Last week, eleven Austrian founders attended the pitching days of the Junge Wirtschaft (JW) and the Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft (aws) in New York"/>New York and Bostonto present their startups for second-round funding. Also, in order to gain access to the American market, explore what is possible for Austrians in the land of unlimited opportunities (see above right). 33 American investors were there to take a look at the Austrian companies. Among them are representatives of well-known accelerators (“rearing programs” from companies such as Samsung, who help start-ups to grow up themselves – and take stakes in return) or individual investors, mostly middle-aged men who once made big money and are now investing in people and their ideas.
Scott Fauver is one of them. He takes part in start-up pitches several times a week. He knows the scene in Manhattan, can classify young companies well. He found the Austrian pitches “extremely interesting, but different”. “Americans pitch by presenting their vision. Austrians are more sober: they dutifully show all the facts and figures,” he explains. He misses the dream a little, the imagination, thinking big. The American wants the typical American euphoria.
He showed interest in Strawberry Week by Annemarie Harant and Bettina Steinbrugger, because “it is most likely to shake an industry or break a taboo,” says Fauver. Strawberry Week is an information platform and online shop in one, operated by Austria until after In the event that and wants to show women and sell alternatives to existing menstrual hygiene articles. Also Lineapp from Alexander Kränkl aroused his curiosity: the first mobile intercom software that people can use to communicate via smartphones and Wi-Fi (without an Internet connection), and that turns the phone into a walkie-talkie. Another investor Charlie O’Donnell, represents Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, a $ 23 million fund that buys startups with an average of € 350,000. He helped the Austrian founders prepare for the pitches in New York"/>New York. His main message: “Shows investors that the risk of investing in your company pays off. The sentences must start with: We will build! We will! We will!”. European start-ups are interesting for Americans because they are bargains, in contrast to US companies. The most exciting Austrian company for him: Juno, the fertility test by Silvia Hechner, which shows women how long they can have children.
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