Gründen in Wien

The project “Gründen in Wien” can be described best as an “open house” event on which all relevant stakeholders of the Viennese startup scene have the opportunity to present their services, know-how and projects to a broader audience on a single day.

What is/was the challenge?

There is no doubt that the Viennese startup ecosystem experienced a rapid growth in recent years, with new startups in various verticals, startups growing to scaleups, new university initiatives and a rising number of investors, mentors, co-working spaces, events, etc. However, while the startup ecosystem develops, it is not easy to achieve and maintain an overview of all services and initiatives. Moreover, it usually takes at least a number of days to get an impression about what might be interesting and useful.

Access to a network and getting in contact with the right people is another major factor that is not only elementary for founders but also takes a lot of time.

With Gründen in Wien, the Vienna Business Agency wants to overcome these challenges and provide people with a one-day event where they can gain insights and the chance to build a network. Furthermore, the aim of the day is to open the startup scene to students and pupils through raising awareness and giving access.

What is the project?

With these challenges in mind, the Vienna Business Agency developed a concept to open the Viennese startup scene to a broader audience, enabling it to experience the whole scene on a single day. The goal of the project is to create an event at which participants have the chance to gain insight into the Viennese startup ecosystem, access all the necessary know-how and information, and also get in contact with partners and network.

The project Gründen in Wien could best be described as an ‘open house’ event where all relevant stakeholders of the Viennese startup scene have the opportunity to present their services, know-how and projects to a broader audience.

Since the programme’s foundation in 2014, Gründen in Wien managed to double the number of events to 100, which take place at 40 locations, and consequently developed into one of the biggest startup events in Central Europe. This year’s edition, with a total of 50 partners, including co-working spaces, hubs, funding agencies and initiatives, as well as 90 startups, managed to attract 2,500 people on the day of the event.

Although the day has a huge programme of 100 events, the startup walks and the Job Fair can be considered its highlights. Through 11 startup walks, 200 participants had the chance to get to know 27 interesting startups at their offices and be inspired by their stories and entrepreneurial spirit.

The Job Fair at Gründen in Wien is the final event of the day and attracts the most people. At this year’s Job Fair, 40 startups offered a total of about 160 jobs in all kinds of branches. The resonance of all startups was extremely positive, since they had the opportunity to both promote their startups and find people for vacant positions.

An additional benefit of Gründen in Wien is the closing event, in which all partners from the whole day come together and have the opportunity to interact with each other. This enables them to get to know each other better and form useful partnerships for future collaborations.

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