As investors and founders mature, Vienna emerges as a European startup hub

According to Austrian Startup Monitor, entrepreneurs have founded more than 2,200 startups in Austria since 2008, with the number of tech companies growing 12% per year since then, significantly faster than the 3% growth rate for traditional companies.

Home to roughly 50% of Austria’s startups, Vienna has a plethora of VC, corporate and university investors. Top VCs include 3TS Capital Partners, Hansmen Group, i5invest, next.march, primeCROWD, Speedinvest, Calm/Storm, Apex, AWS Gründerfonds, Capital300 and Venionaire Capital, among others.

The local ecosystem benefits from several initiatives, including the Social Impact Awards, Vienna Startup Awards, Design Week, Climate KIC Stage, Innovation Incubation Center and INiTS Accelerator. The well-run Pioneers Festival contributed massively to the ecosystem for several years after a certain TechCrunch editor-at-large gave the organizers an excuse to expand on a simple TechCrunch meetup. But the festival was shuttered last year after its sale to a local accelerator meant that the event itself ran out of steam. Perhaps it was just as well, given this year’s pandemic.

State support for startups is also there. The Austrian government created a comprehensive startup program in 2016 to make the country more attractive to startups setting up there.

Standout exits include fitness app maker Runtastic, acquired by Adidas for $240 million in 2015, as well as listings marketplace Shpock, which was acquired by Norwegian publishing conglomerate Schibsted in 2015. Other notable startups originally from Vienna include mySugr, wikifolio, kompany and Codeship. And a breakout this year was Bitpanda, a crypto assets platform, which closed a $52 million Series A funding round from Valar Ventures, a venture capital firm backed by Peter Thiel.

There have been jitters on the way, however. The Austrian Private Equity and Venture Capital Organization’s 2019 report found that Austria’s startups saw €237.6 million invested in 2018, but, this number fell 8.2% to €218 million in 2019; the number of deals exceeding €500,000 also dipped by 8.7%. Foreign funding also slowed in 2019 after a few years of a bull run — between 40% and 63% of deals sized €0.25-€1.99 million were significantly funded by foreign investors in 2018.

Despite the decline, local investors have started to pick up the slack, boosting the number of funding rounds over €5 million to 12 deals in 2019 from 11 in 2018. In both years, all but one of those deals drew a substantial part of the funding round from foreign investors.

We expect more to emerge from Vienna’s tech scene in the future. The Pioneers Festival (RIP) proved that Vienna is a fascinating bridge between Western European capital and entrepreneurial culture, and East European entrepreneurs and talent, which it will no doubt continue to benefit from in years to come. But — just as will happen with Lisbon this year and the loss of Web Summit — the loss of a major conference in Vienna to shine a light on the city and ecosystem, combined with the pandemic, may have cooling effects for the next couple of years.


Notable Vienna startups:

  • Newsadoo: Uses artificial intelligence to personalize news.
  • Cashpresso: Links customers, merchants and banks to offer consumer financing options.
  • Jobrocker: An online job search portal that connects applicants’ CVs with job openings.
  • Storyblok: A headless content management system.
  • Byrd: First-mile shipping service that allows customers to ship items hassle-free.
  • Music Traveler: A marketplace that centralizes spaces with musical instruments and equipment.
  • PAYUCA: Provides flexible access to parking spaces in private office and residential buildings.
  • Refurbed: Fast-growing marketplace for refurbished electronics, across the German-speaking world.
  • Presono: A web platform for creating, managing and showing presentations in companies.
  • Blockpit: Develops software for portfolio tracking, tax calculation and compliance reporting of transactions for cryptocurrencies and crypto assets.
  • Robo Wunderkind: A robot for kids to build and program.
  • Medicus: Converts health data with their cryptic numbers and medical language into an easy-to-understand visual experience.
  • Cybershoes: VR accessory that allows you to walk through your favorite VR games.

Here’s who we interviewed:

Eva Arh, principal, Capital 300

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
B2B software, robotics, no/low-code automation, AI-enabled vertical solutions, e-health, companies enabling others to hire and engage talent remotely.

What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
Lokalise.

Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
Companies that enable others to manage and automate billing even further (e.g., per API call), next-gen video conferencing, solutions guiding women through menopause, providing solutions that help companies to offer mental health services to distributed teams, bringing cloud kitchens to the next level (not running central kitchens).

What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
As always, ambitious, smart, hard-working teams eager to build a category leader in a huge market.

What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
Concerned about solutions that leverage behavioral data to influence people for the sake of optimizing profit, overload of sales and marketing tech, overload of chatbot providers. [It is] hard to compete with players that have benefited from huge network effects such as food delivery.

How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
We focus on German-speaking areas and Central Eastern Europe. Opportunistically we would also invest outside of the region, still in Europe.

Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Austria — no specific industry focus within software. However, well-positioned in the biotech space, CEE — given the strong presence of IT outsourcing companies, the region is well-positioned to build solutions in the business-process automation, dev tool space. Storyblok (our portfolio). Others to watch: Anyline, Adverity, Bitpanda, PlanRadar, Refurbed.

How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Regarding Vienna — we are seeing the first generation of entrepreneurs building global companies. Their and their team experience will be at utmost value creating a new wave of tech companies that compete on a global level.

Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
Yes, we already see this — exciting companies coming out of small cities in Poland, Germany, etc. and companies going remote.

Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
Telemedicine, online education has been accelerated. We see a shift that otherwise would have taken years, especially in the relatively conservative German-speaking area. As mentioned previously, mental health solutions, hiring and employing remotely are some of the opportunities highlighted by COVID-19. Companies that are heavily exposed are those that have been serving the long tail of companies, small merchants, and local businesses that were closed down or experienced much less traffic in past months and hence are extremely sensitive around their cost base, discontinuing services that are not 110% essential.

How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
We have always been very selective and focused, partnering up three to four times a year. We continue at the same pace. The companies that perform well despite COVID-19 are still in a strong position for attracting external capital. Of course, we help our portfolio to secure a runway and have a discussion how/whether the situation has impacted their offering/GTM. Some companies have to rethink their value proposition, some rethink their target groups either to make up for slower sales cycles or on the other hand to leverage and benefit from the current situation.

Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
Yes, we see that Lokalise is growing heavily with the current customer base as their customers expand to new markets, likely to make up for slower revenue growth in their existing markets. We see that Nethone (fraud prevention) is able to double down on e-commerce. Online fraud and online transactions are skyrocketing as people spend much more time online. (On the other hand, their airline customers of course show a different trajectory.)

What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
It is inspiring to see how founders go through the current situation, act instead of reacting, especially in those countries where there is less government support incentives in place. Personally, I am also happy to see that people use the work from home time to rethink and introduce healthier habits.

Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
As the world has gone online and the location matters much less, there is an opportunity to distribute the created value and wealth more evenly — be it a company founded in a “non-tech-hub” location or be it talent hired remotely.

Andreas Nemeth, partner, UNIQA Ventures GmbH

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
Insurtech, fintech and digital health investments at late seed, early-growth stage.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
Omnius.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
Bsurance.
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
Insurtech with revenues >$5 million ARR.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
Fintech payment or fintech factoring seem crowded.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
Less than 50%; maybe 25%-30%.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Vienna is a good hub for health tech startups; we like Eversports or mySugr.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Vienna has yet to catch up to other startup hubs but has created a vivid startup community so far of startups that are usually born global due to the small home market.
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
London had Brexit and COVID but seem to remain strong. I would expect that the big hubs (London, Berlin, Paris) profit and the periphery suffers most.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
We see insurtech and digital health (especially telemedicine) as beneficiaries whereas fintech is more mixed. Lending seems especially vulnerable.
How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
We advise to extend runway to 24 months. Biggest risk would be a massive negative shift in sentiment but we do not expect that for the time being.
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
Omnius — in digital claims — sees strong momentum as the insurance industry moves toward digitization. Eversports — a fitness booking platform — profited a lot from the trend to online fitness/video training sessions.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
We have seen a great insurtech IPO with Lemonade and very noteworthy transactions in June and July with major up rounds.
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
We believe that insurtech and digital health are the hottest verticals in the European VC universe.

Laurenz Simbruner, partner, PUSH Ventures

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
We like digitalisation of health-related products/processes and solutions fighting the climate crisis (but we are bullish on other stuff too).
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
We will sign an investment into a very exciting consumer tech company this week! Will ask you to write about it :-)
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
Getting the right business models for climate crisis solutions.
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
Meaningful problems solved.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
Too many companion apps in health with manual logging features only.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
In the current environment [our] preferred location is [our] home country (Austria) and Germany.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Hard to say — more along the lines of “whatever works.” Some examples: TTTech for autonomous driving, Bitpanda for the cryptoworld, PlanRadar for construction tech, Mimo for edutech, MOSTLY AI for synthetic data.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
It´s easy to get hold of the active investors in Vienna and Austria, especially for later stage (Series A and later). It is great to monitor all seed-financed companies early on.
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
I think remote work as the majority of time will become a new standard mixed with sporadic meetings in a major city with key team members or partners.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
B2C technologies have become more sexy than pre-COVID-19, e-commerce has become an even more obvious opportunity (and underlying technologies as investment cases), everything that can be pitched to a CFO (e.g., cost savings “pain killers versus vitamins”) will be a winner in economic downturns, offline events/classical tourism are heavily affected and I think will have changed permanently also in conjunction with climate-crisis thinking (fewer flights).
How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
It took some time to adapt to the new normal and understand the new world. We are still very actively sourcing and screening deal flow; more focussed on home markets and topics i.e., being even more selective and keeping reserves for internal financings. Biggest worries? Exit markets closed ATM and investor appetite. Advice? Extend runway as much as you can, pivot your story to adapt.

Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
Yes! Zizoo.com — the leading holiday boat rental marketplace focussed on domestic corridors and it works fantastic. Going on vacation on a boat with your loved ones or friends and going to the marina with your own car is just the perfect quarantine time! Try it! You can even get a skipper easily if you are not a trained sailor.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
Investing in technology companies can create fantastic value and the pandemic has accelerated this trend in the last months. The last months have also shown how adaptable good founders are and how fast they can be.
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
Don´t be a cloud on a sunny day!

Oliver Holle, partner and founder, Speedinvest

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
While Speedinvest is a generalist fund, we are particularly interested in financial services, marketplace models, industrial tech, digital health as well as deep tech. Personally, I focus a lot on deep tech these days, where there are European founders delivering world-class innovative technologies and research, particularly in enterprise AI, cybersecurity software, DLT and quantum.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
In Vienna, that is probably Bitpanda. The team that’s been built around the three co-founders Eric, Paul and Christian is really spearheading the neobroker movement. By offering services like 24/7 trading, real-time settlement, no minimum fees and cross-platform compatibility to more than one million users, they have shown a deep understanding of their customer base as well as the traditional pain points. Bitpanda started with precious metals, currencies, stable coins and crypto on the digital asset platform, but is gearing up a rapid expansion that will add many more asset classes.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now? What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
This might be a boring answer for a venture capitalist, but the three most important areas to look at when investing in a new company at seed stage are team, team and team. That is always the case, but is especially important during uncertain times.

When we invest in a company, there is usually little to no commercial traction, which is why we focus on the founders. Do they understand their industry inside out? Do they complement each other? Can they build on previous experience as entrepreneurs? These questions guide our assessment.

Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
I think that the current market environment will lead to a situation where true problem solvers will continue to thrive (even during a crisis). There is always space for businesses that are tackling a new problem or an old problem in a new way. Businesses without such a clear use case will find it harder — no matter how advanced or innovative their technology. Potential customers will ask about ROI in the first meeting, so new solutions will need to deliver clear advantages to a genuine challenge.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
Vienna is where our journey started and where we still have our headquarters. Moreover, quite a few of our most successful portfolio companies are based in Austria. Thus, we will always feel a special connection to the Viennese startup ecosystem and will always support outstanding Austrian entrepreneurs. At the same time, we are now a truly Pan-European fund, investing all across the continent and running offices also in Munich, Berlin, London, Paris and San Francisco.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Vienna has always been a hub for biotech companies. While we are solely focused on software, we have seen a few remarkable success stories in the life sciences industry over the past years.
Within software, we see a small amount of very well-established scale-ups that are currently being joined by a few fast-growing players that have started out less than five years ago. Thanks to our position in the ecosystem, we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many of them.

Bitpanda, TourRadar, Bitmovin, Adverity and PlanRadar are probably the most advanced software startups in Austria. At the same time, quite a few companies in Series A/B stage are growing quickly, including: Refurbed, GoStudent, Anyline and MOSTLY AI.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Vienna is far from the biggest or the most mature startup ecosystem in Europe. At the same time, developments over the last few years have been extremely promising. When we started our first fund in 2011, the Austrian startup ecosystem consisted of a handful of people. That has changed drastically: All major Austrian universities now run dedicated entrepreneurship programs and the ecosystem has seen a few multi-hundred-million Euro exits (e.g., Shpock > Schibsted, Runtastic > Adidas, mySugr > Roche). In addition, the business angel scene here has grown significantly, public grants are supporting early-stage deep tech founders and the city has been attracting more and more talent from neighbouring countries (having been named the most livable city in the world a few times in a row).
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
Speedinvest already looks at companies from all over Europe, beyond the main hubs of London, Berlin or Paris. While those cities are clearly the most mature ecosystems, they are also the most competitive marketplaces. We’ve invested into 170 companies from more than 20 countries, both because we see outstanding tech talent and highly ambitious entrepreneurs from cities across the continent, and also because these smaller hubs tend to be more “off the beaten track” when it comes to investor interest. On a more practical basis, founders and investors alike will need to get used to the concept of relationship building through video calls and virtual networking. Pitching over video is a very different skill, but one that will need to be a core capability for founders for at least the next year or so.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
COVID-19 has had markedly different effects on different sectors. Hospitality and travel have been badly hit, but we’ve seen lots of growth and investor attention in other areas, such as remote work, digital education and e-health. In the short to medium term, COVID-19 has pushed investors to be much more risk-averse, so founders will be expected to explain how they’ll adapt and react to any of the many potential scenarios that might emerge. Long-term predictions are always a difficult game, but one thing is for sure — digital will be the big winner out of this whole crisis.

How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
As our founders are usually focused on building their product for the first 12 to 18 months after investment, we haven’t needed to adapt our strategy significantly. The biggest concerns are fairly clear: A business’ current runway and what the fundraising environment will look like when they approach the end of their runway. Our biggest priority has been supporting founders to make sure they’ve got at least 12 months of runway. Our advice to startups is always to keep a disciplined focus on the core of the business; now is not the time for side projects or distractions. Fiscal prudence now will be key to helping founders withstand any unforeseen circumstances the future might hold.
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
A number of companies have managed to benefit from the crisis because their service offering fulfilled a particular need during the lockdown. For example, our edtech portfolio company GoStudent grew significantly while schools were closed, and Bitpanda has also seen a spike over the past couple of months.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
Founders of our portfolio companies in the travel or hospitality industry were hit massively. Seeing them fight 24/7 to save their companies while putting their employees first was amazing to see and another proof-point that people are by far the most important part of our industry.
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?

Michael Ströck, partner, Calm/Storm Ventures

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
At Calm/Storm, we are incredibly excited about digital health tech startups. We believe that this space will be extremely digitalized in the coming years as it was lacking digital developments until now. Furthermore, we believe in purpose-driven founders and they can often be found in that space as they try to solve a very specific and impactful problem.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
We have a lot of exciting investments! One of our latest ones is Biloba, a real-time doctor-patient messaging app. Doctors are running at maximum capacity with no telemedicine player being able to change that so far. Most existing telehealth players, have just translated health into a virtual version by adding video. They still rely on appointments, video consultations, transactional payments and national insurances; and have hardly been able to achieve any significant increase in efficiency compared to the status quo. Biloba completely rethinks the interaction with doctors by introducing a new chat between doctors and families with ad hoc interaction. Via smartphone families can consult a certified doctor anytime. A high degree of automation as well as an efficient shift schedule enables the new form of interaction between patients and doctors.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
Tech has really taken over all of our lives, and at some point people started to realize some areas where it’s been lacking. Women’s health (or femtech) is one of those areas. Many long-established issues for women have just not been talked about (fertility, libido, menopause, etc.) and digitalization enables a more anonymous approach to these taboo topics that foster innovation.
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
In the very early-stage phase of a startup KPIs will rarely predict who will be the eventual winner as it is just too early to judge any metrics. Hence we believe that the most important ingredient to success is the team. For us, founder-market fit is a way to assess how one team may be better suited to a particular opportunity than another. When we invest in founders, we invest as much in their visions as in their personalities. We invest in the strong characters that will stand, learn and fight the storm.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
We have seen a global trend of temperature-measuring devices during COVID. A lot of startups started to adapt their tech to reposition themselves, as body temperature correlates with mortality in COVID patients. While there is huge potential in this kind of tech, at this current point in time the market looks too crowded and yet not ripe for disruption.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
We are keen to support the local ecosystem (AUT) but are also open to high-quality startups elsewhere in Europe and the U.S. In our portfolio, we invested in only two companies from Austria out of a total of 12. Hi.health, a personal digital concierge that turns your private health insurance into a smart service tailored to your exact needs. The company is led by the well-established entrepreneur Fredrik Debong, a former founder of mySugr, and his friend Sebastian Gruber, who previously worked at McKinsey & Company. We are also invested in Timeular, a time-tracking tool that turns into a productivity coach improving occupational well-being. The concept was created by Manuel Bruschi and Manuel Zoderer with a strong conviction that time is our most precious asset. Together they started a very successful Kickstarter campaign and were named Best Austrian Startup of the Year.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
We are excited about industries that have not been digitalized yet, startups that serve a bigger purpose and founder teams that are diverse. It is hard to pin down just one specific industry but from our portfolio one can already see that we are very bullish on digital health.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
The ecosystem is growing and we have a strong supply of high-quality founders but the market is rather small so many migrate to Germany or other startup hubs in Europe early on. However, still worth to keep an eye on.
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
We expect more innovation and more startups to result from the pandemic. Remote work might encourage startups from nonhubs but in the end it will likely still be the ecosystem that drives where people feel most entrepreneurial. A crisis always presents incredible opportunities for innovation, development and actually changing the status quo. Crisis demands movement and change — the pace of ideation, decision-making and implementation all increase dramatically. This process of experimentation allows the freedom to test different thinking, to fail fast, to learn and to move forward — in short, to innovate.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
Digital health was always very important for us but we believe that the current pandemic emphasizes the need for digitalization in that space even more. People are more aware of how important it is to structure the health care system in an efficient way and serve a growing need. This will definitely accelerate innovation in that field. On the other hand, the travel industry in general is surely heavily impacted by COVID and it is an opportunity for startups to innovate in that field.
How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
Our fund launched in the mist of the pandemic, and we have been one of the most active VC investors in the region investing in 12 companies over just four months. Our founders are naturally worried about the economic crises and confusion caused by the virus; they wonder how to evaluate new business segments due to the pandemic and how to scale in these, as well as how to handle deals that are not closing/taking longer due to COVID. The question of what advice we give them is of course very specific to each case. Generally speaking though, for all startups out there (and aside from the obvious of saving cash as much as you can), remember that a crisis always hits like a “bomb” — but once it is there, be aware of the crisis curve and know where you are. Remember to define and stick to core values. Focus on staying positive by doing what gives you energy and delegate where possible to be able to channel your energy to where it matters most.
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
As the majority of our startups are in the digital health tech space, our portfolio took a strong momentum over the pandemic. Doctorly for instance, was able to raise $5.6 million in capital in a seed round, which shows that their traction translates in trust from the side of investors. The company is THE modern OS for medical practices, reducing the time spent on administrative work by 50%. They have obtained regulatory approvals and were already subject to two acquisition attempts.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
The moment that gave us the most hope must have been the very first launch of our online academy. As part of our commitment to our portfolio startups, we organize online sessions as well as physical events where Calm/Storm’s network of experienced entrepreneurs, whom we refer to as “supporting partners” meet with our portfolio founders. Instead of giving “clever” recommendations they act as sparring partners, forcing the new entrepreneurs to defend and explain their positions. Very similar to what Phin Barnes, partner at First Round Capital, once described as a “good advisor”: The entrepreneur already has the best answer. A good advisor will bring it out by forcing them to walk through the problem again and again.
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
“The things which hurt,” Benjamin Franklin wrote, “instruct.” Whatever the thing in front of you is — the issue, this unfortunate unexpected problem preventing you from doing what you want to do … overcoming it requires a framework for acknowledging, understanding and appreciating that there is always a way to turn your obstacle into something you can use to achieve your ambition. Do not be afraid to start a company in a time of crisis; now is the time we need innovation!

Peter Lasinger, partner, Capital 300

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
Health tech, developer tools, no/low-code, cybersecurity, AR/VR-enabling software, automation in factories and logistics.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
Kaia Health.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
In general, would love to see more female founded startups. Some countries in CEE are still overlooked (e.g., Latvia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic). Services to enable/support API/SaaS-based businesses. Robotic process automation for the masses (long tail).
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
Outstanding team with complementary skill set and obsession for mission. Potential and drive to become global category leader.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
Travel tech is currently a difficult market with the future of travel market wary, as well. Micromobility and neobanks with many well-funded contenders and thought margins. Business models based on affiliate or advertisement revenues.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
We focus in general on Germany, Switzerland, Austria and CEE. There is no dedicated investment focus on Vienna/Austria, however we proactively engage in the local ecosystem to help elevate it. Less than 15% of the companies we interact with are based in Austria.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
There is a lot of talent and activity around Zurich and Munich, but also a lot of AI/ML and data science talent in Poland or Romania. Companies we are especially excited about: Storyblok, PicsArt, Authenteq, Kaia, DeepCode, Assaia, Nethone, FireStart, Darmstadt Graphics Group.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Few international VC players actively looking into Austria and Vienna as a startup hub. Increase in opportunities with first Decacorn (Dynatrace), Unicorn (Tricentis) and some interesting teams (e.g., Anyline, MOSTLY AI, Zerolens, Storyblok, Tractive, Bitpanda).
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
Founders probably still coming from cities with strong ecosystem network effects and strong industry specific or academic excellence. Remote work offers teams better accessibility to talent, thus teams will me more distributed.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
Startups in travel industry most exposed. Opportunities for startups to tap into: Customers (B2B and B2C) getting more open to digital processes like digital sales, enables faster international sales.
How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
Strategy only shifted in terms of how to get to know founders well remotely (more social referencing; nonbusiness talks with founders in calls). Biggest worries of portfolio founders: Possible customer churn due to cost cutting, Advice to startups: Manage cash flow carefully and make use of hiring of remote talent (e.g., sales people in U.S.).
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
B2C startups → higher organic growth. Digital health has a strong uptake, and regulators increased their speed of better regulations for digital health.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
Speaking to ambitious founders shows that pandemic-related setbacks are seen as challenges that these founders are highly motivated to overcome. The pandemic is no showstopper for amazing teams that often grow even stronger in this challenging environment.
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
Brilliant teams on a mission can leverage technology especially in times of uncertainty and change. Even though it may sound counterintuitive, it is the right time to start a business and drive change. There are so many challenges to be solved and people willing to dedicate their time, network and funds to help.

Christoph Kanneberger, partner, APEX Ventures

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
Novel technology across all sectors.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
DeepSpin.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
More technology-driven business models within the fintech space.
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
Strong IP.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
3D printing, DeFi services no one needs.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
Less.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Medtech is big in Austria. ImageBiopsy Lab and Contextflow.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Vienna is comparable to a strong “niche player.”
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
No.
What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? 
That market sentiment is getting worse, investors go on hold and they will not be able to raise their next financing round.
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
Rarely.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
How strong teams still stick together.
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
There are tough times ahead of us, but we will manage them for sure!

Philipp Thurn und Taxis, partner, CNB Capital

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
AI.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
Hydrogrid.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
European deep tech engineering.
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
Strong IP.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
Mobility plattforms.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
Less than 10%.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Medtech, pharma and biotech.
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Positive, great place to build a company, but second-class citizenship.
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
No.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
Not industry segments, but analogue-selling processes are negatively affected.
How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
[COVID] has no impact on future investments, but intensified cash-flow planning with some founders.
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
Yes, about 20% of companies have seen those.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
That 2020 will come to an end :-)
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
Crisis is always an opportunity and if anything it brings back missing discipline in doing proper diligence.

Markus Wanko, partner, IST cube

What trends are you most excited about investing in, generally?
Breakthroughs that happen at the intersection of different scientific disciplines.
What’s your latest, most exciting investment?
All are exciting ;o), [but] the latest is G.ST Antivirals, a simple idea to trick cells into reducing viral replication.
Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but don’t? What are some overlooked opportunities right now?
We’d love to see more startups run by serial scientific entrepreneurs — not a very widespread species yet given the young age of the ecosystem here.
What are you looking for in your next investment, in general?
Solid science, breakthrough technology, inspiring team.
Which areas are either oversaturated or would be too hard to compete in at this point for a new startup? What other types of products/services are you wary or concerned about?
COVID-19 — COVID 19 seems to be the new AI; no need to project anything that comes along as a solution to the COVID-19 crisis.
How much are you focused on investing in your local ecosystem versus other startup hubs (or everywhere) in general? More than 50%? Less?
We’ll invest a quarter of our fund internationally, majority in our ecosystem.
Which industries in your city and region seem well-positioned to thrive, or not, long term? What are companies you are excited about (your portfolio or not), which founders?
Life sciences, science in general (quantum, photonics, materials).
How should investors in other cities think about the overall investment climate and opportunities in your city?
Strong scientific base, underdeveloped venture landscape both at seed stage and at later (Series A, B) stage.
Do you expect to see a surge in more founders coming from geographies outside major cities in the years to come, with startup hubs losing people due to the pandemic and lingering concerns, plus the attraction of remote work?
Not really. Our founders come from scientific institutions and would have to actively move away (which some might do, but don’t expect a “surge”). Plus, startups that require lab access have limited options elsewhere.
Which industry segments that you invest in look weaker or more exposed to potential shifts in consumer and business behavior because of COVID-19? What are the opportunities startups may be able to tap into during these unprecedented times?
None really. Our main verticals in CS, materials and life sciences rather benefit from these shifts.
How has COVID-19 impacted your investment strategy? What are the biggest worries of the founders in your portfolio? What is your advice to startups in your portfolio right now?
We have not changed our strategy. The verticals we look at are actually quite resilient. In terms of funding potentially drying up: We already were pursuing syndication strategies with our co-investors and will continue to do so to make sure there is a broader funding base going forward.
Are you seeing “green shoots” regarding revenue growth, retention or other momentum in your portfolio as they adapt to the pandemic?
We did. AI-based supply chain optimization, AI for lung radiology, antivirals, synthetic DNA all obviously thrived during COVID. For those companies, it is a unique chance to accelerate their development, get into clinics etc. much faster.
What is a moment that has given you hope in the last month or so? This can be professional, personal or a mix of the two.
Our founders who come to the lab day in, day out. And increased LP interest, people realize that funding the transition of tech from lab to market is quite a high priority!
Any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers?
Vienna is the world’s best place to live. We have great scientific institutions and generous nondilutive funding for startups — so if you are looking around, do consider our ecosystem.