Bridging Markets: Exploring Schüttflix’s Role in Austria’s Construction and Logistics Industry
Global Work Experience in Tumultuous Times: “Was super exciting time supporting Austrian companies going, across the channel, but also across the ocean.” — Jan Bruckner | Director Germany | ABA — Invest in Austria
Executive Summary
In this episode of Startuprad.io, Joe interviews Robert Großekathöfer, Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix, and Jan Bruckner, Director Germany at ABA — Invest in Austria. Großekathöfer discusses Schüttflix’s digital logistics system for bulk materials in the construction industry and its expansion in Austria. Bruckner highlights Austria’s digital infrastructure and investment opportunities, particularly in Vienna, aimed at attracting startups and international businesses. They also discuss the challenges and advancements within Austria’s market, emphasizing Austria’s strategic position for Eastern and Western Europe business relations and the ongoing digital revolution in the country.
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Global Diplomacy Hub: “In the past, Austria was always kind of a mutual place to meet. A lot of international political negotiations happened here.” — Jan Bruckner | Director Germany | ABA — Invest in Austria
Introduction
Welcome to Startuprad.io, the pulse of innovation straight from the heart of Europe! In today’s episode, we dive deep into the fascinating world of digital logistics with Robert Großekathöfer, Country Manager for Austria at Schüttflix. We explore how this asset-light company is revolutionizing the construction industry by seamlessly connecting clients, forwarders, and suppliers. Learn about Schüttflix’s strategic expansion into new markets and the unique challenges and opportunities in the Austrian landscape.
Then, stay tuned as we shift gears to talk with Jan Bruckner, Director Germany for ABA — Invest in Austria. Jan discusses the dynamic environment in Austria as a burgeoning hub for international startups and digital innovation. With insights into Austria’s digital infrastructure, investment opportunities, and the allure of Vienna’s high quality of living, this episode is packed with valuable information for anyone looking to tap into the Austrian market. Whether you’re a startup enthusiast, investor, or just curious about the business landscape in Austria, this episode has something for everyone!
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Exploring Vienna: “But most of my friends are here during spring or summertime. Wintertime, you can come, but I can promise you it will get busy.” — Jan Bruckner | Director Germany | ABA — Invest in Austria
Questions Discussed in the Interview
- How did Robert Großekathöfer’s career path lead him to his current role at Schüttflix, and what unique perspectives does he bring from his previous experiences in media and banking to the logistics industry?
- What inspired the creation of Schüttflix, and how does its business model as an “asset-light digital logistics company” differentiate it from traditional logistics companies?
- Discuss the strategic importance of Schüttflix’s focus on bulk material logistics. How does this specialization give the company a competitive advantage in the construction industry?
- How have the partnerships with major Austrian companies like Straubag and collaborations with Austrian investors impacted Schüttflix’s growth and operations in Austria?
- Exploring the logistical challenges in Eastern European markets like Poland, Czech Republic, and Austria that Schüttflix faced. How did they overcome these challenges when expanding into these new markets?
- How does the geographic and environmental landscape of Austria benefit the logistics and materials industry, specifically for companies like Schüttflix that deal with bulk materials?
- Discuss the seasonal nature of the construction industry in Austria and its implications on Schüttflix’s business operations during the colder months.
- What role does digitization play in Schüttflix’s strategy, and how can Austria improve its digital infrastructure to support innovative companies like Schüttflix?
- Jan Bruckner highlights Vienna’s role as a hub for international relations and startups. How does this international perspective influence business and economic development in Austria?
- Considering the incentives and support for digital companies in Austria, as mentioned by Jan Bruckner, how should new startups strategize their entry into the Austrian market to fully leverage these opportunities?
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The Guest
Robert Großekathöfer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-gro%C3%9Fekath%C3%B6fer-48b70b131/), the Country Manager for Austria at Schüttflix, brings a wealth of experience and passion to the rapidly evolving construction logistics industry. After an apprenticeship at a bank, Robert ventured into higher education in Vienna, later accumulating significant professional experiences at Bertelsmann and Bauer Media. His career took a pivotal turn when he joined Schüttflix, a company innovating in the digital logistics space by connecting clients, forwarders, and suppliers in the construction sector. Robert’s leadership at Schüttflix has been marked by his enthusiasm for the hands-on mentality prevalent in the construction industry and a commitment to leveraging the unique geographical advantages of Austria for the company.
ABA — Invest in Austria
Jan Bruckner (https://www.linkedin.com/in/janbruckner/) serves as the Director of Germany for ABA — Invest in Austria, bringing a diverse international perspective shaped by his educational and professional experiences in the Netherlands and various other countries. Settled in Vienna, Jan has contributed extensively to enhancing Austria’s appeal as a hub for international business and relations. His role primarily focuses on aiding international companies, including startups, in navigating and maximizing the Austrian business environment. Jan’s insights are crucial for understanding not only the economic landscape of Austria but also the cultural nuances pivotal for businesses aiming to establish a foothold in Central Europe.
The Startup
Robert Großekathöfer is the Country Manager of Austria at Schüttflix (https://www.schuettflix.com/), a pioneering startup that has been revolutionizing the logistics of bulk materials in the construction industry. Founded in response to the highly fragmented and regionalized market for construction materials such as sand and crushed stone, Schüttflix provides a robust, asset-light digital platform that connects clients, forwarders, and suppliers efficiently and effectively. Unlike conventional logistics companies or newer entrants like Uber Freight and Senda, Schüttflix specializes solely in the niche segment of bulk material logistics, setting it apart from broader freight logistics services. This specialization allows Schüttflix to tailor its solutions precisely to the needs of the construction industry, providing enhanced efficiency and service quality.
The startup has demonstrated impressive growth and operational success, underscored by significant fundraising rounds that reflect investor confidence and market potential. Notably, in the summer of 2023, Schüttflix closed its second Series A funding round, securing €45,000,000.
This funding has been instrumental in supporting its expansion into new markets in Germany, Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic, as well as in enhancing its technological infrastructure. By fostering strong relationships with local partners such as Straubag and Speedinvest, and basing its headquarters strategically near key investors in Austria, Schüttflix has not only capitalized on Austria’s rich natural resources but also integrated deeply with the local economic fabric, further differentiating itself in the European market.
Venture Capital Funding
Schüttflix has raised so far almost 120 M US$, according to Crunchbase.
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The Interviewer
This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:
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Automated Transcript
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:00:00]:
Hello, and welcome, everybody. This is Joe from start up rate dot I o, your Startupradio podcast and YouTube blog from Germany, bringing you today another interview. But this time, I do have guests, yes, plural from Austria. At first, I would like to welcome Robert.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:00:19]:
And hello. Thanks for for having me today.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:00:23]:
You are very welcome. And we do have since we’re looking at Austria today, we do have a very special situation because you are what is your official title? Country CEO Austria?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:00:36]:
Yeah. Country Menninger, managing director, depends on how you ask. But, yeah. It’s a country manager for for Schiflex Austria, a subsidiary of, Chiflex Germany.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:00:49]:
And for everybody who doesn’t understand, is basically pouring out bulk goods, and Flix may suggest to do it a little bit faster. And, yes, should is with an omelette for all the American audience. It’s the you with the dots on it. Exactly. The company was originally started in Gutersloh, which is not necessarily known either for its construction industry nor for its, StartupRadio hub importance. Can you talk a little bit about why a former Microsoft logistics director in a model basically started the company there? Yeah. I know miss Tomana, she joined later, but, basically, that’s the story everybody is talking about.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:01:35]:
Yeah. Sure. I mean, for me, it’s it’s, it’s a little bit more special than maybe for for other colleagues since I’m from as well. I’m born and born and raised there, finished my my school there, exactly where, like, 25 years later, Sibylix would be founded. And to be honest, at the time I finished school, I wasn’t too sure about having a digital company that potentially become a unicorn someday, from my hometown. But yeah. I mean, gutterslaw is is a very special place in in, Westphalia because a lot of companies that are basically European wide known, like Bertelsmann, Miele, Klas, etcetera, they all come from there. And also, Hagedorn.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:02:29]:
Hagedorn is one of the largest construction companies in in Germany, and they have their headquarters there as well. So, christian, our founder, knew thomas Hagedorn and they are basically our 2 co founders. And, they met in. Christian was working for for Avato, the the logistics over there, before going to to Microsoft. So that’s the connection with Kutaslu.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:02:56]:
I see. And he told in an interview, Christian, that he was in charge, at Logistics at Microsoft, because they do, ship a lot of physical items. Think in the past, Windows Phones, but also laptops and so on and so forth. So they also do have a or they did have a lot of logistics going on there, and he was their director. And, he basically came back, founded SudFlex. We we later get into the economics in 2021. He saw in an interview the opportunity to become a unicorn one day. Let’s see where this is going.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:03:39]:
Yeah. But first, let’s talk a little bit about you here. I see you’ve done, like, I have an apprenticeship at the thrift organization, and that’s usually not not the start of a construction career, isn’t it?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:03:57]:
Yeah. Definitely. So so so as I said, I finished my my school in in Kutasloy, and at that point, I wasn’t too sure what to study one day. I always knew I I wanted to study, and, then I I started my apprenticeship at at this local bank, Sparkasse in in Wuterslau. And, yeah, I I often oftentimes joke about this, right now as as well, but, for me, it I noticed really quickly this isn’t the thing I wanted to do all my life, but I’ve learned a lot of really important things there. Speaking to people from all different backgrounds and areas, speaking about money, isn’t the the typical German thing as well. And doing sales, understanding insurances, money money products, etcetera. So that that helped me a lot, for me personally.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:04:55]:
But as I said, I I noticed really quickly, this isn’t the thing I wanted to do all my life. But, yeah. My my mother always said, we don’t quit things easily. So I I finished my apprenticeship and then and then went on.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:05:11]:
To study. Yeah. I see. You you you also studied in Vienna already. But what I found interesting, you worked for Battles Mann where one of the founders, Christian, has been working, and you interned there in New York City and Berlin. Did did did you already know Christian from then?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:05:29]:
No. Actually not. I mean, it’s it’s quite funny that, like, a lot of people from our management team, have worked for for Bertelsmann or or or better said, Arvato in the past, but, I met Christian. I’ve I’ve I mean, I heard about him. Isn’t that big, but, the only person I I knew back then for Bertelsmann was Niels Klose or general manager in in, in in Germany. I knew him. But, Niels, Christian, Magda, and Jan, the other Bertelsmann people, basically, in our management team, I met when I started at Netflix.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:06:08]:
I see. And then you also interned in another media company, Bauer Media. At this point, it necessarily did not look like a typical construction career. And then for whatever reason, bam, you StartupRadio Tripleix. Can you take us through this hoop to this jump in in your CV? What what did what made you start there?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:06:35]:
Yeah. Sure. I mean, Bedelzwan was, was quite a cool experience for me. I mean, to give you some context, I I think I I finished my apprenticeship, end of end of March, and I started in in New York City, for Bettelsmann on the 1st April, that year. So that was, like, yeah, a real eye opener for me, see see those, see and work with those different people, get to learn this this hustle culture over there there. And, I have the real real luck in my life to meet people and and bosses I I work for that it it in retrospect, it felt like it was their mission to develop me and make me learn how to think and approach problems instead of, like, like just checking tasks. And it was the same at at our media group, basically. I I went there because I always wanted to work for for my boss who was at that that time, Carsten Schickar, there.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:07:36]:
I I knew him from from Bergelsmann as well. And to be honest, I was pretty pretty clear to me that I go in that direction as well. I really like the the media environment, like, everything. We we worked on all the projects. And, at the same time, I I finished my my studies in Vienna. And from one day to the other, I think we all remember, the corona pandemic, came in into our lives. Was pretty crazy time here in Vienna because I’m not quite sure if if all of us remember, but, in the first couple of weeks, we thought that maybe this is an Austria thing because it came from, like, all the ski report, resorts. And, basically, life shut down here in Austria way quicker than than in Germany.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:08:28]:
Joe, what I did was I got back to, my my hometown, Kutaslod, and I was waiting there for it to be over. At that point, no one knew there would be, like, 3 years and change our lives forever. And at that time, I really had, yeah, my all my plans were were crossed at that time. So, Niels closer at that time went from from his former job to to Schultflix. We always stayed in in contact, and he was like, okay. Then let’s have some talk. Maybe, you can you can work here, till everything is over because, you have to know that at that point, I had everything set up for my master’s degree in in Adwerp, and I, yeah, definitely wanted to go there. It was a cool program, nice city.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:09:22]:
I like it there a lot. So we we had some talks, and we said, okay. Let’s do this until your studies in in Advert begin. I basically had no role description at that point. I just helped Niels with the first tasks. Every was everything was, like, in the first phase of scale up. Yeah. So that’s that’s my entry into the construction and chiplex world.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:09:47]:
Pretty pretty yeah. It it wasn’t clear at that point that I would end up there, like, for for three and a half to 4 years now.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:09:57]:
I see. What do you like about the construction industry?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:10:04]:
Definitely the hands on mentality. So when I when I, when I started my my different internships, for example, I I went to Liverpool, to work at at the press there. Had a really, really, really cool time, like the people there. But the most, I like there was to get my my hands dirty in the whole process, and that’s basically the same in the construction in the construction business. When I when I think of, like, typical typical days, there is none here. A couple of a couple of months ago, I was at a construction site that worked all night because they had to to build concrete. And, like, a couple of of hours after arriving there, I was in my yellow construction site jacket with my helmet on, and I helped them to remove the fences there. Joe, yeah, there is no Joe typical day in the construction industry.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:11:00]:
It’s hands on mentality. It’s it’s easy. Everything relies on on words, so I really like that about about my industry here.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:11:12]:
Talking about the industry, I have some data from your founder from another interview that he gave. He said there are 1.5 times more trucks used to transport bulk goods than there are taxis in Germany. And each of those trucks makes 6 times more revenue each day, 6 times more revenue each day than a taxi, a cab. Joe those economics roughly the same in Austria?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:11:43]:
I haven’t checked the the numbers lately, but that’s my my latest part of information. I think a taxi approximately makes, like, €20150 revenue, per day. Might have increased a little bit. But, yeah, it’s it’s approximately factor or times, times 6 in in all of our markets, I would say. Yeah.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:12:05]:
Mhmm. And, also, what what made Christian start Netflix is he said in one interview that there’s no real big player in tripping, like, all those bulk goods where where admittedly the biggest user because there there are other bulk goods, but the biggest user is the construction industry. Would you also agree to that?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:12:26]:
Yeah. Definitely. I mean, the the founding story of of Christian, how he founded triplets or came up with the idea is is pretty cool. I think, he he talked about that several of times. But he he has a farm, basically close to And, when you have such a such an such a farm, you need bulk goods for renovations or for a playground for your kids and all that stuff. And the market is super, super regional and super, super, fragmented. So it’s for for an average person, it’s quite tough to to get information and good prices for bulk materials. Joe, yeah, the the story, still works.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:13:09]:
It’s intact. So, yeah, I would I would say that’s that’s correct.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:13:14]:
I see. First question is you’re also an asset like business model. You’re more into the digital logistics, more like an Uber or FlixBus.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:13:26]:
Yeah. Exactly. So Shiflix is 100% asset light. Shiplytics is basically just a frame to enable those kind of businesses. We have people that need building materials, so our clients. Then we have the forwarders, we have the suppliers. Since, like, last 2 years, we have our own disposal products. So those disposal companies came, came into, the the mix as well.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:13:56]:
But Shuflex is always the central contractual partner. So we are basically in the in the middle of this triangle, and, we connect those people on one construction site.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:14:09]:
Would you consider yourself a competitor of guys like Uber Freight or Senda?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:14:15]:
I mean, competitors is a huge word, but we we live and work in in the same environment, basically, where we ship, freight, fire trucks, trains, whatever, boats. But they are not into, bulk material that much. So basically to come back to your the first question, I think it’s still the same as as Christian said. There is no real competitor in this business, but there are other digital companies like the ones you said in in our environment.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:14:52]:
And Joe far, the investors really like your business model. I’ve seen you raised more than 100,000,000 US dollars from 13 investors calling Glucronchbase. Just recently, I think you could call it a second closing of series a with €45,000,000 disclosed in summer 2023. What I saw there is one of the investors is Straubach. Did you get the Austria connection there? Or is it is there a different story how the business in Austria started? And, also, did it start with you?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:15:29]:
Yeah. That that’s basically a a 2 parter in in my answer. Joe, Schlabach, of course, is an important player, but the Austria connection originally starts way before that since one of our first venture capitalist, strategic partners was, Speedinvest from Austria. And funny enough now, they sit in the same building as we do, and that’s that’s pretty cool because we have this the the close contact with with our partner there. So that’s the basically, the first Austria connection we made. A couple of years later, Straubach came came onto, onto our investors board. What to say about Straubach? Biggest construction, enterprise basically in in Europe. Huge player.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:16:20]:
Big help, of course. And before coming to, to the the story how to how we got into Austria, I just have to say, we have another Austrian partner now as well with Elke Wiedwalde, one of the biggest forwarders in in Austria or Europe. So our our board is is full of Austrian people at at the moment, and that’s that’s pretty cool for me in my world.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:16:48]:
What just came to mind was we may add that Straubag is one of the largest construction companies in Europe. Yes. They’re listed. Yes. But they’re headquartered in Vienna. That’s completely what we forgot to say for everybody who doesn’t know the company. That’s why I made this connection. Jag, go ahead, with how you came to Austria, like, in terms of Schutflix.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:17:08]:
Yeah. So at at one point, roughly two and a half years ago, management made the decision to to go into 3 more markets. And, whenever we talked about that at that time, from a company that is basically from from, the western part of Germany. Everyone was talking about maybe the Netherlands or Belgium, because it’s it’s way closer to our core business at that time. But when you check the numbers and, check our business and understand our business, What makes really fun are those big infrastructure projects and, EU projects, etcetera, etcetera. And they were way more, in the eastern part. So in Poland, Czech Republic, and Austria. And Strabak is is a big player on the market.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:18:01]:
It definitely helped that they are from here. They know the market, and they were huge support when when going Austria. Definitely. Yeah.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:18:11]:
Mhmm. How do you see the business in Austria? Is it harder than in Germany? Is it
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:18:23]:
different? Harder is definitely the wrong word. It’s it’s different, of course, but the huge difference comes from, geography in in Austria. Austria is way more richer on a primary sources, so they have all the mountains basically, easy easy spoken, they have the rivers and the seas, and that’s basically where primary material like sand, crushed stone, and gravel come from. So in Germany, from a geography point, you have in the north, you have originally a lot of sand, and in the south where the mountains begin or in in the middle as as well, you have a lot of crushed stone, and that develops into in Germany having a lot of retailers that basically are pins between those those areas. Because what they do is they buy material in in huge stock and they put it onto their place and sell it from there. In Austria we don’t have that structure because primary material, so everything that comes naturally, is way more accessible than in Germany. So, that that makes it just a little different. And, when you look at an a map of Austria, the eastern part, so around Vienna basically and Styria, is is way flatter than the western part.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:20:04]:
So that’s naturally where we started because in in the western part, and, I hope all my my fellow Austrians understand what I mean is that basically on the right side of the street are mountains, on the left side on the street are mountains, and the street is connecting, like, 2 villages. So it’s it’s way tougher to get, like, a platform and and a marketplace going, in that region.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:20:32]:
Yes. And as you’ve been talking about the Alps, not only is the street meandering between mountains, it’s also a much higher altitude, which also means there will be a lot of snow and ice in the winter. Be before we talked, he said, we don’t have 12 month of construction business here in Austria for the most part. It’s more like 7 or 8 month. Right?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:20:54]:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Austria is a beautiful country, and, basically, you have 12 month of nice climate, whatever you’re looking for. It’s warm right now. In the winter, you have, like, the sea, Xi Resorts in in the western part, Huge, mountain bike and and hiking scene as well. Beautiful. But when it comes to business, especially in our business, it’s it’s quite different. Because, for example, from from January to basically the beginning of April, it’s too cold to, have construction sites with concrete or, or asphalt, for example.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:21:40]:
So all those plants open in the beginning of april to mid april. So for the 1st 4 months of the year we have to do other business than our core business. And, that’s basically the same at the end of the year because from from November to December it’s so cold again that all those construction sites stop. Joe, basically, we have, like, 7 to 8 months of of real business.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:22:05]:
And what kind of business do you do outside your normal business? I’m curious.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:22:10]:
We we are doing a lot. We are doing a lot, actually. Just yesterday, I had a request from from one of our partners that, ships cherry pits. So, from from one side of the country to the other, we do a lot of disposal work for for the farmers because they get, prepare their their fields for for the summer. So, basically, we we ship everything that that fits into a truck. We have we have solutions for that as well. But, like, our core business Startupradio at March, April, I would say.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:22:48]:
You said there is more availability of the goods. The logistics are a little bit more complicated, at least for a logistics company. And I was wondering, do you also sell the same goods? Is the market the same, or is there also difference?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:23:07]:
I would say it’s it’s the same. I mean, due to having regional differences as explained in Germany, the German market is a little bit further, I would say, with recycling materials. So whenever you don’t have sand, you are able to use, if allowed on that construction project, recycling material. In Austria, there isn’t that much need for recycling material at at this point, But we will get there, in terms of, like, circular economy. We will have to improve that and reuse material. But at the end of the day, it’s it’s the same, same materials we we do in Germany or Czech Republic or Poland, I would say.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:23:52]:
I see. So how do you like Austria? And can you see yourself staying here for a few more years?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:24:00]:
I mean, the fact that I came back here, speaks for itself, I would say. I I really like the country. I like the people. Having done my studies here helps me a lot at this at this time. Maybe just just to to tell a little anecdote. I in my 1st week, I went to, one of our partners in in the north. We had a really good talk about business, and, in the moment, we said goodbye. He was like, and by the way, when you come next time, would be cool if you bring somebody who who speaks all language.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:24:38]:
And I was like, okay.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:24:41]:
What are they?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:24:42]:
Nice to nice to meet you as well, but that’s that’s not even a percent of the people I talk to. A lot of people are the most people are really open, and it makes a lot of fun, working here. I like the city especially Vienna is one of the nicest cities especially to live in in the summer and spring. Joe, yeah, nothing to complain about as as we say in in in Westphalia.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:25:10]:
But it’s also a beautiful city in the winter, especially for the Christmas markets. I know personal experience. Also, of course, we we can’t get around this. We have to tell all the people like Sacher Torte. Sacher is still up and around in, Vienna as well as Fliegemuller. They get, Wiener Schmitz?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:25:32]:
Yes. Wouldn’t say you you split the secrets of the best places, but, they do it for words. But they they do it for for nearly a 100 years, I would say, and that they do it for a reason. So, of course, hotel, Go to, Schnitzel, can’t get around it. Kesenockel, cheese, pasta, basically. Joe to the Nachmarkt, enjoy summer, spring, winter on the Christmas markets. Yeah. It it’s not too bad over here.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:26:15]:
One of the hidden gems for me was in my summer trip was Mana. They that’s a company that produces some sweets sometimes of waffles. But you can also go there in very old very very nice, building, very nice flagship store, and, you can get there a lot of sweet treats. Love it.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:26:35]:
A lot of sweet treats and and cool merchandise as well. For everyone who remembers those, 2000 ski jumpers. They had all those helmets in in the light pink with manor on it, and all the caps, so, that as well to get some some retro feeling as well.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:26:54]:
That sounds pretty good. We have talked about highly about Austria. Where do you see a few areas where they can improve maybe outside of the weather and the geography on the country?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:27:09]:
I mean, like, all the the typical facts about Austria, like, housing market, it’s it’s top notch in Europe, I would say. Speaking from from my my point of view, it’s it’s digitization. In the construction industry, of course, but that’s that’s not an Austria thing. But digitization, in in general, I think that’s that’s a thing. Austria, Germany, basically, Central Central Europe, can can improve. But I think we’re on a good way. I’ve had some some really good talks with, the Austrian Business Association and also some some politicians on that. So we are getting there.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:27:54]:
How many partners do you already have in Austria? You you already talked highly about Straubak. You talked about Speedtest, but, apparently, they’re not in construction. They’re VC. Anyone else?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:28:06]:
Yeah. So in in Austria, just to give you give you some perspective on the numbers, globally, Shiftflix has about 12,000 partners at the moment on on our marketplace. Austria, about 550, I would say. So that’s basically the the factor. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:28:28]:
Yeah. You you’re just getting started.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:28:30]:
Yeah. We are getting started. I mean, the country is is times smaller, different population. I mean, 8,000,000 people live here. So, basically, factor 10, I would say. But we are getting there. The market is is open for for having Netflix. That’s that’s cool.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:28:49]:
And for me, it’s not even the the amount of partners that stands out. It’s the amount of trucks. There are over a 1,000 trucks driving for Shudflakes at the moment in Austria, and that’s such a huge capacity of all the freight markets. So and as you said, we are getting StartupRadio, getting more more trucks and partners every day. That’s that’s our mission. Yeah.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:29:13]:
I see. And, to join your mission, are you currently hiring in Austria and or Germany, Poland? I I do believe you’re also in, Slovakia?
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:29:26]:
No. Slovakia, not? Czech Republic and and Poland?
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:29:28]:
Not Czech Republic. Mhmm.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:29:30]:
I would say we are always hiring, always looking for talent. I mean, I can I can speak for for, for Austria, but check our career websites on our, on our website? There are plenty of of open vacancies. Joe there, would be would be great. For for Austria, I mean, you have to understand Shiplytics as a as a company in Austria we have, our operations team and and sales experts, But, like, all those enabler functions, like product and tech, HR, marketing, etcetera etcetera, BI team, data analytics, they all sit in in Germany for for all the 4 markets. So, yeah, check check the website.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:30:18]:
Mhmm. Sure. Everybody who’d like to know more, you can go down here in the show notes. There will be a link to our, to your career website and all the links we talked about. And, do you know what? Let’s go over to the Austrian Business Administration and talk with them what they think they have to offer, for StartupRadio who want to relocate to Austria.
Robert Großekathöfer | Country Manager Austria at Schüttflix [00:30:43]:
Goodbye.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:30:44]:
Bye bye. Hey, guys. Hello and welcome. This is Joe with the second part of the interview with ABBA, the Austrian Business Administration. This time, I actually welcome somebody from ABBA here. Hey, Jan. How are you doing?
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:31:04]:
Hi, Joe. Yeah. Thanks a lot for inviting me. Really looking forward to this session, and thanks for featuring Austria and, yeah, our StartupRadio ecosystem.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:31:14]:
Sure. Totally. My pleasure. Since this is kind of an addendum to the, shoot flicks interview, We’ll cut a little bit short your introduction and get to the most important points. But what I found very interesting, you studied in Dresden and as we discussed a pre interview in fake New Zealand. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:31:36]:
Yes. Fake New Zealand is a hidden gem. It’s actually the whole school, which is in the Netherlands, worth worth a trip, beautiful students’ village at the coastal side. But, yeah, I I had a chance to go to New Zealand a little bit later and was totally impressed by it it seems to be the capital of extreme sports. Yeah. And, not only a gem when it comes to the nature, a little bit like Europe compressed in in 1, or 2 islands, actually. No. But, if anybody’s interested, just go to the Netherlands and and look for the whole school sale I’ve been facing.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:32:11]:
And, definitely worth a trip.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:32:14]:
Then how did you end up in Vienna? I’ve seen you held a lot of interesting positions, many related foreign investments. For example, for the government of Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the USA? How did you end up in foreign investments?
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:32:30]:
Yeah. Alright. So the journey from Dresden to Hague, New Zealand, went then on to to Turkey, to Australia, New Zealand, and Berlin. And my very first job, then was, in Vienna. I I chose Vienna because, was the capital with or German speaking capital with more than a 1000000 inhabitants. Nice cultural offer and extremely high living quality. And I straightforward then, was starting on working on the government side for, team Thailand for the Brits, but also the Americans, during times, with the Brits during Brexit, but also with the Americans, when basically COVID, locked us all in. Was super exciting time supporting Austrian companies going, across the channel, but also across the ocean.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:33:14]:
And, the work there was for me really a cultural, brought me to the next level on an intercultural level, especially with the the ties. But also working with Americans and the Brits has been a very exciting time because there’s a lot of positive energy, especially working with Americans. And, with this background, now in total 20 years in international business, I decided to go, on my next chapter, then with with ABA.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:33:41]:
And most of the positions you held have actually been in Vienna because Vienna is kind of a hub for international relations. Yes. United Nations out there and a lot of other international institutions. Right?
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:33:56]:
Yes. We have, not only the the the UN here, we have also OPEC, based out of here. We have a lot of international congresses taking place. In the past, Austria was always kind of a mutual place to meet. A lot of, international political negotiations happened here. And it’s still, kind of a bridge between, within Europe, when you look at the east or southeast and western, Western Europe. And this makes it super ex exciting because Vienna is also kind of a little bit hot a magnet, for talent from all over the region. And, you can feel that you see it in the streets.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:34:32]:
You see it’s also when you work with with businesses. A lot of the Austrian business are heavily involved, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:34:39]:
And this has quite a history. When you look on Wikipedia for the Treaty of Vienna, you see treaties going back to 1606 and as recently as 2015 on the Iran nuclear deal framework. So, it has quite a history of international relations. And now, you are working for the Austrian Business Administration. Can you talk about your current duties? Because I saw that you basically focus there on 3 pieces from the headlines, invest in Austria, work in Austria, and film in Austria. Yeah.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:35:16]:
That’s the
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:35:16]:
The last one’s special curious.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:35:18]:
That’s the most, exciting one, of course. And and sorry just to correct a little bit. It’s the Allstream Business Agency, but we are we are part of the administration. That’s absolutely that’s absolutely correct. And, yeah, we have 3, main main pillars. The most exciting one is the film in Austria. It’s about getting international film productions to Austria. So the next so that we have the next James Bond or even from the German speaking region in Austria.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:35:43]:
It’s a quite small, department, but an important one. And we just launched a new funding program and basically are flooded with requests of, Netflix, series that are, filmed here, but also really, really big international, movie, programs that are just in in Shrin. We had a great, series that was completed. And then we take care of talent. It’s all work in Austria. Getting international talent to Australia supporting companies to grow further because as we are aware, talent is not always easy to find. So we focus on that topic, especially. And the last chapter, that’s basically where I’m active in, it’s called Invest in Austria.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:36:23]:
It’s supporting international companies that, are hungry and wanna expand to Austria. And there, I’m, in the team. We are regional teams. I’m leading the Germany. It’s, 6 6 of us taking care of around 200, expansion projects every year from small to medium sized companies to global players, but also especially taking care of, startups that are interested to come to Austria? We
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:36:50]:
will, of course, talk about that. But for everybody who’s curious, I know that we are heard in more than 100 countries on a regular basis. We link down here in the show notes the work in Austria website if you’re curious, to be working in Austria.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:37:07]:
It’s it’s definitely maybe just adding 1, it’s it’s dangerous to to Vienna. I decided to come here 17 years ago, and I only wanted to stay for 1 year. And now it’s 17 years later, and it’s especially hard to get, or leave Vienna if you look at the quality of living index. It’s I I stopped here. If you Google it, you will see, that Vienna has been number 1 since 11 years now. I I stopped counting. And, till 6 years before that time, it was not like hell. It’s really a a great place to stay a little bit longer.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:37:40]:
I see. Talking about Vienna, of course, the, country has a more beautiful city. Salzburg comes to mind. But, can you talk a little bit about Vienna? Because a lot of the people who are listening to this on a regular basis are strongly recommend Vienna in the summer as well as in the winter for the Christmas markets and so on and so forth.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:38:00]:
Yeah. Actually, the only time are there are several times when it’s getting really busy. And that’s, of course, most of the time during the tourist season, especially during Christmas. And, so I would prefer to come to Vienna probably around springtime, or, what we also have coming up, it’s, now in the beginning of June, 3rd to 9th June. We have great festival taking place in Vienna, the Vienna app. It’s definitely coming over. But most of my friends are here during spring or summertime. Wintertime, you can come, but I can promise you it will get busy.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:38:36]:
We have more than 20 Christmas markets catering your needs. And, so you get a bit of of Christmas affair, Christmas atmosphere. Although snow is up high on the wish list, we cannot always guarantee.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:38:50]:
Not always guaranteed. We’ve been talking about Startupradio scale ups, and that’s the reason you are here. Talk a little bit about what ABBA, the Austria Business Agency, part of the Austria Business Administration sorry. That confused me a little bit. What offices what incentives does Austria offer for digital companies, particular in terms of, taxation and startup support programs?
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:39:15]:
Sure. Absolutely. Just in one sentence, what we do and then go I go, in the and give you a general overview. So ABA offers anything from a very early stage market research, funding and text advice, finding employee number 1, finding a Joe working space, and basically Menninger started. Yeah. Also supporting business development and so on that’s completely free of charge. But, overall, Austria offers, I must say, an excellent, early stage, let’s say, pre seed or seed funding programs, and incubators. So that’s, very likely I’m seeing in any other country in Europe, especially in this very early stage.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:39:54]:
Yeah? There are a wide range of programs that are on a national level, but also on a federal level. Joe, especially, for example, in Vienna. And what is really good news at the beginning of this year and, actually, the startup community was fighting for this around 6 years is that we have a Joe a new, legal entity form. It’s called the FlexCo. In a summary, the Flexco offers a quite modern legal framework that caters to needs of start ups, offers more flexibility than a a classic limited. It’s, simplifies capital requirements. Or if you wanna have special share structures, and they should get some shares of your of your newly incorporated company, and it’s relatively easy to set up. And, also, from the, capital that is involved very, let’s say, let’s say, cost efficient, so to say.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:40:46]:
On the text end, there was, text reformations, Joe to say, where we lowered the corporate tax from 25 to 23%. This is especially, for example, compared to Joe, where there’s also some additional business taxes, very competitive. And, additionally to that, I must say we have a couple of, smaller apps now. Next to, I must Menninger, Leans is really booming as well as Turo. Not only known for their apps, but also in. A very lively start up scene. Same is true for, Storia and Kratz.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:41:20]:
Can you talk a little bit about the digital infrastructure? Because, we’ve been talking with Shootflix. And, basically, they said, well, if if you deliver a lot of stuff high up in the Alps and there is snow, basically, we have 7, best case, 8 month, season here. But if you’re talking about digital product, as long as you have a reliable digital infrastructure, that’s that’s a completely different ballgame.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:41:46]:
Absolutely. And, I’m absolutely, absolutely aware that especially the the Nordic countries are doing a very good job, on on this point. But Austria is, says following closely. So their digital infrastructure in Austria is robust. It’s very strong focusing on high speed Internet, but also 5 g technology and a very, let’s say, easy and affordable access, not only for businesses, but of, also, of course, for people living in Austria. Joe the the over the last years, there has been a strong focus on the, extension of a very powerful corporate Internet, nationwide. And, as Austria, as you already mentioned, it’s a uptime country. And, the aim was to become a 5 g pilot country in Europe, which included a lot of government funding for infrastructure development in areas, especially where the private sector investment was not economically viable.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:42:40]:
So if you look all at the the mountain villages are very remote errors. I must say, I never have any problems with signal, traveling by train across, across Austria, so that I can, quite easily have my video calls, which is not always the case in Europe. And I must say though, they seem to have done a a pretty decent job.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:43:03]:
Firstly, I find this as well. And you’ve been talking about, like, the Joe working spaces.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:43:10]:
I
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:43:10]:
found more than 30, in Vienna alone, which is, by the way, very lovely city. And you talked about, like, first employee in business development. Can you talk a little bit about the environment for digital entrepreneurship? For example, for for all the people not from Europe, I’m I’m sure we need to talk about that you’re part of the European Union and that all the European Union regulations basically apply here?
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:43:45]:
Yes. Yeah. That’s that’s for sure. Of course, there are some national, legislation which is going a bit further in detail. But, if especially, for example, if you’re a German StartupRadio, considering to come to Austria, Most of the regulation will apply that you know already from your home country. There are specific sectors, especially, for example, the health care industry where you need to dig it deeper, but where we are more than happy to identify any differences that may occur. And we we have a very international, Startupradio scene, especially in Vienna as it it is especially a magnet for, Central Europeans that tend to move to Vienna and, which helps us, also to have a very diverse, a talent pool here. And a lot of coders, they will offers from, these countries moved over.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:44:34]:
But, of course, let’s see. There’s some European regulation, but we in special cases on the finance sector and the health care sector, it’s good, to have a first check with us, if there’s anything that needs to be tailored to the market. We are on the process right now. I have 2 projects where the company start in Austria, but built or or adjust their products according to the Austrian needs as there are some smaller adjustments, when it comes on the accounting level, for example. Yeah. So there’s there’s there’s some tailoring is is needed. Austrians love it, when their product is tailored to the the Austrian market in a way that often it’s underestimated. People say, okay, Austria.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:45:14]:
Probably exactly the same as in Germany. But, I just can say from experience, the more you tailor or the more you speak the language of your of the Austrians. And there are more than 10,000 different words that are different in, German, to the German original, so to say. The more that you speak the local language, so to say, that the easier it will get to, build strong relationships. And I must come just under underline that networking and networking in the small countries even more important than in that bigger market.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:45:43]:
Yes. And when it was going through what people know from Austria, of course, SACHA, Vina Schnitzel, Mana. Mana, the the the waffles and so on and so forth came to mind, but also, n 26 was originally founded in Vienna. I also had the pleasure to interview them back in Germany in 2015. Oh, that was way back in the days. Last year, I interviewed a unicorn from Austria called Reverb with Kilian. Plus, we should mention, I’m not sure if they would call classify themselves as a Startupradio the company, Alphonic, is essential to Startupradio. Without them, our sound would not be that good.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:46:30]:
They are amazing.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:46:32]:
Great. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I just yesterday had my Manaflitter. And, 2 months ago, I bought a a refurb, laptop, which made me very happy. And, yeah, thanks thanks for summarizing this. Also with.
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:46:45]:
We had a really good relationship and supported them on their journey here in Austria. And, certainly, it will, refer Joe the. And there’s quite some in the pipeline. Maybe one of the other nodes, BigPanda, which is also heavily growing in in Germany, but not only there. So, yeah, Australia is is maybe not, always number 1 in in on the local Startupradio landscape, but certainly developing in the right direction. And I’m happy to be part of this Joe, maybe assisting one of the other company that is looking into this, lovely Alpine country.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:47:20]:
Three pretty good closing words for everybody who’d like to learn more. We link your LinkedIn profile as well as Abba down here in the show notes Joe all the people can learn more as well as, work in Austria, a link to Linz, to Steiermark, and coworking spaces in Vienna and so on and so forth. Hope to have you back pretty soon, Jan. Thank you
Jan Bruckner | Director Germany I ABA — Invest in Austria [00:47:42]:
very much. It was a pleasure.
Jörn “Joe” Menninger [00:47:43]:
Pleasure was all mine. Have a good day. Bye bye. Bye.
