Every story has a beginning, and some of the most meaningful ones start in the simplest way. What you see today as My Swiss Story, a growing community, shared experiences, and conversations across cities didn’t appear overnight. It came together step by step, through small ideas, real moments, and a lot of intention. What started as a personal space to share experiences in Switzerland slowly evolved into something much bigger. Not by design, but by people resonating with it, adding to it, and becoming a part of it.
Here are a few things you might not know about how My Swiss Story became what it is today.
#1 It didn’t start as a community. It started as one person’s story.
Before My Swiss Story became a platform or a community, it was simply a blog. A space where Pragati Siddhanti (Founder & CEO) was trying to document life in Switzerland as it was, unfiltered and real. There was no larger plan attached to it at that point. It wasn’t built to scale or to grow into something bigger. It was just about sharing experiences, observations, and small everyday moments. Ironically, that honesty is what later became the foundation of everything it is today.
#2 For Pragati, this My Swiss Story is her second child.
Somewhere along the way, My Swiss Story stopped being a side project. It became personal, almost like a second baby. The kind of thing you don’t just build, but feel responsible for. The kind of thing you keep showing up for, even on days when it’s hard to. It turned into a space that carried meaning, responsibility, and a sense of ownership that goes beyond a typical project. It’s the kind of thing you keep thinking about, even when you’re not actively working on it. That emotional connection is what shaped the way it grew, more intentionally and more carefully.
#3 There wasn’t even a separate identity in the beginning.
In its early days, My Swiss Story didn’t exist as an independent platform. The blogs were published on Pragati’s sister’s website, quietly living within a space that wasn’t originally its own. There was no separate Instagram, no distinct identity, just content finding its place wherever it could.
Over time, as the intent became clearer and the vision stronger, it slowly moved into a space of its own. What once existed as a small section on someone else’s platform eventually grew into a brand with its own voice, presence, and community.
#4 There was a completely different phase before the Community.
Before My Swiss Story became a community-led platform, there was a phase where Pragati focused more on content creation and collaborations. From beauty to travel experiences across Switzerland, everything was going in a very different direction. Choosing to move away from that and build something more community-driven wasn’t the obvious next step. It required letting go of something that was already working, to build something that felt more aligned with her purpose.
#5 Coffee With A Purpose came from loneliness.
After COVID, there was a visible shift in how people were experiencing life abroad. There was more isolation, fewer genuine interactions, and a growing need to connect beyond surface-level conversations. Coffee With A Purpose came out of that space. It wasn’t created as an event concept or a strategy to bring people together. It came from a real need for meaningful conversations. And that’s exactly why it resonated, because it solved something that people were actually feeling.
#6 My Swiss Story expanded across cities.
What started in Basel didn’t stay limited to one place for long. Without forcing growth, My Swiss Story began reaching people in other cities like Zurich, Zug, Lausanne, Geneva, and Valais. It wasn’t about expansion as a goal, but more about people in different places resonating with the idea and wanting to be a part of it. In many ways, it reached cities before it was even planned to.
#7 It’s been recognised beyond the community.
Over time, My Swiss Story started gaining recognition beyond just the people who were directly part of it. It found its way into larger spaces, from features on Swiss National TV to conversations across radio, podcasts, and print platforms. What makes this more meaningful is that it wasn’t something actively chased. There was no strong push for visibility or external validation. Instead, it came as a natural outcome of consistently showing up and creating something people genuinely connected with. In many ways, this recognition reflects how widely the idea resonated, even beyond the immediate community.
#8 It continued, even in the quieter phases.
Not every phase of building My Swiss Story looked like growth or expansion. There were quieter moments too, where things slowed down and the pace felt different. But even during these phases, the work didn’t stop. It simply shifted. It showed up through writing, editing, planning, and rethinking what direction to take next. These were the moments where clarity was built, even if progress wasn’t always visible. Looking back, these quieter phases played an important role. They allowed space to pause, reflect, and move forward with more intention instead of just momentum.
#9 Memberships were about building depth, not just growth.
When memberships were introduced, the intention wasn’t just to expand the platform or add another layer to it. It came from the need to make the experience more meaningful for the people who were already a part of it. As the community grew, it became clear that not every interaction leads to a real connection. Memberships created a space where people could engage more intentionally, participate more actively, and feel more connected to the platform. It shifted the focus from how many people are involved to how meaningful those connections actually are.
#10 My Swiss Story is no longer just Pragati’s story.
What started as one person’s experience of living in Switzerland has gradually grown into something much more layered. My Swiss Story is no longer centered around a single perspective, it has become a space where multiple stories exist together. People from different backgrounds, cities, and journeys bring their own experiences into it. Some are new and still figuring things out, while others have been here for years. Each story adds something different and that’s what makes it what it is today. Not just a platform, but a space where people see parts of their own journey reflected in someone else’s.
At the end of the day, My Swiss Story was never just about Switzerland. It’s about finding your place in a new environment, building connections that feel genuine, and creating something that slowly starts to feel like home. If you’re somewhere in that journey yourself, new, exploring, or simply looking for your people, maybe this is where your story begins too.
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