VENTURES
ALMANACH AUSTRIA
MADE BY INVENTURES PUBLISHING
V E N TU R E S
ALMANACH AUSTRIA
Supported by Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology
PUBLISHED BY inventures publishing GmbH Managing director: Ondrej Gandel Lindengasse 56/18-19 1070 Vienna, Austria office@inventures.eu www.inventures.eu/almanach Almanach editor-in-chief & project manager: CLAUDIA KAEFER Almanach lead editor: MICHAEL BERNSTEIN Almanach data analyst PHILIPP JANAUSCHEK Almanach graphic designer: TOBIAS MONTE / TOSA DESIGN Almanach illustrator: NICOLE BOITOS HAYWORTH Almanach photographer: MARTIN HABURAJ Almanach production advisor: MARTIN SCHWARZ / Industriemagazin Verlag Almanach proof reader: TRACEY STRANGE Contact us: ALMANACH@INVENTURES.EU We would like to thank a fantastic team that made such a huge first-time project possible. A big thanks also to our significant others (and of course, minors) that supported us greatly during a very stressful time. Also thanks to our clients who still believe in the power of a printed book. And not because we have to, but because we want to: This almanach was supported by VIENNA BUSINESS AGENCY. Copyright Š 2014 by Inventures Publishing GmbH. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher, except in the case of news articles and academic papers with proper referencing. External guest commentators were selected and their contribution edited before the book was published. However, Inventures Publishing GmbH is not responsible for the content of those commentaries neither for the sources used. The data provided in this book is self-reported by public grants institutions as well as investment institutions. It is provided for information purposes only and not intended for trading purposes. Photocredits: Kitzbßhel Tourismus/Medialounge (Cover, 9, 14); Stockphotos Printed in the EU.
EDITORIAL
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 A BOOK ABOUT PEOPLE CREATING VENTURES
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL CREATING A VENTURE THAT LASTS
EACH WEEK, THE INVENTURES EDITORIAL STAFF SIT DOWN TO DISCUSS ENTREPRENEURS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS. Given the backdrop of current major global crises, it feels a bit unreal. Where do entrepreneurs get their energy, optimism and drive, when most others would give up? What do they tell themselves every day before they face the challenges their businesses bring? These are the questions that drove inventures from an online magazine all the way to the book you hold in your hands. We decided to create something that lasts. A medium we could show to our grandchildren and explain what being an entrepreneur meant in 2014 - the conditions, the emotions and how it led to the life we continued. And, yes, we want to show them that we had lunch once with this or that very successful person, before anyone knew about him. Without the need for WI-FI, electricity or a ‘cloud’ (the standard tools of our trade), this book also is a record of our times and a repository of our experiences,.
This book is a prototype - our first take on a publication of its kind, with more to follow, we hope. While there certainly is room for improvement, we want to be transparent about the intentions and ambitions behind it, and invite you to measure us against them:
FOUNDERS FIRST We have made a conscious effort to put founders at the forefront. This book gives space to over 20 of them to share not only their experience, but also their expertise and views on their respective industries. We very much enjoy stories of people who choose not to follow a conventional career path, but rather decide to share their big idea with a friend and start a business together. While they may not always pull it off the very first time, they keep at it and often succeed with ensuing attempts.
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015
EDITORIAL
DEFIANCE, NOT DEFINITION We have been asked on numerous occasions to define a startup or compare our definition to someone else’s. But aren’t the edges the most interesting sources of surprises? Aren’t the combinations of unusual sectors, business models and scaling mechanisms where novelty comes from? We write about innovators who don’t wait for a definition, defy the norms and let others attach a label.
TREND VS. HYPE Doing business, trading goods and selling services are activities as old as mankind. Like fashion or food, they have been evolving with every new generation. Being able to separate contemporary trends from the hype has preoccupied business storytellers for just as long. While today we toss around terms like ‘appy’ and ‘lean’, and can say that
communication between and about new businesses is more accessible than ever before, can we already define a business trend, or is it all just hype? Perhaps only time will tell.
T R A NSPA R ENCY Publishing an Almanach is a claim to comprehensiveness. Nevertheless, one of the greatest challenges about putting together this book has been a general lack of available data and, at times, the unwillingness to share them. Trust reduces transactional costs and opens up markets for many new opportunities and players. In our own unique experience, trust has been the key factor for growing our business, within the team as well as with clients, in Austria and internationally. Save a slot in your bookshelf for next year’s edition! In the meantime, keep up-to-date on inventures.eu.
CLAUDIA AND ONDREJ
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015
PART WELCOME / TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS PART
22
ONE
A CORPORATE STARTUP BeeOne / Christian Berger
24 STARTUP EVENTS IN AUSTRIA Can Ertugrul
� CHAPTER 2 � Ventures & Support
VENTURES AND THEIR ECOSYSTEM � CHAPTER 1 � Ventures & Society 16
VENTURES & THE MEDIA Jakob Steinschaden
18
VENTURES & A NEW WAY OF WORKING Matthias Reisinger
20
STRATEGIES FOR VENTURES Stefan Perkmann-Berger
28
THE INVESTORS' PERSPECTIVES ON PUBLIC GRANTS Manfred Reichl, Hansi Hansmann
32
GRANTS ARE A TOOL, NOT A PANACEA Thomas Schranz
33
IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT THE MONEY Sia Ali-Pour-Kermani
34
A1 CAMPUS FOR STARTUPS A1/Mario Mayerthaler
36
WHY INVEST IN AUSTRIAN TECH STARTUPS? Marcel van der Heijden
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PART WELCOME / TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART
TWO EXPERIENCE � CHAPTER 1 � The guts, wits and kicks of startups 52 INCEPTION MySugr, Polychromelab/AltaQuota, HooVi, Josephbrot, BikeCityGuide, 54 RISKS WOOM bikes, Gebrüder Stitch, Tractive, CoWorking Salzburg
38 MATCHMAKING FOR REGIONAL STARTUPS AND INVESTORS Florian Becke 40 IT TAKES A VILLAGE Florian Gschwandtner 42 THE RIGHT TIME TO SEEK INVESTMENT Andreas Klinger 45 CROWDINVESTING Daniel Horak 46 ALL IN THE FAMILY Lorita & Yves Schulz
56 SUCCESS Soulbottles, Fanreport, Indoo.rs, Less is More, Runtastic 58 FAILURE Archify/Blippex, own3d 60 RESURRECTION Helioz, Sheela, Global Rockstar
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PART WELCOME / TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART
76 SOLVING ISSUES OF INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION Bernhard Hofer
THREE
78 FINTECH: USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO RETHINK FINANCE Andreas Kern
2014 REVIEW
80 HEALTHCARE: APPLIED GENETICS Anja Geretschläger
64 TIMELINE NEWS
84 HOT HARDWARE Michael Hurnaus
� CHAPTER 1 � Industry Insights
82 PUTTING THE PEDAL TO THE METAL Iris Filzwieser 86 AWARDS 2014 100 GRANTS 2013 102 INVESTMENTS 2013
� CHAPTER 2 � Opinion Leaders 2014 106 HARALD TRAUTSCH 109 CHRISTOPHER CLAY
68 AUSTRIA’S FASHION BUSINESS Teresa Zimmermann, Anita Dorner 70 THE DIGITALISATION OF AGRICULTURE Alois Temmel, Marcus Schweinzger 72 CROWDSOURCING SMART MOBILITY Christian Adelsberger 74 CONSUMER GOODS: FROM EGO TO ECO Melanie Ruff
112 DIAGNOSIA
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PART WELCOME / TABLE OF CONTENTS
152 EVERSPORT 153 BITMOVIN 154 NIXE BRAU
115 ROLAND WOLF 118 ALI MAHLODJI 121 DIANA RADULOVSKI 124 MICHAEL EISLER 127 JAMA NATEQI 130 SOFIE QUIDENUS 133 CHRISTINE ZIMMER
155 JOURNI
PART
� CHAPTER 2 � The Year ahead
FOUR
159 LIST OF AWARDS 2015 161 LIST OF GRANTS 2015
2015 OUTLOOK PART
FIVE
138 WIFO-INVENTURES ENTREPRENEURSHIP INDEX 142 OUTLOOK ON CEE
� CHAPTER 1 � The million dollar question 146 EVENTIPLY 147 SPECTRALMIND 148 BERGAFFE 149 OMAI 150 MERCURYPUZZLE
REGISTER 166 LIST OF VENTURES 178 LIST OF INVESTORS 180 LIST OF CO-WORKING SPACES 186 LIST OF COURSES ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP
151 GREENVISION VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 11
PART ONE / ECOSYSTEM
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PART ONE / ECOSYSTEM
VENTURES AND THEIR ECOSYSTEM No man is an island, and neither is a venture. Most people would agree that, compared to 10 years ago, conditions for starting up in 2014 have never been better and that the impact of startups has gained awareness in society at large.
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PART ONE / ECOSYSTEM
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PART ONE / ECOSYSTEM
� CHAPTER 1 �
VENTURES & SOCIETY T H E B U Z Z W O R D “ I N N OVAT I O N ” I N S P I R E D THE BUSINESS WORLD IN THE EARLY 2000s, LIKEWISE “ENTREPRENEURSHIP” SEEMED TO OFFER A SOLUTION TO THIS D E CA D E ’S F I NA N C I A L C R I S I S. N OWA DAYS, AS POLITICIANS (AUSTRIANS AND GERMANS ALIKE) FIND IT COOL TO TAKE SELFIES WITH VENTURE FOUNDERS, CAN YOU STILL BELIEVE T H E E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L I M PAC T O N SOCIETY IS NEGLIGIBLE?
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PART ONE / SOCIETY
VENTURES & MEDIA
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PART ONE / SOCIETY
OVERESTIMATED AND UNDERRATED Every tech startup shares a dream: To be featured on the front page of TechCrunch. A story on Silicon Valley´s still most important media site, so it is thought, will bring an avalanche of attention from consumers and investors. But in my eight years of covering the startup scene in Austria, I have observed different results from such features. While some startups reported an explosion of app downloads or site visits, others were disappointed with the results from their article. Which raises the question: What is the right media strategy for a brand new start-up? The answer is: There is no single correct answer. Each startup is different - some are B2C, others B2B. Some eye an international rollout, others want to conquer their specific market. Some seek investors, others want to get users. Sometimes giving an exclusive story to a major news outlet is called for, other times it’s not. The right thing to do is to carefully consider when and where you want to place a story, in which media. In the last two or three years, Austrian news outlets jumped on the startup hype. Often, they prefer to report on a local founder’s story rather than write about the next hot startup from San Francisco. Sometimes it´s better to identify the five to ten media outlets where you really need to be covered, than to send out your PDFs to a broad range of media.
these days: in exchange for a stake in the enterprise, the owners of TV and radio stations, news sites or newspapers promote the startup with ads and editorial content. If you have a B2C startup and need to attract a lot of new users quickly, a TV partner can be very helpful. The important thing here is to track conversions to downloads, visits, or sales. Another way for startups to think about media is: How can their products help media companies in the ongoing digital disruption? It is well documented that revenues and readers for many newspapers are dropping. Media houses are always looking for new solutions to increase readership, ad revenue and even paying subscribers. Big publishers are increasingly interested in startups that can offer a new approach to producing, distributing and monetizing content on the internet. Paywalls, new commenting systems, native advertising, curation tools, infographics, video, social media, mobile – all these buzzwords have become essential to the news business. Startups that can find solutions to these issues, will be invited to pitch their idea in media owners’ conference rooms.
One thing to be sure of is to be prepared for your launch. You’ll definitely need good photos of the team and your product, clear and complete information about the idea, the team, your market, the strategy, the investors and the business model (if you have them), and a good answer to the question “But isn’t that other startup doing the same thing as you?” Another important thing for a startup to do is to think of media companies not just as your megaphone, but also as potential partners. So-called “media 4 equity” deals are quite common
JAKOB STEINSCHADEN is an IT journalist, blogger and author of two books, Phänomen Facebook and Digitaler Frühling. He currently writes for Horizont and earlier for FutureZone/Kurier.
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 17
PART ONE / SOCIETY
VENTURES & A NEW WAY OF WORKING
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PART ONE / SOCIETY
T H E W A Y W E W O R K I S C H A N G I N G . Whether out of choice or of economic necessity, today’s workers are shying away from the traditional bureaucratic workplace, seeking independence, taking personal responsibility for solving the world’s problems, taking more risk, and looking for more meaning in their chosen professions. From an increasing number of idea-driven people who decide to go it alone, to employees of big corporations who seek sources of creativity outside their own structured environments, a clear need for adaptive, affordable workspaces has emerged. Co-working as a concept was launched by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. In 2005, co-working pioneer Brad Neuberg (USA) tried out a model that enabled working independently within a community of peers. By 2012, a total of 1,320 coworking spaces had mushroomed around the world. 60% of existing co-working offices worldwide are in their first major growth stage, acquiring new, bigger spaces for their members within the upcoming months (source: deskmag.com). Among the pioneers of the Austrian co-working movement are the founders of Schraubenfabrik and Rochuspark, who opened their first space in 2002 and have continuously grown their space and community, which is strongly focused on the creative industries and single-person enterprises.
As the needs of its community grow, so must the space. As ideas become established enterprises, co-working spaces must also grow by adding additional space, meeting rooms, quiet areas, fixed desk space and, perhaps most importantly, exposure to investors or important stakeholders. Increasingly, co-working spaces work with established corporations to enhance their network reach and visibility. At Impact Hub, we are collaborating with both corporations and NGOs, which can incubate riskier ventures than they could from within their own bureaucracies by harnessing our members’ creativity and innovative talent. In return, our members receive mentorship, broaden their network and sometimes even receive financing, in return. With each passing year, modern technology makes unified communication among co-workers outside of a traditional office environment more possible, affordable and mobile. Yet a shared physical space will always offer something that a virtual office can not. Humans are social creatures and have long realised that physical proximity is critical for innovation. Sometimes that chance meeting at the coffee machine can inspire a great idea or lead to partnership. By inspiring, connecting and supporting people founding and growing innovative new businesses, co-working spaces have become an important pillar and are playing a vital role in the urban startup and SME sector.
In 2005 the first Impact Hub was opened in Islington London; just around the time when Brad Neuberger opened his space. In 2010, Impact Hub Vienna opened its doors as one of the first spaces to offer flexible desk usage and a thematic focus on impact-driven and social entrepreneurship. Opening soon afterward were sektor5, focusing on tech, web and mobile startups; and CoWorking Salzburg, one of the more successful Austrian spaces outside of Vienna. A shared office space offers efficient distribution of overhead, amenities and infrastructure, but co-working spaces offer more than merely desk space, wireless internet, a photocopier and a kitchenette. Their USP lies in the vibrant and diversified community collaboration and the cross-disciplinary connections that result. To varying degrees, they offer unique advantages over most traditional workplaces: flexibility of access; networking support; event programming; and incubation, to name a few.
MAG. MATTHIAS REISINGER is a co-founder of Impact Hub Vienna, which supports social innovators and social entrepreneurs to realise their ideas and scale their impact. “The Hub” hosts 380+ members and provides them with access to infrastructure, community and incubation programs. There are currently 70+ Impact Hubs worldwide with 9000+ members.
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 19
PART ONE / SOCIETY
STRATEGIES FOR VENTURES
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 20
PART ONE / SOCIETY
H AV I N G G O O D S T R AT E G I E S I N P L AC E to execute a new business idea is the key to success. Over the years, we have seen major changes in what strategies are being applied. Foremost was an increasing awareness of how important it is to have a solid, innovative business model in place. This trend was fuelled by Alexander Osterwalder’s 2010 book, Business Model Generation. Although there are several methods of describing and developing a business model, such as the “lean canvas” by Ash Maurya, the dominant template among the majority of Austrian startups, as well as established companies, is still Osterwalder’s “canvas.” As a result of this trend, we can observe an increasing complexity of business models over the last years. A second major change we have seen is the idea popularised by Eric Ries’ 2011 book, The Lean Start-up. This philosophy is based upon lean manufacturing, a method used to streamline production and reduce waste. As applied to startups, the idea is to shorten production life-cycles through structured experimentation, planned collection of customer feedback and iterative prototyping. This approach has been shown to significantly increase market reach and thus reduces the risk of failure typically arising from lack of customer feedback. As a result, the old-school formula – writing a business plan, acquiring external funding, developing the product and finally launching it – has become less and less popular. The main shortcoming of its logic is that it requires detailed analysis of the status quo even if customers’ needs and market dynamics are uncertain. Such detailed planning leads to a behaviour of linear execution rather than iterative development on the basis of customer feedback. By now, the lean-startup movement has gained traction in the Austrian startup scene. It has also impacted investors’ decision-making processes. When deciding whether to invest
in an early-stage startup, investors are increasingly tending to look at real market feedback and validation. Questions about existing traction in the market have become standard. Investors also favour short and compact business descriptions over long and confusing business plans. Lean startup principles call for a focus on collecting key performance metrics, such as customer acquisition costs and lifetime value. A growing American trend is the predominant emphasis on design-driven development and usability. This trend is developing gradually in Austria, where we still have the tendency to first focus on technology or functionalities. We also notice a recent rise in exchange within and between startup ecosystems. Increasingly, startups are thinking internationally and many startups are joining initiatives abroad to become successful. Step by step, established companies are also becoming active players in the ecosystem and many become key partners to a growing number of startups.
D R . S T E FA N P E R K M A N N - B E R G E R is managing director of WhatAVenture – a virtual learning tool for developing business concepts and for providing access to experts and investors. He is currently also running the Hardware Tribe, a community to support innovative hardware technologies. He holds a doctoral degree in Innovation Management.
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 21
PART ONE / ADVERTORIAL
A CORPORATE STARTUP
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 22
PART ONE / ADVERTORIAL
HOW CAN A LARGE, INSTITUTIONAL BANK SUCH AS ERSTE GROUP BE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO MEET CONSUMER DEMAND FOR INNOVATION, ATTRACT IT A N D M A R K ETI NG TA L ENT W HO NOR M A L LY AVOI D TRADITIONAL BUSINESSES, AND DEVELOP STATE-OFTHE-ART RETAIL BANKING SOLUTIONS? BY LAUNCHING I T S O W N S TA R T U P, B E E O N E , E R S T E K E E P S I T S E L F CURRENT ON THE PULSE OF THE TIMES.
Today’s society changes faster than many big institutions can keep up with. In hierarchical bureaucracies, conservatism and resistance to change too often stymie innovative ideas coming from within and the needs of the clientele often go unnoticed or, worse, dismissed outright as unnecessary. Overcoming such inertia and hubris is vital in today’s changing technological and legal climate – the banking sector is no exception.
Since its creation, BeeOne has focused on developing digital innovations for Erste Group’s partners and pilot banks in the Austrian and Croatian markets, by integrating international staff into interdisciplinary teams; jointly developing ideas and prototypes, and then implementing them. In addition, BeeOne is also teaming up with other local banks and facilitating the sharing of best practices in order to leverage opportunities for joint product development.
This is a big reason why Erste Group Bank founded a wholly owned, independent subsidiary, BeeOne, which is part of the Erste Hub, a transformation project established in 2012. Our aim is to ensure that our products and services offer added value to our 16.6 million customers. Staffed by some 50 bankers and non-bankers, as well as business and technology experts, BeeOne creates an entrepreneurial atmosphere in which good ideas can be put into practice rapidly by developing prototypes for new banking solutions (apps and web solutions).
BeeOne aims at delivering an outstanding customer experience across all channels to the clients of Erste Bank. BeeOne has already made significant contributions through apps like QuickCheck which has received very positive feedback from our customers, who can now get key account info on-the-go without needing to re-enter a password each time. At the moment the project teams are working on some seven projects, which will be rolled out in Erste Group banks in the coming months.
Like many of today’s startups, BeeOne follows a structured approach to making ideas become reality. We drive change in every dimension – the bank’s self-perception, attitude, processes, organisational structures and technology. The process always begins with an existing problem experienced by our customers. We have adopted a Stage-Gate approach from idea creation to implementation. At the first stage of the creation process we hold “shooting sessions,” in which the team decides whether the idea is worth pursuing or can be improved on. Some ideas may fail at this gate. For the ideas which make it to the next stage in the process, we create a prototype. At this final gate, we decide whether or not to launch the product. Of some 90 projects pitched to date since the inception of BeeOne, 37 have made it to prototype and 14 to the implementation phase.
CHRISTIAN BERGER BEEONE / ERSTE GROUP is managing director and founding member of BeeOne, the digital innovation lab of Erste Group since 2012. Before this assignment he worked as manager in different international functions and divisions of the bank, mainly in Digital Retail Banking and IT in Erste Group and Bank Austria.
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 23
PART ONE / SOCIETY
VENTURES & EVENTS
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PART ONE / SOCIETY
STARTUP EVENTS IN AUSTRIA ARE BECOMING MORE PROFESSIONAL AND I N T E R N A T I O N A L , drawing larger audiences. Such events are of great benefit to the Austrian ecosystem and often provide an “international uplink,” While all events offer a chance to network, certain events cater to the various needs of startups at different stages of development. Good for having deeper one-to-one talks with other local founders and making friends, informal get togethers, such as AustrianStartup’s “Stammtisch,” take place in all of Austria’s provinces. Open to all, their main objective is to provide local startup communities with casual networking and professional exchange, as well as a good reason to grab a drink together. Grass-roots events, meet-ups, drink-ups, and even steak-ups are regularly organised via social media and often take place in one of Austria’s many co-working spaces. Some events are focused on capacity-building in startups. Startup Live is the place to be if you have a startup idea but lack a co-founder or team members. Taking place periodically in various cities across Austria (and beyond), this three-day event allows you to meet and work with potential future colleagues while mentors give you valuable feedback. A variety of events provide startups a venue for sharing information, getting inspiration and feedback, as well as pitching ideas and products. Early-stage mobile-app ventures might consider Mobile Monday, a periodic event where they learn from their successful peers and can pitch to win an award. Since 2009, social-impact entrepreneurs have benefitted from attending the Social Impact Award, where selected applicants can pitch in front of like-minded attendees and experts. The best projects are awarded with cash and honours, but all who attend learn new skills, broaden their network and become inspired to go forward. Another source of inspiration, if not a platform for business development, is the annual independently organised TEDx Vienna event held in Vienna’s beautiful Volkstheater. However, it’s the bigger events that are best for improving your international network, benchmarking, and getting access to investors. Pioneers Festival is the flagship tech event in
Austria and a first-rate experience. 2,500 founders, hackers, designers, hustlers, and investors from around the world gather annually at Vienna’s beautiful imperial palace to participate in an exchange about startups and future technologies. Pioneers Unplugged, the festival’s less-expensive “little brother,” takes place in Vienna, where it started, and also in many European cities. Usually, 100+ people get together to hear founders’ experiences and take in cool showcases by Tech startups. Top startups must compete for an invitation to pitch at Vienna’s Austrian Business Angel Day, an annual conference for investors. It offers them a forum to exchange ideas with industry experts, discuss the challenges in Austria’s venture capital market, and to find out which investor is chosen as “Business Angel of the Year.” MANAGING EXPECTATIONS No matter what type or size of event is attended, overly ambitious expectations often go unfulfilled. For example, being able to talk to investors does not necessarily translate to getting immediate funding. Also, to really grow one’s “active network,” it is necessary to be pro-active by following up shortly after getting acquainted and finding a way of providing value to new acquaintances, before asking them for a favour.
MAG. CAN ERTUGRUL Active in the Austrian startup ecosystem since 2010, Can Ertugrul organised startup events with StartEurope and was also a business analyst with i5invest, the first employee of payolution (now part of the Skrill group), and chief marketing officer for hitbox.tv. Can is co-founder of austrianstartup.com and show-host at the Pioneers Festival.
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PART ONE / ECOSYSTEM
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 26
PART ONE / ECOSYSTEM
� CHAPTER 2 �
VENTURES & SUPPORT A WISE PERSON ONCE SAID THAT NOTHING HAPPENS IN ISOLATION. DRIVING A TESLA ISN’T COOL IF NOBODY ELSE STOPS AND STARES. SAME GOES FOR FOUNDING A C O M PA N Y: W I T H O U T C U S T O M E R S , PA R T N E R S , SUPPLIERS – PEOPLE WHO BUY INTO THE IDEA AND THEREFORE SUPPORT IT – THERE’S NOTHING.
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PART ONE / SUPPORT
PUBLIC GRANTS
THE INVESTORS’ PERSPECTIVE PUBLIC-SECTOR SUPPORT FOR STARTUPS IN AUSTRIA IS AMONG THE BEST IN THE EU. STATE AGENCIES SUCH AS AWS AND FFG, AS WELL AS CITY FUNDS LIKE GRAZ’S RENT-SUPPORT PROGRAM, GIVE THEIR SUPPORT IN FOUR BASIC WAYS: OUTRIGHT GRANTS, LOANS (GUARANTIES), EQUITY INVESTMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT.
Such taxpayer-funded support is a crucial early-stage “investment” for startups – a “trampoline” to help them leap higher – and also gives them the credibility to leverage private investment. However, some startups consider the time and effort for applying and reporting, as well as the lack of laterstage public financing, to be negatives. Few private investors would argue that grants should be eliminated. But investors are of mixed opinions about their effectiveness. Two of Austria’s most renowned startup investors – Dr. Manfred Reichl and Dr. Johann “Hansi” Hansmann – offer their viewpoints.
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PART ONE / SUPPORT
FUNDING A STARTUP IS LIKE AN A I R P L A N E T A K E - O F F : The idea is ready to embark, the business waits at the gate. First, the plane has to be pushed out, and then taxis to the runway (friends and family). Then it has to accelerate rapidly (business angels, public funding). Most of the fuel is needed to reach take-off speed and to get airborn (other private investors). Only once it has proven flight capabilities do the venture capital companies come in. While an initial push from the state is important, there is a danger of crashing when such money has been used up (often just during take-off) and private investors have not stepped in. While companies in my portfolio have had positive experiences with public loan guaranties, as an investor I’ve seen the other side of the coin – getting state approval for a double-equity deal half a year ago, only to have the state back out in the last minute, fearing that the company was failing. In this example, the business ended up surviving and is now worth tens of millions euros. In the end, I think that the common sense of a responsible, private individual regulates businesses better than state boards can do. Private investors check the person and the plausibility of the business idea, they look into the eyes of the founder and ask themselves: “Does he really want to do this and is he able to?” Public funding bodies also look at the plausibility, but they control in a more formal way. Private funding, for example, seldomly requires an extensive application, only a good business plan. Austrian state support is actually pretty good. However, instead of merely spending taxpayer’s money on grants, the state can leverage much more by stimulating direct funding of the private sector. It could, for example, mandate or provide tax incentives for wealthy individuals, foundations or private enterprises to invest a small percentage of their uninvested capital in more risky, young businesses.
D R . M A N F R E D R E I C H L worked with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants for 20 years. As senior managing partner, he has developed their consulting business in Austria/CEE to the third biggest region of the group. Since leaving Berger in 2007, he is an investor in technology companies, senior adviser for renowned institutions, Non-Executive Board Member, and lecturer at the Vienna University for Business and Economics.
THE ECONOMIC ARGUMENT FOR PUBLIC G R A N T S stems from the failure of the private markets to provide funding for startups, particularly initial-stage support. Public grants are only one part of the overall financing picture for startups, but an important one for us. If they weren’t offered, the Austrian startup scene would be surely worse off. I encourage all of my startups to try and get all the potential grants they can, of course. All grants are graciously accepted ;-) and certainly help with a startup’s overall revenues. Though the grant process can take quite some time, by and large they function quite well. Some say that grants have a potential to stifle a startup’s growth. True, but so does every money source – it makes no difference if it’s from the public sector or not. New forms of public risk-capital support are emerging, such as the AWS’s double-equity loan guaranty. But this is harder than it should be. Banks are not especially motivated. I don’t know how far a pledge-guaranty actually would go in a worst-case scenario. Receiving a grant gives something of an imprimatur to a startup. As a private investor, I know that if a startup has been awarded a grant, then some official or some committee has carefully considered the business to arrive at its decision. Therefore, public grants help private investors to identify highquality startups to invest in. Although public grants are vital for young companies, making some of this money available for tax incentives on investment would be very helpful.
D R . J O H A N N ’ H A N S I ’ H A N S M A N N studied economics in Vienna and was an executive in the pharmaceutical industry before successfully running his own pharmaceutical company in Spain, making an exit in 2003. Since then he has been a business angel with investments in international internet and health ventures, including the Austrian startups diagnosia, durchblicker, runtastic, mysugr, whatchado, tractive, and shpock.
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PUBLIC GRANTS
GRANTS ARE A TOOL, NOT A PANACEA FREE MONEY! NO NEED TO GIVE UP E Q U I T Y . No strings attached. Sometimes, grants sound too good to be true. Often they are. If your goal is to build a sustainable business that provides value to your customers, applying for grants might work against you. Especially when you are starting out, focusing on providing value to your customers is the purpose of and challenge to your venture. Everything that diverts your attention from this puts your venture at risk. The market and your (potential) customers are your best source of insight. Winning a grant (or getting rejected) doesn’t say much about whether you are on the right track or not. It’s only an indicator for how good you are at getting grants. With grants, you trade focus and attention for money. This is not inherently bad, but before you apply for a grant, take some time to deeply think about how you could manage without it and the advantages of not diluting your focus. What would you use the grant for? What kind of expenses do you expect? Can you find ways to achieve the same with a lean cost-structure? Can you find a way to accelerate getting money
directly from your customers? Are there other ways to provide value to your customers even before your product is ready? Businesses today can manage on a shoestring budget. Traditional up-front cost can be postponed or avoided entirely thanks to co-working spaces and dedicated services that allow you to outsource and off-load risk. If you still think applying for a grant is a good idea don’t forget: not all grants are created equal. Do your due diligence: ask some companies who’ve done it both ways what the pluses and minuses were and get a sense of how much bureaucracy is involved. Then decide for yourself.
T H O M A S S C H R A N Z is the co-founder and CEO of blossom.io, a lightweight project-management tool for software developers. The computer-science dropout attended Seedcamp and participated in the WKO’s Go Silicon Valley initiative. He currently lives in San Francisco.
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PUBLIC GRANTS
IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT THE MONEY SEARCHING FOR AND APPLYING FOR G R A N T S is a tremendous drain on a startup’s valuable time, particularly in its early stages. However, this doesn’t mean that grants have no value. As with any form of investment capital – monetary, human, creative, professional – it is important for a startup venture to know what they need the resources for before they go about finding a grant. Sometimes, it should not be just about getting money, but rather finding the most appropriate structure for your business. For some business sectors, such as software developers, focusing on customers rather than grants is not just a way to maximise income, but vitally important for their product’s evolution. But for other sectors like ours – creative, luxury, fashion, or even old-style service businesses – getting grant funding in the early stages allows a venture to focus on building an image as opposed to just chasing clients and making money. For some newly launched ventures, capacity-building grants are the best fit. Typically, such funding is earmarked for professional development – hiring consultants or coaches, attending workshops, building teamwork and network – rather than to standard operating expenses. It can be considered a
form of payment for the startup team – not just improving the skills of individual team members, but a great way of getting everyone on the same page about a project. Knowledge is in many ways more important than cash in getting a leg up on your competitors. Public grants are only as good as the strategic intentions of the venture getting the award. If, before even looking at an application form, a venture has a clear overall strategy and a fixed scope for using a grant award, it can use its time and resources more efficiently by finding the best grant program for its needs. Such time spent can then be “booked” as an investment. M A G . S I A A L I - P O U R - K E R M A N I was born in Tehran, studied abstract painting at Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts, photography at Milan’s European Institute of Design and software development on his own. Since 2011, he has been the brand manager of the luxury fashion label Femme Maison, founded by Austrian designer Franziska Fürpass. Femme Maison has been awarded grants from Departure, Twin Entrepreneurs, the Austrian Fashion Association and the Austrian Ministry of Education, Art and Culture (BMUKK).
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CORPORATE VENTURES
A1 CAMPUS FOR STARTUPS IN RECENT YEARS, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION HAS PROVEN DISRUPTIVE TO TRADITIONAL “OLD ECONOMY” B U S I N E S S M O D E L S . The growth of mobile communications, cloud computing, M2M (machine-tomachine) communication, location-based services, and the field of UC (unified communications) has enabled business structures and processes that were not possible only a few years ago.
Highly efficient, collaborative work in innovation, production, marketing, and customer-service is enabled by these new technologies. Startups not only benefit from these innovative technologies themselves, but are also catering to the new consumer markets and opportunities arising in this field. Startups are not chained to big institutional processes and think differently, more quickly, often without concern about entrenched internal bureaucracies. Big tech innovation companies today are not only looking to startup entrepreneurs for ideas but are even emulating their business models. A1, for example, has launched two stand-alone subsidiaries: PayBox bank and Telekom Austria M2M (Machine to Machine, Internet of Things), to provide the innovation and agility to respond to today’s technological challenges. We have also launched the A1 Startup Campus project to provide incubator space and services to young and promising Austrian entrepreneurs at the pre-seed stage. Though corporate and social responsibility is a large motivation for our Campus accelerator project, we benefit from the experience as well. By seeing upclose which new
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technologies startups need and how they are used, we can better develop and bundle our own business products for not only the emerging enterprise but also for the broader SME market, here and abroad. “Startups are benefitting from, as well as seizing opportunities in new technologies that enable efficient, collaborative, decentralised work.” Our pilot Campus program incubated the pre-seed startups Flatout and DefectRadar, one of which has already been integrated into our internal processes as well as our business product package. The Campus, located in Vienna’s 20th district, opened in December and will grow to take in up to 10 carefully selected startups. We provide them with not only office space and infrastructure, but also with a full-range of our business products – from laptops to cloud services – as well as consultation from dozens of A1 professionals with a wide spectrum of expertise. Any Austrian entrepreneur may apply.
It is also our common responsibility to provide opportunities here at home for the next generation. If every top ATX company in Austria were to support one or two startups, we would guaranty a solid base for future innovation and job creation. A1 is proud to be a leader in this effort.
D R . M A R I O M A Y E R T H A L E R , an expert in renewable energy and smart grids, received his doctorate from Karl-Franzens-Universität, Graz, in 2004. Following his studies, he worked at the Donau Universität, Krems; was the Assistant to the General Secretary at Österreichs Energie; became a policy consultant for H&P Public Affairs; and joined A1 in 2011. Since April 2012 he has been A1’s CEO Office and Business Development and is leading their Startup Campus project.
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A BUNDLED INVESTOR’S PERSPECTIVE
WHY INVEST IN AUSTRIAN TECH STARTUPS?
WHEN INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS ANGELS AND CORPORATE INVESTORS TALK A B OU T I N NOVAT I O N, S TA RT U P S A N D V E N T U R E I N V E S T I N G , T H E Y O F T E N H AV E S I L I C O N V A L L E Y I N M I N D . It is the place where the highest number of startups are born, can receive hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, and achieve multi-billion dollar valuations. It is where you can go online, using platforms like AngelList, and with a few clicks co-invest with superstar US-based investors in “hot” Silicon Valley startups. A $1,000 investment in AirBnB in 2009 reached a value $590K in September 2013! Who would not want a piece of that? (It’s worth the extra meetings with the tax accountant, right?)
S I L I C O N VA L L E Y I S A L S O T H E P L AC E WHERE: — the highest density of investors and venture capital (VC) funds are; — the number of seed-stage funds doubled in the last 5 years; — the amount of capital raised by these funds in 2014 is expected to increase 50% over 2013 levels; — the median startup valuation increased 10% last quarter, in rounds in which business angels participated; and — Q1 2014 VC investment and deal volume reached Q2 2001 levels again.
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However, the fact is that Silicon Valley is highly competitive for investors and getting returns is extremely hard, even for a Silicon Valley insider. Companies like Uber and AirBnB are few and far between, and the odds for the vast majority of early-stage investors are not very favourable. F O R E A R LY- S TA G E I N V E S T M E N T, E U R O P E L O O KS M O R E FAVO U R A B L E F R O M M A N Y ANGLES: — the technical talent pool is broader and deeper – EU universities produce nearly twice the number of engineering graduates per capita than schools in the US do; — startup valuations are significantly lower; — startups are much more capital efficient; and — exit multiples are approximately 35% higher.
the last three years. Organisations such as SpeedInvest and Pioneers now offer: Highly operational support for startups to address shortcomings early on; local US operations that target Silicon Valley’s customer base for growth; and Tier 1 VCs for further capital. They also offer institutional/corporate investors direct access to the best startups in the region. For Austrian and non-Austrian investors alike, Austria is an interesting “blue ocean” market for early-stage venture investing. It has a very attractive risk/return profile, strong public-funding support for local startups, and a professional ecosystem of successful funds and partners to work with. IF THIS ISN’T THE TIME TO INVEST IN AUSTRIAN STARTUPS – THEN WHEN?!
Also, early-stage capital for startups is scarcer in Europe, while the number of startups there is growing rapidly. European technology companies are increasingly achieving significant scale and exits. For these reasons, EU investors enjoy significant advantages over their Silicon Valley counterparts. On the other hand, European founding teams (with the possible exception of those in London and Berlin) are often incomplete and less experienced than their US counterparts – first-time founders often have little to no experience with building and scaling a business. But exactly these go-to-market skills are critical for scale/growth in a global marketplace. European founders are aware of this problem, but lack the resources and networks. Austria is no exception. The country has lots of outstanding technical talent, including engineers and entrepreneurs who have migrated from neighbouring central European regions such as southern Germany and Slovenia. Though there is still a shortage of professional venture capital in the region, the investor ecosystem has professionalized at a rapid pace in
D R . M A R C E L V A N D E R H E I J D E N is a general partner at SpeedInvest. He has broad international experience of over 15 years in the tech sector as a startup founder and working with global market leaders such as Microsoft. Within SpeedInvest, Marcel provides hands-on support as an embedded team member to portfolio companies such as indoo.rs and Sipwise. Sources used for this article: – Forbes: “The 6 Best Digital Tools For Angel Investors,” T. Prive, Aug. 28, 2013. – PitchBook: “In Record Quarter for VC, Bay Area Stands Out,” K. Stanford, July 2, 2014 – Slideshare.net: “The Changing Structure of the Venture Capital Industry,” M. Suster, July 23, 2014 (see also: Cbinsights.com: “Number of Active Seed Venture Capital Investors in 2013 Matches Record High...,” Jan. 3, 2014) – TechCrunch, “The State Of Investments In Europe...,” C. Hernandez & S. Piron,Sept. 20, 2014. – Cbinsights: “Venture Capital Financing & Exits Hit 2001 Levels...,” July 9, 2014. – Eurostat data: “Mathematics, science and technology enrolments and graduates,” updated June 17, 2014. – Slideshare.net: “Earlybird Europe Venture Capital Report,” J. Whitmire, July 22, 2011
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A BUNDLED INVESTOR’S PERSPECTIVE
MATCHMAKING FOR REGIONAL STARTUPS AND INVESTORS A BUSINESS ANGEL OR INVESTMENT FUND ALWAYS QUESTIONS WHY IT MAKES SENSE TO INVEST IN A SPECIFIC A R E A O R R E G I O N . For startups in relatively small geographical regions, it is not only important to be attractive to local supporters, but also to reach out to investors beyond their boundaries. This is particularly relevant in the western part of Austria, including Tyrol, because it is surrounded by cash-rich countries such as Switzerland, Italy and Germany. In this context, the role of the Investor Network Tyrol (innet) is to foster an international exchange between potential investors interested in a specific tech or phase and small Austrian companies looking for funding. Tyrol does not have big business angels – private investors and venture capitalists are few and far between. There is relatively more capital in neighbouring countries – in this case Switzerland, southern Germany and Italy – and many investors
from these areas are constantly on the lookout for for promising teams with high goals. This immediacy is not restricted by national borders, but is rather a matter of good accessibility and investment interest. From experience, however, I can say that an investment fund might be less flexible in this respect than, say, individual business angels. While Tyrol may lack a significant investment culture, there is a well-developed basis for research and development, also for startups, and businesses are well-networked despite, or precisely because of its relatively small size. In most cases, startup teams know exactly what they want, their projects are well-evaluated and their business models are neatly thought through. This facilitates agreements with supporters and makes investments possible with maximum speed and minimum risk. Besides many small businesses, we also have big players or “hidden champions” in the region, but what Tyrol lacks are best-practice examples of startup support.
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Western Austria is still a bit unproven when it comes to investing in small businesses. Many have already realised the region’s potential, but support for young entrepreneurs is still rare. There are initiatives to increase startups’ visibility and connect them with investors, but what small businesses lack is mentoring and coaching to prepare them for talks with potential funders. Building an international network of investors and connecting them to well-prepared startups in the region is crucial for the establishment of high quality businesses in Tyrol, which is why the innet initiative was established in 2012. Like many smaller, more isolated regions, Tyrol has a reputation for down-to-earth, gritty independence. Although Tyrol is proud to have successful investors of its own, (many of whom have previous successful entrepreneurial experience), it has come to realise that only by reaching across borders will its ventures grow in importance and number.
D R . F L O R I A N B E C K E is CEO of the Center for Academic Spin-Offs in Tyrol (CAST), which supports startups by providing mentorship, financing and coaching for young entrepreneurs. Before he began to work with startups, he studied biology at the University of Regensburg, worked as patent manager for “Bayern Patent” at the University and the technical college of Augsburg and was project manager of the technology transfer agency in the national genome research network (TT-NGEN) at the Fraunhofer patent office for German research.
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HOW TO RECEIVE MONEY
IT TAKES A VILLAGE THE AUSTRIAN STARTUP SCENE IS B E C O M I N G A M O R E E X C I T I N G S P A C E , but there’s still a lot of potential for growth if investors are ready to get a bit bolder. In general, Austrian entrepreneurs have a lot going for them.
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The whole scene and topic is becoming more “mainstream,” which has positively increased public awareness and excitement. There’s also a fair amount of public-sector project funding available, which can be a big enabler. Compared to the scenes in the U.S. or Berlin, Austria’s smaller scale makes it easier to navigate. While there can definitely be disadvantages here, a smaller market has its advantages – there are more direct connections to decision makers, less competition and easier access to top talent, to name a few. That being said, just a few short years ago, we at Runtastic searched unsuccessfully for large investors in Austria. The “Mobile Health and Fitness” branch was new and many traditional investors thought that our initial app could never lead to a successful, profitable business. However, our four-man founder team had boundless faith in our product and vision, so we went for it anyway. A few key supporters believed in our team and helped get us going. Within 18 months, we were “in the black.” Building a solid team and finding sound mentors really are crucial for a startup, whether in its early stages or throughout the fast-paced months and years that follow! I don’t necessarily think it would have been any different if we were located in Silicon Valley. There’s a lot of competition and it’s all about who you know. Why would investors there believe in us Austrians when their friend’s cousin’s neighbour
(who’s a total genius) was working on something similar? Back when we started, we just didn’t have crucial connections there. It’s taken a lot of travel, hard work and patience, but today Runtastic has an incredible network within Austria and Europe, as well as valuable connections around the globe. The personal connections that we made in our “simpler” startup space here in Austria still have enormous value. Personally, I choose to invest in companies where I know the team, trust the founders and understand their vision. At the end of the day, business is much more than just ideas – it’s about the people. In Austria, we’re fortunate to be able to operate on such a personal level.
F L O R I A N G S C H W A N D T N E R After studying Mobile Computing and Supply Chain Management, Florian Gschwandtner co-founded Linz-based Runtastic GmbH in 2009 and still serves as its CEO. Runtastic – an international company that promotes traditional fitness through its mobile applications, social networking and elements of gamification – has offices in Austria and San Francisco, closed an investment deal with Axel Springer and recently surpassed 100 million app downloads. Gschwandtner is also a business angel and has invested in Austrian startups tractive, linematrecs, alice-i and ligaportal.
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HOW TO RECEIVE MONEY
THE RIGHT TIME TO SEEK INVESTMENT ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, A FEW FRIENDS A N D I W E R E W O R K I N G O N “ G A R M Z ,” O U R F I R S T S T A R T U P . We were trying to revolutionize the fashion industry and searching for our first investors. Like many other young, naïve startups, our crazy ambition made up for our lack of experience. The first time is always the hardest. If I knew back then what I have come to know, I would have saved us a lot of time and trouble. It is knowledge that I’m happy to share with you Once you start playing the Venture Capitalist game, you must play by their high growth, aggressive expansion rules. Very often this over-the-top ambition is dangerous, unneeded or simply too early in a company’s lifecycle. If your business happens to become successful, you still can get investment later, but it will be built on a more stable foundation.
Most first time founders overestimate the need for early initial investment. In almost all cases you don’t need money, but time to work on your product. Granted, money is a proxy for time. But instead of spending time searching for investments, you might be better off spending it on developing your product and getting market traction. Proof-of-concept is more important to investors than telling them what you would do “if.” Essentially, there are two kinds of investment for startups: Proof and Scale. Proof is seed money to show that your product works and has market demand. Scale money can be used to improve, grow and sell the product in a sustainable way, while solidifying the underlying business. Most entrepreneurs tend to overestimate themselves and the maturity of their product and start pitching for scale investments too soon. This easily becomes a huge time-sink. Professional investors keep track of all early stage startups in their network. They will tell you that they’ll board your train at the station, but will only hop on once the train is moving.
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It’s so hard and time-consuming to look for your first angel investors, that it’s almost not worth doing. Instead, seek regular feedback from globally respected industry experts. Nurture such contacts and keep them involved in your productplanning. When the right time comes they will be the best source for your first investments. Angel investors who started off as informal advisors will offer you ongoing and valuable advice over the long term. And don’t be afraid to think internationally. If you did your homework and came vetted through their network, getting meetings with A- and B-level investors is easier in London and Berlin than it is in Vienna. It is important to remember that investment is only a means of building a company around a product that provides meaning to its customers. Investment itself is not the goal – in the end nobody will care if you got investment or not, but only that you managed to provide value to your customers. So focus on them and treat every customer as if they are your investors, because essentially this is who they are.
A N D R E A S K L I N G E R is a founding member of www.producthunt.com – a startup invested in by Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, Y Combinator and many others. Based in San Francisco, Product Hunt is a popular platform for launching new products. Previously, he founded www.die.socialisten.at, best known for their enterprise product www.swat.io. Additionally he founded a fashion crowdsourcing startup named Garmz.com (later Lookk.com).
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Professional Consulting & Personal Coaching
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CROWD
INVESTING THE BASIC IDEA OF CROWDFUNDING – financing projects or companies by collecting relatively small amounts of money from a large number of people – is nothing new. What is new is using the Internet to reach potential funders. Web-based crowdfunding started in the USA. Frustrated by the monopolistic recording labels, independent musicians turned to the internet to raise money for producing their albums. The first online platform for such fundraising, ArtistShare, was launched in 2003. Based on this model, different types of crowdfunding – donation-, reward-, equity- and lending-based – soon followed. By 2012 more then 540 platforms raised over 2.6 billion dollars globally. The largest reward-based platform is Kickstarter, which since its 2009 launch has raised more then 1.3 billion dollars for more than 70,000 projects.
The still-nascent Austrian crowdfunding scene started in 2013. Of the three major Austrian players, CONDA.at alone accounted form almost half of the more than 2.5 million euros raised to date. All three are equity-based platforms, mainly because the donation-based model is uncommon in Europe and lending-based crowdfunding is legally prohibited in Austria. Equity-based crowdfunding is legally challenging in Austria, as well – up to now only two platforms have received legal clearance from Austria’s Financial Market Authority. Crowdfunding augments existing types of early-stage financing (e.g. business angels, venture capital firms and banks). With the entry of crowdfunding in the Austrian market, more ventures have the possibility to access risk capital. By going to the masses for seed capital, companies get more public attention, brand ambassadors and early adopters – all important metrics for subsequent private investment.
Before D I D A N I E L H O R A K co-founded CONDA in 2012, he earned two Masters degrees in Business and founded his first startup, Spoken Language System, in 2007. Currently, Daniel is the managing director for marketing & sales at CONDA. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 45
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FAMILY FINANCING
ALL IN THE FAMILY OF ALL THE SO-CALLED THREE-Fs OF S TA R T U P F U N D I N G ( FA M I LY, F R I E N D S A N D F O O L S ) , T H E M O N E Y O B TA I N E D F R O M FA M I LY M E M B E R S CARRIES PERHAPS THE MOST RISK. After all, you can always make new friends or find a new fool, but family is forever. Co-working space sektor5’s founder, Yves Schulz, told us about how his mother’s faith in his vision convinced her to “invest” her life’s savings and pension in his business. We also got his mom to weigh in with her side of the story! Interviewed by: Michael Bernstein & Claudia Kaefer
A S T H E S H R I N K S S AY, 'TELL ME ABOUT YOUR MOTHER!’ Yves Schulz: After the wall came down, she lost her job at a huge tailoring company in communist East Germany. Then she met my stepfather, an entrepreneur, and started to work with him. Because they knew about the challenges of being selfemployed, she was very relieved when I became a ‘respectable’ IT manager for a corporation based in Graz. Reaching the upper end of middle management, I had to betray too much of myself to go any further. Then, early in 2010, I found out about the Berlin co-working space, Betahaus, and I just knew that I had to move in this direction.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR SON! Lorita Schulz: I’ve always had a good relationship with Yves and even now at 38 he is still a very important part of my life. Growing up in Leipzig during the GDR era, he experienced the fall of the Berlin wall very consciously. Even at only 13 years old, he wanted to go to demonstrations and had a desire to change society. But this is also how I raised him – he was always encouraged to stand up for himself, but also to listen to the opinion of others. Of course, sometimes it was not easy between us, but I always tried to teach him to be responsible for his decisions.
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HOW DID THE PITCH TO YOUR MOM GO? You might call it a ‘content-marketing strategy.’ I started by gently letting her know that I was unhappy with my job and needed a new opportunity, but not banging her over the head with ‘hey mom, I just quit my job and need a loan!’ Step by step, I let her know my plans and about the co-working concept.
HOW DID YOU REACT TO HIS PITCH? [sighs heavily] We talked about it over a long weekend. First he wanted me to guaranty a credit with the bank but I refused to do that. I didn’t want him to get in a bad situation with the bank, and I didn’t want to have problems myself if something didn’t work out after all.
DID SHE UNDERSTAND IT HERSELF? I explained it three times to her and my stepfather as if they were 12-year-old kids. But they just didn’t get it. They said, “maybe we are just too old-fashioned, but we can see that you’re passionate about this. Are you really sure that you can succeed with this plan and people will pay for this?” Finally, they followed their instincts. It wasn’t about the figures, it was more about assuring them that I could live off this, have a normal life and even save money for the future. We closed the deal with a hug.
DID YOU UNDERSTAND IT? Yves’ stepfather and I were experienced entrepreneurs. I got it the moment he told me about it. His stepfather needed more time to come around to the idea, because he couldn’t understand that something so intangible could succeed. Yves presented his project to us in great detail; with charts and numbers, just as an investor would expect. That already seemed very professional, but we are not naïve, of course. We knew how such prognoses are created so we thought: if only half of it is solid, the rest can work out, too.
AND YOUR MOTHER MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE? I put up my own savings – I even sold my car! – but the difference was made up by my mom. It was enough to get us started, but we ran out of cash, so we went to Erste Bank’s excellent young-entrepreneur’s centre, which realised that I was dedicated to the project and offered me an unsecured loan.
SO YOU MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE? We agreed to use my life insurance and my savings for his business. If Yves hadn’t shown us he was really serious and not invested his own money in his project, I probably wouldn’t have helped out. Maybe I’m a bit like a bank after all; I don’t have a problem with giving you money, but you need to put up some of your own capital. The financing model has to be planned thoroughly.
S O W H AT WA S H E R M O T I VAT I O N, TO KEEP YOU FROM MOVING BACK IN WITH THEM? (laughs) No, it’s maybe an old-fashioned thing but also true for me: the older I get, the more I think about saving money – maybe someday my own kids will come to me needing money to start their businesses. And I would ask them the same questions my mom asked me!
W H AT WA S YO U R M O T I VAT I O N FOR HELPING HIM OUT? He told me all about his endeavour and when he asked me for financial help, I took a deep breath. I had a lot what-if questions, but then I thought, if young people don’t do something to make a change, no one will. He had a job and gave up everything for his dream and I realised that with the right kind of attitude, this can work out. That’s how I raised him, anyway.
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DID SHE ASK FOR EQUITY STAKE? No. But she always said, take your time, get your business in shape and pay me back as soon as you are able.’ She’ll remind me, with a wink, that I’m responsible for her pension, but the truth is that I am! She’ll turn 60 next year.
D I D YO U AS K F O R A N E Q U I T Y S PAC E ? There’s nothing in writing. Even though Yves offered us shares, we refused them. We don’t even have a plan for repayment; first he has to stand on his own feet and when he’s made it work for at least five years, then it will continue to work out just fine.
WHAT WERE HER CRITERIA FOR INVESTMENT? One thing my mom seriously insisted upon was that my founding partners invest their own money, not just their sweat-equity, into the company.
WHAT WERE YOUR CRITERIA FOR INVESTMENT? I agreed to give him the money under one condition: if he starts a business he has to do it alone – without getting other people on board. My partner and I were experienced entrepreneurs and we had some bad experiences with broken promises.
DOES YOUR INVESTOR OVERSEE THE BUSINESS? We joke that she is my “main investor” and whenever she calls, she asks, “how’s my company doing?” When she comes to Vienna once in a while and comes to see how sektor5 is operating, she’ll cook lunch for all of us. She really enjoys being here. She still doesn’t get why people pay for this, but she’s happy to see that it’s working out.
AS AN INVESTOR, DO YOU OVERSEE THE BUSINESS? I don’t ask for an accounting, I trust him in this respect. As a joke I sometimes say: “How is my business” when we talk on the phone, but that’s just between us. Before Christmas last year, I visited sektor5 and cooked for the team. But these things happen just once in a while.
A P PA R E N T LY G E T T I N G YO U R H A I R C U T WASN’T ONE OF HER CONDITIONS! (laughs) I’ve always had long hair – the corporation I worked for nicknamed me “The Hippie.” After she agreed to give me the money, my mom said “And another thing! Cut your hair, and quit smoking!” I joked, “too late, Ma! You should have thought of that during negotiations!” But I did quit smoking five months ago.
DIDN’T YOU ASK HIM TO GET A HAIRCUT IN RETURN FOR YOUR INVESTMENT? Well, I don’t like his long hair too much. Don’t get me wrong, his hair is neat and well-groomed but I just like it better when it’s short.
WHAT DID YOU GIVE THIS GREAT LADY F O R M O T H E R’S DAY T H I S Y E A R? At least I gave her a call. Anyway, in the old GDR, she celebrated the International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, not Mother’s Day.
WHAT DID YOU GET FOR MOTHER’S DAY T H I S Y E A R? Yves called me that day. But actually, I don’t care much about this day. More important is to have someone you can trust and who is always there for you. And this behaviour can’t be limited to certain days of the year.
After graduating with honours as IT-Systemkaufmann in Leipzig, Y V E S S C H U L Z (38) moved to Graz in 2004 to work as an IT-Manager for an American corporation. He founded sektor5 in Vienna in 2010. He is currently part of a team developing a B2B solution for just-in-time delivery services.
L O R I T A S C H U L Z (59) lives in Leipzig, where since German reunification she has worked with her entrepreneur husband as an administrative assistant and bookkeeper for other small businesses. To date, sektor5 is her only startup investment.
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• A1 is the first and only Austrian communications provider to operate a 100 % carbon neutral network. • Ongoing reductions of energy consumption via modern, environmentally-friendly solutions. • A1 uses 100 % renewable electricity. • Phone, surf and watch TV with a clear conscience in the A1 carbon neutral network.
Carbon neutral network, certified by TÜV SÜD, May 2014
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PART TWO / EXPERIENCE
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EXPERIENCE Over the last two years, we have profiled hundreds of founders in full-length articles online. From these, we have picked quotes and stories that have touched and inspired us, or that just make a good story (we are journalists after all). In so doing, we hope to illustrate the most prevalent stages of a startup’s life cycle.
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INCEPTION IN THE BEGINNING there was the seed of an idea that motivated some perfectly balanced person to become an obsessed entrepreneur. Some ideas come from years of experience and education; others are born out of acute personal necessity or frustration with being a corporate toady; while others come in flashes of divine inspiration.
When passion and research mingle. POLYCH ROM EL A B In the 1990s, an injury forced the alpine athlete Michael Stinco to end his professional career and start working as a product designer for brands like Diesel and Adidas for more than 12 years. A mother with a degree in business psychology, Elisabeth Frey, Polychromelab’s CEO, has an equal passion for alpine-sports. The pair came up with an idea for a new fabric that would satisfy the rigorous demands of alpine-sport apparel. For a few years, this idea remained an ambitious vision. But then, “we got sick of hearing ’It won’t work.’” After getting funding from CAST and AWS for an R&D partnership with the University of Innsbruck, the Alta Quota Jacket was born and subsequently won the gold prize at the OutDoor Industry Awards. Stinco boasts that his former boss at Adidas would “never have believed that we could achieve this with our two-person company.”
Back to the drawing board MYSUGR The project began with an error: At the University of Vienna, Frederik Debong studied ways to process data from blood-glucose monitors. He realised that this data could be more useful by placing it in a broader context and that he’d spent “two years working to solve the wrong problem.” He shrugs and says, “Sometimes that’s how long it takes to get to an ’aha’ moment.” Debong – himself a diabetic – gives this advice: “You have a choice - what impact do you want to make and how can you achieve it? Work on a problem that fascinates you. Develop the world in positive way.” VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 52
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When one door is closed, a new window opens HOOVI At 43, Hubert Hochleitner lost his job as a machine technician at a tobacco factory, where he had fully expected to work until his retirement. He had to re-evaluate his life and figure out what he could do well that also made him happy: playing music was the answer. But ever since he was an amateur teenage guitarist, he was disturbed by the shrill sound emerging from the centre of the amplifier, which musicians call “beam.” “It got to the point where it was either about finding a solution or quitting altogether,” he explains. Hochleitner realised his talent in optimising the traits of machines and products could be used to solve this problem, and so HooVi was born.
An act of defiance JOSEPH BROT Now known for his high-quality artisanal bread and baked goods, Josef Weghaupt (32) had previously climbed up the career ladder of a large, industrial baking company to become head of marketing and sales. He saw that a different quality, largely lost in Austrian industrial baking, was possible. His CEO did not agree. After spending over a year and a half on product development, he was convinced of the market potential for organic baking goods. In an “act of defiance,” he left the company to start his own organic baking goods brand and opened his own bakery in 2009, finishing his first year without losses. Running his own company feels much more “compact, more tangible, and human.”
Roadmap to inspiration BIKECITYGUIDE
While studying physics and environmental science in Graz, Daniel Kofler (29) worked as a bike messenger with Andreas Stückl, who took part in the 2010 European Cycle Messenger Competition in Budapest. While there, they cycled around with a map on their handle bars. A challenge to even a professional cyclist, this gave Andreas the idea to share their urban-road-cyclemessenger-know-how with other people, thus democratising the bike couriers’ inside knowledge. The concept for BikeCityGuide was born.
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RISKS DESPITE THEIR REPUTATION for Gemütlichkeit, Austrian startup founders are no strangers to risk and have demonstrated a wide variety of coping methods: faith in one’s product; going lean; drawing from experience; and family safety nets, among others.
Build it and they will come WOOM BIKES For his line of children’s bikes, Christian Bezdeka spent four years and his own capital investment on research & development, starting long before he knew what the ultimate market or price point would be. “We had no answer to this question. Even though our friends and fellow bikers thought it was a great idea at a good price, I knew the only way to get a definitive answer is to bring it to market.” Bezdeka eventually applied for and received an AWS Impulse XL grant that matched the amount of capital he had already invested and made it possible to bring the product to market. Bezdeka’s advice for managing risk is perhaps a bit obvious, but is certainly time-tested: “if you’re producing shit, you’ll pay for it. So the best thing to do is not produce shit.”
Go lean, in jeans GEBRÜDER STITCH Moriz Piffl and Mike Lanner were both “fed up with the way we were working and didn’t like what we were doing” in the world of marketing, yet enthused with the idea of producing organic, custom-made jeans in Vienna. Putting together their savings, freeing themselves from all fixed expenses, sleeping on friends’ couches and keeping their costs at a minimum gave them a limited amount of “venture capital” and, most importantly, time to focus on their endeavour. After testing out the concept in their “beta pop-up shop,” there was only one problem: “We sold too many jeans.” No time to test and iterate. “The market had spoken.” VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 54
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Dropout. Reinvent. TRACTIVE Tractive CEO Michael Hurnaus, learned the risks of independence early on. He quit high school at the age of 15: “People had no understanding of my decisions. But for me, it was important to know that it doesn’t matter what I am doing at any one time, I can always do something else at another point in my life.” He eventually returned to studying (IT and Media) and won an internship at Microsoft Surface in the USA, which led to a full-time job there and later for Amazon. In 2012 he gave up this solid corporate career path, returned to Austria and founded Tractive, applying what he had learned about organisation and leadership skills. “I was convinced that if I can put this energy in my own business, it is going work out.”
Stand by me COWORKING SALZBURG
Romy Sigl (32) recalls that her family and boyfriend were not necessarily in favour of her starting out the co-working space without any financial securities. “My boyfriend was worried and thought that the risk was too big to take. But the fact that he challenged my dream made me think about it a lot. In the end, I realised that I really wanted it. And when I told him that I was going to sign the rental contract anyway, he said he’d stand behind me,” she says with a smile. “So, you could say that I have sort of an invisible security net. If everything fails, I know that I have people to rely on who will support me.”
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SUCCESS ASK ANY TWO AUSTRIANS what the word “success” means and you’ll get (at least) two different answers. Surprisingly to outsiders, not many Austrian startups would define success as an exit – not just the social entrepreneurs. Some have found it impossible to stay in Austria, while others have sought their fortunes at home.
It’s bigger than the money SOULBOTTLES Producing and selling stylish, reusable glass bottles, Paul Kupfer (26) exemplifies success as defined by a social entrepreneur: “I don’t see others in the industry as competitors. We are all pulling on the same rope, why shouldn’t we work together?” At first, Paul’s parents – typical of many central Europeans – were “like ’Do you really think that will work?’” But now that Soulbottles expects to reach up to 400 thousand euros in turnover in 2014, they seem to be fine with it. Soulbottles succeeded in crowdfunding 20 thousand euros to startup and now that the company is smoothly up and running, he can turn his attention more to Soulwater, the humanitarian arm of the company. Paul says, “it’s bigger than the money, it is about doing something sensible and having a positive impact.”
Goooaaaal! FA N R EPORT.COM Dietmar Wieser (31) started posting lower-league Austrian football statistics online in 2009 and soon his content was being syndicated to regional newspapers. Now his enterprise has a German subsidiary and has grown to include a bi-annual print magazine, e-commerce, and indoor organised tournaments. In 2013, Sportsman Media Holding (which holds brands like LAOLA1) invested a six-digit figure. Typically Austrian, Wieser is contradictory about his own success, saying both: “we are hardly satisfied with anything and we just keep going” and “I could not be happier with where I am today.” VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 56
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God bless the child who’s got his own LESS IS MORE Starting with two beauty salons, Doris Brandhuber expanded into a line of hair supplies (produced in Vienna) that are now exported to 19 countries and are available at H&M’s “& other stories” concept stores. The company employs 10 women and enjoys 50% annual growth. Simultaneously co-founding the business (with Hannes Trummer) and raising her first child, she noticed similarities – one can read books about both but real experience may differ. “As the ‘child’ grows older,” Doris explains, “it starts to asks for more autonomy, and while the bond between mother and child stays, the symbiosis loosens.” With success, the startup child also becomes detached from its founders, as other people step in, adding their own value to it.
Still indoors, but looking for the exit INDOO.RS Their indoor-positioning technology earned them awards, six-figure investment and some big-time clients (including Vienna’s Life Ball, Swisscom and the San Francisco airport), but the next 12 months will be the ultimate test of their success. Indoo.rs hopes to tap into the huge potential of iBeacons and behavioural analysis of retail customers. “This year is the year of proof of concept and next year, the roll-outs will happen,” says Bernd Gruber. For him and co-founder Markus Krainz, success will be The Exit. Even if they sold their stake, they could conceivably keep working on the project, “we will never run out of things to do.”
Keep on running RUNTASTIC
Though still not mobbed by adoring fans on Austria’s jogging trails, “Powerpreneur” CEO Florian Gschwandtner believes what’s more important than celebrity is seeing “more and more runners using the Runtastic app and sports armband.” Since its founding in 2009, the app has garnered 100 million downloads, an amount and growth rate that is exceptional for Austrian startups. Florian believes that “Beginning in Austria was a competitive advantage and a good thing: we had to start with internationalisation very early.” Runtastic now has offices in San Francisco, exports globally, closed an investment deal with the German publishing house Axel Springer and has diversified its product line. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 //57 57
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FAILURE FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION Every entrepreneur we talk with will say that “Failure is not an option.” But with any risk comes potential failure. If you’re going to fail, do it rather quickly and rebound. Some think that Austrian entrepreneurs are too gemütlich, risk-averse and don’t have the courage to fail, unlike their American counterparts who are coated with Teflon and made of rubber, of course. In part, the blame lies with the laws of the land and the difficulty, in such a small country, of rebuilding one’s reputation after failing. But real entrepreneurs never die nor fade away, they iterate themselves!
Don’t dwell too long A RCH I F Y/ BL I PPEX It takes some nerve to take on the Google goliath, but Gerald Bäck and Max Kossatz have tried to hack their way into the search-engine battle. By focusing on user privacy and creating a whole new algorithm called DwellRank, which ranks search results based on the time spent on a website, they hoped to offer up a competitive alternative called Blippex. In 2012, the two Austrians took their startup, Archify – a personalised online archive that recorded users’ online behaviour – to Berlin. Before the team closed it down in 2013 (due to declining usership and Snowdeninspired public angst), Archify had not yet set itself up for revenues. They took what remained of Archify’s investment capital, set up a subsidiary and used it to launch Blippex in the summer of 2013. But failing to acquire new capital infusion, Bäck and Kossatz threw in the towel on Blippex as well, at least as a startup – it will continue as a non-profit association. The site continues to draw hundreds of thousands of searches each day and both founders remain active in entrepreneurial pursuits. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 58
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Game over. Play again? OWN3D The Vienna-based live game-streaming platform enjoyed rapid growth shortly after its launch in 2009. Four months after take-off, it had reached 300,000 users, and within a year, the user base was up to over a million. By 2012, the figures had soared to 10 million. But the startup struggled with the resulting explosion of costs, as well as tough competition from TwitchTV starting in 2011. Forming partnerships with major TV networks like CBS, RTL, and ProSieben could not prevent the company from losing ground. A reported 5 million dollar buyout offer from gaming and mediastreaming platform Machinima fell flat at the end of 2012. In January 2013, the company announced its decision to shut down its platform and erase all of its content. Founder Zvetan Dragulev filed for bankruptcy before he would suffer personal financial damage. While one of own3d’s co-founders is trying to attempt a v.2.0, Dragulev has founded an American C-corp for his next business and will seek funding on Kickstarter, frustrated with European venture capitalists’ “inflexible” demands. “In Europe, there is pressure to show revenue at a too early stage,” said Dragulev about own3d.tv’s difficulty of raising venture capital. “That is to say, before having achieved a critical mass or a brand that works independently of your profitability.” He believes that Americans are more patient and realise that “if you build something up that people need, it will eventually become monetizable.” VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 59
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RESURRECTION AUSTRIANS PROUDLY SANG along with Conchita Wurst’s “Rise Like a Phoenix,” and were inspired by her personal, gender-bending story of self-renewal and triumph at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Likewise, we tip our hats to those startup entrepreneurs who rise from the ashes of failed expectations, personal crises or conflicts with investors.
Optimism: essential capital for entrepreneurs HELIOZ / WADI Martin Wesian had to recover not only from a near-fatal case of cholera he caught while in South America, but also from an investment-partnership-turned-sour. His “Wadi” (water disinfection) device earned Helioz universal praise and numerous awards, but this social enterprise ran hard up against the profit motive of business investors. One potential investor wanted him to increase ROI by reducing the product’s designed lifespan. When it came time to mass produce 200,000 units, the eventual equity partner withheld necessary funds until the letters-of-intent for a million units became solid purchase orders. The partner refused to give up its stake and Wesian found himself in danger of losing his hardnegotiated contracts with production and distribution partners, as well as the tens of thousands of orders already in the pipeline. Wesian, like most social entrepreneurs who face uphill battles, remained optimistic. In 2013, Helioz sold a majority stake in Helioz to a new investment partner, AC&Friends, and could finally begin serial production. An order for 10 thousand units for Latin America is currently under production and another “very huge” order is in the pipeline – “one reason why we are looking for series-A funding,” says Wesian, who can now focus his energies on selling the product globally and raising awareness about water-borne diseases – in other words, the social enterprise that he always dreamed of. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 60
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A housewife revolution SHEELA At age 34, with two young children and a husband, graphic designer Jasmin Stanonik wanted to prove that a stay-at-home mom could also be a successful entrepreneur. By the end of 2012, Jasmin had produced and sold about 4,000 of her fun, colourful aprons. Demand was rising, but she didn’t have the means to scale up. Going at it alone started to take a toll on her health, so she suspended her business. “I just couldn’t do it anymore. Success doesn’t mean anything if you fall by the wayside.” After being interviewed about her experience for a magazine article, Jasmin received many partnership offers. At the end of the 2013, she chose Werner Schmid-Barnden, a former Yahoo CFO and business angel, who became responsible for the business end so that Jasmin could focus on the creative and branding side. Having launched a new collection in May, she advises other founders to “Show endurance, get up when you fall, believe in your business – but don’t forget to live.”
Don’t stop the music GLOBAL ROCKSTAR
Christoph Straub’s first startup, Teenage Rockstar, launched in 2009 and soon after produced a pilot webisode for this casting show. RTL/Disney Television picked it up and the series, Teenage Rockstar Summercamp, aired in 2011. But Straub failed to fully monetise it, due to copyright problems. “The result was that the international rollout was not possible and we had to discontinue our cooperation with Disney,” he recalls. Partnering with “digital native” Ronny Stiebl, Straub morphed the idea into Global Rockstar in 2012 – an online music contest for unsigned artists and their fans around the world. Now in its third contest, GR has obtained a six-figure investment from a business angel and Departure funding, enabling them to increase their prize money to $25,000, hire music scouts, produce slick webisodes, find cooperation partners, move into new office space and develop new business models. With nearly 400,000 fans on facebook, a relaunched website and mobile apps, Global Rockstar has shown that while the old-economy music industry may be stagnant, there is hope for the future. Founder / Model: Christoph Straub, Global Rockstar VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 61
PART THREE / REVIEW 2014
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REVIEW 2014 The end of each year offers an opportunity to reflect on key moments and individuals that have shaped the scene. Immense effort went into collecting data, stories, investments and events - made even more challenging by the general unavailability of data or willingness to share it.
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TIMELINE NEWS Here, month-by-month, are the momentous news events of 2014 that shaped the framework of the Austrian venture scene.
NOVEMBER Austria is an attractive business location for Italian founders. The Austria Business Agency notes 521 requests from Italy and 26 businesses that decided to locate their company in Austria, which is already twice as many as last year. For the whole year 2014, the ABA expects this number to increase to 40 newly created firms, making Italy the second strongest investor group in Austria after Germany. kurier.at/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/italienische-firmen-zieht-es-nachkaernten/96.295.107
AUGUST Wirtschaftsagentur launches an overview of Vienna’s startup ecosystem. It includes the most important and helpful service points, crowdfounding opportunities, investors/VC’s and co-working spaces. www.wirtschaftsagentur.at/gruendungen/start_up_location_wien/
The AWS launches the platform equityfinder.at that aims to connect small businesses to alternative money givers as well as investors. www.awsg.at/Content.Node/risikokapital/news/3043.de.php
AMS supports unemployed people to found their own business. While from 100 applications, only about 32 manage to found their own company, Statistik Austria notes that with 75 per cent after three years, and 64 per cent after five years the survival rate of these businesses is higher than average. New self-employed people can use the services and coaching up to two years after the company founding and they can get financial help for up to nine months. derstandard.at/2000004648646/Arbeitslose-gruenden-ueber-5000Unternehmen
OCTOBER The Wirtschaftsagentur launches a “startup – welcome package” that allows a smooth start for young, international entrepreneurs and includes accommodation, a co-working space as well as coaching sessions. The package was given out for the first time at Pioneers Festival in Vienna. www.wien.gv.at/rk/msg/2014/09/24010.html
The European SME Assembly presented very good results for Austria in their latest performance review. Small businesses kept expanding, new founded companies created about 90,000 additional jobs since 2008 and the added value increased by over 17 per cent. Moreover, the European commission notes the Founder Fund and Business Angels Fund of AWS as best practice examples for startup support. www.advantageaustria.org/international/zentral/news/aktuell/20141030_ oesterreichs_KMU-Sektor.en.html
JULY Pioneers Festival partners up with Cisco and brings the Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence programme to Europe. Vienna is chosen as the programme headquarters. Another step forward establishing Vienna as a startup hotspot! pioneers.io/festival/startups/applications/cisco
Austria and CEE get a new fund in VC Fiedler Capital. The VC aims to invest up to 250,000 euros in seed stage companies and aim to raise 50 million euros for their fund. Fiedler Capital is headquartered in Vienna. techcrunch.com/2014/07/30/eastern-europe-gets-a-new-venture-fund-infiedler-capital/ -- no Austrian news source
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JUNE The first, deliberate survey about the economical relevance of startups in Austria starts: the Startups Monitor 2014. A big step to improve the future of startups in Austria has been taken. www.onlineumfragen.com/login/main.cfm?typ=o&popupblock=1&goto=0 &startpos=0&sprachstart=&sprach=&cont=
The Vienna-based founder service INiTS is reaches place 11 among the Top Global incubators and is named third best in European comparison. derstandard.at/2000002334109/Wiener-Uni-Gruenderservice-INiTS-unterGlobal-Top-25-Inkubatoren
M AY Austria’s startup community is shocked about Wirtschaftskammer’s vice president’s view of one-man companies (EPU): “EPU are not entrepreneurs” and “Unemployed people who have been forced into an apparent self-employment” wirtschaftsblatt.at/home/nachrichten/newsletter/3802042/Fritz-Amannlost-mit-Statement-zu-EPU-heftige-Reaktionen-aus-
APRIL The WKO initiative “Go Silicon Valley” sends 18 startups to the world’s startup hot spot! futurezone.at/english/go-silicon-valley-sending-18-startups-toamerica/56.538.276
Austria is among the top ten in the Globalisation Index. The study by Bertelsmann Foundation shows that industrial countries are the greatest beneficiaries of globalisation and ranks Ireland at the top, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, UK and Austria in seventh place. The Globalisation Index examines economic globalisation indicators as well as aspects of social and political globalisation. w w w. a d v a n t a g e a u s t r i a . o r g / i n t e r n a t i o n a l / z e n t r a l / n e w s / aktuell/20140423_Globalisierungsindex.en.html
MARCH “Founding a company in Austria is not easy in the early stage. Public grants are definitely a good start, but not the ‘holy grail.’” wirtschaftsblatt.at/home/meinung/kommentare/1572315/DieForderzuckerln-fur-Grunder-reichen-nicht-aus
“Austria was the better Germany, once!” The Industriellenvereinigung fears the worst for Austria’s economy. kurier.at/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/industrie-schlaegt-alarm-sind-aufground-zero/54.016.622
Small and medium-sized businesses (KMU) in Austria employ almost two million people (as of January 2014) and are therefore the most important employers of the country. derstandard.at/1392688456136/KMU-bleiben-Beschaeftigungs-motor
FEBRUARY Showing Austria a “new mentality,” the Austrian Innovation Center Silicon Valley hosted ServusTV in the Bay Area and led them around. Fazit: “It’s about your passion, not your title”. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfJIrXJyTLI - t=39
JANUARY The new government wants to restrict the “Gewinnfreibetrag” for self-employees. (to be compared with the double salaries for employees) Shocking news led to media attention and further awareness of what still needs to be improved! diepresse.com/home/meinung/quergeschrieben/christianortner/1512503/ Osterreichs-Selbststaendige-werden-zu-den-Deppen-der-Nation-gemacht
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� CHAPTER 1 �
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST BUZZWORDS AND TRENDS IN DIVERSE BUSINESS SECTORS IN 2014? HOW WERE THESE ADDRESSED BY EACH INDUSTRY? WE ASKED THESE AUSTRIAN ENTREPRENEURS FOR INSIGHTS INTO THEIR RESPECTIVE INDUSTRIES, AT LARGE, AND HOW EACH HAS SPECIFICALLY ADAPTED.
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AUSTRIA’S FASHION BUSINESS THE AUSTRIAN FAS H I O N B U S I N E S S – DUE TO ITS CONSTANT NEED F O R I N N OVAT I V E DESIGN – MIGHT NOT APPEAR AS FOCUSSED ON COMPREHENSIVE I N N OVAT I O N A S OTHER SECTORS ARE. However, Austria is home to one of the modern era’s most innovative textile companies: Lenzing AG (Attnang-Puchheim, Upper Austria). Lenzing, the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of cellulose-based fibre (and patent holder of Modal® & Tencel®), has just presented a new study on how to use Tencel (a fibre made of wood pulp) in hygiene products. Lenzing’s early recognition of the approaching cellulose gap (the inevitable result of global population pressures on the cotton supply) has put Austria on the map of the global textile industry like no other company has. While this occurred years ago, their annual impact is continually vital.
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The concept behind the newly founded Austrian Fashion Association (the successor to Unit F) can be considered innovative in terms of their approachable and practical B2B support. They are focussed on branding and business development for existing and startup labels and we are looking forward to seeing its impact in the years ahead. A well-funded and intensively marketed multi-brand national sales platform would help to improve Austria’s international recognition. Many smart and respected Austrian designers never make it abroad, due to Austria’s lack of self confidence about its own fashion products. Unfortunately, the fashion business is neglecting the education of the new generation. Existing infrastructure is dying off, since specialised traditional handcraft is hardly being taught any more. The old, established masterjourneyman system is being dissolved. Today’s schools are rather concentrating on design and marketing, instead of teaching comprehensive manufacturing skills. Furthermore, constant government budget cutting is degrading the few surviving schools. Startups like Schnittbogen or Schneiderhof – Viennabased open workshops offering both infrastructure and skills transfer – are attempting to close the gap. First and foremost among major trends in recent years are business ethics. An attempt to regulate production standards by issuing certificates
(locally and globally) has helped to build consumer awareness about the price levels necessary to allow for ethical production, and has therefore enabled more (but still relatively few) labels to produce locally again. But a much more transparent regulation is required to deepen awareness. For example, the “Made in Austria” label reveals only where production is completed (which might be merely the sewing-on of said label). However, actual production might occur elsewhere. Design sectors are focussing on traditional costume and “fashion goes interior.” New (often collaborative) sales & PR strategies (private shopping events, pop-up stores, digital multichannel stores), as well as a social-media backed DIY platforms and the trend towards unique pieces/ rarities indicate a more lifestyle-oriented approach towards fashion. The Austrian fashion business is currently being influenced by several career changers, who approach it from a more daring, out-of-the-box perspective. But Austria’s biggest domestic challenge in the upcoming years will be to re-establish the fine art of handcraft, enabling local production. As long as specialty and excellence (which are priced at a higher level and therefore can often be sourced locally) are being offered, the market will be able to use its own infrastructure, increase credibility and awareness and, ultimately, change consumers’ attitudes towards our own fashion products. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 69
TERESA MARIA Z I M M E R M A N N (34), MAS, has been working for international lifestyle & entertainment companies for over a decade, focussing on Business Development and Product/ Branding Strategies. In 2012, under the motto “A Deeper Luxur y,” she founded her own brand-consulting company that emphasises the values of consciousness, awareness and authenticity. She also heads her own family luxury brand The Small Gatsby.
Co-author A N I T A D O R N E R (30) has over ten years’ education experience in fashion design and manufacturing in Paris and Vienna. She specialises in custom tailoring (focus knitwear) and quality management. Her experience with many designers has significantly impacted Vienna-based Modus Vivendi and A Deeper Luxury.
PART THREE / INSIGHTS
THE DIGITALISATION OF AGRICULTURE FOR QUITE SOME TIME, TECHNOLOGY AND D I G I TA L I S AT I O N H AV E B E E N A PA RT O F M O D E R N FA R M I N G . Unmanned, self-driving tractors plough fields or automatically measure soil quality in order to optimise the use of fertilisers. This is made possible by autonomous, intelligent systems which perceive their environment and are able to process resulting data into useful information. Fully automated, robotic milking systems have become of great help to dairy farmers and cows have grown accustomed to the robot that handles the mechanical milking equipment. A modern system such as this makes work noticeably easier; it saves time and improves animal health control.
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The umbrella term is “precision farming.” Optimising farming with the help of digital technology permits reduction of the means of labour, saves resources and reduces working hours. T R A NS PA R E N CY F R O M STABLE TO TABLE Following the mantra “From stable to table,” modern meat production is becoming progressively transparent. The recording of life data of each animal – its origin, growth, health progress, butchering, and subsequent progress from the cold chain up to the supermarket – is an important aspect for all branches involved, including farmers, breeding organisations, veterinarians, animal dealers, slaughterhouses and food retailers, as well as the end consumer. It is a vision that is still evolving, but one that can eventually offer total transparency in the food-production chain. IN SEARCH OF THE IDEAL WEIGHT In modern farming the exact weight of individual animals is not recorded. Computer-aided feeding systems only calculate animal weight according to growth estimates, which determine the amount and composition of feed during fattening. Farmers struggle to optimise the feeding process in order to minimise costly imported protein feed like soy meal.
Knowing the exact weight of each animal at any given moment helps farmers to maximise their stock’s market value. In Austria, pigs within the live-weight range of 105 to 120 kg yield the highest price-per-kilo at market. Underweight or overweight swine result in lower revenues for the approximately 7,000 Austrian fattening farms. Traditional measuring methods (e.g., estimation, measuring tapes or weighing scales) are cumbersome, labor-intensive and sometimes imprecise. Handling pigs and moving them onto mechanical weighing scales can be very stressful for the animals. To help solve these issues, we founded our startup Allibra upon the business concept of weighing without scales. Our flagship product, Wuggl, is an optical measuring device consisting of a mobile app and a hardware add-on for smart phones. It offers a precise, effortless and quick way to determine the live weight of pigs on a regular basis, allowing farmers to better adjust feed rations accordingly and know the perfect time for butchering. Mechanical weighing scales are no longer needed. The weighing process is contact-less and does not put any stress on the animals. Not only intensive piggeries, but also small-scale farms can profit from an increase in economic efficiency and a reduction of workload. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 71
DR. ALOIS TEMMEL is a swine veterinarian practicing in South Styria. MAG. MARCUS SCHWEINZGER is a communication professional with a technical background, who has worked in different areas of the media industry. Together they co-founded Viennabased Allibra in 2014. Wuggl currently participates in the IniTS incubator program and is set to enter the market throughout Europe by the end of 2015.
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PART THREE / INSIGHTS
CROWDSOURCING SMART MOBILITY “SMART CITY” AND “SMART MOBILITY” ARE BUZZWORDS THAT DOMINATED CONFERENCES AND INDUSTRY EVENTS IN 2014. There can be no doubt that the field of mobility is undergoing significant change; however, this is a long-term process and is difficult to observe within any one year. Innovative projects are still driven by institutional players, such as governments, public-transport providers and automakers, which evaluate new mobility models in research and pilot projects.
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However, t he impact of star t up ventures can be seen in the gaps where institutional forms of mobility are unable to scale services to all citizens. Such startups are applying modern crowdsourcing concepts to both traditional and new forms of transportation. This trend can be seen in the projects winning governmental competitions, such as the Urban Innovators Challenge (initiated by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology and AustriaTech). Two of the three selected projects (which were subsequently incubated at sektor5 and given the opportunity to pitch at a juried competition at the European Forum Alpbach) integrate shared-transport concepts: WeTaxi, a cab-sharing app; and MIJU Community, a platform matching up the needs of the elderly (including transportation) with the available services of community individuals. The Alpbach jury’s favourite was the “Urban LifeCycle Project” (a.k.a., Flexbike) by gleam technologies which envisions a hybrid e-bicycle delivering cargo within the cities of tomorrow. Generally, the area of E-Mobility – the usage of electric vehicles for individual mobility – is represented primarily by hardware-centred startups that focus on a single form of mobility and has yet to enter the world of the shared economy. Crowd-sharing concepts in the areas of freight delivery and transportation may be fewer in Austria compared with other European countries; however,
Checkrobin entered the market in 2013 offering drivers of private vehicles up to 29 euros to transport cargo packages along their already planned route. The bicycle is already a well-established mobility option whose use increases each year. As bike theft is a major problem, a Viennese startup called Rad-WG is applying a crowd-sourced solution for sharing safe-storage space. BikeCityGuide offers a navigation solution to this growing market. Based on crowdsourced information, optimal urban cycling routes are offered to a cyclist, based on his preferences. The car-sharing scene is still dominated by international players, yet competition was introduced by DriveNow and Flinkster in 2014. We will see some project-interlinking with these services in the future, as most of them offer open-source API to a segment of their data. Peer-to-peer car-sharing is on the rise, as well, with the long-term player Caruso now joined by carsharing24/7. Such open-sourcing of data by Wiener Linien, Austria’s largest urban-mobility provider, sparked intense debate with the community; however, a number of projects currently utilise this data to offer their services and more are expected to follow in the near future. In addition we saw some traction in the field of parking, where the startups FindYourGap and Parkbob are trying to solve one of the daily challenges of urban drivers. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 73
MAG. CHRISTIAN ADELSBERGER is head of business development at evolaris, a privately held R&D organisation enabling mobile innovation. In 2014, he co-founded the spin-off Parkbob, an urban parking spot finder service. He has 12 years’ experience in the areas of applied mobile technology and media; as director of content services at Amdocs and at Accenture (Berlin). Christian holds a Master’s degree in business administration from the University of Innsbruck.
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CONSUMER GOODS: FROM EGO TO ECO AS DEMONSTRATED BY CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN RECENT YEARS, THE LEISURE AND SPORTS SECTOR BECAME MORE INDIVIDUALISED.
Not too long ago, consumer interest focused on traditional sports and activities – for example soccer, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, light athletics, etc. Nowadays, people desire alternatives to such mainstream sports and are responsive to new activity offerings. The ever-fickle youth market, in particular, seeks new and personalised alternatives. In addition, a trend toward simplification can be observed. Increasingly, consumers are choosing sports that are not limited to clubs or teams and are independent of a fixed location, such as jogging, mountain biking, cycling, hiking, inline skating and, now, longboard skateboarding. Longboarding is now a highly appealing trend with massmarket appeal. Longboard sales have increased 70% since the beginning of 2013 and are continually growing, according to the European trade magazine Boardsport Source. Most popular are Cruiser-Boards shorter than 39 inches, such as our RUFFBOARDS. Not only are longboards outselling traditional skateboards, but eco-friendly, regionally produced boards priced below 200 euros are the top sellers, according to the CEO of Fame Wien (a skate-sport shop in Vienna).
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This reflects a broader “in-sourcing” trend in sporting-goods production. The catchphrase is “From ego to eco”: meaning local ethically, socially and env ironmentally responsible production. This includes everything from the choice of raw materials and resources to treatment and manufacturing, as well as the employees in organisations, development and distribution. This trend can be seen with high-end alpine-sportsbrands like goodboards and Kneissl. No doubt, most lower-priced European sporting equipment brands continue to outsource production to Asia (mostly China), for obvious reasons: low labour costs and less (or even no) environmental regulation increase profit margins. Recently, even high-end brands such as Atomic (Austria) and Nideker (Switzerland) have moved their production to Asia.
Our longboards are upcycled from old snowboards and are manufactured by former prisoners, thus raising awareness about this marginalised sou r ce of sk i l led labou r. T h i s combination is extremely attractive for the highly dynamic LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) consumer segment, who are the trendsetters and opinion-leaders for larger parts of society. Other sporting goods brands surfing the socially conscious trend are woom bikes (Austria) and Völkl (Germany). In 2015, look out for the Viennese handcrafted training-equipment producer, Woodlife. A Munich-based collaborative platform called “Brands For Good” is banding together various sporting-goods brands to do collaborative marketing and campaign to raise awareness about “social evolvement” in the industry.
Leveraging social and environmental consciousness in the design, production, distribution, and branding of consumer products is nothing new, but has yet to be applied to the board-sport market in a fully integrated way. RUFFBOA R DS, however, offers a unique, holistic and highly attractive package that combines high-end design with trendy appeal, as well as social and environmental consciousness. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 75
DR. MELANIE RUFF A skateboarder since 1994, Melanie (“Mel”) Ruff, attended a college of structural engineering (HTL) and eventually completed her doctorate in history in 2014. That same year, she became CEO of Vienna-based Ruffboards, a company she co-founded with Simone Melda and Nikolaus Hutter.
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SOLVING ISSUES OF INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION IN MANY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING AUSTRIA, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR C H I L D R E N A R E H E AV I LY DEPENDENT ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF THEIR FA M I L I E S.
At the age of 10, Austrian children are divided into different educational channels. Unfortunately, this process leaves 83% of children from lower socio-economic families lacking access to relevant and top-quality education, and less able to compete with their more affluent and privileged peers in higher-quality schools.1 Recent studies from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that students without upper-secondary education tend to have the largest earnings disadvantage.2 Austria and other European countries invest heavily in their education systems. However, political stalemate on this topic prevents significant progress toward improving the established structures. As a result, many parents turn to external tutoring – a big business generating 109 million euros annually.3 For many students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, however, this critical educational resource is not affordable. Even 50% of families who can afford it say it’s a huge financial burden.4
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Across this divide, we have privileged children attending the best schools. While the corporate world is currently struggling to hire these young innovators, it seems Generation Y and Millennials have new values and principles that they want to achieve in their life.5 We ask these students what they need for life that their schools are not providing for them. They want to have a positive impact on their community and desire a meaningful work experience. To overcome these obstacles, we need broad collaboration throughout society. We need a new generation that fights passionately for equal educational opportunities for all children, regardless of their socio-economic background. In the last couple of years, a lot of people, initiatives and companies have come to realise this. Organisations like Teach for Austria, initiatives like Neustart Schule, NGOs like Schule im Aufbruch and many more have started “doing”: raising awareness and helping children through capacity building. Taking place in 2014 for the first time, stEFFIE, the Experimental Fun Festival for Innovative Education, presented a platform and playground for educational projects, teachers, students, and parents – basically anybody who has an interest in innovative educational solutions.
We founded a social enterprise called talentify in Vienna. Our concept is simple: needy students get connected to affordable tutoring resources. We work with students, parents and teachers and all relevant stakeholders to connect students to events, workshops and online resources, and we also harness the talents of skilled students to provide peer-to-peer tutoring. Talentify provides unique career and educational programs by building up skills of high-school student tutors and connecting them with students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. By building a sustainable peer-to-peer online community, we can develop future leaders, increase social cohesion and support those in our community who need to fully realise their potential – a win-win scenario. Often it is not enough just to create an educational service for students – they need to be drawn in with a cool experience and kept actively involved with attractive incentives. By providing an online platform with easy matchmaking and implementing gamification components, our mid-range goal is to reach about 40,000 students by the end of 2016, while our ultimate goal is to lower school dropout rates and increase social mobility. So, we call on everybody to build our future – for our children, but more importantly with them! VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 77
MAG.(FH) B E R N H A R D H O F E R (29) is CEO and co-founder of the online platform talentify. He studied industrial engineering and management at technical high school and has a degree in Business Informatics from the Management Center Innsbruck, where he founded the student magazine “zeitlos” together with fellow students. After his studies, he worked at the marketing agency kraftwerk and later with a software development firm to build up their branch office in Vienna. Sources used for this article: 1 bifie, “Nationaler Bildungsbericht 2012” and Volkshilfe Österreich, “Zusammenhänge zwischen Bildung und Armut,” Juli 2013 2 “Education at a Glance 2013 – Country Note Austria” and more detailed in the 2014 edition – OECD Indicators 3, 4 AK Study: “Nachhilfe in Österreich,” Mai 2014 5 Deloitte: The Millennial Survey 2014
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FINTECH: USING MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO RETHINK FINANCE THE FINTECH (FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY) SECTOR IS A HOT TOPIC T H E S E DAYS A N D SOME EVEN SEE IT AS A MEGATREND FOR YEARS TO COME.
If one considers “money” abstractly and puts aside the common criticisms of capitalism, two things become obvious: Money, as a means of exchange, organises cooperation in society and is therefore “social” in character; and, secondly, money is “virtual.” Combined, these aspects lay the ideal conditions for financial innovations to spread rapidly via modern technology.
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Why didn’t this happen before? First of all, the internet generation has matured and is increasingly interested in building up and managing assets. However, today’s trend is toward independence from institutional banks, whose reputation has been damaged after recent scandals and market crises. Lastly, simpler options for implementing innovations outside of regulated industries are becoming increasingly rare. Taken together, it is clear why FinTech has become a Megatrend. In addition to the ever-relevant field of payment solutions – for which an Austrian company, paysafecard, has already achieved a decade-old string of victories – three exciting new approaches came to the forefront in 2014: C R O W D - I N V E S T I N G / C R O W D F U N D I N G is about financing different projects through the power of the masses. The scope of projects funded ranges from charitable (donation-based) to those where funders become the early adopters of their financed products (reward-based), as well as various forms of corporate loanbased and equity-based participation. All together, there is now a deluge of different platforms released and under development (consolidation is expected in the next few years, as margins are low for trustworthy offers). It remains to be seen whether some of these new platforms will be able to shave market share away from already established providers such as Kickstarter or Seedmatch. The Austrian platform CONDA is a strong professional competitor, especially in the area of equity participations, and received a lot of attention in 2014, stemming in part from its participation in the Puls4 Startup Show, 2 Minuten 2 Millionen.
P E E R - 2 - P E E R L E N D I N G is a hot topic internationally. In addition to Auxmoney, the Berlin-based RocketInternet Startup, Lendico, is now active in Germany. As yet, Austria has no large players in this sector. L ever a g i n g t he ad va nt a g e s of peer -2-peer systems, D I G I T A L C U R R E N C Y is another trend that is gaining momentum. The growth of crypto-currencies such as bitcoin or Darkcoin has been hampered amid concerns that they might be used for illegal purposes. Perhaps this why no Austrian companies are (officially) involved in this business. The business of S O C I A L T R A D I N G is an example where Austrian players are already active. In the past two years, Social Trading has emerged from its cocoon and makes available the experience of successful traders to an increasing number of investors, who can follow and profit directly from their published investment strategies via a financial product, such as a certificate. This “social-regulatory” concept draws in top -traders as well as hidden champions alike. Regulatory challenges are still the critical element in the FinTech area. Legal frameworks often lead to product adjustments that are not necessarily to the customer’s benefit. All of these new FinTech approaches, especially newly emerging ones, come with a low degree of legal certainty – a problem that can often only be solved through dialogue with the supervisory authorities. This is an area where startups can benefit most from an established partner. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 79
A N D R E A S K E R N , MSc is CEO and founder of wikifolio.com, the European market leader for Social Trading, launched in Germany in 2012 and later expanded to Austria. In 2014 alone, a trade volume in excess of three-billion euros was transacted on wikifolio.com. Prior to this, Andreas amassed 10 years of experience in the finance and payment sectors. He earned a Master of Science in Innovation Management from the JK Business School, and is a trained futures and currency trader.
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HEALTHCARE: APPLIED GENETICS I N N OVAT I O N S I N T H E HEALTHCARE SECTOR A R E FA R T O O N U M E R O U S AND WIDE-RANGING TO SUM UP I N T H I S A L L O T T E D S PAC E , B U T S U F F I C E I T T O SAY THAT GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY A R E P L AY I N G A L E A D ROLE IN THE FIELD. One Austrian company, Feragen, has focused on a subset of this growing area – veterinary genetics – and in the process is capitalising on another healthcare trend: bringing innovation from the university lab directly to the consumer. Feragen founder, Anja Geretschläger, explains.
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For humans, genetic testing offers a wide spectrum of diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic options for as-yet incurable disorders. With this tool, certain predispositions can be detected before they result in clinical symptoms and ethical birth-control decisions can be made. Genetic diagnostics are gradually becoming an important feature in veterinary medicine, as well. Inherited diseases in domesticated animals are a growing problem, particularly in purebred animals. Inbreeding is a typical selection technique to produce animals with desired visual and behavioural traits. Purebred dogs are popular, because prospective owners need only to choose a specific breed for its favourable characteristics. However, strong selection pressures in breeding lead to an increase in inherited genetic disorders. Breeding clubs recognise this problem and are starting to launch countermeasures, which will increasingly be supported by the use of genetic diagnostics. This field has a strong scientific bias. Most universities around the world are identifying new DNA-mutations associated with inherited disorders. More than half of the genetic disorders found in dogs show the same symptoms and genetic causes as those of humans. As dogs largely share the same environmental factors as humans, they make for a promising subject of study. Information from these
studies can be used for genetic testing of animals and breeding strategies can be developed to avoid inherited disorders in purebred puppies. But purebred dogs are only part of the potential demand for such testing. Until now, owners of mixed-breed dogs can merely guess which breed they have based on appearance. But now modern genetics can help to answer this question more accurately by comparing the genetic markers of mixed-breed and purebred dogs. In some cases, the results are surprising and often explain why a dog shows a specific behaviour. As in other sectors, small startups in the field of genetics have great potential and are often underestimated by wellestablished enterprises. Their culture of open mindedness has led to new, innovative products and ideas. With limited financial resources, they must be more customer-focused, creative and sustainable. Startups capture new markets and take chances that large companies can not. They create new business models which can benefit everyone. Nowadays, startups such as Feragen offer such previously inaccessible genetic diagnostic testing “over the counter� to the common consumer, via their websites. The field of genetics is becoming more a part of our daily lives, but it will take time to be fully integrated and accepted in our society. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 81
DR. ANJA G E R E T S C H L Ă„ G E R (33) has a PhD is Genetics and Molecular Biology and has spent many years doing research at the University of Salzburg. A dog lover and owner of a healthimpaired dog named Nala, she founded the university spin-off Feragen with her husband, Michael, an experienced businessman, in 2012. In 2014 they started selling products on their website.
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HOT HARDWARE IN 2014, A GROWING NUMBER OF HARDWARE STARTUPS EMERGED WORLDWIDE. EUROPE, I N PA RT I C U L A R , HAS BEEN HOST TO MANY SUCCESSFUL VENTURES IN THIS FIELD.
The vast majority of technology startups founded in the last few years were focused on Software: apps; desktop software; SaaS; and other software solutions for existing hardware products. However, as 3-D printers and printing services become more common, hardware prototyping becomes easier and a lot cheaper. People who used to say, “There is an app for that” are now saying “There is a device for that.” Wearables, which often combine hardware and apps, are particularly good examples of this trend, which is likely to continue into the future as increasing numbers of venture capitalists and incubators focus on hardware startups.
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Major buzzwords in 2014 were M2M, Internet-of-Things and Industry 4.0 – terms almost everyone interprets slightly differently, but which are all well exemplified by the successful Austrian startup LineMetrics. This company develops a hardware device that helps monitor production workflows by capturing and clearly displaying important information such as power consumption, units produced, outage time and more. By focusing on smallersized companies and the usability of their product, LineMetrics does not compete directly with larger, more expensive solutions in this field. However, their easy-to-use lightweight solution often beats out other well-known industry players. Seeing startups bring their hardware ideas to life and disrupt large players in their respective fields is what makes this area so interesting. It is certainly becoming a trend to connect devices and have them communicate with each other, whether via a smartphone or directly, using wireless technologies. Bluetooth 4.0 has helped companies integrate hardware products very inexpensively and with low impact on power consumption . One of the biggest challenges for innovative hardware startups is handling the diverse regulations and certifications in each country, the EU and beyond. While CE certification is clear and consistent across the
EU, many other regulations are not. Even within the EU, waste-disposal regulations are different in every country. For a few euros worth of fees, governments load up business with a ton of overhead, which puts small startups at a disadvantage. There are often only “guidelines” for what information is allowed or required to be visible on a hardware product. Standardised rules and regulations for product labelling across the EU would be very helpful. Apps and other software products can easily be sold across Europe through different online marketplaces and without much adaptation. However, selling hardware is still very dependent upon offline retail and requires localised packa g i n g, ma nua ls, ma rket i n g materials,…. Often, hardware startups forget this when they initially build their product and try to roll it out across Europe. It gets even more complicated when distributing product outside the EU, and particularly challenging in Russia. Moving forward, it is likely that the distinction between hardware and software development will gradually disappear, as most software products require hardware and vice versa. It will be essential for startup teams to have competencies in both areas to be able to compete with larger, slower-to-react established companies.
With a background in software and hardware development with Microsoft and Amazon and a degree in Media Technology and Design from the University of Applied Sciences, Hagenberg, M I C H A E L H U R N A U S (31) became a co-founder and CEO of Pasching-based Tractive GmbH, creator of pet-tracking devices, in 2012.
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PUTTING THE PEDAL TO THE METAL PRODUCTION OF COPPER, ALUMINIUM, LEAD, GOLD, SILVER, ETC., IS ESSENTIAL TO HUMAN PROGRESS, BECAUSE WITHOUT THESE METALS NO TYPE OF CIVILISATION AND TECHNOLOGY IS POSSIBLE. Relative to other countries, Austria’s non-ferrous metallurgy industry plays a minor role.
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As a result of our training and our conviction that countless interesting technical problems must be solved in this area, we decided to found our own company, METTOP, which allows us to quickly research new ideas and develop new products. The coming years will bring increasing technological demands on smelting and refining processes, due to greater emphasis on recycling increasingly diverse waste materials and residues. Inevitably, new recycling processes must be considered and will require international collaboration. The ongoing aims of our industry – to minimise carbon dioxide emissions, increase energy efficiency and develop processes that produce less residual waste – will be possible only through new innovations. For example, one of the most important recent innovations in our field is the cooling of metallurgical aggregates with ionic liquid. This new method makes possible completely new ways of saving energy and, concurrently, workplace safety in the metal manufacturing industry is increased.
Smaller businesses and startups in our industry share similar problems to our counterparts in other fields of innovation. Perhaps foremost are the challenges of doing business internationally. To be able to work globally, it is necessary to know all the different tax regulations, import-export rules, tax systems and, of course, different cultures. This results in an incredible amount of administration and expense. In recent years, economic recession has slowed innovation. As is true for most other industries, startups in the Materials Science sector are having greater difficulty getting appropriate f i na nci n g for major i n novat ion projects. A not her obstacle (also common to startups in many fields) is the financial burden of acquiring and holding onto highly trained staff. Small startup companies must comply with the same collective-bargaining agreements negotiated for larger industrial concerns. To help resolve such issues, urgent intervention by the EU and the federal government is necessary. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 85
DR. IRIS FILZWIESER is a metallurgist and general manager of Leoben-based METTOP GmbH, which she co-founded with her husband, Andreas. METTOP is focused on innovative technologies in the field of non-ferrous metallurgy. In addition to the sale of two of its patented technologies, METTOP optimises technical processes in order to increase production, improve quality, minimise contamination, and ensure cost-effective production.
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� CHAPTER 1 �
REVIEW 2013 & 2014 THERE IS A LOT OF DISCUSSION GOING ON ABOUT THE SCALE OF INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS IN AUSTRIA. IT TOOK US WEEKS TO COMPILE SELF-REPORTED DATA ON PUBLIC GRANTS AND INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENTS IN 2013. WE NOW SEE W H Y S O M E SAY B U S I N E S S A N G E L S A R E “VERY SHY BAMBIS” WHEN IT COMES TO REVEALING THEIR INVESTMENT DATA. ALAS, WE MUST POSTPONE PUBLISHING SUCH INFORMATION UNTIL OUR 2015 EDITION.
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AWARDS 2014 AWARDS FOR NEW VENTURES IN 2014
N A T I O N W I D E
AWARD Frequency Prize Organiser Winners 2014 Project
IDEEN GEGEN ARMUT annual € 43.000 Coca-Cola, Der Standard, Kompetenzzentrum für Nonprofit Organisationen Kaffeehaus zur Reintegration 1ne Gesellschaft für 1ne zweite Chance & Vollpension und Beschäftigung von armutsgefährdeten SeniorInnen SOZIAL MARIE annual € 15.000 € Unruhe Privatstiftung Sozialnetz-Konferenz in der Bewährungshilfe Neustart SOZIAL MARIE (Community Voting) annual award + 3min imagefilm Unruhe Privatstiftung Budgetberatung Österreich ASB Schuldenberatungen AUSTRIA’S NEXT TOP START-UP annual futurezone, A1 Security solutions for websites nimbusec
business consulting, A1 small business package and office on A1 campus
AUSTRIAN BUSINESS ANGEL AWARD annual award AplusB + aws DI Michael Altrichter Business Angel 2014 Dr. Johann Hansmann Exit 2014 Dr. Christopher Grabher Newcomer 2014 BETAPITCH VIENNA annual betahaus Rails app tool Drystorm
FUTUREZONE AWARD (Kategorie: App-Award) futurezone + partners annual ecoGator Austrian Energy Agency
Credit to spend a video worth € 4.000, a wild card to Axel Springer’s accelerator days, a Prezi 10 seat group license.
various awards
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FUTUREZONE AWARD (Kategorie: Connected-Live-Award) futurezone + partners annual various awards Scan-Software Anyline FUTUREZONE AWARD (Kategorie: Game-Award) futurezone + partners annual Son of Nor atillalive studios
various awards
FUTUREZONE AWARD (Kategorie: Innovation Award) futurezone + partners annual pet tracking Tractive Motion
various award
FUTUREZONE AWARD (Kategorie: Innovator des Jahres) futurezone + partners annual various awards robotics-expert Andreas Wendel
FUTUREZONE AWARD (Kategorie: Robotik Award) futurezone + partners annual roborer for children Robo
various awards
FUTUREZONE AWARD (Kategorie: Startup Award) futurezone + partners annual various awards Location-depdent smartphone services Xamoom
HARDWARETRIBE annual fixed ticket for AUSTRIAN INNOVATION FORUM, KANSO eU, WhatAVenture GmbH €5.000 budget for legal consulting audiovisual distration in medical treatment for relxation HappyMed i2B annual Erste Bank, WKO not available by the time of editorial deadline
€ 10.000
JOIN OUR CORE annual € 10.000 + Business-Coaching Ben&Jerrys, Ashoka Ruffboards Mel Ruff ÖSTERREICHISCHER KLIMASCHUTZPREIS (Kategorie: Betriebe) annual national TV presence Lebensministerium, ORF, Hofer, klimaaktiv, zurück zum Ursprung Bioenergie Aichfeld Bioenergie Aichfeld GmbH ÖSTERREICHISCHER KLIMASCHUTZPREIS (Kategorie: Gemeinde und Regionen) annual national TV presence Lebensministerium, ORF, Hofer, klimaaktiv, zurück zum Ursprung Wir LEBEN Energie Stadtgemeinde Weiz VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 89
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ÖSTERREICHISCHER KLIMASCHUTZPREIS (Kategorie: Landwirtschaft) annual national TV presence Lebensministerium, ORF, Hofer, klimaaktiv, zurück zum Ursprung Nutze die Kraft der Natur Hubert Pickl-Herk ÖSTERREICHISCHER KLIMASCHUTZPREIS (Kategorie: Tägliches Leben) annual national TV presence Lebensministerium, ORF, Hofer, klimaaktiv, zurück zum Ursprung Sonnenwelt Großschönau Verein Sonnenplatz Großschönau PIONEERS CHALLENGE Pioneers SaaS in financial sector Oradian
annual
PIONEERS 90” PITCH annual Pioneers n/a 2 winners: Peared & Timesulin
$ 50.000 seed investment
coffee & cake session with startup mentor Benjamin Joffe
SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD annual € 4.000 HUB Aus Sonne wird Bier / Greenvision table-style device for blind people Collective Energy Projekt Schule für Alle Prosa SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD (Audience Voting) annual incubation in HUB HUB Vienna Legal Literacy Project Vienna Legal Literacy Project SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD (Community Voting) annual HUB Social Friends Social Friends SOCIAL INTEGRATION AWARD ERSTE Stiftung Little People Romania (2013) STAATSPREIS INNOVATION BMWFW, WKO Bonebridge MED-EL
€ 4.000
biennial € 40.000 I Am Not Afraid annual award
STAATSPREIS INNOVATION (Sonderpreis Econovius) BMWFW, WKO annual € 10.000 Aluminiumrecycling MASTERmax - COOLmax - MILLmax Kärntner Maschinenfabriken Egger
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STAATSPREIS INNOVATION (Sonderpreis Verena) Verbund annual € 12.000 smartflowerTM smartflower energy technology SUSTAINABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD (Kategorie: Mobilität & Technologische Innovationen) SEA - Sustainable Entrepreneurship Award annual Auszeichnung Ubitricity Mobile Metering Ubitricity GmbH TREND@VENTURE Trend, T-Mobile, Fabasoft, Pioneers, Puls4 n/a Anyline
annual pioneers ticket, coaching, fixed ticket to “2 Minuten 2 Millionen”
TREND@VENTURE Publikumspreis annual award Trend, T-Mobile, Fabasoft, Pioneers, Puls4 table-style device for blind people blitab
TREND@VENTURE Spezial-Award by Puls4 Trend, T-Mobile, Fabasoft, Pioneers, Puls4 Warteschlangenanalyse Qgo
annual
fixed ticket to “2 Minuten 2 Millionen”
TRIGOS (Kategorie: Ganzheitliches CSR-Engagement: Kleinunternehmen) annual award Caritas, ÖRK, Global 2000, Diakonie, Umweltdachverband, bdcg, WKO, IV, respact Qualitätsfertigerden auf Kompostenbasis Sonnenerde - Gerald Dunst Kulturerden GmbH
TRIGOS (Kategorie: Social Entrepreneurship) annual award Caritas, ÖRK, Global 2000, Diakonie, Umweltdachverband, bdcg, WKO, IV, respact zur Gleichstellung von Menschen atempo
BURGENLAND JUNGUNTERNEHMERPREIS 2014 (Kategorie Ideenbringer) Junge Wirtschaft Burgenland biennial award Lichtpunkt.Licht Markus Hoffmann JUNGUNTERNEHMERPREIS 2014 (Kategorie Impulsgeber) Junge Wirtschaft Burgenland biennial award Kastell Stegersbach Marc Peischl STAATSPREIS: BURGENLÄNDISCHER INNOVATIONSPREIS annual € 5.000 WiBAG, WKO Burgenland (Preisgeld gesponsert von Erste Bank der österreichischen Sparkassen AG und WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung AG) Lago 26 Hans Spitzauer VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 91
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STAATSPREIS: BURGENLÄNDISCHER INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Großunternehmen) annual award WiBAG, WKO Burgenland (Preisgeld Erste Bank und WIENER STÄDTISCHE) energiesparende Steuerung von LED-Straßenbeleuchtungen Swarco-Futurit STAATSPREIS: BURGENLÄNDISCHER INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Innovative Dienstleistungen) annual award WiBAG, WKO Burgenland (Preisgeld Erste Bank und WIENER STÄDTISCHE) Barrique-Faß-Renovierungen Barreco GmbH STAATSPREIS: BURGENLÄNDISCHER INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Klein- und Mittelbetriebe) annual award WiBAG, WKO Burgenland (Preisgeld Erste Bank und WIENER STÄDTISCHE) hydraulischer Antrieb von Ladebordwänden und Bergescheren, der auch Modulhydraulik Weber ohne Stromversorgung funktioniert STAATSPREIS: BURGENLÄNDISCHER INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Tourismus) annual award WiBAG, WKO Burgenland (Preisgeld Erste Bank und WIENER STÄDTISCHE) innovative pannonische Küche Gasthaus zur Dankbarkeit
C A R I N T H I A STAATSPREIS: INNOVATIONS- UND FORSCHUNGSPREIS DES LANDES KÄRNTEN (Kategorie: Großunternehmen) annual € 10.000 KWF Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds not available by the time of editorial deadline
STAATSPREIS: INNOVATIONS- UND FORSCHUNGSPREIS DES LANDES KÄRNTEN (Kategorie: Klein- und Mittelunternehmen) annual € 10.000 KWF Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds not available by the time of editorial deadline
STAATSPREIS: INNOVATIONS- UND FORSCHUNGSPREIS DES LANDES KÄRNTEN (Kategorie: Kleinstunternehmen) annual € 10.000 KWF Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds not available by the time of editorial deadline
STAATSPREIS: INNOVATIONS- UND FORSCHUNGSPREIS DES LANDES KÄRNTEN (Spezialpreis: Innovationskultur - ein langer Prozess der kleinen Schritte) annual € 10.000 KWF Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds not available by the time of editorial deadline
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TRIGOS KÄRNTEN (CSR-Engagement – Kleinunternehmen) biennial award Caritas, ÖRK, Global 2000, Diakonie, Umweltdachverband, bdcg, WKO, IV, respact Schmuck Uhren Ute Habenicht GmbH TRIGOS KÄRNTEn (Sonderpreis der Kleinen Zeitung für den CSR-Newcomer) biennial award Caritas, ÖRK, Global 2000, Diakonie, Umweltdachverband, bdcg, WKO, IV, respact Stickerei Stickcenter Fian
L O W E R A U S T R I A RIZ GENIUS IDEENPREIS 2014 “INNOVATION MIT MEHRWERT” (Kategorie: Forschung) annual maximum € 54.000 RIZ die Gründeragentur für Niederösterreich not available by the time of editorial deadline
RIZ GENIUS IDEENPREIS 2014 “INNOVATION MIT MEHRWERT” (Kategorie: Gewerbe/Dienstleistung) annual maximum € 54.000 RIZ die Gründeragentur für Niederösterreich not available by the time of editorial deadline RIZ GENIUS IDEENPREIS 2014 “INNOVATION MIT MEHRWERT” (Kategorie: Technologie) annual maximum € 54.000 RIZ die Gründeragentur für Niederösterreich not available by the time of editorial deadline STAATSPREIS: KARL RITTER VON GHEGA-PREIS - DER NÖ INNOVATIONSPREIS annual € 10.000 Land Niederösterreich, WKO Niederösterreich (Preisgeld von EVN und Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien) FUMzyme® BIOMIN Holding GmbH STAATSPREIS: KARL RITTER VON GHEGA-PREIS - DER NÖ INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Innovationen aus Forschungseinrichtungen) annual various awards Land Niederösterreich, WKO Niederösterreich (Preisgeld von EVN und Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien) AIT Austrian Institute of Technlolgy Biologische Kontrolle von Ragweed
STAATSPREIS: KARL RITTER VON GHEGA-PREIS - DER NÖ INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Innovationen für den Konsumenten) annual various awards Land Niederösterreich, WKO Niederösterreich (Preisgeld von EVN und Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien) Fructose und nicht alkoholische Fettleber Sciotec Diagnostic Technologies GmbH
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STAATSPREIS: KARL RITTER VON GHEGA-PREIS - DER NÖ INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Innovationen für die Wirtschaft) annual various awards Land Niederösterreich, WKO Niederösterreich (Preisgeld von EVN und Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien) COMPISO EGSTON System Electronics Eggenburg GmbH
STAATSPREIS: KARL RITTER VON GHEGA-PREIS - DER NÖ INNOVATIONSPREIS (Kategorie: Sonderpreis - Innovativstes KMU) annual various awards Land Niederösterreich, WKO Niederösterreich (Preisgeld von EVN und Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien) Lithos CornProtect LITHOS Industrial Minerals GmbH
S A L Z B U R G STAATSPREIS: SALZBURGER WIRTSCHAFTSPREIS FÜR DAS UNTERNEHMEN DES JAHRES annual Pokal des Salzburger Künstlers Zoltan Pap Wirtschaftskammer Salzburg, Land Salzburg, Salzburger Nachrichten, Sparkasse n/a Palfinger AG STAATSPREIS: SALZBURGER WIRTSCHAFTSPREIS FÜR EIN LEBENSWERK annual Pokal des Salzburger Künstlers Zoltan Pap Wirtschaftskammer Salzburg, Land Salzburg, Salzburger Nachrichten, Sparkasse n/a Hubert Palfinger STAATSPREIS: SALZBURGER WIRTSCHAFTSPREIS FÜR INNOVATION annual Pokal des Salzburger Künstlers Zoltan Pap Wirtschaftskammer Salzburg, Land Salzburg, Salzburger Nachrichten, Sparkasse n/a medPhoton GmbH STAATSPREIS: SALZBURGER WIRTSCHAFTSPREIS FÜR UNTERNEHMENSGRÜNDUNG annual Pokal des Salzburger Künstlers Zoltan Pap Wirtschaftskammer Salzburg, Land Salzburg, Salzburger Nachrichten, Sparkasse n/a hotelkit GmbH STAATSPREIS: SALZBURGER WIRTSCHAFTSPREIS FÜR VERANTWORTUNGSVOLLES UNTERNEHMERTUM annual Pokal des Salzburger Künstlers Zoltan Pap Wirtschaftskammer Salzburg, Land Salzburg, Salzburger Nachrichten, Sparkasse Biogena Naturprodukte Gmbh & Co KG n/a
S T Y R I A ELEVATOR PITCH annual € 5.000 Energie Steiermark, Kleine Zeitung, Junge Wirtschaft Steiermark, Steiermärkische Sparkasse n/a Alen Munjakovic
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STAATSPREIS: FAST FORWARD AWARD (Kategorie: Großunternehmen) annual award Steirische Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH Coole Leiterplatten fürs Handy AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG STAATSPREIS: FAST FORWARD AWARD (Kategorie: Kategorie: Institutionen der angewandten F&E) annual award Steirische Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH Software für optimale Bestrahlungen Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH STAATSPREIS: FAST FORWARD AWARD (Kategorie: Kleinstunternehmen) annual award Steirische Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH Mit einem Roboter wieder gehen lernen sch.epp OG STAATSPREIS: FAST FORWARD AWARD (Kategorie: Kleinunternehmen) annual award Steirische Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH Lawinen-Airbag aus reiner Luft Pieps GmbH STAATSPREIS: FAST FORWARD AWARD (Kategorie: Mittlere Unternehmen) annual award Steirische Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH Tunnelbohrung auf 2 cm genau Geodata Ziviltechnikergesellschaft mbH
TYROL
STAATSPREIS: TIROLER INNOVATIONSPREIS (Dienstleistungsinnovation) Land Tirol, WKO Tirol annual € 7.500 Vertisol - weltweit erster großflächiger Fassadensolarkataster Laserdata GmbH und Steps e.U. STAATSPREIS: TIROLER INNOVATIONSPREIS (Konzepte mit Innovationspotential) Land Tirol, WKO Tirol annual € 3.000 n/a Bucinator e.U. STAATSPREIS: TIROLER INNOVATIONSPREIS (Technische Innovation (Produkt und Verfahren) Land Tirol, WKO Tirol annual € 7.500 n/a Liebherr TRIGOS TIROL (CSR-Engagement – Kleinunternehmen) biennial award Caritas, ÖRK, Global 2000, Diakonie, Umweltdachverband, bdcg, WKO, IV, respact n/a Grafenast Hotel GmbH
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U P P E R A U S T R I A JUNGUNTERNEHMERPREIS 2014 (Kategorie: Jungunternehmer als Jobmotor) annual € 2.000 Junge Wirtschaft OÖ in Kooperation mit dem Wirtschaftsressort des Landes und der Fachgruppe Unternehmensberatung und Informationstechnologie (UBIT) n/a Loxone Electronics GmbH JUNGUNTERNEHMERPREIS 2014 (Kategorie: Klein, aber fein (EPU)) annual € 2.000 Junge Wirtschaft OÖ in Kooperation mit dem Wirtschaftsressort des Landes und der Fachgruppe Unternehmensberatung und Informationstechnologie (UBIT) n/a Whisky Destillerie Peter Affenzeller JUNGUNTERNEHMERPREIS 2014 (Kategorie: Visionäre und Innovatoren) annual € 2.000 Junge Wirtschaft OÖ in Kooperation mit dem Wirtschaftsressort des Landes und der Fachgruppe Unternehmensberatung und Informationstechnologie (UBIT) n/a Wasserbauer GmbH STAATSPREIS: LANDESPREIS FÜR INNOVATION, OBERÖSTERREICH (Kategorie Großunternehmen) annual € 4.000 Land Oberösterreich, WKO OÖ, Sparkasse OÖ, ORF, Kronen Zeitung phs-ultraform direkt voestalpine Stagl GmbH STAATSPREIS: LANDESPREIS FÜR INNOVATION, OBERÖSTERREICH (Kategorie Kleinunternehmen) annual € 4.000 Land Oberösterreich, WKO OÖ, Sparkasse OÖ, ORF, Kronen Zeitung Kobleder NCK Kobleder GmbH STAATSPREIS: LANDESPREIS FÜR INNOVATION, OBERÖSTERREICH (Kategorie Mittelunternehmen) annual € 4.000 Land Oberösterreich, WKO OÖ, Sparkasse OÖ, ORF, Kronen Zeitung GearControl Eisenbeiss GmbH
STAATSPREIS: LANDESPREIS FÜR INNOVATION, OBERÖSTERREICH (Sonderpreis Forschungseinrichtungen) annual € 4.000 Land Oberösterreich, WKO OÖ, Sparkasse OÖ, ORF, Kronen Zeitung Entwicklung von NATURFASERVERSTÄRKTEN POLYOLEFINKompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH COMPOUNDS mit Schwerpunkt auf Anwendungen im Automobilbereich
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STAATSPREIS: LANDESPREIS FÜR INNOVATION, OBERÖSTERREICH (Sonderpreis Radikale Innovation) annual 4.000 € Land Oberösterreich, WKO OÖ, Sparkasse OÖ, ORF, Kronen Zeitung Innovative thermische Energiespeicherung mit neuen ASiC - Austria Solar Innovation Center Materialien TRIGOS OBERÖSTERREICH (CSR-Engagement – Kleinunternehmen) biennial award Caritas, ÖRK, Global 2000, Diakonie, Umweltdachverband, bdcg, WKO, IV, respact n/a Der Service Gärtner
V I E N N A
CONTENT AWARD (Kategorie: Apps) annual 5.000 € Wirtschaftsagentur Wien Bianca Busetti, Christian Papauschek, Andreas Röttl, Rodrigo Escobar, Stefan Raffeiner, Journi - Die App die Reisen unvergesslich macht Carina Wetzlhütter
CONTENT AWARD (Kategorie: Characters) annual Wirtschaftsagentur Wien The Lion’s Song LeafThief (Stefan Srb)
CONTENT AWARD (Kategorie: Fem Power) annual 5.000 € Wirtschaftsagentur Wien SiGame - Serious Game-App zum Erlernen von equalizent GmbH, arx anima, IBM, Signtime Gebärdensprache
CONTENT AWARD (Kategorie: Games) Wirtschaftsagentur Wien Schein Zeppelin Studio
annual
5.000 €
5.000 €
CONTENT AWARD (Kategorie: Open, Publikumspreis) Wirtschaftsagentur Wien annual 5.000 € Mapping-Jausen-Tempel im “Heurigenbuffet zum Gschupftn Ferdl” Ferdl Heurigen-Kollektiv
CONTENT AWARD (Kategorie: Shorts) annual 5.000 € Wirtschaftsagentur Wien MeTube: August sings Carmen ‘Habanera’ Daniel Moshel
CONTENT AWARD (Kategorie: Visuals) annual 5.000 € Wirtschaftsagentur Wien Morpheme_SNYOSIT SEEM Thomas Wagensommerer + Electric Indigo
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CONTENT AWARD (Sonderpreis: Infoscreen) annual various awards Wirtschaftsagentur Wien + partners Kangaroos can’t jump backwards Rafael Mayrhofer
CONTENT AWARD (Sonderpreis: W24) annual various awards Wirtschaftsagentur Wien + partners Slow Riddim Express Benjamin Swiczinsky, Conrad Tambour, Johannes Schiehsl
CONTENT AWARD (Sonderpreis: Wien Holding Newcomer Games) Wirtschaftsagentur Wien + partners annual various awards Ace Ferrara And The Dino Menace DI(FH) Philipp Seifried
CONTENT AWARD (Sonderpreis: Wien Holding Newcomer Shorts) Wirtschaftsagentur Wien + partners annual various awards LIODOSTRI Florentin Scheichler
CONTENT AWARD (Sonderpreis: Wiener Stadtwerke Open Data) Wirtschaftsagentur Wien + partners annual various awards Eine Stadt - 135 Stadtviertel: Die exklusive Stadtviertelkarte & StadtviertelMag. Bernhard Holzer Wohnungssuche für Wien CONTENT AWARD (Sonderpreis: Wiener Zeitung) Wirtschaftsagentur Wien + partners annual various awards Florian Jungwirth, Paul Spiesberger, Georg Steinfelder, Christoph Wöss
Newspeak
CONTENT AWARD (Sonderpreis: WSE Wiener Standort) Wirtschaftsagentur Wien + partners annual various awards Mapping-Jausen-Tempel im “Heurigenbuffet zum Gschupftn Ferdl” Ferdl Heurigen-Kollektiv STAATSPREIS: MERCUR’14, Der Innovationspreis der Wirtschaftskammer Wien (Kategorie: IKT/Technik) annual € 7.000 Wirtschaftskammer Wien SCL Sensor Tech. Fabrication GmbH Self-Sensing Cantilevers… Sehen und Fühlen in der Nanowelt
STAATSPREIS: MERCUR’14, Der Innovationspreis der Wirtschaftskammer Wien (Kategorie: Green Economy) annual € 7.000 Wirtschaftskammer Wien AirKey – das Handy ist der Schlüssel EVVA Sicherheitstechnologie GmbH
STAATSPREIS: MERCUR’14, Der Innovationspreis der Wirtschaftskammer Wien (Kategorie: Kreativität und Medien/Consulting) annual € 7.000 Wirtschaftskammer Wien NOUS Wissensmanagement GmbH opera.live
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STAATSPREIS: MERCUR’14, Der Innovationspreis der Wirtschaftskammer Wien (Kategorie: Life Sciences) annual € 7.000 Wirtschaftskammer Wien 3D Human Tissue Cultures Everycyte GmbH
V O R A R L B E R G STAATSPREIS: INNOVATIONSPREIS 2014 BESTES KLEINUNTERNEHMEN Land Vorarlberg, WKO Vorarlberg annual € 2.000 Interaktive m2m 3D-Animation Eberle Automatische Systeme GmbH & Co KG STAATSPREIS: INNOVATIONSPREIS 2014 FÜR DAS BESTE START UP UNTERNEHMEN Land Vorarlberg, WKO Vorarlberg annual € 2.000 SLR-Splitdrain UBC unternehmenBAU consult GmbH STAATSPREIS: INNOVATIONSPREISE 2014 annual € 2.000 Land Vorarlberg, WKO Vorarlberg Ceramill Sintron Amann Girrbach AG Einsatz von nachhaltigen Materialien schoeller the spinning group im Automobilinnenbereich Traveltex 52708 PURE 50 TIGHTS Wolford AG LEGRABOX, das neue Boxsystem mit AMBIA-LINE, Julius Blum GmbH dem passenden Inneneinteilungssystem Vitoligno 300-C (Low Emission-Pelletfeuerung) Köb Holzheizsysteme GmbH
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GRANTS 2013 PUBLIC GRANTS FOR NEW VENTURES BY NATIONAL AND FEDERAL STATES IN 2013
ORGANISATION Programs # of confirmed projects total volume in €
NATIONAL
* no further information given
AUSTRIAN FEDERAL PROMOTIONAL BANK Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH/AWS various programs *
2.500 100.000.000,00
Source: self-reported data on 20/11/2014
AUSTRIAN RESEARCH PROMOTION AGENCY Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft/FFG various programs * 100
30.000.000,00
Source: self-reported data on 04/11/2014
F E D E R A L S T A T E S (alphabetical order) BUSINESS SERVICE BURGENLAND Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland AG/WIBAG grants
45 156.788,40
Source: WIBAG Tätigkeitsbericht 2013, page 33
CARINTHIAN ECONOMIC PROMOTION FUND Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds/KWF various programs *
144 4.600.000,00
Source: self-reported data on 20/10/2014
FEDERAL STATE LOWER AUSTRIA Existenzgründungsaktion
536 393.353,56
Source: self-reported data on 31/10/2014
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FEDERAL STATE OF SALZBURG
64 332.670,00
various programs *
Source: self-reported data on 20/10/2014
STYRIAN BUSINESS PROMOTION AGENCY Steirische Wirtschaftsfรถrderungs GmbH/SFG various programs * Source: self-reported data on 31/10/2014
352
1.507.481,31
FEDERAL STATE OF TYROL loans grants in cooperation with aws grants Source: self-reported data on 14/10/2014
127 3.513.500,00 40 120.155,00 6 73.978,00
FEDERAL STATE UPPER AUSTRIA 297 745.430,00 160 40.250,00
various programs * consulting Source: self-reported data on 31/10/2014
VIENNA BUSINESS AGENCY Wirtschaftsagentur Wien Classic Dienstleistungsfรถrderung Elektro-Nutzfahrzeuge Experts focus Forschung Innovation Internationalisierung Kommunikation Kooperation Pioneer Technologie-Awareness Technologie-Transfer Source: self-reported data on 17/10/2014
10 1.357.757,00 47 1.913.992,66 3 26.704,17 6 81.652,00 7 911.214,00 21 4.619.206,58 35 4.893.577,14 78 1.050.707,20 8 383.036,28 5 221.176,24 9 205.107,00 17 83.750,00 14 63.805,00
FEDERAL STATE OF VORARLBERG
various programs *
58 188.170,00
Source: self-reported data on 10/10/2014
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INVESTMENTS INVESTMENTS IN NEW VENTURES REPORTED BY PROFESSIONAL INVESTMENT GROUPS IN 2013
ORGANISATION # of deals total volume in € (alphabetical order)
*no investments in Austria
3TS CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD
7 5.200.000,00* www.3tscapital.com
self-reported data on 13/11/2014
AC & FRIENDS GmbH
3 750.000,00 www.acandfriends.at
self-reported data on 18/11/2014
AIAA (Austrian Angel Investors Association)
6 4.200.000,00 www.aaia.at
self-reported data on 10/11/2014
ALPS VENTURES CAPITAL GmbH
requested www.alpsventures.com
disclosure declined on 11/11/2014
CONSTANTIA HOLDING
requested www.ciag.at
disclosure declined on 13/10/2014
FSP BETEILIGUNGSMANAGEMENT GmbH
3 600.000,00 www.fspventures.com VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 102
self-reported data on 29/10/2014
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i2 BUSINESS ANGELS by AWS
18 1.760.000,00 www.awsg.at
self-reported data on 10/10/2014
INVESTMENT READY PROGRAM by EMERSENSE E.V.
6 547.000,00 www.investment-ready.org
self-reported data on 16/10/2014
MEDIA4EQUITY INVEST & ONE MAN GROUP 3
65.000,00 (in cash) www.media4equity.eu 450.000,00 (in media)
self-reported data on 07/11/2014
SPEEDINVEST GmbH
6 1.500.000,00 www.speedinvest.com
self-reported data on 17/10/2014
STYRIA DIGITAL HOLDING GmbH
4 3.100.000,00 www.styria-digital.com
self-reported data on 21/10/2014
TECNET EQUITY NÖ TECHNOLOGIEBETEILIGUNGS-INVEST GmbH
3 1.600.000,00 www.tecnet.co.at
self-reported data on 22/10/2014
INNET (Investor Network Tyrol)
5 3.000.000,00 www.innet-tirol.com VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 103
self-reported data on 28/10/2014
PART THREE / REVIEW 2014
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� CHAPTER 2 �
OPINION LEADERS READER’S PICKS
OF THE ALL THE PROFILES WE H AV E P U B L I S H E D S I N C E 2 0 1 3 , THE BIGGEST ATTENTION-GETTERS REFLECT THOSE WHOSE STATURE HAS MOST SHAPED THE STARTUP SCENE. HERE ARE THE TOP 10, EXCERPTED FROM OUR FULL-LENGTH PROFILES AND UPDATED.
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10
PART THREE / OPINION LEADER
NO MONKEY BUSINESS “MAKING THINGS THAT MAKE SENSE” IS THE MANTRA OF HARALD TRAUTSCH (40), CO-FOUNDER OF EVERBILL, A SPIN-OFF PRODUCT OF THE AUSTRIAN SOFTWARE COMPANY BLUE MONKEYS. THEIR CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE ALLOWS BUSINESSES TO EASILY AND INEXPENSIVELY MANAGE THEIR BIDS, INVOICING AND INVENTORY.
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Original Article: Michael Bernstein Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
THE AMERICAN DREAM The son of an elementary school teacher, Trautsch values learning and understanding as the key to business success. “When I go to decide what to do to make the world a better place,” he explains, “I ask people, what bores you the most in your everyday experience? What excites you the most?’ And whenever I see strong emotions, positive or negative, that’s where there is potential for innovation.” Trautsch has spent a lot of his time in the USA, earning three of his four academic degrees there. As a young boy, he wanted to be a cowboy, because they “are always out there in nature, they can’t go home to mama and cry. If you need something, either you build it yourself, or you find a substitute, or you die in the night out in the desert. In the wilderness, you have to fight for what you want, interact with your environment, your horse. This formed the paradigm of how I operate, it was never an option to give up.”
got involved in the auto-alarm business, integrating telematics solutions into cars. After presenting a prototype of a mobile-phone activated remote auto starter to Telekom Austria, he landed his first big deal. “We sold tens of thousands of units” and founded Dolphin Technologies, which went on to be the market leader in telematics solutions for insurance companies. Trautsch sold off part of the company to found the multimedia agency Blue Monkeys with three other software and web developers he had previously worked with. BORN OF NECESSITY Blue Monkeys grew to 22 employees and become one of the most successful agencies in Austria, but soon faced the problem of lacking financial overview. “We looked on the market for basic business-process software, for easy tasks like making bids and writing invoices. We couldn’t find anything that fit our needs, so we built a platform for ourselves.”
AUTO-START In the 1990s, Trautsch began his entrepreneurial career by importing and distributing video games through video rental stores. Later, with a friend, he
They soon found out that there was a big demand for a low-cost, low maintenance alternative to SAP solutions. Everbill (originally named Epunet), eventually won the Austrian VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 107
State Prize for Multimedia/e-business in 2009 and got traction in the local SME market. After a few years, Trautsch wanted to take the product to the next level, so they applied for and were accepted into the Go Silicon Valley initiative, a three-month technology development program, in 2012. AMERICA: BIG MARKET, OPEN FEEDBACK, MORE FORGIVING CUSTOMERS Market scale is perhaps the biggest reason to take one’s product to America, but Trautsch points out several other differences between Austrian and American entrepreneurial attitudes, which eventually motivated him to incorporate Everbill in the USA (with a subsidiary GmbH in Austria). “In the US, it’s pretty easy to conv ince people to tr y out your product. They don’t care if you’re in a crappy prototype phase or if your product is nicely polished. In Austria and Germany people expect a product that is completely ready and 100% bulletproof. What they don’t understand is that this approach limits competition, makes everything more expensive, and results in market monopolies.”
PART THREE / OPINION LEADER
Trautsch believes the biggest difference between entrepreneurs in America and Austria is how people treat an idea: “Austrians don’t tell people about their idea, because they’re afraid of it being stolen. Americans don’t worry about idea theft because ideas alone have no value until they are executed, so they discuss them openly. They’re not scared when someone else has the same idea, because the market is big enough. If nobody is doing what you’re doing, there is probably no market for it!” TURNING DOWN INVESTORS One month after arriving in Silicon Valley, Everbill was taken up by the renowned accelerator 500startups, who helped them get to their current, oversubscribed investment round of 500K dollars. “We can be choosy. We’re focusing on referral marketing, so we are looking for investors with expertise in gamification, viralisation, vertical partners in
banking and telecom...and especially partners who know our SME market.” LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO SIT STILL Trautsch’s latest project, iVoting, is another example of making things that make sense. It enables real-time audience voting on mobile devices to be integrated into live presentations. “Life is too short for boring presentations. I feel this from my heart and have backed it up with 50K euros of my own money. iVoting doesn’t necessarily make people better presenters, but the audience interaction it provides makes it more entertaining and helps people remember what they learn.” But one can tell that this project won’t keep this cowboy in town for too long. The wilderness is calling and he stares down the long, dusty trail into the sunset. Published March 2013
(Update) DOL P H I N T ECH NOLOGY is currently undergoing a management buyout. Small wonder, given that the business will bring in 9 million euros this year and enjoys a 30% compound annual growth rate. Dolphin has launched a new car-insurance telematic platform, Event-Based-Interaction (EBI™), worldwide.
whenever I see strong emotions, positive or negative, that’s where there is potential for innovation
BLUE MONKEYS might have fewer employees than before (17), but its 2014 revenue is expected to exceed 1 million euros, a 50% increase over last year. New customers include heavyweights L’Oreal and OMV, and Trautsch has increased his investment quota to 52%. EVERBILL’S financial info is being held close to the vest, as a third round of investment is starting in December 2014. Earlier this year, a cooperation with Bank Austria was announced, offering business account holders three months free access to Everbill’s software. This year, some 3000 Everbill subscribers transacted a half-million billings for a total of a billion euros. iVOTING is pursuing a “very interesting cooperation with a UK company,” says Trautsch. “We’ve defined a business model and are currently relaunching the platform for even better performance.” TICKETGARDEN.COM, Trautsch’s latest project – a ticketing website offering apps and infrastructure for managing event entry – is growing 3% each week. He’s acquired 16% (Blue Monkey has another 12.5%).
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FEATS OF CLAY AUSTRO-AMERICAN CHRISTOPHER CLAY HAS ONE FOOT IN THE WORLD OF HACKERS AND ONE IN THE WORLD OF STARTUPS. THE WINNER OF THE 2009 TECHCRUNCH EUROPE AWARDS AND PIRATE POLITICIAN TOLD INVENTURES.EU ABOUT HIS NUMEROUS PROJECTS AND LESSONS LEARNED.
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Original Article: Michael Bernstein Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
WE MEET AT METALAB, a hacker space he co-founded in Vienna in 2006, at 11 a.m., which for hackers is akin to a pre-dawn wake-up call. The space is almost empty—the real work there starts after dark, when its members begin their passionate repurposing and reengineering of technology, systems, things and, well, the world in general.
of his fellow hackers but isn’t overly concerned with their getting noticed by anyone. He is an honoured technology entrepreneur who now devotes his energy to politics.
Clay has one foot in the world of hackers and the other in the world of startups. While both are creative and independent, “a hacker doesn’t have to have a commercial purpose and is open-source by nature. Entrepreneurs often have to close things off, create some unfair advantage, in order to make a profit,” Clay believes.
COOKING SOUP
Clay wants to make the world a better place, but isn’t really a social activist. He wants his products to be used by millions but isn’t motivated by financial gain. He nurtures the creativity
To Clay it’s all part of the same goal: Hacking the world to make it a better place.
In 2007, Clay and Esad Hajdarevic founded Soup.io, a tumblelog platform. Their idea was to make a blogging platform where one could share quick links and small bits of multimedia. “Seems so obvious now, but Soup was the first, also the first to have endless scrolling.” Initial funding came from Y Europe, a European Y Combinator clone started by fellow Metalab founder Paul Böhm. After being accepted to and attending VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 110
SeedCamp, Clay moved to London in Fall 2008, just in time for the global financial crisis. Bad timing, indeed. Nevertheless, he pushed on to Silicon Valley, started pitching and growing the company. Accolades followed. The Guardian listed Soup as one of the “100 essential websites” of 2009. TechCrunch Europe awarded it with “best boot-strapped startup.” More money rolled in.
MISSING THE HOCKEY STICK MOMENT But time and technology caught up before Soup could have its “hockey stick” moment. Facebook and Twitter eventually caught on to the sharing concept, and Tumblr offered its users easy theming and customisation of their blogs.
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In 2010, new funding came from SpeedInvest and Clay moved into Oliver Holle’s Santa Cruz beach house, hacking away and pitching to potential investors (“Robert Scoble loved it”). However, expensive freelance talent broke the bank and Clay’s co-founders were no longer on board to help out. “We had run out of money before, but we always stretched it out until the next grant or investment came in,” recalls Clay. “I was alone, without the co-founders or anyone else to take their place. SpeedInvest was very supportive, but I found it hard to pour my heart into Soup, my baby for the last five years.” LESSON LEARNED? Back when Clay started Soup, Eric Ries’ concept of the “lean startup” didn’t exist. “It’s been fun to watch this whole culture develop and see what progress has been made in the body of knowledge available to startups.” The lean ethos is closer to hackerism, and this better suits Clay’s current goals.
“My advice is to be lean, get your team right, be iterative, be willing to incorporate reality into your initial vision. Also, if you’re developing a social media product without a clear business model, do it in Silicon Valley, not Austria – regional clusters do matter. And wait until you get traction before taking on investors.” APPLYING STARTUP PRINCIPLES TO JOURNALISM Clay wants to apply startup principles to the news biz and has recently betalaunched onon.at, an experimental open-source journalism platform based on a product he co-developed with Markus Hametner called Luminous Flux. Luminous Flux’s innovative CMS seeks to amalgamate original journalism with content fed from diverse media sources, including social media, wikis, commentary, as well as archived news stories. Onon is funded by a small grant from netidee. And that will soon run dry. So what’s his business model for the future? “We have none!” When will he know it’s a success? “If the New York Times starts using it!”
9 FROM TECH TO POLITICS Clay is aiming high on his next venture: using politics to change the world. He sits on the board of the Austrian PiratenPartei (Pirate Party), which advocates a hacker-like, technoprogressive philosophy. His entrepreneurial spirit attracts him to the huge challenge and he sees similarities between political and technology startups – always cashstrapped and clinging to irrational beliefs in changing the world for the better. What makes them different? “Nobody will invest in a startup political party,” at least if it claims to be as incorruptible and transparent as the Pirates. Clay must now perform the highwire balancing act between hackerism, journalism and politics – no easy feat. Ethically and philosophically, there should be firewalls in between in order to keep each as pure as possible. But Clay has the hacker spirit of a doer, not just a talker-dreamer. If anyone can, he can. Published January 2013
[Update] Clay’s post-Soup digital journalism project, onon/Luminous Flux, never amounted to much. “I feel it wasn’t really given a truly comprehensive attempt,” he regrets. His project collaborators now work for Der Standard and NZZ, trying to further their concept of online journalism from within the system.
Success? If the New York Times starts using it!”
On the day of last May’s EU-Parliament elections, Clay resigned as board member of the Austrian Pirate Party. He considered moving back into startups, but this summer he moved to Brussels to work as the communications officer for the Pirate’s German MEP, Julia Reda. Though he no longer dyes his hair “cotton candy pink” and doesn’t hang out at Metalab anymore, he remains a hacker-agitator at heart. Clay’s focus is on one of the Pirates’ main platform planks – digital copyright reform – and he is already putting political pressure on the new EU Digital Single Market Commissioner, Andrus Ansip. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 111
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THIS IS YOUR BRAIN FOR DRUGS FOUNDED IN 2011, DIAGNOSIA IS A DYNAMIC DIGITAL HEALTHCARE VENTURE BASED IN VIENNA. ITS WEB AND MOBILE APPLICATION, DIAGNOSIA INDEX, IS A COMPREHENSIVE INDEX OF ALL MEDICATIONS APPROVED FOR USE IN AUSTRIA.
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DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM
Original Article: Michael Bernstein Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
“ T H E R E A R E S O M E 1 3 , 0 0 0 D R U G S on the market in Austria. As a rule of thumb, every five years medical knowledge doubles. It’s hard for a physician to make evidence-based decisions because there is so much evidence available,” says Lukas Zinnagl, co-founder of Diagnosia, an Austrian startup company that believes its products will help solve this problem. Zinnagl should know: he is a medical doctor, though he gave up practicing medicine about five years ago. Since then, he has become an experienced and successful startup entrepreneur. Zinnagl recalls, “When I started working at the General Hospital in Vienna, I remember that when I came home, I wasn’t reading the New England Journal of Medicine or Nature, but rather TechCrunch.” While spending his days at the hospital, he got involved with (Tech startup incubator/ investor) i5invest at its early stages. “I asked myself where I’d rather spend the next ten years? I decided it would be more fun working for a technology startup than in the hospital.” Through i5invest, Zinnagl started doing business development and marketing for Tupalo.com in 2009. It was then he first encountered Diagnosia co-founder Marco Vitula, who was then busy launching his ultimately successfully exited startup, arztsuche24. Along with another doctor friend of Vitula’s, Fritz Höllerer, and Stefan Weixelbaumer, discussions about Diagnosia got under way.
It’s not that doctors are idiots, but rather that they are overwhelmed with too much information and have no simple way to access data in aggregated form. Instead, many doctors may receive their information on drugs directly from the pharmaceutical companies, who may be less than scrupulous in promoting their products. Diagnosia’s founders believed they could provide a solution. The first step was in creating the technical backbone, a mammoth drug database named “Diagnosia Brain.” This proprietary technology is able to process and aggregate all of the up-to-date drug data from European medical agencies and product leaflets. According to Vitula, “It sounds easy, but in fact it’s quite complicated. Every European country has different drugs, regulations, and studies. Diagnosia Brain can aggregate and link this information together, independent of country or language.” The next step was to build an application layer to tap into the “Brain.” Diagnosia Index was created, allowing both patients and doctors to access product leaflets and contextual meta information for all medical drugs authorised in Europe, in more than a dozen languages, at no cost. Diagnosia Index also has a premium subscription service for doctors only, which provides additional information in a customisable, user-friendly interface on web-based and mobile apps.
Zinnagl concentrated on the web-platform, Vitula on being the link between the developers and the business side, and Höllerer on the mobile apps product development that eventually became a daughter company called Aeskulapp. Weixelbaumer served as CTO through the founding, but later left operations to pursue other ventures. They applied for and received grant funding from the Austria Wirtschaftsservice (AWS) and more from the Austria Research Promotion Agency (FFG), enabling them to form an Austrian company (GmbH) in 2011.
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Success? We will have saved thousands of lives.
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1,4 MILLION MONTHLY VISITORS AND LOOKING FOR INVESTMENT – IN AUSTRIA OR ANYWHERE Though there are some 1.4 million visitors per month to the website, the premium paywall service is available only in Austria as a test market. According to Vitula, Diagnosia Index has “about 200 customers in Austria at the moment. Within the next month we’ll provide a tool, Diagnosia Check, for assessing drug interactions.” In 2011, Diagnosia won the Doctors 2.0 conference Startup Award in Paris. Perhaps this recognition helped get the attention of Austrian Business Angel Johann (“Hansi”) Hansmann, who soon became an invested partner. “Hansi not only provides capital but also his great experience,” says Vitula. “He was with many pharmaceutical companies in Spain and so he gave us a lot of contacts and help with our internal structure.” With Hansmann’s help, Diagnosia is now seeking more investment. “We want to roll out in six countries and will use the next investment round for technical roll-out and for marketing and distribution,” says Vitula. He regrets that “in Austria, it’s really hard to raise more than 500K. The banks are not providing and there are few VCs and Angels. If we really face the problem of not being able to raise capital in Austria, we’ll have to move even though that would be really disruptive to our company and team.” Their goal is to capture 10% of the some 2 million potential customers (doctors) in Europe over the next ten years. But it’s not just the business success that is the goal. “When we achieve success, we will have saved thousands of lives because of better medical decisions,” says Zinnagl. Published May 2013
[Update] Through their last round of funding in 2013, Diagnosia has raised about one million euros, mainly from business angels Christoph Prinz, Michael Altrichter, Johann Jauk, Martin Dall, and Christoph Gelbmann. The funding not only enabled them to keep their operations based in Austria, but also to rollout their app Diagnosia Check and expand to Germany and Switzerland. Though a planned release of a product targeted at women as well as expansion into the Netherlands has been postponed, Zinnagl claims they are “in talks with various institutional partners interested in using our software on a large scale.” A new application for drug therapy safety, Diagnosia Enterprise, aims specifically at this B2B market – hospitals and clinics in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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A FRAME OF MIND WORKMANSHIP AND NATIONAL FLAVOUR ARE AT THE FORE FOR THE AUSTRIAN STARTUP – EVEN IF THIS MEANS HAVING TO WAGE BATTLE AGAINST THE CHEAPER INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AND THE CONSERVATIVE MINDSET OF SOME OF THEIR COMPATRIOTS.
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Some people don’t like the fact that we stirred up shit as kid snowboarders and still became successful Original Article: Alena Schmuck Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Roland Eder
R O L A N D W O L F ( 3 3 ) S T A R T E D his innovative eyewear brand ROLF Spectacles out of his father’s cellar, located in a tiny mountain village in Tyrolean Alps. The year was 2007 and Roland had just left his job with a hip eyewear brand in Berlin. Up until then, frames had been built mainly from industrial, man-made materials. A true nature-boy from the mountains, Roland wanted to create frames entirely built out of natural materials – without screws or other metal parts. What followed was a two-year process of constructing his own machines and fiddling around with wood to create comfortable and stylish frames. Roland’s girlfriend Marija Iljazovic did the designs. Her brother Martin joined in as co-CEO and Roland’s brother Christian took charge of marketing. The first ROLF collection of all-wooden eyewear was born.
L E AV I N G T H E B A S E M E N T Two years after starting out, the founders exhibited their frames at the optometric industry’s SILMO fair in Paris. Roland recalls “we we won the SILMO d’Or, which is like the Oscar there. Within hours, people were plundering our booth and we sold hundreds of frames.” No time to celebrate, the début success led to the practical issue of ramping up production. To augment a 30 thousand euro bank loan, Roland and Marija turned to the famous ThreeFs for seed-funding. Roland’s father took a mortgage on the house, leaving ROLF with a starting capital of 50,000 euros. CAST, the Center for Academic Spin-Offs Tyrol, helped them write up their business plan and get seed-funding from AWS.
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E X P E N S I V E B U T W O R T H I T Over the past few years, the startup has grown to 35 members and is essentially still a family business. According to Roland, this is an advantage: There is a high level of trust and accountability among the founding team, who were also O.K. with working for free for the first few years ROLF’s rivals can produce at a much lower cost by basing production abroad and compromising on workmanship and materials. Ranging from 650 euros to up to 3.500 euros, ROLF Spectacles are more expensive than their mass-produced competition. Yet, Roland believes the price is justified and competitive because of their quality and innovation. The typical ROLF clients are 30- and 40-something well-off individuals, who want eyewear that is different but wearable, Roland explains. In his native Lech valley in Tyrol, however, even “The local gas station owner wears ROLF. Kids are begging their parents for them.” The Wolf brothers’ father, a retired teacher, also wears his frames with pride. “He had to put up with my trouble-making throughout my youth. So I’m happy to be able to give something back to him.” TYROLEAN STUBBORNNESS ROLF seems to be haunted by the Wolf brothers’ reputation as teenage trouble-makers. “Some people who know us from back then don’t like the fact that we stirred up shit as kid snowboarders and still became successful.” Despite having
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created jobs through their factory in Weißenbach, ROLF’s plans to erect a new production site, which would provide jobs for more than 100 people, were stymied by the town’s stubborn mayor, Roland claims. Roland is not short of such typical Tyrolean stubbornness, either. “I don’t really care what the mayor says. As much as we love Tyrol, if we can’t grow our company here, we’ll have to move elsewhere, for instance to Germany, where we’ve actually received offers.” But its location is what helps set ROLF Spectacles apart from its competition. “Unlike the majority of our rivals, we produce our frames locally and we try to avoid suppliers at all cost. Even our photo shootings are in-house. The good thing about living in the middle of the mountains is that there is no influence from the fashion world or other spec companies that could bias our style. We orient our products towards classic design.” An exclusive premium brand, ROLF Spectacles are sold in handpicked stores in 24 countries, with the biggest markets in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the US. In 2012, ROLF made revenue running into the seven figures. This year, they expect it to double. Naturally, expansion requires capital but investors are not an option. “We’re doing whatever the hell we want to and are not letting ourselves get bought,” he says with that slightly rough but charming Tyrolean attitude. Published July 2013
[Update] While falling short of their goal to double revenues in 2013, Rolf Spectacles has grown their business significantly since this article was published. “Our sales numbers are growing, but so are our expenses,” says co-founder Christian Wolf, head of marketing. “We have 40-50 employees and are investing a lot in research and production, so our profits are rather flat.” Their international distribution channel has grown to some 600 clients in 40 different countries. Despite its growth, the company retains its “sense of family” and they continue to do without outside investment, which allows Christian the freedom to be vague about their finances. Their goal remains to keep production based in Tyrol – still not an easy task, as “there is not much publicly owned property left to acquire,” Wolf believes. Luckily, they were able to purchase production space in Weißenbach from a German company, who were originally granted the property from the municipality in return for generating jobs there. “Lack of available space is a real problem for business here in Tyrol, both startups and established ventures,” says Wolf. Besides expanding their production facilities, ROLF’s future plans include opening a flagship retail store in Vienna. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 117
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STORYTELLER BEFORE ALI MAHLODJI STARTED WHATCHADO, A VIDEO-HANDBOOK OF LIFE STORIES AIMING TO HELP WITH CAREER CHOICES, HE WORKED IN MORE THAN 40 POSITIONS UNTIL FINDING HIS OWN DREAM JOB.
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I saw I was not happy. I was working for money.
Original Article: Michael Bernstein Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
ONLINE SINCE 2011 AND INCORPORATED I N 2 0 1 2 , the Vienna-based startup streams videos of a wide range of professionals – from a Viennese horse-carriage driver to the President of Austria – who all answer the same seven questions about themselves and their job.
After dropping out of technical high school a few months before graduation, he started working odd jobs, part-time. His mom cut off her financial support, so he got a full-time job, moved into his own flat and started studying software engineering at night school.
It’s pretty clear that Mahlodji has landed his dream job, though it wasn’t always that way. Now 32 years old, he has worked in more than 40 positions since dropping out of technical high school at 18 and has experienced many a critical turning point along the way.
WORKING FOR MONEY
Born in Tehran, Iran, shortly after the Islamic revolution, baby Ali and his parents became refugees after they ended up on Ayatollah Khomeini’s enemies list. Amnesty International helped the family emigrate to Austria’s Traiskirchen refugee camp. T H E ‘A H A’ M O M E N T At age 14 Mahlodji, like most Austrian school kids, had to choose a career path to advance his studies. “I had absolutely no idea. I wanted a handbook of life stories to guide my decision, but there was no such thing. So I started just talking with adults about their jobs, education and background and I would always get this ‘Aha!’ moment – OK! I can do that, I can learn that, it might not be so hard.”
After a stint as a SAP consultant for Siemens, he was recruited by Sun Microsystems to lead their technical sales team. At Sun, he was earning really well, drove an Audi A4 and got big bonuses. “But then something happened,” he recalls. “I saw I was not happy. I was working for money.” His girlfriend at the time convinced him to take a monthlong holiday in Thailand together, and they ended up on the backpacker paradise island of Koh Pha Ngan, well-known for its full-moon party. “I’d never smoked before that, but there I tried everything. I saw heaven and hell. Plants talked to me. The ocean parted before my eyes! I realised that perhaps life is about more than just money and work.” Against the advice of his friends and colleagues, he quit his job at Sun when he returned to Vienna. “I had no kids, no mortgage, nothing to hold me back.”
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THEY LOVE WHAT THEY DO A year after starting a new job at Niko Alm’s creative agency SuperFi, Ali came back to the idea he’d had as a young teenager – making a handbook of life stories. With an inexpensive video camera and a mic, he and a few of his friends set about creating the concept that would eventually become Whatchado. In May 2011, their idea won the Social Impact Award. They reinvested the 4000 euros prize money and launched the website with 17 video stories in June. Two hours later, the Austrian late-night TV news (ZIB24) aired a feature story on Ali and Whatchado. The next day, McDonald’s called and asked if they could be interviewed for the site. Mahlodji agreed under the condition that they stick to his seven-question format and allow him to interview a wide range of staff, from service personnel to top management. Mahlodji modestly recalls: “I also thought that it might be a good idea to charge them something for our effort.” Within weeks Whatchado had six customers paying thousands of euros each. In October 2011, Whatchado was selected as one of the top 50 startups for Startup Week (forerunner of Pioneers Festival). “That’s when I met [Austrian business angel] Hansi Hansmann. Up to then, I was turning
down investors because I didn’t want our hands tied. I don’t care about the money. The Exit? Who cares? Hansi set up a meeting with me and [co-founders] Jubin [Honorfar] and Stefan, and after 15 minutes of talking, he offered us 250K to become our partner at 20%. We all quit our day jobs and formed a GmbH in January 2012.” The staff grew to 21 and became particularly tight-knit after travelling to Thailand together on the company’s dime. “We departed as work colleagues and came back ten days later as friends,” Mahlodji explains. THE EIGHTH QUESTION The seventh question in all Whatchado video stories is: what three pieces of advice would you give to your 14-year-old self? We turned this question around and asked Mahlodji what his 14-year-old self would tell him today. He answers: “Don’t take things too seriously. Life is a playground. Sometimes I forget to enjoy the moment and not think too much into the future. As a kid what was important to me was: break the rules, but not the law. If everyone goes in one direction, I have to go in the other direction.” Published April 2013
[Update] By November 2014, Whatchado had added prominent Austrians Conchita Wurst and David Alaba to the 2500 video stories posted on their website and won a European Digital Communication Award. Three new business angel “smart investors” were brought on board: Former Siemens board member, Brigitte Ederer; President of the Austrian National Bank, Claus Raidl; and Oikocredit/Raiffeisen Bank bigwig, Peter Püspök. “All three are top-professionals in their fields and more than a great addition to the still young [35-member] team at Whatchado,” writes Mahlodji on their blog. More than one million euros in funding has been raised to date. Mahlodji compares investing in startups to “jumping out of a plane and building a parachute on the way down. To invest in such a manoeuvre requires vision and the right experience.” Currently operating in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, all but about 150 stories are in German, but the goal remains to go global: “It’s still on the the roadmap and will be – to put it delicately – precisely evaluated,” hedges Mahlodji. Whatchado has established a pilot “Ambassador” program in South America and plans to expand this multilingual local-interview initiative to other continents soon. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 120
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP HAS NO GENDER AT 27, DIANA RADULOVSKI HAS A LOT GOING FOR HER. THE NATIVE BULGARIAN CO-FOUNDED THE SUCCESSFUL ONLINE INSURANCE AGGREGATOR AND COMPARISON WEBSITE VERSICHERN24.AT IN AUSTRIA AND RECENTLY LAUNCHED AN EQUIVALENT FOR THE ENERGY MARKET, STROMGAS24.AT.
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Original Article: M.S. Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
W H E N D I A N A F I R S T came to Austria in 2007 as a student she faced – like many other Bulgarian emigrants - the “Sperre”; the 7-year ban on access to the domestic labour market imposed on nationals of newly acceded EU member states. “I had to apply for jobs and I was constantly searching, and the thing was that the companies really wanted to hire me because I had different languages and experiences, but in the end they always received an Ablehnung [rejection] from the AWS [the Austrian labor market authority],” says Diana, remembering the frustration of that time. Luckily, in this case, Diana was no stranger to adversity. Growing up in a poor region of Bulgaria, she left home at 13 to attend an elite boarding school, financing her tuition by giving English lessons. As a young adult, she knew the value of perseverance and motivation. “In the end, circumstances led me to start an IT company called Segments with Ivo, my then to-become husband.” Diana and Ivo quickly grew the open-source solutions and online marketing advisory business into a profitable operation. Since merging with the Danish ProPeople Group in 2010, Segments now counts a number of prestigious organisations amongst its clients, including the OSCE and UNICEF.
A N I N N OVAT I V E A P P R OAC H TO INSURANCE In 2007, Diana and Ivo came up with the idea to launch versichern24.at, an online insurance aggregator and comparison website. At first, people were skeptical and emphasised the traditional relationship element that came with a system of local family insurance advisors. As Diana recalls, when she and Ivo first presented the model to potential investors and partners, many said, “no one in Austria is going to sign anything online, especially in insurance”. Unable to qualify for a loan, the project continued to face negative reactions and remained unprofitable for a number of years, but co-founder Diana continued to work towards its eventual take-off: “Because we believed the project had a future, to make the [insurance] market transparent. There was nothing like that before in Austria”, says Diana. Versichern24 grew rapidly and is now the leading insurance aggregator in Austria, with 15 employees and a 100m2 office in Vienna. The site has upwards of 1500 daily unique visitors and the venture broke even three years after its foundation in 2010.
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When I read about the success of other people, I get motivated. I decided I can maybe tell my story, in order to motivate others.
Following this success, Diana and her husband co-founded stromgas24.at in collaboration with E-Control, the Austrian energy market regulatory authority in 2012. The website works on a similar principle as versichern24, except that it offers consumers price comparisons of all electricity and gas providers in Austria, and also the possibility to switch providers easily online for free. Diana hopes that stromgas24 will spur change in people’s energy habits. As with most young companies, a flexible structure is a sine qua non for Diana’s startups. “Some people work from home. We still meet twice a week in the office, but most other meetings we conduct via Skype or our internal VoIP. We have a developer in Spain, for example, on the Canary Islands and I never actually met him in person. Our designer is based in Bulgaria. We organise a lot of events that… promote the opensource system that our websites are based on, Drupal. Through these events we have such a huge network across Europe”, says Diana when asked about her employees. Diana and Ivo also host yearly “Drupal Camps” in Bulgaria, the first of which attracted over 200 participants. NOT JUST AN ACCOLADE, A RESPONSIBILITY In March 2013, Diana joined the ranks of Selma Prodanovi� and other prominent Austrian businesswomen of a migrant background by being awarded the MiA in the category of Business and Economics. For Diana, this is more than just an accolade; it’s a responsibility. “When I read about the success of other people, I get motivated. I decided I can maybe tell my story, in order to motivate others. There is a huge demand for migrant and women founders in Austria”, says Diana. She also believes that “entrepreneurship has no gender,” as she commented at the EBAN congress in Vienna.
Since then, Diana has taken this responsibility seriously. She continues to encourage others – especially girls and young women – to consider entrepreneurship as a career option. “A few weeks ago, I organised the so-called Wiener Töchtertag [Daughter’s Day] at my office. I invited girls from two schools, and I talked to them about what entrepreneurship is and what it’s like to work in a startup company.” Any words of advice to fellow startuppers? “Principally, I think you should focus on one thing, and envision your business future on a daily basis.” And, above all, don’t waste Published May 2013 time.
[Update] The website usership continues to increase, now receiving some 50 thousand visits per month. “We have had already a round of investment from the former funders of check24.de – Germany’s leading comparison portal for insurances, energy and other consumer and financial products,” says Diana. “This cooperation was important and valuable for us because it also brought us knowledge and expertise from the not so distant German market,” which is currently “saturated” with competition. Diana and Ivo’s efforts in promoting the open-source system Drupal also continue. Ivo won the Audience Award at the Webit 2014 conference in Istanbul - one of the world’s biggest annual events for digital marketing and online business. While their roles for both comparison websites have not changed, Ivo is also doing an additional technical consultancy for startups with his digital agency Segments (segments.at).
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WE THOUGHT WE WERE EXPERTS THE CO-FOUNDER OF US-BASED AUSTRIAN STARTUP WAPPWOLF, MICHAEL EISLER, SHARES HONEST INSIGHTS ON HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL CAREER AND HIS REASONS FOR TAKING A BREAK AS WAPPWOLF’S CEO.
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Original Article: Elisabeth Oberndorfer Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
I T ’ S A N U N U S U A L L Y W A R M D A Y in San Francisco as Michael Eisler finds himself in a rather unusual setting: working for others at the DEMO conference. Just three years ago, it was he who took to the stage and presented his new product, the file sharing service Wappwolf, to investors. So, how did the Austrian switch roles from entrepreneur to employee? “I’m not sure if there’s anything left to tell,” Michael Eisler says hesitantly, referring to a blog post that he released a couple of weeks ago, in which he explained the rise and fall of Wappwolf, and his reasons for taking a break as CEO of the startup. GREYING HAIR FOR CREDIBILITY The Austrian’s entrepreneurial roots lie in the dot-com boom in the late nineties. At the age of 20, Michael co-founded DIG, a predecessor of Wappwolf, of sorts: “What we did was build interfaces to connect otherwise incompatible business software,” Michael recalls. “We used to program in the mornings and play World of Warcraft in the afternoons.” The playful youthfulness of the company owners didn’t always come in handy: “I was glad when my first grey hairs appeared at the early age of 25. That’s when business executives started taking us seriously because they thought I was older.” In 2007, however, after six years of running operations, the CEO realised that his service couldn’t scale unless they found a solution that would automate the process. So, in 2010, Michael, his friend Harald Weiß and fellow DIG manager Dieter Dobersberger co-founded Wappwolf – a service that helps share files among different tools and devices.
STARTING UP FOR THE WRONG REASONS Soon thereafter, DIG was sold to Liechtensteinische Post AG, though Michael held his CEO position for another year while working on his startup on the side. “We started Wappwolf for the very wrong reasons”, the entrepreneur reflects. “Our goal was simply to build a product quickly, sell it and make lots of profits.” The founders invested 500,000 euros from their own pockets and raised another 800,000 from private Austrian investors. Everything the Wappwolf guys did, they did in a big fashion. “We basically ignored the Austrian startup scene, played with the media and created a lot of buzz,” which came in 2010, when Michael presented his product at the DEMO Conference in Silicon Valley. In late 2011, Wappwolf launched a new product called Dropbox Automator, a service that connects Facebook, Flickr and other Web services automatically with cloud service Dropbox. The Automator received a lot of press in the U.S.A. K E E P I N G T H E WO LV E S AT BAY After relocating to Silicon Valley with his wife and two kids in early summer last year, Michael pulled the break on Wappwolf after seeing that the product needed to be revised. A Wappwolf spin-off service called iBeam.it was launched and, unlike its predecessor, went nearly unnoticed. The weeks and months after the new release had the founder torn. “When I arrived in Silicon Valley, I knew this was the place I had to be. My entrepreneurial mindset felt at home,” he recalls.
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On the other hand, past mistakes eventually caught up. Perhaps the biggest one was hubris: “I don’t know why we never thought things through from a user’s perspective. We thought we were experts, that we knew it all. We were the ones, who would tell users what they needed – not the other way around.” In early 2013, the CEO decided to take a break from working on iBeam.it. “I don’t want to give up, but I need some space and time to reflect.” In a brutally honest blog post from that time, he admits that he and his team didn’t know what they were doing most of the time and didn’t even have a finished product when presenting at DEMO. Most importantly, Michael admits to having failed, which is not an Austrian thing to do, to say the least.
We started Wappwolf for the very wrong reasons
ASKING FOR ATTENTION During his break from iBeam.it, Michael is not standing still. He is currently working with a social messaging startup called just.me. “It’s actually the first time I feel like an actual employee. And I am not enjoying it”, the 32-year-old says frankly. “My friends say that my DNA keeps me from being an average employee. Even so, Sometimes, I think there must be a job for me. But then again, I know I was born to be an entrepreneur. I need my stage, I need the attention.” What his next stage will look like is uncertain. There is one thing that Michael knows for sure: “It’s going to be here Published April 2013 in Silicon Valley.”
[Update] After Michael’s break from Wappwolf, jajah co-founder Roman Scharf offered Michael the Managing Director position at Talenthouse, a Los Angeles-based platform for bringing brands and creative artists together. After moving his family south from Palo Alto to West Hollywood in August 2013, Michael was soon overseeing 30 employees in L.A. and 10 in London, as well as 10 million dollars in seed funding led by ProSiebenSat.1. By July 2014, Michael felt that the job was not right for him. He made a long-term decision and moved with his family back to his hometown, Linz. There, he and his wife, an occupational therapist, founded a new venture in October called Talentland: “It’s a big open play space where children, from newborns through elementary-school age, can discover and put to use their unique talents and receive consulting services for improving them. It has potential to grow internationally” explains Michael, adding that “This time, we’re financed by only two of the Three-Fs – friends and family. Fool me once - shame on me. Fool me twice - no way!” Though Wappwolf’s (mis)adventures are well chronicled above, Michael and a team of three voluntarily support Dropbox Automator, which is “not only still up-and-running, but getting 50-100 new users each day,” says Michael. “But the revenues just won’t support a paid staff anymore.” VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 126
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JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED AT 16, JAMA NATEQI (30) FOUNDED HIS FIRST WEB STARTUP ON WHICH HE LATER BUILT THE SALZBURG-BASED CLICK FOR KNOWLEDGE GMBH. ITS PRODUCT, SYMPTOMA, A “GOOGLE FOR PHYSICIANS,” AIMS TO REVOLUTIONISE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT.
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Don’t spend money you don’t have. It is possible to achieve a lot with a small amount of funds. Original Article: Alena Schmuck Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
“ E A C H Y E A R , there are around half a million of patients worldwide who could have been saved, had they been correctly diagnosed.” Dr. Jama Nateqi shares this sobering statistic, which forms the background to the young medical doctor’s main project: Symptoma, a medical search engine. “Unfortunately, physicians don’t have the proper tools and resources to check differential diagnoses efficiently.”
like Matheboard, you can build up a sustainable community; then even if your sources of traffic dry out, you still have your community and you can revitalise your project at any time.”
Not one previous effort since the 1970s to build up a similar database for diseases had succeeded in providing a viable solution.
For more than four years he has set out to find viable solutions for preventive care - and at the same time maintain a profitable web business.
Changing to an information-sharing platform seems to have been a wise decision. To this day, Matheboard operates without losses, with over 2 million monthly visitors and a community of around a hundred teachers and students. This early success with transparency, accessibility and community spawned the idea for Symptoma.
Jama wasn’t intimidated and together with his partner Thomas – whose background is in nanostructure technology – convinced the Business Creation Center Salzburg (BCCS) of their idea. With the resulting grant, they began research and development for Symptoma in 2007. Soon, the very same professor who had originally opposed their idea wanted to cooperate.
THE BEGINNINGS: BUILDING UP A COMMUNITY
“IT ’S ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE AND IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK”
“EUROPEANS TEND TO FOCUS ON THEIR OWN WORK”
For the Salzburg-based German with Afghan roots, his inquisitive nature and a desire to provide free access to knowledge was the foundation for running the click for knowledge GmbH as CEO. In 1999, 16-year old Jama applied his self-taught IT skills to start an online platform offering math tutorials – Matheboard.de – which generated an impressive 25,000 visitors per day. After more than three years of running the site together with his friend and eventual co-founder Thomas Lutz (27), he realised, he had to go further, “It occurred to me that with something
As a medical student, Jama would search the web in vain to augment his studies at the Paracelsus Medical University of Salzburg. Out of this discontent arose the idea of fusing his IT and medical skills to build up an online database of diseases.
Simultaneously, Jama got a chance to study at Yale School of Medicine for a semester. He ably balanced the two opportunities and returned to Salzburg, motivated by his US experience. “When I talked about Symptoma in Europe, the first impression was usually ’No, it’s too big to be accomplished’ whereas in the US it was more like ’Wow, what a great idea, I could support you and give you contacts to whatever you need.’” He continues, “Europeans tend to focus on their own work, this distracts them somewhat from something new, it’s a disadvantage for some startups.”
Initially, Jama’s professors were skeptical. One professor even told him, “It’s absolutely impossible and it’s not going to work.” Indeed, sorting through more than 20,000 diseases, which have different symptoms and effects on each patient, seemed difficult to accomplish. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 128
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RE-INVESTING THE REVENUE In 2009, Jama graduated and founded click for knowledge GmbH with Thomas to incorporate Symptoma, as well as Matheboard and their additional portals. Since its establishment, click for knowledge has increased its revenue by a multiple of nine every year. Instead of burning the cash, being dependent on venture capital or a bank loan, Jama and Thomas have been re-investing it into the growth of the enterprise.
designed to function as an enterprise from the start, its social roots make it so that everybody wins: the doctors have a better chance at placing the right diagnosis; the patients receive better healthcare; and Jama’s dream to transform the medical knowledge management system slowly takes shape. But Symptoma’s social reach goes well beyond a mere win/win strategy; what it offers is a simple to use webbased diagnostic tool for doctors in areas like the Middle East or Africa, where access to knowledge is more scarce.
After more than four years of intensive research and development, Symptoma was launched in public beta in July 2012. Although Symptoma was
FA I L U R E WAS N O T AN OPTION Jama’s advice to other startups: “If your goal is to get rich quick, then follow the media and get investors on board and burn as much venture capital money as possible. But what we have done is to find proof of market before we develop too much, because then we can improve it.” He advises, “Look out to meet the expected revenue goals. Failure is not an option. Don’t spend money you don’t have. It is possible to achieve a lot with a small amount of funds. But you must help people solve a social problem and you also must execute very well.” For Jama, it seems to have been as simple as that. Published February 2013
[Update] Symptoma, still profitable, enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2013. Symptoma’s current workforce has grown to a total of 15 FTEs. “Thomas [Lutz] and I are rock-solid regarding our roles as founders and CEOs,” says Jama, who’s in charge of medical quality and sales while Thomas focuses on IT and finances. “There have been no changes and there won’t be any in the future,” he adds confidently. Jama continues to pitch Symptoma in all the right places. In 2013, he was one of the top-three finalists in the Pioneers Festival Startup Challenge; he presented on PulsTV’s startup reality-show, 2 Minuten 2 Millionen; and pitched at the Austrian Business Angel Day. In July 2014, Symptoma won the Werbeplanung SUMMIT Startup Challenge. At Pioneers, Jama told the audience and jurors that Symptoma is focusing its efforts on the English-speaking market, particularly paediatricians, and has 1000 early adopters. The potential global market is about 8 million doctors. Dismissing one juror’s question about IBM’s “Watson” cognitive-computing efforts in this field, Jama reminded the panel and audience that his product was already up-and-running, while as far as he knew IBM hadn’t yet launched a diagnostic product. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 129
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Q IS NOT FOR QUITTERS WITH ITS PATENTED ’BIONIC FINGER’ PAGE-TURNING TECHNOLOGY, QIDENUS HAS BEEN ONE OF AUSTRIA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL TECH COMPANIES OF RECENT YEARS. FOUNDER AND CEO SOFIE QUIDENUS (30) HAS BEEN RUNNING THE BUSINESS FOR A DECADE.
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Original Article: Alena Schmuck Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
“ M A N Y P E O P L E W O U L D N ’ T B E L I E V E that I have my own business, but that’s alright. I don’t really talk about my job outside of work,” says 32-year-old Sofie Quidenus. Usually, startup founders make no distinctions between their passions and their professions, or between work and free time. But Sofie’s mature outlook results from routine, rather than a lack of passion. A HEALTHY BUSINESS “I’m a little stressed and overworked at the moment,” Sofie explains as she busies herself with a new product launch. “These days, I get in at about 6am and leave at 11pm, but that’s an exceptional state. That’s what you do for the first three years of running your business, perhaps. But then you realise that it doesn’t work and that it’s not healthy.” Health as well as work/life balance appear to be important values at Qidenus. The Qidenus team members are “big running enthusiasts and join the Vienna City Marathon every year. This is why in 2011 we bought space in this old office building next to the Danube river. The area is perfect for running.”
But as the project grew, Sofie’s doubts diminished. Her business model for Jakes’ patented ’bionic finger’ page-turner helped secure a research grant from FFG as well as investment from Austrian management doyen Hansjörg Tenng. Qidenus Technologies GmbH was set up in 2005 and joined the INiTS incubator programme, eventually launching its first product range in 2006 – the QiVinci music stand, which enables musicians to silently turn the pages of their scores by using a foot pedal. The patent was then applied to further technologies. QiCare enables physically challenged people to read books and magazines. QiScan – the core product range for the company – automates large-scale digital archive projects with its robotic book scanning system. “We’re in the middle of finalising our preparations for the CeBit.” Qidenus’ latest B2C effort. “Up to now, we’ve focused on business customers like big archives and libraries with our automated book scanners but this one will be for home use. And the design is really cool.”
FROM ’LITTLE PROJECT’ TO SME
KEEPING THE “STARTUP FEELING” ALIVE
Back in 2003, 21-year-old Sofie was a business student with two ventures already under her belt: a “junior enterprise” offering art classes for senior citizens; as well as Vienna’s first interscholastic ball event – the Wiener Schulball - a brand Sofie later sold for “good money.” A professor at Vienna’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation connected her to Alfred Jakes, an inventor looking for business students to help market his automated page-turner for music scores. Business-savvy Sofie skeptically took on the challenge. “A 21-year-old girl starting a robotics business – how crazy is that? I didn’t even know anything about the technology to begin with,” she recalls.
Since 2004, Sofie and her company of altogether 16 shareholders (Sofie holds the biggest share of 33%, inventor Alfred Jakes 10%) have been the recipient of numerous awards, funding by AWS and broad press coverage, including a feature in Wired. After more than 8 years in business and 1 million euros of Austrian private-capital investment, Qidenus grew to take in 2.1 million euros of annual revenue and 90,000 euros in profit last year. Yet, “to finance growth out of your own cash flow is quite a challenge, it requires permanent juggling.”
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The moment you’re ready to quit is usually the moment right before the miracle happens..
Sofie still thinks of Qidenus as a startup. “Not a single day passes without getting new input from the team. We’re flexible and it’s not clear where we will be two years from now. Moreover, our co-workers often refer to Qidenus as ’my company.’ Therefore, I like to say, we have 18 co-founders,” she says proudly. “There have been rather tough times, when there was no money on our account and we had to lay off staff or ask them to keep working without pay. I was lucky to be able to count on their support.” Another example of Sofie’s seemingly boundless optimism: a whimsical drawing that Sofie made and keeps in the company’s “family album.” It’s her take on a cheesy motivational picture showing a frog inside a stork’s beak holding on to its life by strangling the bird. Her drawing instead depicts the frog enthusiastically riding atop the stork. “Don’t give up,” reads the caption. She explains, “The moment you’re ready to quit is usually the moment right before the miracle Published February 2013 happens.”
[Update] “The team has grown quite a bit over the last year. We are now 25 people working together and of course that changed a bit the working culture, but not in a bad way. We still see ourselves as a small, close-knit team and didn’t develop any strict company structure yet,” says Qidenus spokesperson, Sarah Elter. Sofie and her team of “co-founders” have busied themselves with travel throughout Europe and the USA promoting Qidenus products at important trade fairs, conferences and congresses. CeBit, Qidenus’ B2C product line, was successfully launched in Germany in March 2014. Total company revenue amounted to some 1.2 million euros in 2013 – apparently enough cash flow to forgo the need for outside investment. “There are still some debts from former years but we are confident that we can solve this issue during the next year,” says Elter.
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THE BUSINESS WAY OF SHOWING TATTOOS WHILE WORKING AS A GRAPHIC DESIGNER FOR AN AGENCY, CHRISTINE ZIMMER (28) REALISED THE POTENTIAL OF TATTOOED MODELS. SO SHE QUIT HER JOB AND STARTED HER OWN ADVERTISING AGENCY, TATTOOMODELS.AT. ITS SUCCESS HELPED HER LAUNCH HER OWN DESIGNER BRAND, BUNNY SKULL.
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Original Article: Claudia Kaefer Edited by: Michael Bernstein Photo: Martin Haburaj
F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N S can be deceiving. The left side of her skull is clean shaven, her handshake is firm. Listening to her voice her thoughts, it quickly becomes clear that she knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. And this first impression seems just about right. A graphic designer from Saalfelden in Salzburg, Christine started out eight years ago with a design agency in Graz, creating visual concepts for mail-order catalogues. “I was tired of the same old stuff every season, so I came up with a very modern concept: I added tattoo graphics to a catalogue model image and secretly put it in my boss’ bag before he went to a pitch,” she smirks. “At first, he was pretty pissed, but he won the contract with it.“ Realising the potential, Christine decided in March 2009 to start her own advertising agency for young clients who wanted tattooed models. A year later, she founded tattoomodels.at, a model agency representing those who posed in her clients’ ad campaigns. Another year later, Christine landed her first major client – Kastner & Öhler. Ever since, her base has grown substantially to 70-90 clients, including hotel chains, smaller apparel firms and sports companies.
“IF YOU ARE TOO GIRLIE, YOU’RE IN THE WRONG BUSINESS” Christine got her first tattoo when she was 18 and now has around 20,000 euros worth of ink on her body. She admits that she “had to work harder than everyone else because of my looks, and I had to put up with a lot of stuff.” People passing by our table stare at her, but she assures me that she’s used to it. She remembers that her first attempt to open a business bank account failed because of her tattoos. The cliché about tattoos has changed, she says, and not necessarily for the better. “Years ago, people with tattoos were jailbirds, today they are dirty sluts.” Christine did not want to put up with such stereotypes, so her agency’s policy allows nudity to the extent necessary to show off a tattoo, but “not one millimetre of a nipple will be exposed.” There is a clear line between porn and liberalness, she stresses. “Ultimately, it is about the personality of the model and the individual look that his or her body has through the tattoos. The girls can be the way they are,” she says. Yet a more glamorous girlie is not her style: “If you are too girlie, you’re in the wrong business.“
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I invested most of my last year’s revenue in it. It will either work out or I will go bankrupt with it.
E X PA N D I N G T H E TAT T O O B U S I N E S S About one year into operations, Christine received her first take-over offer. Despite a six-digit amount, she declined because “the project and I were not ready to be sold yet.” And it seems it was a good call – there was a lot more ahead of her. In 2011, she met her boyfriend and business-partner-tobe, Mike Waldthaler, who had previously worked for Harley Davidson and became responsible for the tattoomodels.at online shop. The shop gives their clients an additional outlet to sell their branded products on commission, generates 5,000 unique users per month and has more than 45,000 Facebook friends. Christine and Mike share a work ethic: for both, “business has always been first priority. This is probably why it works so well.” Currently, the company has close to 3.000 models, most of whom pay about 60 euros annually to be included in Christine’s portfolio and to make use of certain services. Clients pay between 500 and 1,500 euros for the placement of a selected model. Christine has up to five contracts a month and attends every photo shooting to make sure her customers are perfectly happy.
FROM MODELLING TO, WELL, SPIRITS Christine has found a partner who will cover the US market, particularly the west coast. “This is the place to be for alternative perceptions of beauty and a large number of potential clients,” she says. In 2011, she started her own brand Bunny Skull, which includes apparel, merchandise and beverages. A Styrianproduced organic vodka, also called Bunny Skull, comes in an opulent bottle created by renowned German fashion designer Michael Michalsky. Each bottle retails for around 280 euros. “I invested most of my last year’s revenue in it,” she says. “It will either work out or I will go bankrupt with it.” At the end of the day, it seems to have been a smart move to establish the company as a platform. “Well, it grew naturally,” Christine says. “It always occurred to me what the next logical step was and I always knew to get there”. Published November 2013
[Update] Timing is everything in business, and Christine seems to have positioned TATTOOModels perfectly to capitalise on the trends on Europe’s fashion runways and magazines. The agency currently represents some 150 models and enjoys over 210,000 likes on their facebook fanpage. Still operating as a two-person company and relying on freelancers for support, TATTOOModels and Bunny Skull have become a high-end modelling agency and designer brand, respectively, in Austria and beyond. 99% of Bunny Skull’s products are Austrian in origin and the product range has moved into jewellery and furniture catering to the tattoo-culture market. Christine and partner Mike Waldthaler are currently planning to launch a Harley-Davidson product line and are in talks with new partners in the USA. The e-commerce site has 4000 registered users and averages 5000 unique visitors daily. Their ultra-premium Bunny Skull vodka was presented at Berlin Fashion Week. With a price tag of 299 euros, “It became particularly popular within a market of people who prioritise quality,” understates Christine. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 135
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OUTLOOK Finding unusual ways to predict the future is nothing new to mankind. But listings of the “Hottest 10 startups� are as popular as the good old Wiener Schnitzel. We partnered up with WIFO to find out how ventures perceive themselves; and additionally used our own methods for shortlisting new ventures.
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THE PREMIERE OF
THE WIFO-INVENTURES ENTREPRENEURSHIP INDEX WHAT DO YOUNG VENTURES IN AUSTRIA EXPECT FOR THE FUTURE? H OW D O T H E Y P E R C E I V E T H E R E C E N T PAS T ? AND HOW SATISFIED ARE THEY WITH THEIR CURRENT SITUATION?
Together with WIFO, the leading institute for applied empirical economic research in Austria, inventures conducted a survey among ventures in Austria in order to get a better understanding for the young business scene. Moreover, the cooperation with WIFO made it possible to find out about sentiment and needs of young businesses but also to view the results in the context of the “WIFO Konjunkturtest,” – a survey on the overall economy in Austria conducted using the same methodology. While WIFO aims to encapsulate past developments, the “WIFO-inventures Entrepreneurship Index” shall also assess the future expectations of young businesses 2015.
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62
35
3
75
22
3
Over the past 3 months our business situation ... improved 62% remained unchanged 35% deteriorated 3% Saldo 59%-P
Over the next 3 months the demand for our services will ... increase 75% remain unchanged 22% ecrease 3% Saldo 72%-P
Y EST E R DAY, TODAY, TOMOR ROW: POSITI V E A NA LYSES AND EXPECTATIONS The overall results show that young businesses, in general, are more optimistic than already established companies. The “WIFO-inventures Entrepreneurship Index” notes a value of +48.6 points that describes a positive attitude on the past, current and future situation of the business. In comparison: the “WIFO Konjunkturtest” that researches this value for the overall economy with the same methodology, lies at -0.2 points showing slightly more negative attitudes and expectations for established companies.
OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOKS FOR THE FUTURE About 75% expect the demands for their services and products to increase over the next three months and about 66% count on their business improving during the following half year. Not one of the survey participants expected the state of their business to worsen.
45 15
“The results show that young innovative businesses are obviously more optimistic than established businesses,” says Dr. Werner Hölzl, economist at the WIFO. INCREASING DEMANDS AND GROWING PRODUCTION The majority (62%) state that demand for their services and products have increased over the past three months. Only 3% report that demand and production have dropped during this time. Evaluation of orders, on the other hand, shows that the interviewed businesses are still in a build-up phase. While 55% stated they have sufficient or more-than-sufficient orders, this share is distinctively higher in the overall economy (67%).
40 Our current business situation is ... better than normal for the season 15% satisfactory 40% worse than normal for the season 45% Business situation is satisfactory or better than normal 55%
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25
63
12
Our current business situation is ... better than normal for the season 25% satisfactory 63% worse than normal for the season 12% Saldo 13%-P
66
34
Over the next 6 months our business situation will ... improve 66% remain unchanged / normal for the season 34% deteriorate 0% Saldo 66%-P
BOOTSTRAPPING BEATS INVESTMENTS More than half of the sample expect a low willingness of banks to grant loans to young ventures and 16% do not think they have a realistic chance to receive a loan. The “WIFO Konjunkturtest� results, on the other hand, show that only 2% perceived their credit chances as low. Young companies, taken as a whole, seem less certain in their attitudes toward investors: about 26% of the young ventures stated that investors are cooperative, 32% perceived them as restrictive and 42% were ambivalent.
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42
63 Saldo -58%-P
32 Saldo -6%-P
32 5
26
How do you judge the current willingness of commercial banks to grant company loans? forthcoming 5% normal 32% restrictive 63% Saldo -58%-P
How do you judge the current willingness of investors to invest in start-up companies? forthcoming 26% normal 42% restrictive 32% Saldo -6%-P
Innovative ideas need capital to become reality. 33% of the young ventures were able to secure an investment from external sources in the past 12 months. More than half of them (57%) were satisfied with the amount and conditions of the investments. Only 8% said the conditions were not acceptable and 6% said they had no realistic chances to receive any external investment.
THE FUTURE OF THE “WIFOINVENTURES ENTREPRENEURSHIP INDEX”
At the same time, the majority said they don’t need loans or investments. “The results suggest that young companies regard own capital more accessible than bank loans,” confirms inventures co-founder Claudia Käfer.
67 companies with 431 employees participated in the “WIFOinventures Entrepreneurship Index,” the first regular survey to offer insights into the overall sentiment of young businesses and their evaluation of the current and future economic situation. After the Pilot Study in Austria, the Index will be expanded to the CEE region next year, which will permit international comparison.
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PART FOUR / OUTLOOK
OUTLOOK ON CEE IN TIMES OF CHANGING ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES, one has to adjust to given situations. While some startups need external funding, others rather prefer to run their businesses without the influence of investors and financial supporters. In this context, the future expectations of founders in CEE, a region that underwent several economic changes in recent years, is especially interesting from a transnational point of view.
At inventures, we asked ourselves what those startups expect from the future. So, from August till September, inventures hunted for answers and asked startups from 15 CEE countries for their business forecasts for the next six months. Here is what they said: I M PAC T O F NAT I O NA L P O L I C I E S O N BUSINESS NEGLECT One out of four CEE entrepreneurs expects a negative impact of their country’s policy on their business prospects. Respondents from Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine expected the most detrimental impact. 56 per cent said they assume no change at all and 19 per cent of those surveyed expected a positive impact on their business. Among all CEE countries, startups in Bulgaria turn out to be the most optimistic with 29 per cent expecting a favourable impact.
1 OUT OF 4
(RE-)LOCATION OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD When it comes to relocating businesses for better opportunities, Bulgarian, Polish and Serbian startups say they are the most likely to move office. 54 per cent of Austrian startups are unlikely to move abroad, while only 38 per cent of startups in the Czech Republic do not consider relocating.
22%
STAY
40%
38%
RELOCATE
UNDECIDED
Overall, a significant 40 per cent of the CEE ventures in our sample said that they are likely to relocate to other countries in the near future, 38 per cent are still undecided and 22 per cent are confident that they would stay where they are.
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GROWING RESOURCES One big issue that is, and will remain important for founders is investment. Most of the founders, in fact 69 per cent, think their need for external financing will rise during the next six months. Some 27 per cent are satisfied with their current investment situation and only 4 per cent expect to need even less capital than before. Financial needs in Austria seem to be more evenly distributed, with a higher share of financially sated companies: 56 per cent need increased funding, for 36 per cent it will remain the same and 8 per cent will need less money.
D E V E L O P M E N T A N D I N N OVAT I O N When choosing between entering the market or putting further resources into development and innovation, 61 per cent of CEE ventures are eager to launch and get feedback from the market. 39 per cent would rather develop their products and services further.
OPEN MARKET IS
61%
BACK WANT FEED
56% NEED FUNDING
36% REMAIN THE SAME
8%
I N N OVAT
ION IS H ERE
39%
NEED LESS
PUSH F URTHE GROWING A BUSINESS OFTEN MEANS E X PA N D I N G T H E T E A M 70 per cent of the overall sample assume that their team will grow, 27 per cent expect it will remain the same and only 3 per cent think of a declining workforce. The need for employees could be explained by pronounced sales plans: 85 per cent of CEE founders are focused on growing their customer base, while 15 per cent are hoping to increase revenue per customer.
27% 3% SORRY
SAME
70% GROW
R
To sum up, our sentiment poll revealed that most of the startups in CEE are currently aiming to expand their teams, gain more customers and raise money in the form of investments in the following months. Relocation is also an option for the near future for most startups and about half of respondents foresee a political impact on their business, positive or negative. While there are specific variations for specific countries, the overall opinion of the near future seems to be rather cautiously optimistic. THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO GET AN OVERVIEW OF THE SENTIMENT FROM S TA R T U P S I N C E E . W I T H YO U R H E L P, W E PLAN TO REPEAT IT, BROADEN IT, AND COLLECT INFORMATION ON A REGULAR BASIS.
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PART FOUR / OUTLOOK
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PART FOUR / OUTLOOK
� CHAPTER 1 �
THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION INVENTURE’S PICK
IN OUR WEEKLY FEATURE STARTUP PICK, WE’VE INTRODUCED UP -AND-COMING VENTURES TO THE SCENE. SOME OF T H E S E G R E W S I G N I F I C A N T LY; S O M E O F T H E M H AV E A L R E A DY F O L D E D . H OW E V E R , T H I S I S J U S T PA RT O F T H E STARTUP CYCLE AND SURELY WE’LL SEE THEM REBOUND IN ONE PROJECT OR ANOTHER. WE’RE CURIOUS TO SEE IF SOME OF THESE 10 PICKS MAKE IT IN 2015 – WE’LL KEEP YOU POSTED!
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PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
EVENTIPLY AUSTRIAN STARTUP EVENTIPLY ALLOWS YOU TO PROMOTE YOUR EVENT BY SENDING OUT INVITATIONS, PUBLICIZING THEM VIA SOCIAL-MEDIA AND EVALUATING THE RESULTS. Say you are planning this big event and don’t really have the time to send out invitation emails to your entire attendees list. Eventiply makes it possible with just a few clicks. You have an overview of confirmed participants and see which channels got the most attention. OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... EVENTIPLY is an awesome interface to promote upcoming events easily and differently than other platforms. INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM, AND TELL US ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT EACH MEMBER... Matteo is our CEO. He is a smart and funny guy, who loves the USA and playing frisbee. Steph is our dev-addict and lasertag-professional. He is (in our opinion) the best Android developer on earth. Steffi is the most positive-thinking person ever seen in the world. WE RECEIVED OUR INITIAL CAPITAL THROUGH... departure and aws impulse. THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN AUSTRIA IS... You have to be really persuasive as Austrians are generally less open to new ideas than Americans. THE PERSON THAT INSPIRES US IS... Steve Jobs because he was really awesome and turned everything to gold. THE ONE APP/SERVICE THAT WE COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT IS... Service: Google Maps --> We would get lost without directions. App: Cut out Cam --> Design toy for graphic nerds
THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... Our office dog called Pazuzu and our apples. :) THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... The world is not black and white. No advice has repulsed us. Every tip and trick had something to it and brought us one step further. For startups, there is no right or wrong path; you have to try and look what the target audience likes and needs.
The one thing that will make us quit is... Bed and breakfast. OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... You can sleep in your grave. YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... Love our weekly update every Tuesday at Madiani. WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... People love us just as they love doodle. FOUNDERS: Matteo Savio, Stephan Petzl FOUNDED: 25 June 2013 BASED IN: Vienna WEBSITE: www.eventiply.com BUSINESS AREAS: event marketing, analytics, marketing, publishing
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PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
SPECTRALMIND YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT AUDIO INTELLIGENCE? ASK SPECTRALMIND. The Vienna-based startup has developed a platform that makes it possible to analyse media based on beat, rhythm, and mood, among other things. So when they say “intelligent”, they mean, more or less, humanly intelligent. In addition, the platform supports a built-in flexible search, and visual navigation. OU R ON E-L I N E P I TCH IS... Our product Sonarflow makes you find the music or video you want in the moment you want - quickly and easily, through its intuitive UI and innovative media recommendation technology. INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM. WE ARE... Experienced techies with a background in intelligent media analysis, a fouryear startup track record, and a passion for bringing our media innovation to millions of people. W E R ECEI V ED OU R I N ITI A L CA PI TA L T H ROUGH... The INiTS academic incubator, the FFG research funding agency, and through AWS seed financing - all of which have a great trust in our team & technology to be successful internationally.
OUR BOLDEST MOVE WAS... To go to Silicon Valley and pitch hardcore on events, which got us on stage at VentureBeat, and to the HQs of the largest global IT and consumer electronics companies.
best where to bring your product to! Trust your gut feelings! And the market feedback, of course!
THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN AUSTRIA IS... The lack of entrepreneur spirit and trust to make a business successful - in EVERY environment: from student peers to family, from partner companies to investors. Ah yeah, and a lack of early stage “venture” investors in general.
OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... Where is the venture in venture capital? YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... Managed to meet the presidents of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
The one thing we would save from our burning office is... Our team! THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... That we need to adapt our product and go into this or that market because of [a set of reasons]. Our take on it: YOU as the founder know VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 147
WE’LL GIVE UP WHEN... Apple sues us ;-)
W E ’ L L C A L L O U R S E LV E S SUCCESSFULL WHEN... Millions of people use our products
FOUNDERS: Thomas Lidy, Johann Waldherr, Ewald Peiszer FOUNDED: 23 January 2009 BASED IN: Vienna WEBSITE: www.spectralmind.com BUSINESS AREAS: mobile, media, music, audio-video analysis, recommendation, semantic technologies
PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
BERGAFFE WHAT STARTED AS AN IDEA FOR A SNOWBOARD-BENCH SOON TURNED INTO A MUCH BIGGER ENDEAVOUR PERIOD: AUSTRIAN STARTUP BERGAFFE HAS DEVELOPED A MULTIFUNCTIONAL TOOL FOR WINTER SPORTS. A simple tube can be turned into a shovel, a rake, a tripod - the possibilities seem endless. With a successful Kickstarter campaign, the team wants to make the tool even more versatile so customers can use it throughout the year. OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... Bergaffe is a perennially applicable multifunctional toolset for all sports and nature enthusiasts. WE RECEIVED OUR INITIAL CAPITAL THROUGH... Self-investment and the AplusB Incubator build! in Carinthia. Right now we are preparing a crowdfunding campaign at Kickstarter to make things happen. THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN AUSTRIA… Is the taxes on employees, which makes it difficult for small businesses to properly pay their hardworking employees. THE PERSON THAT INSPIRES US IS… Actually an animal: our Bergaffe. It is our spirit-animal and comes alive in the comics.
THE ONE APP/SERVICE THAT WE COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT IS… Kickstarter and Whatsapp. We are always available. We also use Facebook Pages, where we keep track of our fanpage. THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... Our sports gear, our prototypes and our comics.
Our inside joke is... “Scheiß di ned on” (“Don’t be a pussy”) since you need to be a bit of a daredevil in the Austrian startup scene to actually establish a hardware startup. THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... To orientate on existing benchmarks. But there are no comparable products on the market. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 148
THE ONE THING THAT WILL MAKE US QUIT IS... If we run out of time and motivation… and since we are young and eager that won’t happen so soon. ;) YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT... In each of us beats the heart of a little mountain monkey - Bergaffe. WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... We can implement a successful business model in which the whole distribution chain is part of our success. Living, acting, and producing local. We want to prompt a “common sense (Hausverstand)” for producing local, fair goods and still be competitive with affordable articles. Quality and longevity is an aspiration.
FOUNDERS: Lukas Bürger, David Dietrich, Philip Mattha, Jan Puinbroek FOUNDED: 1 January 2014 BASED IN: Klagenfurt WEBSITE: www.bergaffe.com BUSINESS AREAS: sports equipment, comics, hardware
PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
OMAI THE PROJECTION-PAINTING “TAGTOOL” ALLOWS COLLABORATIVE DESIGN AND ANIMATION USING TABLET COMPUTERS AND BEAMERS. Tagtool has been lighting up not only nightclubs, but also the classroom and even nighttime street protests in Ukraine and Brazil. The Office for Media and Arts International was founded by three video artists from Tulln.
THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... We don’t heed advice that is obviously biased by ideology or partisanship. Our vision is ambitious and certainly idealistic, so we are forced to be pragmatic and stay clear of distracting romanticisms.
OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... Intuitive tools for visual people! INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM. WE ARE... brothers & friends on a mission to realise our vision of collaborative art.
WE’LL GIVE UP WHEN... Our project existed for seven years before it became a business. So what does giving up mean? It’s an ongoing process of transformation, and we’ll be Tagtooling in one way or another as long as we breathe.
WE RECEIVED OUR INITIAL CAPITAL THROUGH... friends, family, and departure.at.
OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... Humour is strictly against the rules at OMAi. You could get fired for inside jokes.
OUR BOLDEST MOVE WAS... Matthias is the baldest move. But Markus is catching up fast!
YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT... We nearly got the Queen of England to paint on Tagtool! It was suggested to her when we presented our work at the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall. Unfortunately, she preferred to watch.
The one thing we would save from our burning office is... Kommissar Hun he lives here.
WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... Success for us means sustainability – to have the resources to continue the Tagtool story on a high level of technological and artistic quality.
THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN AUSTRIA IS... Austria has its fair share of mentality challenges, but every country does – no point dwelling on it.
FOUNDERS: Markus and Josef Dorninger, Matthias Fritz. FOUNDED: 27 July 2007 BASED IN: Vienna WEBSITE: www.tagtool.at BUSINESS AREAS: software, visual art, education, mobile app
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PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
MERCURYPUZZLE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR YOUR DREAM CAREER? YES? ACTUALLY, DON’T TELL US; TELL MERCURYPUZZLE This Austrian startup helps you identify your talents, and lets others know about them. Well, this time around, it will be MercuryPuzzle themselves sharing some personal information. OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... MercuryPuzzle is a career network, which analyses the talents of its users through an online assessment centre and matches them with the right job, company or similar people (in their career paths). INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM, WE ARE... Eight crazy students, all under 25, and a 59-year-old mentor and business angel, all complementing each other in the fields of business, software development, design and freakiness. However, a team with a die-hard attitude and one aim: Having fun while identifying real talents and offering them the right and equal career opportunities regardless of whether they have social standing or good connections. THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN EUROPE WAS...in our case, getting the users.
YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... are all younger than 25.
Our boldest move was... Testing all our ideas and afterwards rebuilding everything from scratch. Also partnering up with cool companies. WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... We have more than 100.000 users and 1.000 paying companies/ recruiters.
THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... Our stolen cardboard cut-out of Mike Butcher. THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... “Make your page more colourful...” WE’LL GIVE UP WHEN... The world wide web crashes! OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... “You have a beautiful lamp!”
FOUNDERS: Constantin Wintoniak, Nicolas Vorsteher, Alexander Birke, Dominik Hackl, Robert Rainer FOUNDED: 1 May 2012 BASED IN: Vienna, Munich WEBSITE: www.mercurypuzzle.com BUSINESS AREAS: HR, recruiting, career development
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PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
BLITAB Formerly known as GREENVISION
ABOUT 40 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE CAN’T SEE. NOT ONLY IS THEIR ACCESS TO PRINTED RESOURCES LIMITED BUT SO CALLED SMART DEVICES ALSO EXCLUDE BLIND PEOPLE FROM PARTICIPATION Therefore, the Austrian / Bulgarian startup GreenVISION came up with an idea for a tablet that is able to provide text in Braille. Get to know the team, read about their difficulties and find out about the one service they couldn’t live without
produce GreenVISION Alpha Prototype. However we are glad that we are the Social Impact Award Winner 2014, TUN-Fonds Innovation Winner 2014, Entrepreneurship Avenue First Place Winner and StartUp Live Vienna /#9 Winner.
OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... The World’s First Tablet for Blind People!
THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN AUSTRIA IS... The high entry requirements for establishing a limited company in Austria.
I N T RODUCE YOU R T E A M , A N D TELL US ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT EACH MEMBER. WE ARE... We are GreenVISION dedicated team! Kristina Tsvetanova: Co-founder and CEO. Slavi Slavev: Co-founder and CTO. Stanislav Slavev: Co-founder and CDO. Our commitment to innovation and social impact has helped us to generate this innovative idea. It will be the success of our striving for excellence in personal and professional ventures when GreenVISION transforms from our mind’s eye to the palm of our hands. W E R ECEI V ED OU R I N ITI A L CAPITAL THROUGH... We are now looking for our initial investment to
The worst piece of advice we ever got was... Sell your idea! THE PERSON THAT INSPIRES US IS... Ron McCallum AO-is a leading light in the disabled community, working for equality among all Australians. He is also chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
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THE ONE APP/SERVICE THAT WE COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT IS... GMAIL. Our personal and professional contacts with people inspire us every second. THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... GreenVISION and our small doggy. THE ONE THING THAT WILL MAKE US QUIT IS... a successful “exit” and to become business angels by ourselves. OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... It is so deeply hardcore programmed that you would not get it. YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... are going to make blind people “touch” & “see”, as we do. WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... we did it ! FOUNDERS: Kristina Tsvetanova, Slavi Slavev, Stanislav Slavev FOUNDED: 1 July 2014 BASED IN: Vienna WEBSITE: www.blitab.com BUSINESS AREAS: technology for the sight-impaired, hardware
PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
EVERSPORT THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS TO STAY ACTIVE AND WORKING OUT AT A GYM ISN’T PARTICULARLY EXCITING. HOW ABOUT ROCK-CLIMBING, SWIMMING, OR SQUASH? Now, before you start a Google search, check out Austrian startup Eversport. Their platform allows you to look for sports venues close to you. Also, you can learn about special offers that might get you interested in picking up a different sport. Kayaking, anyone? OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... Eversport is the easiest way to find and book sports activities online. INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM, AND TELL US ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT EACH MEMBER. WE ARE... Andreas was raised in a wine making family but decided not to become a winemaker. Instead, he fell in love with MS Excel. Emanuel has already built a “video-based position tracking billiard support system”. Ivo is a serial entrepreneur who is very well connected within the Drupal community. Hanno was a professional volleyball player who has always had lots of ideas.
The real pain about starting a business in Austria is... A small investor scene. Also, people are super scared of taking risks and are afraid to make mistakes or at worst ... to fail. And let’s not forget about the bureaucracy. WE RECEIVED OUR INITIAL CAPITAL THROUGH... INiTS and our personal savings.
THE ONE APP/SERVICE THAT WE COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT IS... GoogleMaps. If you have only a rough idea where to go you can check the details on the way. THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... Our laptops. THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... “Wait three months and come back again in October.” THE ONE THING THAT WILL MAKE US QUIT IS... Billions on our bank accounts and a world-changing idea worth giving up our present one. OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... Toodaloo (tüdelü in German). Very few know what we mean but if you’ve seen “Hangover” you know what comes next. YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... Have very little time left for doing sports at the moment :-( WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... People don’t search for sport offers on Google but directly on Eversport.
FOUNDERS: Hanno Lipitsch, Andreas Woditschka, Emanuel Steininger FOUNDED: 19 October 2013 BASED IN: Vienna WEBSITE: www.eversport.at BUSINESS AREAS: web, sport, search engine, booking
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PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
BITMOVIN REMEMBER THE LAST TIME YOU TRIED TO WATCH A VIDEO ON YOUR SMARTPHONE AND IT BUFFERED, AND BUFFERED, AND BUFFERED. Media outlets and broadcasters need to make sure that their content loads instantly and in the highest quality. Austrian startup bitmovin provides online streaming solutions and offers a patented ‘bitdash’ framework, which allows for all that, even on mobile. OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... bitmovin enables high quality web streaming, guaranteeing smooth streaming without buffering, lowest startup delay and achieving HD, 4k and beyond. INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM, AND TELL US ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT EACH MEMBER... Stefan applies technology to cool use cases, such as streaming video in vehicular environments. Christopher is a technology and open-source genius who had implemented solutions years before they hit the market. Christian has been contributing to the international standards of MPEG and ISO for more than 10 years. WE RECEIVED OUR INITIAL CAPITAL THROUGH... Startup and research grants from build! Gründerzentrum, KWF (Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungsfond), FFG and EU FP7. THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN AUSTRIA IS... Some bureaucracy, but in general it’s a great place that offers various grants for high-tech startups. THE PERSON THAT INSPIRES US IS... Ray Dolby, founder of Dolby Laboratories. He built an awesome company that improved media quality with innovative technology.
THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... Our international whisky bar ;-) THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... That startups from the research domain will not be successful in the United States.
The one thing that will make us quit is... A lack of innovation happening in our company. OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... “We need” YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... Have a better performance and quality for streaming and transcoding than the big US companies such as Apple, Microsoft, etc. WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... Our products are more advanced than those of our competitors, in terms of quality, performance, costs, etc. FOUNDERS: Stefan Lederer, Christoph Müller, Christian Timmerer FOUNDED: 31 May 2012 BASED IN: Klagenfurt & Santa Cruz, CA WEBSITE: www.bitmovin.net BUSINESS AREAS: video streaming, multimedia, web, OTT media, mobile, cloud
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PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
NIXE BRAU AUSTRIANS LOVE BEER, ESPECIALLY ON A HOT SUMMER DAY. IT’S REFRESHING, AND TASTY — AND NOW IT WON’T EVEN GIVE YOU A BEER BELLY. The guys from Vienna-based startup NIXE Brau wanted to change that and came up with a formula for the first Austrian beer that combines full flavour and strength but is low on carbohydrates. OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... Volle Bier NIXE Bauch (“A lot of beer but no belly”) INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM, AND TELL US ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT EACH MEMBER. WE ARE... Constantin Simon, who is also an international model. Alexander Lauber, who has already successfully launched a perfume brand. Claudia Simon, who likes to mix her NIXE beer with vodka lemon. Conrad Simon, who loves weak boarding and surfing. Markus Zotter, who likes to work out so he can carry around our NIXE mermaid girls. Elvira Hummer, who loves taking pictures especially of the NIXE team and mermaid girls.
THE ONE APP/SERVICE THAT WE COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT IS... Dropbox because it distributes the data within the team from anywhere at any time! THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... The secret minimum calorie formula® ;) THE WORST PIECE OF ADVICE WE EVER GOT WAS... Find a different office - even though ours is on the fourth floor and we don’t have an elevator ;) THE ONE THING THAT WILL MAKE US QUIT IS... Nothing comes to mind... OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... We like making dualities that rhyme with our slogan “Lieber fett als dick” (“rather drunk than fat”). YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... Don’t drink any beer before 10am.
The real pain about starting a business in Austria is... The high market entry barriers in our industry.
WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... It is common to order a NIXE at any pub or bar.
THE PERSON THAT INSPIRES US IS... Richard Branson. We love his attitude about business: “Screw it, let’s do it” - we think it shows what you can achieve when pursuing a great idea with a lot of passion.
FOUNDERS: Constantin Simon, Alexander Lauber FOUNDED: 5 October 2012 BASED IN: Vienna WEBSITE: www.nixe-bier.com BUSINESS AREAS: food and beverage, alcohol, beer
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PART FOUR / UP-AND-COMING
JOURNI Formerly known as MIAVIA
THIS REBRANDED APP ALLOWS USERS TO CREATE PERSONAL TRAVEL LOGS AND SHARE THEM PRIVATELY WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY OR PUBLICLY WITH THE WORLD. In 2014, they received 100K euros seed-investment, participated in the Go Silicon Valley initiative and won the Vienna Business Agency’s Content Award for best app. OUR ONE-LINE PITCH IS... miavia is your marketplace for handcrafted travel guides. INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM. WE ARE... Anna-Clara, Bianca, Andreas, Chris and Stefan. Together we are the Maggelans. We have come to sail the seven seas and provide a simple way to connect like-minded travellers around the world to help each other doing better trips and spend less time on planning. WE RECEIVED OUR INITIAL CAPITAL THROUGH... Ourselves. We bootstrapped miavia in the first place. OUR BOLDEST MOVE WAS... Starting a business in the crowded space of online travel and believing in our own power to change this industry. One of the biggest markets, but also one of the most competitive ones in the world. THE REAL PAIN ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS IN AUSTRIA IS... Bureaucracy one might say. But the real pain is that there are almost no (level A) investors. THE ONE THING WE WOULD SAVE FROM OUR BURNING OFFICE IS... Our team plant, named Mount Everest. The only flower in the office, reminding us to aim high. No, just kidding. We would save our brand new iMac.
WE’LL GIVE UP WHEN... We have no more ideas on how to reinvent our business. This is called the Schumpeterian way of giving up.
The worst piece of advice we ever got was... A typically Austrian one: “Why don’t you try something less risky?” OUR INSIDE JOKE IS... Ah, should we have one? Well then... Tripadvisor is a very well designed, clear and helpful website to plan a trip. YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT WE... Do not travel much these days. Think about it. WE’LL CALL OURSELVES SUCCESSFUL WHEN... We have made millions of travellers happy, built a sustainable company worth millions and the Samwer brothers tried to copy us without success.
FOUNDERS: Andreas Röttl (CEO) FOUNDED: 1 June 2012 BASED IN: Vienna WEBSITE: www.journiapp.com BUSINESS AREAS: travel, mobile app, web
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PART FOUR / OUTLOOK
� CHAPTER 2 �
THE YEAR AHEAD FROM OUR OWN EXPERIENCE, WE KNOW THAT WE HEAR ABOUT EVENTS AND GRANT DEADLINES ONLY TO FORGET ABOUT THEM SOON AFTER. SO WE TRIED TO COMPILE A LIST THAT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED IN 2015. HOWEVER, IT ’S NOT UNLIKELY THAT WE’VE MISSED ONE OR TWO OF THE MANY INITIATIVES OUT THERE.
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THE YEAR AHEAD AWARDS AND GRANTS FOR 2015
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AWARDS 2015 UPCOMING AWARDS FOR NEW VENTURES
Name Submission deadline Decisions 2015
B U R G E N L A N D
Staatspreis: Burgenländischer Innovationspreis not available by the time of editorial deadline
November 2015
C A R I N T H I A
Staatspreis: Innovations- und Forschungspreis des Landes Kärnten not available by the time of editorial deadline
November 2015
L O W E R A U S T R I A
RIZ GENIUS Ideenpreis 2015 not available by the time of editorial deadline Staatspreis: Karl Ritter von Ghega-Preis not available by the time of editorial deadline Tag der JungunternehmerInnen n/a
December 2015 October 2015 29/5/2015
S A L Z B U R G
Staatspreis: Salzburger Wirtschaftspreis 27/2/15
7/5/2015
S T Y R I A
Elevator Pitch Lange Nacht der Jungen Wirtschaft Marketing Rockstars Festival Staatspreis: Fast Forward Award
October 2015 n/a n/a May 2015
TYROL
n/a n/a July 2015
Bundestagung der Jungen Wirtschaft Europäisches Forum Alpbach 2015 Staatspreis: Tiroler Innovationspreis
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November 2015 August 2015 08/05/2015 September 2015
25/09/2015 - 26/09/2015 19/08/2015 - 04/09/2015 October 2015
PART FOUR / OUTLOOK
U P P E R A U S T R I A
Jungunternehmerpreis der JW OÖ not available by the time of editorial deadline May 2015 Staatspreis: Landespreis für Innovation not available by the time of editorial deadline September 2015
V I E N N A
Austria’s Next Top Start-up not available by the time of editorial deadline Austrian Business Angel Award n/a betapitch Vienna not available by the time of editorial deadline CEE Impact Day 2015 n/a Content Award Stadt Wien not available by the time of editorial deadline futurezone Award not available by the time of editorial deadline green start – eine Initiative für Startups deadline expired in April 2014 Gründen in Wien n/a Hardwaretribe not available by the time of editorial deadline i2b not available by the time of editorial deadline Ideen gegen Armut not available by the time of editorial deadline IMAGINE n/a Join Our Core October 2015 Österreichischer Klimaschutzpreis Decision November 2014 Österreichischer Kommunikationspreis not available by the time of editorial deadline Pioneers 90“ Pitch not available by the time of editorial deadline Pioneers Challenge not available by the time of editorial deadline Pioneers Festival 2015 n/a Pitching Days in Tel Aviv n/a Social Impact Award April 2015 Social Integration Award not available by the time of editorial deadline Sozial Marie 27/01/2015 Staatspreis Innovation nomination via federal states competition Staatspreis: Mercur’15 not available by the time of editorial deadline Startup Live not available by the time of editorial deadline Sustainable Entrepreneurship Award (SEA) not available by the time of editorial deadline Trend@venture not available by the time of editorial deadline Trigos n/a Überall App Congress n/a
October 2015 November 2015 May 2015 July 2015 November 2015 November 2015 January 2015 October 2015 2Q 2015 December 2015 November 2015 June 2015 November 2015 November 2015 2016 28/05/2015 28/05/2015 28/05/2015 February 2015 May2015 May 2015 March 2015 November 2015 1Q 2015 October 2015 October 2015 June 2015 June 2015
V O R A R L B E R G
Staatspreis: Innovationspreise 2015
May 2015 VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 160
September 2015
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GRANTS 2015 PUBLIC GRANTS FOR NEW VENTURES BY NATIONAL AND FEDERAL STATES IN 2015
ORGANISATION Program Submission deadline
NATIONAL AUSTRIAN FEDERAL PROMOTIONAL BANK Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH/AWS aws Start-up-Scheck continuous submission call aws Start-up-Prämie continuous submission call aws Start-up-Garantie continuous submission call Der Mikrokredit continuous submission call aws First February 2015 aws PreSeed continuous submission call aws Seedfinancing continuous submission call proTrans – Industrie 4.0 continuous submission call
www.awsg.at
AUSTRIAN RESEARCH PROMOTION AGENCY Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft/FFG www.ffg.at Start-up-Förderung continuous submission call Feasibility Studie continuous submission call Talente - Der Förderschwerpunkt des BMVIT continuous submission call Projekt.Start: Projekteinstieg continuous submission call Klinische Studien continuous submission call Markt.Start - Förderung, Bedingungen continuous submission call Innovationsscheck: Projekteinstieg continuous submission call Basisprogramm continuous submission call KMU-Instrument continuous submission call www.wko.at
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F E D E R A L S T A T E S (alphabetical order) BUSINESS SERVICE BURGENLAND Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland AG/WIBAG www.wibag.at Anschlussförderung Jungunternehmer not available by the time of editorial deadline ÖHT - Jungunternehmerförderung continuous submission call WiBAG - Investitionsförderung continuous submission call Wirtschaftskammer - Kammersonderkreditaktion continuous submission call Aus- u. Weiterbildung von UnternehmerInnen, Fach- und Führungskräften not available by the time of editorial deadline
CARINTHIAN ECONOMIC PROMOTION FUND Kärntner Wirtschaftsförderungs Fonds/KWF www.kwf.at not available by the time of editorial deadline
FEDERAL STATE OF LOWER AUSTRIA & CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LOWER AUSTRIA
Existenzgründung
www.noe.gv.at
continuous submission call
LOWER AUSTRIA BUSINESS- & TOURISMFUND Investitionsförderung “Innovation in Betrieben” continuous submission call Investitionsförderung “Betriebliche Umweltförderung” continuous submission call F&E-Kleinprojekte continuous submission call Investitionsförderung “Neugründung und Unternehmensnachfolge” continuous submission call
www.noe.gv.at
FEDERAL STATE OF SALZBURG Betriebsneugründungs- und Übernahme-Förderungsaktion continuous submission call Internationalisierung von Salzburger Unternehmen 31/12/2015 Unternehmenkooperationund Netzwerke 31/12/2015 Coaching 31/12/2015
www.salzburg.gv.at
STYRIAN BUSINESS PROMOTION AGENCY Steirische Wirtschaftsförderungs GmbH/SFG Start!Klar continuous submission call Erfolgs!Duo continuous submission call Ideen!Reich continuous submission call Weiter!Bilden continuous submission call Welt!Markt continuous submission call
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www.sfg.at
PART FOUR / OUTLOOK
FEDERAL STATE OF TYROL
Tiroler Kleinunternehmensförderung Tiroler Wirtschaftsförderungsfonds (TWFF) Impulspaket Beratungsförderung
FEDERAL STATE UPPER AUSTRIA
JungunternehmerInnenförderung
www.land-oberoesterreich.gv.at
continuous submission call
FEDERAL STATE UPPER AUSTRIA & CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.tirol.gv.at
continuous submission call continuous submission call continuous submission call continuous submission call
www.wko.at
31/12/2015
Gründer-Coaching
VIENNA BUSINESS AGENCY Wirtschaftsagentur Wien www.zit.co.at Innovation continuous submission call Technologie-Awarness continuous submission call Technologie-Transfer continuous submission call Kooperation continuous submission call Forschung continuous submission call Kommunikation continuous submission call departure classic not available by the time of editorial deadline departure focus not available by the time of editorial deadline departure pioneer not available by the time of editorial deadline departure experts not available by the time of editorial deadline
FEDERAL STATE OF VORARLBERG www.vorarlberg.at Jungunternehmerförderung continuous submission call Beratungs- und Bildungskosten für Jungunternehmerin/ Jungunternehmer - Förderung continuous submission call Wirtschaftsstrukturförderung continuous submission call
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REGISTER Since our launch in 2012, inventures has been in touch with most of the companies listed here – same goes for investors. Nevertheless, it is quite likely that we missed one or two (again!). The list of co-working spaces and classes on entrepreneurship should give you an overview of the vast offerings available to Austrian ventures.
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LIST OF VENTURES BY FEDERAL STATES SORTED BY POSTAL CODE
Venture City Company Registration Number
BURGENLAND
DOTWORX - WEB- & MOBILE DEVELOPMENT KG RICH PROJECTS E.U. CHRONOS SERVICES OG ROKI BRANDY KG
7000 Eisenstadt 363178k 7053 Hornstein 356457b 7061 Trausdorf an der Wulka 403214m 7542 Sulz 343834p
CARINTHIA
SYMVARO GMBH AIRBORNE MOTION PICTURES GMBH & CO KG ALLPRODUCTS.INFO IT SOLUTIONS GMBH ALTERION GMBH - ALTERNATIVE ENERGIESYSTEME ANEXIA INTERNETDIENSTLEISTUNGS GMBH AUGMENSYS GMBH BERGAFFE GMBH BITMOVIN GMBH CONTRADE E.U. DR. HERBERT POBEHEIM E.U. ECONOB - INFORMATIONSDIENSTLEISTUNGS GMBH ILOGS MOBILE SOFTWARE GMBH IMENDO GMBH INTELLIROAD E.U. LOGICX CONSULTING & WORKFLOW INTEGRATION GMBH PANORAMATEC GMBH PIXATHLON E.U. RECARDIO GMBH SAPALOT IT-CONSULTING GMBH SMARTGIS KG SUSTAINAK E.U.
9010 Klagenfurt 339783g 9020 Klagenfurt 293981a 9020 Klagenfurt 295313i 9020 Klagenfurt 398772f 9020 Klagenfurt 289918a 9020 Klagenfurt 361083f 9020 Klagenfurt 409577w 9020 Klagenfurt 398995h 9020 Klagenfurt 330615z 9020 Klagenfurt 361130z 9020 Klagenfurt 337598v 9020 Klagenfurt 259803p 9020 Klagenfurt 339848b 9020 Klagenfurt 381487k 9020 Klagenfurt 287582s 9020 Klagenfurt 321491g 9020 Klagenfurt 399374s 9020 Klagenfurt 293372f 9020 Klagenfurt 262618d 9020 Klagenfurt 356678b 9020 Klagenfurt 369941g
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TBM EBNER TECHNISCHES BÜRO FÜR METALLURGIE E.U. WEBPUNKS OG XAMOOM GMBH ST.A.R.-SYSTEMS GMBH MORE&G E-HEALTH GMBH APPLIED INFORMATICS SOFTWARE ENGINEERING GMBH INGENIEURBÜRO JAINDL & GARZ GMBH PM PUMPMAKERS GMBH ONE FOR PHOTOVOLTAICS E.U. ABC HOUSE GMBH HEME GMBH MARWIN SOLUTIONS GMBH CAITEN GMBH ELTHEWA-GMBH RIM-O-RIM GMBH CREOSA INTERIOR KG HOKU OG
9020 Klagenfurt 308568b 9020 Klagenfurt 410565y 9020 Klagenfurt 415298h 9103 Diex 359723f 9131 Grafenstein 336850v 9182 Maria Elend im Rosental 276491f 9210 Pörtschach am Wörthersee 405423k 9300 St. Veit an der Glan 410595t 9334 Guttaring 392541t 9400 Wolfsberg 348947h 9412 St. Margarethen im Lavanttal 398925f 9423 St. Georgen im Lavanttal 361162x 9431 St. Stefan im Lavanttal 314899m 9500 Villach 366336f 9520 Sattendorf 404222w 9560 Feldkirchen 291272t 9601 Arnoldstein 354452d
LOWER AUSTRIA
CHECKDOC OG VENDOE E.U. BITAWAKER GMBH MODEKABEL VWM GMBH TASKFARM GMBH TOUCHLAY E.U. VISIONAR GMBH INDOO.RS GMBH PLUSGRAD GMBH XIBER SCIENCE GMBH TWINGZ DEVELOPMENT GMBH ECODUNA TECHNOLOGIE GMBH PHILIPPEIT GMBH CIES GMBH FIRSTBIRD GMBH MARTIN SACHERS EDV-DIENSTLEISTUNGEN E.U. DOUBLEJACK GMBH PETWALK SOLUTIONS GMBH BLINOS GMBH GEOPIECES TECHNOLOGY GMBH & CO KG KEYPER GMBH MEALANA KG TEXXMEDIA E.U. XEER GMBH & CO KG CARDSKID OG IIS NEW MEDIA LABS E.U. ANTWORKS E.U. KECHIT SOLUTIONS OG DRIVINGFACE GMBH BURGERMASTA GASTRONOMIE GMBH
2000 Stockerau 388555f 2013 Göllersdorf 382296a 2100 Korneuburg 378665k 2124 Niederkreuzstetten 365108z 2295 Zwerndorf 397105d 2320 Schechat 363891i 2340 Mödling 387164i 2340 Mödling 402718h 2345 Brunn am Gebirge 388210y 2345 Brunn am Gebirge 420220x 2353 Guntramsdorf 404529x 2392 Sulz im Wienerwald 355381w 2460 Bruck an der Leitha 349400z 2483 Ebreichsdorf 399316f 2486 Siegersdorf 264784p 2500 Baden bei Wien 393597w 2523 Tattendorf 366581s 2620 Neunkirchen 392858h 2620 Neunkirchen 345043t 2700 Wiener Neustadt 415608p 2700 Wiener Neustadt 380041i 2700 Wiener Neustadt 404561v 2700 Wiener Neustadt 400155p 2700 Wiener Neustadt 397756k 2700 Wiener Neustadt 385859s 2753 Markt Piesting 356501t 2753 Markt Piesting 333327m 2880 Kirchberg am Wechsel 388228z 2880 Kirchberg am Wechsel 376351h 3013 Tullnerbach 413104g 3100 St. Pölten 405741d
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CYBERITH GMBH SUESSCO KG APPARTIG E.U. FANREPORT MEDIA HOLDING GMBH MRAP GMBH DIENANNY.AT SEALIFE PHARMA GMBH CELLPRO DANUBE GMBH
3130 Herzogenburg 410899p 3130 Herzogenburg 296013p 3133 Gemeinlebarn 397616f 3233 Kilb 391143k 3250 Wieselburg 412051h 3361 Aschbach-Markt 401134d 3430 Kritzendorf 193794t 3502 Krems-Lerchenfeld 352014v
SALZBURG
4D AEROSPACE GMBH AUTHENTIC VISION GMBH CARDIO 24 E.U. CLICK FOR KNOWLEDGE GMBH EARSHOWER GMBH EVSOLVE OG FERAGEN E.U. FINDOLOGIC GESELLSCHAFT M.B.H. GLOBE VIEW GMBH HOTELKIT GMBH INA LA VIE E.U. MARK THE GLOBE E.U. METACONSULTING GMBH MOMI - HAPPY HATS E.U. PIMCORE GMBH REDLINK GMBH SOLAMANDER E.U. VALUE-ID GMBH WIKITUDE GMBH WINDHUND GMBH TOOTHR NEW MEDIA GMBH WANDA KAMPEL VERLAGS KG IROOM GMBH TROII SOFTWARE GMBH KURZZEITWOHNEN GMBH MACH ROTEC GMBH ANIMEDICAL KG KAVEDO OG ONYX TECHNOLOGIE OG IN FORO GMBH HETRAS GMBH SHEELA OG
5020 Salzburg 314767v 5020 Salzburg 386580a 5020 Salzburg 406010z 5020 Salzburg 323397i 5020 Salzburg 391824m 5020 Salzburg 390629f 5020 Salzburg 398455p 5020 Salzburg 311074m 5020 Salzburg 403871d 5020 Salzburg 378467w 5020 Salzburg 371851s 5020 Salzburg 351283v 5020 Salzburg 259846b 5020 Salzburg 371417b 5020 Salzburg 398049t 5020 Salzburg 394013g 5020 Salzburg 416910d 5020 Salzburg 362864z 5020 Salzburg 326098g 5020 Salzburg 405186m 5071 Wals bei Salzburg 292436d 5081 Anif 314857a 5110 Oberndorf bei Salzburg 307737f 5280 Braunau am Inn 319303p 5300 Hallwang 402252y 5310 Mondsee 296021a 5400 Hallein 353841f 5400 Hallein 358033w 5400 Hallein 303103s 5431 Kuchl 306611z 5700 Zell am See 312906g 5760 Saalfelden 410219p
STYRIA
BIONIC SURFACE TECHNOLOGIES GMBH BIOTENZZ GMBH BRIGHT RED SYSTEMS GMBH BYTEPOETS GMBH C.O.W. HANDELS UND MARKETING KG
8010 Graz 369426z 8010 Graz 361046a 8010 Graz 365073y 8010 Graz 349730i 8010 Graz 367390f VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 168
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CARROT & COMPANY GMBH COMMOD-HAUS GMBH DIGITALHERZ GMBH DR YIELD SOFTWARE & SOLUTIONS GMBH DR. ANGERER MARKETING KG EASYMOBIZ MOBILE IT SOLUTIONS GMBH ELIBERA OG EOLOGIX SENSOR TECHNOLOGY GMBH EVOLUTION OSSP GMBH FECOM OG INARI SOFTWARE OG LAYERLAB.NET GMBH LCC RAIL CONSULT E.U. LEVEL12 GMBH MAKAVA DELIGHTED GMBH MOTION CODE: BLUE GMBH REACTIVE REALITY GMBH ROOMBIOTIC GMBH SMAXTEC ANIMAL CARE SALES GMBH SNOWREPORTER GMBH SONIBLE OG SPINTOWER KG SPRACHEDIREKT GMBH STRICT SOLUTIONS GMBH TOSA DESIGN KG TRENDLEY GMBH VASCOPS GMBH BIKECITYGUIDE APPS GMBH BONGFISH GMBH BRIEFCASE BIOTEC KG BUNNY SKULL E.U. CLUBDESIGN M.P. GMBH COMPURITAS GMBH GILLOUT E.U. GUTSCHI.NET E.U. KIELSTEG GMBH MANAGERIE E.U. MAPPAU OG PERCEPTION PARK GMBH PROTAFFIN BIOTECHNOLOGIE AG SPRAYLIGHT GMBH SUNNYBAG GMBH TREECHIP GMBH TYROMOTION GMBH VERKEHRPLUS GMBH XFACE E.U. TECPOND E.U. IMAGOTAG GMBH I-N-STEIN R & D GMBH SCHIMAUTZ GMBH SES-TEC OG VISOCON GMBH
8010 Graz 378648k 8010 Graz 417716p 8010 Graz 362030y 8010 Graz 276459h 8010 Graz 379350v 8010 Graz 321800k 8010 Graz 265647h 8010 Graz 420349k 8010 Graz 400882h 8010 Graz 372704w 8010 Graz 394528p 8010 Graz 408690s 8010 Graz 305030z 8010 Graz 409193f 8010 Graz 388999h 8010 Graz 342382d 8010 Graz 415982p 8010 Graz 409521m 8010 Graz 326827d 8010 Graz 266713a 8010 Graz 397057h 8010 Graz 306427d 8010 Graz 329517i 8010 Graz 416760h 8010 Graz 322813a 8010 Graz 386486m 8010 Graz 319835x 8020 Graz 403483h 8020 Graz 294656v 8020 Graz 391277h 8020 Graz 323413h 8020 Graz 375929m 8020 Graz 411785t 8020 Graz 322564i 8020 Graz 406972p 8020 Graz 332025y 8020 Graz 346022g 8020 Graz 361849g 8020 Graz 400381x 8020 Graz 264334b 8020 Graz 363852b 8020 Graz 384034g 8020 Graz 367476g 8020 Graz 291052v 8020 Graz 265022p 8020 Graz 342778k 8041 Graz 257237s 8042 Graz 350927w 8042 Graz 352895p 8042 Graz 46183t 8042 Graz 394141w 8042 Graz 344239i
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MEDIENKRAFT E.U. PBA3 BIOMED GMBH SMART MEDICAL SOLUTIONS GMBH GRIDLAB GMBH FLUIDFORMS WALTER & WILLIAMS OG FRONTONE GMBH PROIONIC GMBH & CO KG YLOG GMBH ONGUS INTERNET GMBH SUNLIME IT SERVICES E.U. COMMENDO RESEARCH & CONSULTING GMBH B4B-HIGHWAY.GMBH SAILMON GMBH CLEVER CONTOUR GMBH ECOCAN GMBH FERRODECONT GMBH IM POLYMER GMBH LCE - LÖSCH CELLULAR ENGINEERING ZT GMBH METTOP GMBH MINE-IT SANAK-OBERNDORFER GMBH SCH.EPP OG SEABEAR GMBH SYNVO GMBH XOHANA E.U. KSZ GMBH OXY3 OZONGERÄTE PRODUKTION GMBH MONOLOX GMBH STIRZONE GMBH MAXVISIBLE GMBH 4A ENGINEERING GMBH SUMMITLYNX NEW MEDIA GMBH
8045 Graz 368128s 8045 Graz 325455k 8047 Graz 308634z 8051 Graz 337880h 8053 Graz 266249v 8073 Feldkirchen bei Graz 348113g 8074 Grambach 259267a 8143 Dobl 296332h 8200 Gleisdorf 349515v 8431 Gralla 414445d 8580 Köflach 314037w 8605 Kapfenberg 289358b 8605 Kapfenberg 342198h 8700 Leoben 393394x 8700 Leoben 367407f 8700 Leoben 399096g 8700 Leoben 379941m 8700 Leoben 293888p 8700 Leoben 261450k 8700 Leoben 313062k 8700 Leoben 373428i 8700 Leoben 407210p 8700 Leoben 373621v 8700 Leoben 303593k 8712 Niklasdorf 350933d 8712 Niklasdorf 317294i 8741 Weisskirchen 384887k 8742 Obdach 373586t 8762 Oberzeiring 396498k 8772 Traboch 281987m 8971 Rohrmoos-Untertal 384313t
TYROL
AFREEZE GMBH BUCINATOR E.U. E3 CONSULT OG ERGOSPECT GMBH E-SEC INFORMATION SECURITY SOLUTIONS GMBH EXPERIENCEFELLOW GMBH HYDRO-IT GMBH JUSIGN GMBH KJERO GMBH LASERDATA GMBH M-PULSO GMBH OSCA - ONLINE STANDORT CHECK GMBH PLAYENCE GMBH STILLALIVE STUDIOS GMBH TRIGGER RESEARCH OG VIRATHERAPEUTICS GMBH VISALYZE GMBH
6020 Innsbruck 308718y 6020 Innsbruck 365597v 6020 Innsbruck 331249g 6020 Innsbruck 302412z 6020 Innsbruck 271013z 6020 Innsbruck 421906a 6020 Innsbruck 293615m 6020 Innsbruck 362415p 6020 Innsbruck 365617y 6020 Innsbruck 291723f 6020 Innsbruck 395368z 6020 Innsbruck 387368i 6020 Innsbruck 367779b 6020 Innsbruck 395335a 6020 Innsbruck 392596y 6020 Innsbruck 397151x 6020 Innsbruck 382726h
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POLYCHROMELAB GMBH ESD - EVALUATION SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT OG BENE-EAT NAHRUNGSMITTELTEST KG RATIONAL WORLDS GESELLSCHAFT M.B.H. SYNCRAFT ENGINEERING GMBH ISYS MEDIZINTECHNIK GMBH UPERTEX COMPOSITES GMBH ORGANOID TECHNOLOGIES GMBH GIFTKÖDERRADAR GMBH ROLF-ROLAND WOLF GMBH
6060 Hall in Tirol 379064y 6063 Rum 350336a 6067 Absam 375747w 6100 Seefeld in Tirol 325868v 6130 Schwaz 327947a 6370 Kitzbühel 348982i 6410 Telfs 372719t 6500 Fliess 378195w 6600 Reutte 415901w 6671 Weissenbach am Lech 385351v
UPPER AUSTRIA
A2BUSINESS GMBH ABSOLVENTEN.AT GMBH CUMULO INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY GMBH DATENPOL GMBH ECOP TECHNOLOGIES GMBH EVNTOGRAM LABS GMBH FISHING & OUTDOOR APPS GMBH INSITE IT GMBH LINGOHUB GMBH LINKILIKE GMBH LUMENZ NETWORKS GMBH MOBILE AGREEMENTS GMBH OFFISY GMBH PICWOOD GMBH PIXXERS GMBH PLASTIC ELECTRONIC GMBH PROLOGICS IT GMBH PUSH IT GMBH QUANTUM VOLTAICS GMBH ROBART GMBH ROOMLE GMBH SIAB BUSINESS SOLUTIONS GMBH SIMPLECTIX OG SMARTER ECOMMERCE GMBH TALENTHOUSE GMBH VILANGO GMBH X-NET TECHNOLOGIES GMBH INTELLIGENT MOTION GMBH DATAGNION GMBH MODERNFAMILIES GMBH IN LIQU. NM ROBOTIC GMBH PRO 3 GAMES GMBH SHAPEPRESS E.U. WEBMEDIAN GMBH JANANA´S GOLD OG SOFTWARE ARCHITECTS GMBH RUNTASTIC GMBH TRACTIVE GMBH
4020 Linz 417968i 4020 Linz 334445g 4020 Linz 394170m 4020 Linz 359270p 4020 Linz 366892y 4020 Linz 386143h 4020 Linz 392658p 4020 Linz 373683i 4020 Linz 384721t 4020 Linz 383827b 4020 Linz 357895t 4020 Linz 326031h 4020 Linz 410653b 4020 Linz 352186x 4020 Linz 414898 w 4020 Linz 275955t 4020 Linz 313271v 4020 Linz 396248v 4020 Linz 410760i 4020 Linz 354510p 4020 Linz 417379v 4020 Linz 320677i 4020 Linz 383705y 4020 Linz 298859z 4020 Linz 382430y 4020 Linz 338021s 4020 Linz 296035x 4030 Linz 353992b 4040 Linz 416570d 4040 Linz 305822p 4040 Linz 414025k 4040 Linz 354021w 4040 Linz 383857x 4040 Linz 346446f 4048 Puchenau 352981s 4060 Leonding 349113b 4061 Pasching 334397k 4061 Pasching 386930s
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 171
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ODOCU GMBH ENERGY SYSTEMS ENGINEERING E.U. INDIVALUE GMBH CIS CONSULTING IN INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS GMBH BLUESOURCE - MOBILE SOLUTIONS GMBH CATALYSTS GMBH ISIQIRI INTERFACE TECHNOLOGIES GMBH REQPOOL GMBH AERODYNE SYSTEMS GMBH GIZMOTEC GMBH DYNALOX SOFTWARE GMBH MTA SYSTEMS GMBH USERSNAP GMBH GARTNER ENERGIE GMBH LINEMETRICS GMBH SEALPROTECT GMBH SENSIDEON GMBH BISTROBOX GMBH PRALINAMO GMBH FURTMÜLLER & STRAUSS OG ENAERGY-ENERGIE FÜR DEN ALLTAG GMBH CAMARG OG H2OOK SPORTS TECHNOLOGY GMBH LYNX QUEST OG IQ SPOTS - WERBUNG, MARKETING, DESIGN E.U.
4063 Hörsching 326541h 4100 Ottensheim 385768g 4152 Sarleinsbach 328875s 4170 Haslach an der Mühl 382191x 4232 Hagenberg im Mühlkreis 283982x 4232 Hagenberg im Mühlkreis 292140v 4232 Hagenberg im Mühlkreis 331980g 4232 Hagenberg im Mühlkreis 378510h 4300 St. Valentin 406390h 4300 St. Valentin 419553s 4320 Perg 394115g 4320 Perg 346220y 4320 Perg 393902v 4331 Naarn im Machland 374854g 4431 Haidershofen 381079k 4553 Schlierbach 396044v 4600 Wels 414432i 4615 Holzhausen 322124m 4653 Eberstalzell 401486x 4702 Wallern an der Trattnach 388296z 4810 Gmunden 346791m 4820 Bad Ischl 333042v 4852 Weyregg am Attersee 366036p 4861 Schörfling am Attersee 394543k 4880 St. Georgen im Attergau 377649t
VIENNA
BLITAB TECHNOLOGY GMBH CAREESMA GMBH EMINAMORE POPCORN VERTRIEBS GMBH EUPHORIA GMBH FOOD CONCEPTS TRADE GMBH GO4SAILING GMBH KUNUNU GMBH LIFE RESEARCH TECHNOLOGIES GMBH LONVIN INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS GMBH MEHRBLICK OG MJAM GMBH NOVAPECC GMBH PDC BIOTECH GMBH QGATE INNOVATIONS GMBH S.U.K. BETEILIGUNGS GMBH STOEHR INTERACTIVE GMBH TRANSPAYGO GMBH WHATAVENTURE GMBH WIKIDOCS GMBH WZPR INTERNET SERVICES GMBH YOUSURE TARIFVERGLEICH GMBH ZAEHLWERT SOLUTIONS KG ZIZOOBOATS GMBH
1010 Vienna 419826t 1010 Vienna 352420s 1010 Vienna 360846g 1010 Vienna 297771z 1010 Vienna 359158z 1010 Vienna 322585s 1010 Vienna 305241i 1010 Vienna 305882b 1010 Vienna 419464i 1010 Vienna 292930f 1010 Vienna 309771x 1010 Vienna 382317g 1010 Vienna 310058v 1010 Vienna 355246x 1010 Vienna 262574p 1010 Vienna 330727p 1010 Vienna 371569a 1010 Vienna 399627m 1010 Vienna 379806p 1010 Vienna 387848s 1010 Vienna 335466h 1010 Vienna 376475s 1010 Vienna 410024b
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ZYTOPROTEC GMBH APPJUNGS GMBH & CO. KG CHIWA MEDIA GMBH DRS DEFECTRADAR GMBH EVENTHUB OG EVERBILL GMBH HIPTIQ GMBH IJOULE GMBH LA GENTZ KG LIM COSMETICS GMBH METGIS GMBH NATIVY GMBH RAILSONFIRE LIMITED SPECTRUM IT SOLUTIONS GMBH TAPKEY GMBH AKRON MOLECULES AG CROWD-O-MOTO GMBH DICT.CC GMBH ESTMOND MEDIA E.U. FIZZ E.U. FLATOUT TECHNOLOGIES GMBH F-STAR GMBH HEIMSCHMECKER GMBH HYDRIP GMBH INTERACTIVES OG LINIS GMBH MAXODUS MEDIA GMBH MINT CONDITION OG MONMIO GMBH PLATOGO INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT GMBH PLAY.FM GMBH SPORTLE GMBH VERSICHERN24 GMBH V-PLAY GMBH WYCONN GMBH ZOONERS GMBH BLUE DANUBE ROBOTICS OG EMCOOLS MEDICAL COOLING SYSTEMS AG FLINK GMBH HITBOX ENTERTAINMENT GMBH LIXTO SOFTWARE GMBH & CO KG MI’PU’MI GAMES GMBH SOFASESSION GMBH SPECTRALMIND GMBH SPEECH CODE PRODUKTSICHERHEITS GMBH WHATCHADO GMBH XARION LASER ACOUSTICS GMBH ADSPIRED TECHNOLOGIES GMBH ADSPIRED TECHNOLOGIES GMBH ALICE INTERACTIVE GMBH COURSETICKET GMBH
1010 Vienna 294995t 1020 Vienna 385325f 1020 Vienna 383297y 1020 Vienna 400573d 1020 Vienna 358635f 1020 Vienna 382303k 1020 Vienna 351696a 1020 Vienna 320525k 1020 Vienna 297911f 1020 Vienna 301979m 1020 Vienna 395047b 1020 Vienna 364355t 1020 Vienna 378285b 1020 Vienna 393588g 1020 Vienna 423952i 1030 Vienna 343873x 1030 Vienna 410888y 1030 Vienna 384087i 1030 Vienna 347185t 1030 Vienna 305199y 1030 Vienna 391847x 1030 Vienna 279896m 1030 Vienna 414206b 1030 Vienna 305923m 1030 Vienna 395198z 1030 Vienna 381107b 1030 Vienna 314970t 1030 Vienna 385342f 1030 Vienna 379682g 1030 Vienna 330672h 1030 Vienna 308190x 1030 Vienna 408913v 1030 Vienna 388838x 1030 Vienna 389276s 1030 Vienna 382679p 1030 Vienna 308670b 1040 Vienna 395802m 1040 Vienna 258375p 1040 Vienna 413055i 1040 Vienna 403739i 1040 Vienna 415785z 1040 Vienna 323238a 1040 Vienna 410623h 1040 Vienna 365533z 1040 Vienna 378551v 1040 Vienna 373602s 1040 Vienna 385649g 1050 Vienna 362228p 1050 Vienna 362228p 1050 Vienna 354772z 1050 Vienna 358331h
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DEEPINTERFACE OG FL3XX GMBH HELIOZ GMBH JFDI EVENTS GMBH JOURNI GMBH KOCHABO GMBH MEINKAUF GMBH PREDIKI PROGNOSEDIENSTE GMBH SCLABLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS GMBH TAPGROVE OG TOOLANI GMBH TOURRADAR GMBH TREVENTUS MECHATRONICS GMBH TRIPWOLF GMBH 360KOMPANY GMBH 9YARDS GMBH CANDIDATIS S.R.O. & CO. KG CONTENT GARDEN GMBH DAILYDEAL GMBH DAILYPRESENT GMBH DIAGNOSIA INTERNETSERVICES GMBH DIGITAL AFFAIRS GMBH FEINKOCH HANDEL E.U. FROM A HANDELS GMBH GAMINSIDE GMBH JMC - JOSEF MANTL COMMUNICATIONS GMBH JOSEPH-BROT GMBH LITHOZ GMBH MYSUGR GMBH SEMANTIC WEB COMPANY GMBH SOCIALSPIEL ENTERTAINMENT GMBH SPHARES GMBH TPM GAMES GMBH TUPALO INTERNETSERVICES GMBH WOLLZELLE GMBH AWATTAR GMBH BOOKAMAT OG BUSINESS NATIVES GMBH CUTEACUTE MEDIA OG GEBRÜDER STITCH GMBH LINEAPP GMBH LIVETABLE GMBH NIXE BRAU GMBH OUT THERE MEDIA GMBH PARKBOB GMBH IG RASENREICH GMBH RUBLYS GMBH THEATANIA E.U. UNSER WEIN G&U OG YASSSU GMBH YOC CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE GMBH
1050 Vienna 384974p 1050 Vienna 346531f 1050 Vienna 378914b 1050 Vienna 357807m 1050 Vienna 413393g 1050 Vienna 377309t 1050 Vienna 372620x 1050 Vienna 373457b 1050 Vienna 387162g 1050 Vienna 394351d 1050 Vienna 348194a 1050 Vienna 393496x 1050 Vienna 274686a 1050 Vienna 309512s 1060 Vienna 375714x 1060 Vienna 392187x 1060 Vienna 371186m 1060 Vienna 393966m 1060 Vienna 344421b 1060 Vienna 399376v 1060 Vienna 359490m 1060 Vienna 342304p 1060 Vienna 372627g 1060 Vienna 394696k 1060 Vienna 362404y 1060 Vienna 325320m 1060 Vienna 339428i 1060 Vienna 377856x 1060 Vienna 376086v 1060 Vienna 323939g 1060 Vienna 346378f 1060 Vienna 418455a 1060 Vienna 300384t 1060 Vienna 323696z 1060 Vienna 319822b 1070 Vienna 409389v 1070 Vienna 360298a 1070 Vienna 396246s 1070 Vienna 384287d 1070 Vienna 373927v 1070 Vienna 417816k 1070 Vienna 344237g 1070 Vienna 387078h 1070 Vienna 292423i 1070 Vienna 1070 Vienna 410887x 1070 Vienna 395059w 1070 Vienna 367638w 1070 Vienna 357577z 1070 Vienna 291872z 1070 Vienna 326006x
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INVENTURES PUBLISHING GMBH FRINK GMBH ABOTIC GMBH DIMOCOM E.U. DUBARUBA OG NTRY TICKETING OG STUDYGURU GMBH SWIMMING POOL SYNC & LICENSING KG UBERGRAPE GMBH AB&CD INNOVATIONS GMBH ANA AVENUE ONLINE SERVICES GMBH EOX IT SERVICES GMBH HIGH FIVE GMBH IBIOLA MOBILITY SOLUTIONS GMBH LOCCA LOST&FOUND SERVICES GMBH POLYPHEM GMBH TABLET SOLUTIONS E.U. TALIAYSTUDIO E.U. GLOBAL ROCKSTAR GMBH IQ-FOXX HOLDING GMBH QUANTARED TECHNOLOGIES GMBH SR-SPORTINFO GMBH CRYSTALSOL GMBH EGOARCHIVE.COM GMBH HAMSTER IT GMBH HEXA BUSINESS GMBH NABRIVA THERAPEUTICS AG ORIGIMM E.U. ULMON GMBH KEY TO OFFICE E.U. MOPIUS OG ORIDIS BIOMARKERS GMBH PAYOLUTION GMBH SENIORPAD GMBH. STYLEWEISE E.U. TROUTLOUD GMBH VISIVO CONSULTING GMBH MOBFOX MOBILE ADVERTISING GMBH APP2SQUARE OG GASSAUER MEDIA E.U. KRAFTWERK ANERKENNUNG OG PHONICSCORE GMBH SYNEXIT GMBH TEAM Vienna GAMES GMBH TURBO PASCALE AGENCY E.U. UMM MÖBEL E.U. APEPTICO FORSCHUNG UND ENTWICKLUNG GMBH CALMODO GMBH DESTION - IT CONSULTING OG EPIQO GMBH EVERSPORT GMBH
1070 Vienna 400022v 1070 Vienna 369463d 1080 Vienna 330536h 1080 Vienna 410542p 1080 Vienna 411743f 1080 Vienna 372306i 1080 Vienna 354152m 1080 Vienna 344780f 1080 Vienna 405900m 1090 Vienna 387106z 1090 Vienna 395533t 1090 Vienna 312068z 1090 Vienna 409462a 1090 Vienna 414030v 1090 Vienna 390451v 1090 Vienna 394311w 1090 Vienna 367127v 1090 Vienna 404529 x 1100 Vienna 413241h 1100 Vienna 399621d 1100 Vienna 314450b 1100 Vienna 402156g 1110 Vienna 333456b 1110 Vienna 355298y 1110 Vienna 414705k 1110 Vienna 353783w 1110 Vienna 269261y 1110 Vienna 387384h 1110 Vienna 353389s 1120 Vienna 399438i 1120 Vienna 396268y 1120 Vienna 361425h 1120 Vienna 359641i 1120 Vienna 387513y 1120 Vienna 383383z 1120 Vienna 393638f 1120 Vienna 372785p 1130 Vienna 358297h 1140 Vienna 369184v 1140 Vienna 379787k 1140 Vienna 368593z 1140 Vienna 383001m 1140 Vienna 353317i 1140 Vienna 291762m 1140 Vienna 383047f 1140 Vienna 393806b 1150 Vienna 314691g 1150 Vienna 378747g 1150 Vienna 355724z 1150 Vienna 367315w 1150 Vienna 404544v
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FILMSPEKTAKEL GMBH LINBIT HA-SOLUTIONS GMBH NOUS WISSENSMANAGEMENT GMBH OFFICE FOR MEDIA AND ARTS INT. GMBH OPEN POTENTIALS E.U. PAPERTOWN E.U. RADIANT MINDS SOFTWARE GMBH SIMPLEWISH GMBH SMART INFORMATION SYSTEMS GMBH TABLECONNECT GMBH ZOOMSQUARE GMBH BLOSSOM E.U. CHECKROBIN GMBH FINDERLY GMBH IRREGULAR.AT E.U. THEALINES E.U. VIRTUELLE ASSISTENTIN E.U. WW WOHNWAGON GMBH ALL I NEED BEVERAGE GMBH WIEWAR*S MEDIA KG WORKBEAT GMBH BIOPLANT RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT GMBH GRÖBL-GRUNDMANN E.U. PROFEM GMBH SANOSON GMBH TRIGO GMBH WOOHOO MOBILE MARKETING GMBH COOL MEDIA GMBH DASCANOVA GMBH DELINSKI GMBH DIVANIA STRATEGY CONSULTANTS GMBH DUTALYS GMBH GOONBEE E.U. S-TARGET THERAPEUTICS GMBH THEMIS BIOSCIENCE GMBH WEBLOOKON GMBH WEBLYZARD TECHNOLOGY GMBH DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE GMBH FRIEDL BUSINESS INFORMATION GMBH HEADLIGHT ANALYTICS E.U. NETZWERKERIN BS E.U. SPIELWERK GFM OG WIKIFOLIO FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGIES GMBH BLUELOCAR GMBH ISHAP GMBH MARINOMED BIOTECHNOLOGIE GMBH ONEPHARM RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT GMBH QIDENUS TECHNOLOGIES GMBH SAVIRA PHARMACEUTICALS GMBH AVABKUS E.U. DRIVEME.AT GMBH
1150 Vienna 415675m 1150 Vienna 313651b 1150 Vienna 276940s 1150 Vienna 296342y 1150 Vienna 359876f 1150 Vienna 381153w 1150 Vienna 405578p 1150 Vienna 389028a 1150 Vienna 281510k 1150 Vienna 403563a 1150 Vienna 397948v 1160 Vienna 356944v 1160 Vienna 388462v 1160 Vienna 372485y 1160 Vienna 395484w 1160 Vienna 364233m 1160 Vienna 371749s 1160 Vienna 396101b 1170 Vienna 351888h 1170 Vienna 388862g 1170 Vienna 401638w 1180 Vienna 323327g 1180 Vienna 372100g 1180 Vienna 387653d 1180 Vienna 301024h 1180 Vienna 394845f 1180 Vienna 390739t 1190 Vienna 383463t 1190 Vienna 390739t 1190 Vienna 380944m 1190 Vienna 337183h 1190 Vienna 344898d 1190 Vienna 394906w 1190 Vienna 350427i 1190 Vienna 333359i 1190 Vienna 319161f 1190 Vienna 314900p 1200 Vienna 371162b 1200 Vienna 303452d 1200 Vienna 388437g 1200 Vienna 350661d 1200 Vienna 346251v 1200 Vienna 311504w 1210 Vienna 368441a 1210 Vienna 317709w 1210 Vienna 276819m 1210 Vienna 265338d 1210 Vienna 259187h 1210 Vienna 331688b 1220 Vienna 374504t 1220 Vienna 400272k
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KHADIBAG.COM E.U. LEHRLINGSPOWER E.U. ARKET E.U. ILLUMINATION NETWORK SYSTEMS GMBH KIWISECURITY SOFTWARE GMBH KOLIPO GMBH MERIDIAN BIOPHARMACEUTICALS GMBH PIDSO - PROPAGATION IDEAS & SOLUTIONS GMBH SWARTIFY SW-ENGINEERING E.U. TAUROB GMBH
1220 Vienna 389259s 1220 Vienna 379511f 1230 Vienna 419976m 1230 Vienna 347741i 1230 Vienna 304111y 1230 Vienna 400377s 1230 Vienna 309316b 1230 Vienna 348498y 1230 Vienna 398358x 1230 Vienna 389535x
VORARLBERG
CRATE TECHNOLOGY GMBH INFEO GMBH MEDIENZOO BEWEGT BILD KOMMUNIKATION GMBH TOWA GMBH
6850 Dornbirn 359702z 6850 Dornbirn 342638f 6850 Dornbirn 356873p 6900 Bregenz 359701y
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LIST OF INVESTORS ACTIVE IN AUSTRIA IN 2014
P R I V A T E I N V E S T O R S (alphabetical order) Michael ALTRICHTER Markus ASCHAUER Gebhard AUGENDOPPLER Johannes AXNIX Friedrich BALDINGER Robert BENEDIKT Margit BOLLENBERGER Peter BOSEK Karin BRAUNEIS Julian BREITENECKER Wolfgang BRETSCHKO Martin DALL Christian EBNER Brigitte EDERER Martin EGGER Jörg FLÖCK Christopher GRABHER Jens GRUMBACH Gerhard HAJSZAN Hansi HANSMANN Hans-Peter HASELSTEINER Wolfgang HELPA Leo HILLINGER
Oliver HOLLE Johann JAUK Manuel KESSLER Daniel KEIPER-KNORR Philipp KINSKY Charly KLEISSNER Stefan KLESTIL Gilbert LEEB Thomas LEITGEB Christian LENGAUER Roman LEYDOLF Robert MACH Klaus MATZKA Boris NEMSIC Thomas NEUROTH Jochen OBERRAUTER Alfred ÖTSCH Christian PEGRITZ Markus PICHLER Nick PÖSCHL Christoph PRINZ Selma PRODANOVIC Peter PÜSPÖK
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Judit RABENSTEIN Claus RAIDL Keyvan RASTEGAR Manfred REICHL Clemens RIEDL Benjamin RUSCHIN Tom SCHÄBINGER Paolo SOMMARIVA Peter SOMMERER Fritz SPIELAUER Thomas STREIMELWEGER Michael STRÖCK Wolfgang STRUBER Jennifer TAPIES Christian TIRINGER Branislav VUJOVIC Markus WAGNER Christoph WEISS Günther WIESAUER Werner WUTSCHER Norbert ZIMMERMANN Rudolf ZIPFELMAYER
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O R G A N I S A T I O N S (alphabetical order) 1000X1000 CROWDBUSINESS GmbH 3TS CAPITAL PARTNERS AC & FRIENDS GmbH ALPINE EQUITY Management AG ALPS VENTURE CAPITAL GmbH ARAX CAPITAL Partners GmbH ATHENA BURGENLAND Beteiligungen AG AWS Fondsmanagement AWS Gründerfonds Beteiligungs GmbH & Co KG AWS Mittelstandsfonds Beteiligungs GmbH & Co KG CONDA Unternehmensberatung GmbH CONVALUE INVESTMENT GmbH DR. MODL CROWDCAPITAL GmbH EQUITY ONE ManagemenT GmbH FINATEM FONDS Management Verwaltungs GmbH FSP Beteiligungsmanagement GmbH GCP GAMMA CAPITAL PARTNERS Beratungs-& Beteiligungs AG GLOBAL EQUITY PARTNERS Beteiligungs-Management GmbH GREEN ROCKET GmbH HANNOVER Finanz Austria I5INVEST Beratungs GmbH INEO Beteiligungs GmbH INVEST Unternehmensbeteiligungs Aktiengesellschaft INVESTMENT READY PROGRAM MEZZANINE Management Finanz- und Unternehmensberatungsges.m.b.H. MICHAEL GRABNER MEDIA GmbH NEXT MARCH Gmbh NÖ Beteiligungsfinanzierungen GmbH OÖ HIGHTECHFONDS GmbH PONTIS CAPITAL GmbH PONTIS CAPITAL GmbH SIDEINVEST GmbH SMART CAPITAL GmbH SPEED Beteiligungs GmbH SPEED INVEST GmbH STAR EQUITY GmbH STYRIA DIGITAL HOLDING GmbH TECNET EQUITY NÖ Technologiebeteiligungs-Invest GmbH VENIONAIRE CAPITAL Ges.m.b.H. WKBG Wiener Kreditbürgschafts- und Beteiligungsbank AG
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LIST OF CO-WORKING SPACES BY FEDERAL STATES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Organisation City Website
BUSINESS INCUBATOR BURGENLAND
Business & Innovation Centre GmbH
7000 Eisenstadt
www.bic-burgenland.at
CARINTHIA
build! build!
9020 Klagenfurt www.build.or.at 9500 Villach www.build.or.at
LOWER AUSTRIA
Accent Accent Accent Accent Accent Access Industrial Park RIZ Amstetten RIZ Beratungsbüro Gänserndorf RIZ Beratungsbüro Gmünd RIZ Beratungsbüro Krems RIZ Beratungsbüro Melk RIZ Beratungsbüro St.Pölten RIZ Beratungsbüro Wiener Neudorf RIZ Berndorf RIZ Hollabrunn RIZ Ternitz RIZ Waidhofen/Ybbs RIZ Wiener Neustadt
2130 Mistelbach www.accent.at 2700 Wiener Neustadt www.accent.at 3100 St. Pölten www.accent.at 3430 Tulln www.accent.at 3500 Krems www.accent.at 3950 Gmünd www.access.co.at 3300 Amstetten www.riz.at 2230 Gänserndorf www.riz.at 3950 Gmünd www.riz.at 3500 Krems www.riz.at 3390 Melk www.riz.at 3100 St.Pölten www.riz.at 2700 Wiener Neudorf www.riz.at 2560 Berndorf www.riz.at 2020 Hollabrunn www.riz.at 2630 Ternitz www.riz.at 3340 Waidhofen/Ybbs www.riz.at 2700 Wiener Neustadt www.riz.at VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 180
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SALZBURG
BCCS - Business Creation Center Salzburg ITG Salzburg Techno-Z Bischofshofen Techno-Z Mariapfarr Techno-Z Pfarrwerfen Techno-Z Saalfelden Techno-Z Salzburg Techno-Z Uttendorf Techno-Z Zell am See
5020 Salzburg www.bccs.at 5020 Salzburg itg-salzburg.at 5500 Bischofshofen bischofshofen.techno-z.at 5571 Mariapfarr mariapfarr.techno-z.at 5452 Pfarrwerfen pfarrwerfen.techno-z.at 5760 Saalfelden saalfelden.techno-z.at 5020 Salzburg www.techno-z.at 5723 Uttendorf uttendorf.techno-z.at 5700 Zell am See zellamsee.techno-z.at
STYRIA
Gründerinnenzentrum Steiermark Impulszentrum Auersbach Impulszentrum Bruck an der Mur Impulszentrum Fehring Impulszentrum Graz-West Innovationszentrum Grambach Innovationszentrum Kapfenberg Innovationszentrum Lebring Innovationszentrum Liezen Innovationszentrum Mureck Innovationszentrum Niklasdorf Innovationszentrum Radkersburg Innovationszentrum Unterpremstätten Innovationszentrum Zeltweg Leoben IZR Leoben IZW SPG - Science Park Graz ZAT - Zentrum für angewandte Technologie
8010 Graz www.gruenderinnenzentrum-stmk.at 8330 Auersbach www.imzentrum.at 8600 Bruck/Mur www.wpbruck.at 8350 Fehring www.gruene-lagune.at 8020 Graz www.sfg.at/cms/825/Graz_West 8074 Grambach www.sfg.at/cms/827/Grambach 8605 Kapfenberg www.sfg.at/cms/826/Kapfenberg 8403 Lebring www.sfg.at/cms/829/Lebring 8940 Liezen www.wirtschaftspark-liezen.at 8480 Mureck www.sfg.at/cms/2438/Mureck 8712 Niklasdorf www.sfg.at/cms/823/Niklasdorf 8490 Radkersburg www.sfg.at/cms/830/Radkersburg 8141 Unterpremstätten www.ibc-graz.at 8740 Zeltweg www.sfg.at/cms/1271/Zeltweg 8700 Leoben www.sfg.at/cms/3572/Leoben_-_IZR 8700 Leoben www.sfg.at/cms/2445/Leoben_-_IZW 8010 Graz sciencepark.at 8700 Leoben www.unternehmerwerden.at
TYROL
CAST 6020 Innsbruck www.cast-tyrol.com Innotech - Gründer- & Business Center 6330 Kufstein www.innotech.co.at Innovationszentrum Reutte GmbH & Co KG 6600 Pflach www.icreutte.at Lantech Innovationszentrum GmbH 6500 Landeck www.lantech.at Osttiroler Wirtschaftspark 9900 Lienz www.owp-lienz.co.at Technologie- und Gründerzentrum Regio-Tech 6395 Hochfilzen www.niedermoser.net/db
UPPER AUSTRIA
Gründerzentrum Pramtal Süd Gründerzentrum Schildorn tech2b
3820 Raab an der Thaya www.gruenderzentrum.at 4925 Schildorn www.gruenderzentrum.co.at 4020 Linz www.tech2b.at
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VIENNA
A1 Start Up Campus 1200 Vienna www.a1startup.net Business & Research Center Hochstädtplatz 1200 Vienna www.ziel2wien.at GründerInnenzentrum für Menschen mit Handicap 1070 Vienna www.grueze.at Impact HUB Vienna 1070 Vienna vienna.impacthub.net Inits 1150 Vienna www.inits.at
VORARLBERG
6850 Lustenau www.v-start.at
v-start
B U S I N E S S PA R K BURGENLAND
Technologiezentrum Eisenstadt Technologiezentrum Güssing Technologiezentrum Jennersdorf Technologiezentrum Mittelburgenland Technologiezentrum Neusiedl am See Technologiezentrum Pinkafeld
7000 Eisenstadt 7540 Güssing 8380 Jennersdorf 7343 Neutal 7100 Neusiedl am See 7423 Pinkafeld
www.tz-burgenland.at www.tz-burgenland.at www.tz-burgenland.at www.tz-burgenland.at www.tz-burgenland.at www.tz-burgenland.at
9800 Spittal 9100 Völkermarkt 9020 Klagenfurt 9020 Klagenfurt 9524 Villach
www.madeinkaernten.at www.madeinkaernten.at www.lakeside-scitec.com www.tp-klagenfurt.at www.technologiepark-villach.com
2460 Bruck/Leitha 4482 Ennsdorf 3860 Heidenreichstein 2355 Wiener Neudorf 2293 Marchegg 2170 Poysdorf 2700 Wiener Neustadt 2120 Wolkersdorf 3500 Krems 3430 Tulln 2700 Wiener Neustadt 3250 Wieselburg
www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at
CARINTHIA
Impulszentrum Spittal/Drau Impulszentrum Völkermarkt Lakeside Science & Technology Park Technologiepark Klagenfurt Technologiepark Villach
LOWER AUSTRIA
ecoplus Wirtschaftspark Bruck/Leitha ecoplus Wirtschaftspark Ennsdorf ecoplus Wirtschaftspark Heidenreichstein ecoplus Wirtschaftspark IZ NÖ-Süd ecoplus Wirtschaftspark Marchegg ecoplus Wirtschaftspark Poysdorf ecoplus Wirtschaftspark Wiener Neustadt ecoplus Wirtschaftspark Wolkersdorf Technopol Krems Technopol Tulln Technopol Wiener Neustadt Technopol Wieselburg
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TYROL
Competence Center Innsbruck 6020 Innsbruck Technologie- und Wirtschaftspark Innsbruck 6020 Innsbruck
www.prisma-zentrum.com/standorte www.twi.at
UPPER AUSTRIA
Hagenberg
4232 Hagenberg
www.softwarepark.at
1110 Vienna 1030 Vienna 1150 Vienna 1220 Vienna 1210 Vienna 1030 Vienna
www.cityport11.at www.mediaquarter.at www.regus.at www.techgate.at www.techbase.at www.viennabiocenter.org
VIENNA
Business Base CITYPORT11 Media Quarter Marx Regus Westbahnhof Tech Gate GmbH Techbase Science Park Vienna GmbH Vienna Bio Center 2
VORARLBERG
at&co regionales Zentrum Ems Competence Center Dornbirn Competence Center Rheintal iCub Impulszentrum Bregenzerwald Innovationszentrum Bludenz Rhombergs Fabrik Unternehmerzentrum Alberschwende Unternehmerzentrum Melisau
6845 Hohenems www.prisma-zentrum.com/standorte 6850 Dornbirn www.prisma-zentrum.com 6890 Lustenau www.prisma-zentrum.com/standorte 6890 Lustenau www.prisma-zentrum.com 6863 Egg www.prisma-zentrum.com/standorte 6700 Bludenz www.prisma-zentrum.com 6850 Dornbirn www.rhombergsfabrik.at 6861 Alberschwende www.prisma-zentrum.com/standorte 6863 Egg www.prisma-zentrum.com/standorte
C OWO R K I N G S PAC E S CARINTHIA
Bizfarm Villach Co-Quartier Lederergasse Hafen11 - CoWorking Space Klagenfurt Rettungsboot WOW Coworking Space
9500 Villach 9500 Villach 9020 Klagenfurt 9020 Klagenfurt 9500 Villach
www.facebook.com/BizfarmVillach www.co-quartier.at www.kreativwirtschaft-klagenfurt.at rettungsboot.co.at www.facebook.com/wow.coworking
2700 Wiener Neustadt 2340 Mรถdling 3100 St.Pรถlten
www.city-coworking.at www.convo-coworking.at www.diebox.info/
5023 Salzburg 5020 Salzburg
www.facebook.com/Base9.at coworkingsalzburg.com
LOWER AUSTRIA
City Coworking Wiener Neustadt convo coworking Mรถdling dieBox
SALZBURG
Base9 Co-Working Space Salzburg
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STYRIA
42gramm Coworking im Rondo FabLAB Heimat Ideenreich KraxlMaxlundCO Lendloft Living Rooms Managerie Printi Sechserhaus SPACELEND
8010 Graz www.42gramm.com/coworking.html 8020 Graz www.peterwebhofer.at 8010 Graz www.fablab.tugraz.at 8010 Graz www.buero-augenbluten.at 8010 Graz www.coworking-ideenreich.at 8052 Graz www.kraxlmaxlundco.at 8020 Graz www.engarde.net/co-working-graz 8020 Graz www.living-rooms.at 8020 Graz www.managerie.at/coworking 8020 Graz www.coworkinggraz.net 8010 Graz www.sechserhaus.net 8020 Graz www.spacelend.at
TYROL
BASISLAGER Kufstein die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube raum13 Rural Co-Working SOHO Innsbruck
6330 Kufstein www.basislager-tirol.at 6020 Innsbruck www.diebaeckerei.at 6020 Innsbruck www.raum13.at 6345 Kössen www.gleichgewicht.at 6020 Innsbruck ww.soho-innsbruck.at
UPPER AUSTRIA Axis 4020 Linz www.axis-linz.at bytewerk 4232 Hagenberg im Mühlkreis www.fh-ooe.atcoworking-space Daxbau 4040 Linz www.daxbau.at
VIENNA
adhocPAD – creative hub & project space Clusterhaus CoSpace Gumpendorfer Straße CoSpace Kandlgasse CoSpace Kellinggasse CoSpace Kirchengasse CoSpace Schmalhofgasse coworking.space.wien Loffice Rochuspark Schraubenfabrik Sektor 5 Spaces 01 Spaces 04 Spaces 05 StockWerk Synergy 7 Treibhaus Zur goldenen Forelle
1140 Vienna adhocpad.com 1050 Vienna www.clusterhaus.at 1060 Vienna www.co-space.net 1070 Vienna www.co-space.net 1150 Vienna www.co-space.net 1070 Vienna www.co-space.net 1060 Vienna www.co-space.net 1080 Vienna coworking.space.wien 1070 Vienna wien.lofficecoworking.com 1030 Vienna www.rochuspark.at 1020 Vienna www.schraubenfabrik.at 1050 Vienna www.sektor5.at 1030 Vienna smartspaces.at 1020 Vienna smartspaces.at 1060 Vienna smartspaces.at 1150 Vienna www.stockwerk.co.at 1070 Vienna synergy7.at 1010 Vienna treibhaus1010.at 1140 Vienna zurgoldenenforelle.at VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 184
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VORARLBERG
Camous Dornbirn Coworking 6850 Dornbirn
www.prisma-zentrum.com/ initiativen/agile-work/coworking/
SHARED OFFICE LOWER AUSTRIA
Business- und Innovationszentrum St. Pölten Business- & Innovationszentrum Wels GTZ Gründer- u. Technologiezentrum Wels techcEnter Linz Winterhafen Technologie- & Innovationszentrum Techno-Z Braunau GmbH
3100 St. Pölten 4600 Wels 4600 Wels 4020 Linz 4553 Schlierbach 5280 Braunau am Inn
www.biz-st-poelten.at www.biz-wels.at www.gtz-wels.at www.techcenter.at www.tiz-kirchdorf.at www.tzi.at
VIENNA
Cityport11 Fischhof3 Flybridge Gemeinschaftsbüro Glücksraum Graben19 Grüner Hof Herminengasse 1 i5 invest Meins01 Mingo Mingo Mingo Mingo Mingo Mingo Mingo Mingo Mingo Neno1 Neno2 Neno3 Nineteen Popupstudios Sky360 Substrat Yurp Network
1110 Vienna www.cityport11.at 1010 Vienna www.fischhof3.at 1070 Vienna www.flybridge.at 1080 Vienna www.gemeinschaftsbuero.at 1140 Vienna www.gluecksraum.a 1010 Vienna www.graben19.at 1050 Vienna www.dreamingschatz.at 1020 Vienna herminengasse1.at 1050 Vienna i5invest.com 1060 Vienna www.dreamingschatz.at 1030 Vienna www.mingo.at 1090 Vienna www.mingo.at 1100 Vienna www.mingo.at 1150 Vienna www.mingo.at 1150 Vienna www.mingo.at 1150 Vienna www.mingo.at 1200 Vienna www.mingo.at 1210 Vienna www.mingo.at 1220 Vienna www.mingo.at 1060 Vienna www.workyourway.com 1060 Vienna www.workyourway.com 1010 Vienna www.workyourway.com 1190 Vienna www.nineteen.at 1150 Vienna popupstudios.wordpress.com 1040 Vienna www.sky360.at 1070 Vienna www.dreamingschatz.at 1140 Vienna www.yurp.at
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LIST OF COURSES ON ENTREPRENSHIP CONTRIBUTED BY ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER NETWORK (ECN) IN 2014
UNIVERSITY Course Description Instructor LEVEL
CARINTHIA ALPEN ADRIA UNIVERSITY 602.983 Special Topics: Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Disruptive Innovationen BACHELOR Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kurt Matzler
SALZBURG UNIVERSITY OF SALZBURG 900.011 Betriebswirtschaftliche Fragestellungen der Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Renzl, Birgit, Mag. Dr. 901.248 911.087
Arts Entrepreneurship & Cultural Management BACHELOR Lang, Siglinde, Mag. HCI Innovation BACHELOR Fuchsberger, Verena, Mag. Mag
999.A14 Innovations- und Kreativitätstechniken BACHELOR Kurz, Thomas, Dipl.-Ing. (FH)
FACHHOCHSCHULE SALZBURG UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Innovationsentwicklung im Social-Profit Setkor FH-Prof. Dr. Diplom-Pädagoge Diplom-Sozialwirt Hendrik Reismann VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 186
MASTER (berufsbegleitend)
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STYRIA UNIVERSITY OF GRAZ UNT.244
Innovationen für nachhaltiges Wirtschaften in Industrie und Gewerbe Nur alle 2 Jahre, 2015/16 wieder
327.214 331.211
Innovation Management Mag.phil. Fähnrich-Pusch, Silke (Institutsreferentin)
505.126
Globale Netzwerke und Innovation LEHRAMT/DIPLOM/MASTER Pieper, Renate, O.Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil.
Business Lab Uedl, Kathrin, Bakk.rer.soc.oecMSc.
MASTER
MASTER
505.120 Innovation als wirtschaftshistorische Größe LEHRAMT/DIPLOM/MASTER Pieper, Renate, O.Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. 505.153 Handel und Innovation Pieper, Renate, O.Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil.
LEHRAMT/DIPLOM/MASTER
UNT.110IP Social Entrepreneurship Lab BACHELOR Frühmann, Johannes, Mag. 337.102 Businessplan und Entrepreneurship Gutschelhofer, Alfred, Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr.rer.soc.oec.
BACHELOR
337.103 Praktische Unternehmensplanung Institut für Unternehmensführung und Entrepreneurship BACHELOR (verschiedenste LV Vortragende in diesem Kurs) 337.310 Entrepreneurship und Führung Ruhri, Matthias, Mag. Bakk. BSc Lic. MBA PhD
BACHELOR
731.309 Grundlagen der Unternehmensgründung Ruhri, Matthias, Mag. Bakk. BSc Lic. MBA PhD
BACHELOR
TYROL UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK 312217 VO/4 Unternehmensgründung, Organisation und Finanzierung BACHELOR Mag. Dr. Gohm Harald 436070 VU/2 VU Entrepreneurship Univ.-Prof. Dr. Füller Johann
BACHELOR
436087 VU/2 VU Kreativität und Change Management BACHELOR Dipl.-Kffr. von Stutterheim Friederike 103260 SE/2 Hab ich das Zeug zur Unternehmensgründung im Sozialbereich? BACHELOR Mag. Dr. Drexler Arthur VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 187
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UPPER AUSTRIA JOHANNES KEPLER UNIVERSITY LINZ 281100 SE Diplomandenseminar Unternehmensgründung und Unternehmensentwicklung BACHELOR Norbert Kailer 281101 SE Seminar 1 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Gerald Silberhumer 281102 SE Seminar 1 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Freimuth Daxner, Norbert Kailer 281103 SE Seminar aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Christine Blanka 281112 KS Unternehmensgründung und -entwicklung 3 BACHELOR Norbert Kailer 281115 IK Intensivierungskurs 1 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Birgit Wimmer-Wurm, Kurt Gaubinger 281116 IK Intensivierungskurs 1 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Alexander Stockinger 281117 IK Intensivierungskurs 1 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Christine Blanka, Wolfgang Hora 281122 SE Seminar 2 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Norbert Kailer 281.200 LV Unternehmerisches Wissen für Studierende der TNF BACHELOR Christine Blanka 281.210 LV Businessdevelopment im Technologiebereich - von der Innovation zur Marktreife BACHELOR Mag. David Böhm 281125 IK Intensivierungskurs 2 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Gerald Gruber 281126 IK Intensivierungskurs 2 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Tina Gruber-Mücke 281135 IK Intensivierungskurs 3 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Mag. David Böhm 281136 IK Intensivierungskurs 3 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Thomas Böhm 281137 IK Intensivierungskurs 3 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Mag. David Böhm VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 188
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281142 IK Intensivierungskurs 4 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Gerold Weiß 281162 IK Intensivierungskurs 6 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Norbert Kailer 281220 IK Innovation Lab Birgit Wimmer-Wurm, Hubert Preisinger
BACHELOR
281330 SE Master Seminar Innovation: Entrepreneurial Perspectives MASTER Norbert Kailer 281999 SE Seminar 1 aus Unternehmensgründung BACHELOR Norbert Kailer
ART UNIVERSITY OF LINZ 500.027 LV Selbständigkeit im kreativen Kontext BACHELOR Mag. David Böhm
VIENNA VIENNA UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION K3a KMU Management: Entrepreneurial Marketing BACHELOR ao.Univ.Prof. Dr. Dietmar Rößl K4a KMU Management: Innovation und Strategie BACHELOR ao.Univ.Prof. Dr. Hermann Frank K5a KMU Management: Business Planing ao.Univ.Prof. Dr. Hermann Frank
BACHELOR
IS Business Models & Foundations Univ.Prof. Dr. Sarah Spiekermann E&I Core Lecture 1 Univ.Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke
BACHELOR
BACHELOR
E&I Core Lecture 2 Univ.Prof. Dr.habil. Christopher Lettl
BACHELOR
E&I Zone Entrepeneurial Marketing and Brand Management BACHELOR Mag. Ilse-Maria Klanner E&I Zone Challenges with open Innovation BACHELOR Markus Deimel, MSc. E&I Zone Private Equity and Venture Capital BACHELOR Dr. Peter Keinz VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 189
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E&I Zone Successor Manuel Burger, MA
Bachelor
E&I Project Social Entrepreneurship Mag.Mag. Reinhard Millner
BACHELOR
E&I Project Business Model Innovation BACHELOR Markus Deimel, MSc. E&I Project Business Planning BACHELOR Mag. Vesna Babaja E&I Project Garage - Business Model Development BACHELOR Dr. Rudolf Dรถmรถtรถr E&I Project New Business Development 1 BACHELOR Dr. Peter Keinz E&I Project New Business Development 2 BACHELOR Dr. Peter Keinz E&I Project InnoLab Mag. Nadine Moser
BACHELOR
E&I Project Consulting Manuel Burger, MA
BACHELOR
The Topism International Business Simulation Game (A.T. Kearney) BACHELOR Dr. Isabella Grahsl, MBA Cross Cultural Creativity and New Product Development BACHELOR Prof. Vincent-Wayne Mitchell, Ph.D. Neuproduktentwicklung Dr. Martin Waitz
BACHELOR
Unternehmenssimulation Neuproduktentwicklung BACHELOR ao.Univ.Prof. Dr. Andreas Mild Service Innovation Management Mag. Radoslaw Karpienko
BACHELOR
SBWL Entrepreneurship & Innovation Univ.Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke
BACHELOR
Professional MBA Entrepreneurship & Innovation MASTER WU + TU Wien
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 190
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Strategy, Innovation and Management Control MASTER Institut für Unternehmensführung
VIENNA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 015.664 VO 2014S Unternehmensgründung Privatdoz. Mag. Dr. Karl-Heinz Leitner
BACHELOR
188.915 VU Innovation Univ.Doz. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Michael Heiss 134.185 VU Technologie Marketing Ao.Univ.Prof. Dr.phil. Herbert Störi
MASTER
BACHELOR
330.192 VO Innovation Theory Assistant Prof. Mag.rer.soc.oec. Michael Filzmoser, PhD 015.033 VO Innovationsmanagement I Hon.Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.h.c. Ferdinand K. Piech
BACHELOR
315.034 VO Innovationsmanagement II Hon.Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.h.c. Ferdinand K. Piech
BACHELOR
BACHELOR
015.093 VO Operative Management-Tools für innovative Unternehmen FÜR ALLE HÖRER Univ.Lektor Dr. Markus Pietzka 330.199 VU Innovationsmanagement und Marketing BACHELOR Privatdoz. Mag. Dr. Karl-Heinz Leitner 330.230 SE Entrepreneurship and Innovation Assistant Prof. Mag.rer.soc.oec. Michael Filzmoser, PhD
BACHELOR
015.110 VO Unternehmerisches Denken und Handeln in innovativen Unternehmen und High-Tech Start.ups FÜR ALLE HÖRER Univ.Lektor Dr. Markus Pietzka 366.077 VO Produktplanung u. Innovationsmanagement Em.O.Univ.Prof. Dr.-Ing.eh. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Helmut Detter
BACHELOR
307.437 VO Produktentwicklung, Innovation und ECO-Design BACHELOR Ao.Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Wolfgang Wimmer 330.193 VO Business Planning Univ.Ass. Mag.rer.soc.oec. Georg Reischauer, BSc (WU) B.A. B.A. M.A. M.A.
BACHELOR
330.151 VU E&I Garage Univ.Ass. Mag.rer.soc.oec. Georg Reischauer, BSc (WU) B.A. B.A. M.A. M.A.
BACHELOR
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 191
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330.130 VU Strategic Management Assistant Prof. Mag.rer.soc.oec. Michael Filzmoser, PhD 066.926 Master Studiengang Business Informatics Associate Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Hilda Tellioglu
BACHELOR
MASTER
Informatics Innovation Center BACHELOR Dr. Birgit Hofreite Professional MBA Entrepreneurship & Innovation MBA WU + TU Wien
UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA 040034 VK Strategic Innovation Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Chem. Dr. Markus Georg Reitzig, MBR
BACHELOR
040228 UK KFK ITM: Strateg. Innovations-/Technologiemgmt BACHELOR o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kurt Heidenberger 040370 UK IM/KFK ITM: International Innovation and Technology Management KEINE VORAUSSETZUNG Mag. Martin Zsifkovits, PhD 040600 VK ABWL Innovations- und Technologiemanagement KEINE VORAUSSETZUNG ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Marion Rauner
UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND LIFE SCIENCES 169401 Development Innovation Probst, Lorenz, Mag. Dr.
BACHELOR
735314 Innovationsprozesse (Entwicklung und Durchführung) Schiebel, Walter, O.Univ.Prof. Mag.rer.soc.oec. Dr.rer.soc.oec.
BACHELOR
735332 Marketing und Innovationsstragien BACHELOR Weinfurter, Stefan, Dipl.-Ing. MBA 735331 Strategische Marketingplanung im Innovationsprozess MASTER Stern, Tobias, Dipl.-Ing. Dr. 791126 Innovationsmanagement BACHELOR Stadler, Manfred, Mag.
791009 Die Garage (in englisch) Hackl, Matthias, Dipl.-Ing. Dr.
BACHELOR
991008 Startup und Unternehmensplanung, Gründungen von Junior Enterprises im Umweltsektor BACHELOR Schmitz, Dominik, Mag. VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 192
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UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, VIENNA 971708 Praxismanagement II BACHELOR Pohl, Werner, Dr.
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES TECHNIKUM WIEN Innovations und Technologie Management MASTER DI Dr. Kurt Woletz
FHWIEN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Unternehmensführung - Entrepreneurship BACHELOR FH FH-Prof. Dr. Thomas Wala, MBA
VENTURES ALMANACH 2015 / 193
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