales channels were established, customer relationships built directly, and thousands of transactions executed.

Even though this activity is now dormant: What grows is strategic and operational experience. And a public record remains — over years of reliable execution, in the form of independent reviews from real transactions.

View public reviews →

Verified reviews on Ricardo.ch · independent Swiss marketplace for trade and auctions.

From the archive
nano goldcare leather care set: bottle, spray, jar with wax, microfiber cloth and sponge

«nano goldcare» — 2006, Goldcare's first premium brand for vehicle care

Ricardo.ch · Seller profile
Verified
≈ 99.9%
Positive
Reviews
4500+
Completed
Transactions
View all reviews →
Ventures

For founders and entrepreneurs.
For people becoming a personal brand.

The methodology with which we develop our own portfolio, we also make available — to founders and entrepreneurs for their business models, and to people who want to become a personal brand for their public presence. As an honest and independently thinking counterpart, not an agency. With Business Engineering, Networking, and Innovation. Specialised in Business Model Development, personal brand building, and a Swiss entrepreneurial sensibility.

One

Business Model Development

Structured review and sharpening of existing or new business models — based on the Business Engineering approach. For founders before market entry, for family businesses in transformation, for product teams before launch.

Multi-day formats · on request
Two

Go-to-Market Design

Development of market and distribution strategies for premium segments. Positioning, brand architecture, channel strategy, pricing logic — drawn from operational experience in direct-to-consumer, B2B advisory, and premium consumer positioning.

Project-based · Switzerland and DACH
Three

Synergetic Holdings

In selected cases Goldcare goes beyond advisory — as co-investor or with involvement in execution. Requirement: a recognisable space of synergy with the holding's methodology, experience, or network; shared conviction, clear division of roles, long horizon. No classic venture rounds.

Selective · by fit
Conversations welcome — precise enquiries receive precise answers.
Enquire at ventures@goldcare.ch →
Structure

One holding, several brands, shared substance.

Technology Development Design Brand Building Goldcare Holding Holding CHE-112.908.361 · since 2006 · Hertenstein AG Portfolio No. 01 ACTIVE Personal Brand Dr. Alain Benz dralainbenz.ch No. 02 IN BUILD-UP High-End Audio Dr. Benz Akustik drbenzakustik.ch No. 03 IN BUILD-UP Interior Design Maison Benz maisonbenz.ch Stance Quality · Permanence · Clarity · Foresight

The Holding

Goldcare owns and develops interests in premium brands. It is not an operator but a strategic framework and capital base for its portfolio companies.

The Brands

Each portfolio brand operates as an independent company with its own market, its own brand, and its own website. They share values, not operational structures.

The Substance

Technology, development, design, and brand building are capability areas at work across all holdings. They turn the portfolio into more than the sum of its parts.

Capabilities

Four pillars, shared across all ventures.

Behind the four operational pillars stands an intellectual tradition: the St. Gallen Management Approach of the University of St. Gallen — interdisciplinary, systemic, oriented toward the interplay of strategy, marketing, organisation, and leadership. This is deepened by Business Engineering and Business Model Development at the intersection with computer science, technology, and design — the systematic approach to designing companies in which technology, customer value, and economic return reinforce each other. This approach shapes how Goldcare analyses, develops, and stewards its holdings over time — and is also the subject of the founder's HSG dissertation.

01

Technology

Digital infrastructure, data architecture, AI, automation. We bring technological excellence into industries that remain predominantly analog — from high-end audio to advisory services and living services.

02

Development

Product development, process design, iteration. We accompany products from first sketch to market readiness and treat development as a continuous discipline — not a one-time milestone.

03

Design

Product design, brand aesthetics, spatial design. Where Goldcare is engaged, there is visual and haptic precision — and the deepest engagement. Design is not decoration — it is an expression of stance and a commercial differentiator.

04

Brand Building

Positioning, storytelling, ecosystem. We develop brands that communicate a clear stance and hold it over decades. Brand value emerges through consistency, not campaigns.

Methodological Origin

The Business Engineering approach forms the methodological foundation of our work. It was substantially shaped at the Institute of Information Management of the University of St. Gallen. Dr. Alain Benz completed his doctorate there and wrote his dissertation on the design of business models.

— Benz, A. (2013): Business Models for Service Residences. Case Studies, Options and Design Recommendations. Dissertation No. 4205, University of St. Gallen. Logos Verlag Berlin.

Leadership

Entrepreneur-led. Personally shaped.

Dr. Alain Benz portrait
Founder & Managing Director

Dr. Alain Benz

Dr. Alain Benz, born 1980, Swiss citizen, has been founder, owner, and managing director of Goldcare Holding since 2006. He leads the holding strategically, develops its brands methodically, and brings his person in as a brand of its own.

PhD in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen with a specialisation in Business Engineering and Business Model Development; dissertation at the Institute of Information Management (IWI-HSG) under Prof. Dr. Hubert Österle. Co-initiator of the Competence Center Independent Living. More than fifteen years of executive responsibility in the Swiss real estate and services industries — most recently as Managing Director of Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zürich (CHF 3.1 billion portfolio, 5,500 apartments, 100 employees), previously as CEO of bonacasa AG.

In late 2024, he suffered a pneumococcal sepsis with a three-week coma. Four amputations, one year of rehabilitation. This caesura now shapes the Goldcare approach: substance before scale, focus before growth, care before speed.

Since 2026, his personal work — consulting, mandates, keynotes, scholarly and literary work — is visible as a brand of its own at dralainbenz.ch. Goldcare is partnership-led and welcomes fellow travellers: capital partners, talent, operational partners who turn stance into substance.

Direct

alain.benz@goldcare.ch

Connect

LinkedIn profile ↗

Personal brand

dralainbenz.ch ↗

Offices

Hertenstein AG, Switzerland (HQ)
St. Margrethen SG (office)

Education
2009 – 2013
Doctorate in Business Administration, Business Innovation
University of St. Gallen · IWI-HSG
Final grade 5.5
2007 – 2009
Master of Arts, Business Innovation
University of St. Gallen
Final grade 5.74
2004 – 2007
Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration
University of St. Gallen
Final grade 5.02
2000 – 2003
Swiss Federal Matura
Part-time · ISME
1996 – 1999
Apprenticeship as Biology Laboratory Technician
EMPA · Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Governance

Key facts about the holding.

Legal form

Swiss GmbH (LLC)
Founded 2006 · UID CHE-112.908.361

Ownership

100% owner-led
Family holding · Dr. Alain Benz

Holding period

10+ years
Long-term · no exit mandate

Investment focus

Premium brands DACH & international
Technology · Design · Brand building
Contact

Get in touch.

Goldcare seeks dialogue with investors, founders, and talent. Every enquiry is answered personally.

One

Investors & Partners

For strategic partnerships, co-investments, and long-term capital relationships.

partners@goldcare.ch →
Two

Founders & Ventures

For Business Model Development, Go-to-Market Design, and holdings.

ventures@goldcare.ch →
Three

Talent & Careers

For people who want to work with Goldcare or one of its portfolio brands.

talents@goldcare.ch →

Office

Goldcare GmbH
Obere Reben 14
5415 Hertenstein AG, Switzerland

General

hallo@goldcare.ch

Note

All enquiries are treated confidentially. For formal conversations, we kindly ask for a brief introduction by email.