Failures & Lessons Learned

Failures & Lessons Learnt in Startup Business Development 

On 5 December 2024, a special event took place in Vienna dedicated to an open exchange about the challenges and successes in the business development of impact startups. The event attracted over 50 participants, including founders, experts and students who are passionate about circular business models and sustainable entrepreneurship.

Inspiring keynotes

The evening began with exciting insights:

• Florian Schanznig (Vienna Business Agency) not only presented the wide range of support services offered by the Viennese startup community and emphasised the strengths of the local ecosystem - but also allowed participants to talk to each other directly and experience the "build-measure-learn" loop of startups for themselves.
• Kilian Kaminski (Refurbed) shared the impressive success story of Refurbed, a leading Austrian scale-up in the circular economy.

Honest discussions in the panel

The subsequent panel discussion offered an honest examination of the hurdles and successes of entrepreneurship. The discussion was moderated by Larena Eibl:

• Kilian Kaminski (Refurbed)
• Elena Yaneva (Hempstatic)
• Stephan Hofmann (Minimist)
• Florian Schanznig (Vienna Business Agency)

The panel highlighted the importance of failure as a learning process and the value of a strong network, especially in the current economic climate.

A space for networking and exchange

In addition to the inspiring presentations and discussions, the event was a platform for networking. Participants took the opportunity to share their experiences and make new contacts within the impact startup community.

The event was a cooperation between the Circular Economy Forum Austria and the Vienna Business Agency supported by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.

Many thanks to all participants and partners for this successful evening!

Here are a few impressions of the event: