As part of 'Austria to Austin', the Office of Science and Technology Austria hosted and connected Austrian entrepreneurs with local Austin innovators at a networking event on Thursday, July 14th, aimed at kickstarting the startup efforts of the young globally minded Austrian cohort. The Capital Factory, Austin's prime co-working set the stage for OSTA's #AustriaIs event!
In December, 3 Day Startup was awarded a generous grant from the U.S. Embassy in Vienna to lead the Austria to Austin Student Startup Exchange. Over 700 applications later, the Austin based organization, together with a myriad of stakeholders chose 18 students who would end up traveling to Austin. Two energetic weeks later, the students have started early stage companies and become innovation bridges between the U.S. and Austria.
To facilitate this process the OSTA brought in local experts such as Ben Thoma, founder of Creative Mornings Austin, Ben Dyer, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, Maja Kermath, Co-Founder of KOR 180 and Johannes Larcher, an Austrian partner at the Capital Factory, to only name a few.
In an elevator pitch setting, the resident experts elaborated on their own successes, pitfalls, and motivations on becoming immersed in an innovative ecosystem. Over delicious Austrian food and drink (courtesy of Austin’s local Austrian chef Florian Prelog) the Austria to Austin participants actively networked with the experts, making connections that matter!
Find out more about the participants here.