Austria: The Startup Bridge Between East and West

New Episode: Austria!

This week, I had the pleasure of talking with Markus Raunig from AustrianStartups about all things European tech, and Austria in particular.

Here’s what Markus shared about the European and Austrian startup scene, and why you may want to take a closer watch / listen:

• Europe’s tech narrative is changing. For years, the meme was: America innovates, China duplicates, Europe regulates. But with fresh EU initiatives like the "one company" legal framework—essentially creating a virtual 28th state to simplify cross-border startups—Europe is pushing to attract top talent and compete on a global scale.
• Austrian startups thrive on stability and quality of life. Vienna has been named the most livable city in the world multiple times, combining affordable living with excellent infrastructure and access to talent from both Western and Eastern Europe. This unique geographic and cultural crossroads gives startups one of the best bases for European scaling.
• Entrepreneurship needs to be a mindset cultivated early. Markus draws a parallel to how Austria created a ski culture by teaching every child to ski. Now the focus is on early entrepreneurial education — giving young people the tools and mindset to take risks confidently, supported by a robust social safety net that empowers rather than encourages complacency.
• Austria balances social safety with economic dynamism. There’s a strong social safety net that allows risk-taking without the fear of losing everything. However, this can also breed complacency. The real work is in activating people to use that safety net as a launchpad to pilot their own ventures rather than stay passengers in life.

Check out the full episode for a deeper dive into Austria’s ecosystem, Europe’s startup ambitions, and the tradeoffs that are made. 👇🏻

NACO Summit 2025

Last week I moderated a couple of panels at the NACO (National Angel Capital Organization) Summit in Ottawa, Canada the day after the election. The energy was palpable as it's obvious Canada itself is at an inflection point where Canadians have to the opportunity to choose their destiny and have unprecedented power to do so. Whether this time's the charm remains to be seen, but the innovation ecosystem is clearly ready to step up and make that change. How remains the billion dollar question.

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