Our flagship event is known primarily as an international gathering – but it’s also an annual meeting point for the very best startups, investors and innovators in the Austrian ecosystem. So this year we’ve added some Austro-spice to the program – including themed networking, specialized content…and dancing the Quadrille!
One of the first things you’ll see when you walk into the Hofburg (a national treasure in itself, let’s not forget) will be the Stammtisch space on the left. This is a new networking area inspired by local social tradition. Here, experts and guests will gather to exchange their knowledge in themed sessions. Check the agenda for details and simply drop in for one that grabs you!
Another Austrian touch will be the new area for meetings scheduled by our Match & Meet networking service. We’ve moved this to the second-largest room in the Hofburg, the Grand Hall (Zeremoniensaal) right next door to the Arena Stage. With its grandiose chandeliers, the decor will be reminiscent of the typical Viennese coffee house – arguably the city’s primary networking institutions!
We’ll be ramping up the Austrian feeling on the second morning of Pioneers ’19. If you want to get into the spirit, we’re encouraging you to put on your Dirndl or Lederhosen – at least until lunchtime! Because the morning of May 10th will feature some of the local scene’s finest minds on the Arena Stage.
First up is the Building the Austrian Startup Ecosystem panel discussion, featuring Johann ‘Hansi’ Hansmann (Austrian Angel Investor Association), Selma Prodanovic (1MillionStartups), Oliver Holle (SpeedInvest)
and Michael Altrichter (startup300).
Then comes our Building a Winning Startup in Austria panel, where Florian Gschwandtner, Katharina Klausberger, Frank Westermann and Travis Pittman, the founders of local success stories Runtastic, Shpock, mySugr and TourRadar respectively, will share their insights.
All this builds up to a thoroughly Viennese experience at the end of the morning – dancing the Quadrille! This session will be led by Professor Thomas Schäfer-Elmayer of the Elmayer Dance School (Tanzschule Elmayer), grandson of the school’s Founder Willy Elmayer.
Schäfer-Elmayer, who now runs the school that bears his name, will also be leading a workshop on business etiquette in the Masterclass room later the same day. He is among Austria’s leading experts in this field, having written nine books on good behaviour. Each year he gives about 100 seminars on business etiquette to businesspeople across all industries.
“It’s not without reason that there are guidelines for behaviour,” says Schäfer-Elmayer. “Manners that facilitate social life many times over. Some have developed over hundreds of years. Some are constantly adapted to modern life. There exist new uncertainties in the age of digital communication, for which there seems to be no suitable one solution. At Pioneers ’19, I look forward to answering questions concerning international etiquette, professional behaviour and modern manners in the course of my etiquette workshop.”
As for the 550 seed and Series A startups joining us from all around the world, a good share naturally hails from our home country. This includes a few who have made our selection to take part in the pitching competition. One of them, doro, is from Graz, while the other six Austrian startups are based in Vienna. These are HYDROGRID, ChiveOS, MetGIS, contextflow, Xencio and COZYO.
Around 25 further seed startups from Austria were selected for tickets to attend the event. A number of ‘home’ startups will also be taking part in our Series A program.
Remember, you can use filters on our Match & Meet networking service (the link is here if you are a ticket-holder…) to meet fellow attendees from specific countries – including Austria!
Want to experience some of that Austrian flavour at the mighty Hofburg? Then grab some of the last remaining tickets here!
