2022
For AustrianStartups 2022 was the year of the number 100. At the AustrianStartups Summit we were able to look back on the last 100 Stammtisch events, and realized that together with the whole ecosystem we are slowly growing up. In autumn our 100th Youth Entrepreneurship Week took place, where we inspire and empower the future generation of change makers. Finally we reached 100 individuals who went through our fast track for founders, the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. Thank you to all our partners who made these milestones possible! 2023 AustrianStartups turns 10 years old. We want to already invite you to celebrate with us at the next AustrianStartups Summit on Mai 3, 2023. Save the date and have a wonderful start in the new year.-Hannah & and the whole AustrianStartups TeamPS: If you are thrilled about our various projects & events and want to have an impact on Austria's entrepreneurial scene too, then join our leadership team - we are hiring!
Entrepreneurial education
Youth entrepreneurship week
What a year for the Youth Entrepreneurship Week: in 2022, we inspired and empowered pupils throughout 85 weeks in over 70 schools in all 9 Austrian states to start their entrepreneurial journey. Additionally to scaling up, we developed new focus topics in the areas of Digitalization and the Sustainable Development Goals for the pupils to dive into while developing their ideas!
Over 100 amazing trainers guide them through the week with input, motivation, and empowerment. Alongside them, the students get support from local entrepreneurs acting as mentors, jury members, and inspirational speakers. A big thanks to all of you who put their effort and time into this project to create this experience for the students – our future of tomorrow – and of course to our project partner IFTE and our supporters BMAW, BMBWF and WKO!
Another addition this year was the Advanced Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Week, in which entrepreneurial pupils can continue to work on their existing startup ideas and develop them further.
And, last but not least, we have a huge announcement: Stay tuned for „Let’s Build” – Austria’s first Podcast for Entrepreneurs to be – starting January 2023!
Entrepreneurial leadership program
Since its start in 2020, the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program grew into an amazing community, which accommodates 60 active fellows and an alumni network with 120 individuals. This one-year program guides the fellows through the skills they need in order to found their own startup. Furthermore, the program offers the opportunity to develop into an entrepreneurial leader through personal development workshops and its close connection to mentors from the ecosystem. Among many highlights this year, the following brought the ELP experience to a next level: Hansi Hannsman and Markus Wagner began supporting the program with providing stipends for the fellows and an ELP Energy Hackathon was hosted to tackle current challenges within mobility and housing domains.
think tank
Austrian Startup monitor
Austria's largest startup study went into the fifth round this year. Together with the AIT and WU Gründungszentrum, we gather all relevant startup data to provide a reliable data basis for decision-makers in our country. Our goal is clear: we aim to further improve the framework conditions for startups to become internationally competitive!
This year, focus was given to the topic of migration within Austria's entrepreneurial scene. We are excited to publish the results in spring 2023!
Political Progress
2022 was the year of new beginnings: Martin Kocher took over the Ministry of Economics and set up the Startup Rat to establish regular exchange with the startup community. In October one of our longest-standing recommendations was finally implemented - a promising reform of the RWR-Card, which enables Austrian companies to be more competitive in the international war for talents. We hope that we will see similar progress with the other big topics on our list next year - most importantly better models for employee stock options and more incentives for startup investments.
community & events
Austrian Startups Summit
This year we hosted the first edition of the AustrianStartups Summit at Werk Vienna with +1000 tickets sold. During this one-day conference, we hosted fireside chats, a startup fair and co-founder matchmaking in order to strengthen the connections in our community prior to celebrating our 100th Stammtisch in the evening with ecosystem rockstars such as Hansi Hansmann (Hanswo(men) Group), Theresa Imre (markta.at), Markus Wagner (i5invest), and Anna Pölzl (nista.io).
You weren’t there? Make sure you save the date for next year’s Summit to celebrate 10 years of AustrianStartups: MAY 3, 2023.
Startup Worldcup
The Startup World Cup is the largest startup competition worldwide which is being hosted in 70+ countries annually. Together with the Austrian Angels Investors Association (aaia), we brought the event series to Austria for the second time in a row this year. Congratulations to Lignovations, the winner of the Startup World Cup Austria, who represented our country at the global finals in Silicon Valley in September!
circle 17
For the third time in a row, circle17 united corporates, individuals and startups to develop solutions to urgent sustainability challenges with this year’s focus on circular economy.
During our hybrid event the „Impacthon” over 70 participants ideated outstanding ideas in different co-working spaces such as The Social Hub Vienna and Unicorn Graz. Big thanks to all of our changemakers, partners and supporters that hacked for social and environmental impact together with us!
Speaking of hacking challenges - in December we targeted a crucial and urgent topic: the Energy Crisis. Our Entrepreneurial Leadership Program Community developed smart and quickly implementable solutions to the current energy crisis based on input and advice from experts. So stay tuned - there will be another Hackathon in June 2023!
