Early Stage in Vienna
The very early stage is fascinating and difficult to grasp.
It is the phase of ambiguity, uncertainty, dopey ideas and fragile thoughts.
A beginning is a very delicate time.
— Princess Irulan, Dune
A workshop on how to build your own computer.
A website to connect with other students at your campus.
A proof of concept for virtual coins that can not be forged.
A student project to support the digital library of the university …
At some point all of them were unassuming early stage projects.
I often ask myself what would have happened with these projects were they started in Vienna. Would they have flourished? Would they have had support?
Would they have turned out differently? How? Why?
I think there still is a lot that needs to be done to transform Vienna into a petri dish where dopey ideas and fragile thoughts can not only exist but flourish.
Here is a set of themes of where I think Vienna needs a radical surge in activity in the early stage and this is where we will help to move the needle with Lemmings in 2018.
Thriftiness and a do it yourself attitude.
Technology that allows for what used to be unfeasible or outright impossible.
Determination to apply a product globally.
Inclusion of people traditionally under-represented in business & technology.
Funding that is fast, uncomplicated and founder friendly as early as pre-seed.
Product focus at event talks and panels, less focus on financing and pitching.
Speed in getting meetings, intros & financing even if the answer is no.
🎧 Stay tuned and read this article on Vienna in the meantime …
