Skinnovation
Skinnovation is a unique startup conference on skis. More than 300 startups, Investors and innovative corporates meet up during 2.5 days to ski together, attend talks in ski huts, and network. Pitching takes place in a ski lift!
ORGANIZER
Host: Innsbruck University // Co-Host: Wirtschaftkammer Tirol
SPECIAL PARTNER
SPEAKERS 2020
Svenja Lassen
Managing Director, primeCROWD Germany
Svenja Lassen
Managing Director, primeCROWD Germany
As Managing Director, Svenja Lassen is responsible for setting up the primeCROWD start-up investor network in Germany. The trained journalist is a certified business coach, experienced moderator and networker. She loves to bring people together who benefit from each other and support them in their challenges. For more than a decade, she was primarily involved with professional topics as a journalist and was responsible at COSMOPOLITAN for Business and the special issue cosmo@work. In 2019, she developed and set up the SupportHer-Academy training platform for Bauer publishing house.
At the same time she teaches and coaches rhetoric and presentation at universities and companies – in groups as well as in individual training sessions. She is a frequent guest on panels and also moderates at trade fairs, congresses, events and in companies.
“Diversity rules – why diverse teams earn better results and how you should consider this while building up your startup“
tbd
Andres Schabelman
VP International Expansion, Fiverr
Andres Schabelman
VP International Expansion, Fiverr
Andres Schabelman was one of the first 30 employees at Airbnb, leading their global expansion efforts and opening up 12 different global markets in 11 different countries. He currently is the VP of International Expansion at Fiverr, the world’s largest online marketplace for digital services. He has a unique ability expand businesses with a heart-centric approach, often leading to companies to find the key to organic, network growth. Not only does he work to create emotional resonance with users in new markets, but he operationalizes amazing company cultures and values in different markets. Before Airbnb, Andres worked at Google helping build the US-Latino advertising unit, and he founded mealsharing.com, a platform to connect travelers and at-home cooks for social meals. He holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and focused his studies on grassroots organizing, which has influenced his community, consumer-focused growth approach to international expansion. Since leaving Airbnb, Andres has mentored/advised/invested in marketplace businesses, often within the sharing economy and travel industries. Andres grew up in New Orleans with Argentine parents, loves live music, thinks he’s excellent at ping pong, goes to Burning Man every year, and would love to be a travel show host on tv when he grows up.
“Personal and Business Growth Lessons from the Early Days of Airbnb“
Andres will map out ways to gain personal freedom and expression and turn them into powerful assets both within the workplace and the broader global society. The talk will also discuss how these approaches can lead to the type of growth companies hope to achieve when they are seeking to both find their own individual purpose in life and also truly capture the heart and minds of their users within their business.
Toon Bouten
CEO, tado
Toon Bouten
CEO, tado
Computers and GN Store Nord and smaller companies like Jobline, AND International Publishers and Tomorrow Focus. Besides being executive in companies Toon is also investor and advisor for internet and technology companies. For 2 years Toon has joined tado° as an investor and CEO. tado° is a Munich based company young company focusing on intelligent heating and cooling solutions for homes to save energy and to deliver more comfort. The main focus at tado° is to professionalize, expand and scale the company.
Toon holds an engineering degree from the University of Technology in Eindhoven. He is married and has 3 children. Toon’s passions are tour skiing, climbing, golf, scuba diving, discovering new worlds, design and classical music.
Toon’s motto: let’s build a sustainable world as there is no planet B
“Transition from a start-up to a young company“
There are many start-up companies but then what is next? Do you always want to be a start-up or want to mature your company? This talk gives more insides and live examples how a transition from a start-up to a young growth company could look like.
Meike Neitz
Boss @ Zukunftsmanufaktur
Meike Neitz
Boss @ Zukunftsmanufaktur
Meike Neitz is an Event Moderator, Communications and Start-up consultant. She started her career in the field of international economic consultancy, overseeing projects in Indonesia, Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia and Thailand. Meike returned to Germany in 2013 and got involved in the Startup scene: She managed the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen” for the Investor and Entrepreneur Vural Öger, before founding her own company. She now moderates conferences all over Germany, organizes and hosts the event series “12minme” in Cologne, and helps startups in business development and PR. She has published her first book “Einstieg in die PR” in March 2013.
“Start-up PR – how to pitch your story to journalists“
“Moderation“
Moderation
Nina Wirtz
All-Senses-Sales-Expert
Nina Wirtz
All-Senses-Sales-Expert
Nina Wirtz is a trainer, image consultant, speaker and all-senses sales expert. She has been active in sales and fashion for over 20 years, earning more than 180 million euros for her company in her teleshopping career.
“Verkaufe mit Herz.“
“Was kann uns denn so eine Homeshopping-Tante erzählen? Eine ganze Menge. Denn sie lässt uns an ihrer Heldenreise teilhaben. ‘Früher war ich eins der Sandkörner in der Servicewüste Deutschland. Ich habe halt meinen Job gemacht, ob der Kunde happy war oder nicht, das war mir ziemlich egal’, sagt Nina ehrlich. Und genau das macht ihre herzerfrischende Art aus. ‘Ich durfte Demut und Dienen lernen! Das war ganz schön hart, hat mir aber gezeigt, dass ich mit meiner Arroganz und Profitgier auf dem Holzweg lag. Seit dem bin ich mit dem ganzen Herzen und Leidenschaft dabei.’ Was sich seit dem geändert hat? Alles! Ihre Beziehungen, privat und beruflich, die Freude am Job und schlußendlich die Umsätze, die mit veränderter Sicht auf die Dinge in die Höhe schossen. Und genau darum geht es in ihren Speeches.” Verändere dich und deinen Fokus und dein Leben ändert sich diametral! (Henriette Frädrich, Gastgeberin Geile-Uschi-Kongress)
Dr. Ofer Zellermayer Ph.D.,
Marketing and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Ofer Zellermayer Ph.D.,
Marketing and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Zellermayer has a BA in Psychology and Business Administration from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (magna cum laude) and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Marketing and Decision Sciences from the Social and Decision Sciences Dept. at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He’s always combined between and academic and the practical worlds.
Dr. Zellermayer’s research interests lie at the crossroad of Marketing Psychology and Behavioral Decision Making. His real-world career engulfs in addition management and entrepreneurship.
In his Ph.D. thesis he explored The Pain of Paying.
Dr. Zellermayer teaches in two of Israel’s leading private colleges, the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) and the Ono Academic College (OAC) where he served as the head of the Marketing track.
His teaching includes Consumer Behavior, Decision Sciences, International Marketing, Marketing Communications, Marketing-&-Law, Marketing-&-Movies, Marketing Research both at the undergraduate and MBA levels and as a visiting professor at Friedrich Schiller University (FSU) in Germany and (TSU) in Georgia.
As part of his professorship role Ofer guides numerus graduate students’ entrepreneurial projects; He also serves as a mentor in a variety of additional innovative business.
Prior to the beginning his professional career, Ofer served as a commanding captain at the Israeli Air Force (AIF).
Dr. Zellermayer had also served on the board of a directors of two of the country’s largest public companies: “Delek-Motors” – Israel’s most successful automobiles importer to Israel, which is the Israeli franchisee of Ford, Mazda and BMW, and “HOT” – a daughter company of Altice – a group of communication companies that offers customers variety of communication services. In both positioned he served as the head of the Balance Sheet Committee and the Audit Committee.
Believing that learning is much more than teaching, in 2014 together with the ministry of education in Andorra, he founded Academski – a novel program that combines skiing with academic studies. In 2016 he first heard about Skinnovation – an innovative entrepreneurship-educational program, by the University of Innsbruck – arrived as a lecturer and became hooked. He’s been a speaker there for the last four years.
Skiing is a passion of Ofer and he’s been lucky to have been skiing in: Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, California, Colorado, France, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Utah and Wyoming. His short wish list includes Japan and Finland.
During 2017 Dr. Zellermayer served as a member of: The Committee for Examination of Ways to Reduce the Number of Casualties from the Use of Smartphones While Driving (Sheffer Committee), by the National Road Safety Authority. The committee issued a report about one of the country’s aching issues: texting and driving.
“Startup Marketing – All You Need is Less“
Disruption: what a current, trendy, sexy, mesmerizing word. But for disruption to make an effect, its story needs to be told. And the story tellers – those who connect the disruptive solution with consumers’ needs – are the marketers. They need to decide not only what to say, but also what to omit. In the lecture we’ll discuss some of the principles that that can make your disruptive idea relevant to potential consumers.ant to potential consumers.
Heidi Neururer
Managing Director, Hotel und Kompetenzzentrum Lizum1600
Heidi Neururer
Managing Director, Hotel und Kompetenzzentrum Lizum1600
Grown up in the the alps Heidi Neururer fell in love with all kinds of wintersports already in her early years – especially snowboarding was her favorite thing to do. Becoming a professional snowboarding was an emotional rollercoaster ride which was enjoyable and hard at the same time but for sure worth to go. After a long journey Heidi’s dream became true – in 2007 she got Worldchampion in Snowbaording. After being an athlete for almost 20 years Heidi decided to look behind the scenes in other areas of life. She studied Management and Economics at the University of Innsbruck and Leadership and Management at the University of Krems. The combination of the latest insights of different ares of science with Heidi’s experiences as an athlete is a fascinating thing for her. In her latest paper she examined how extraordinary successfull leaders and athletes manage emotions and what they can learn from each other. As a managing director of the Hotel and Kompetenzzentrum Lizum1600 and speaker Heidi’s focus lays not only on intellectual competences but also on emotional, social and personal competences.
“Managing the emotional rollercoaster ride as entrepreneur“
tba
Djordy Seelmann
CEO, HousingAnywhere
Djordy Seelmann
CEO, HousingAnywhere
Djordy holds Bachelor degrees in Economics and Law, and Master Degrees in Finance and Financial Law (cum laude). During his studies, he started a graduate recruitment business targeting the legal sector. He ended his studies with internships at a top-tier legal firm and an international investment bank. After these various experiences, Djordy concluded that he wanted to be a tech entrepreneur because of his outspoken interest in entrepreneurship and technology. Djordy joined HousingAnywhere in 2014 as VP Product Development and was appointed CEO in April 2018. Djordy has been responsible for developing major parts of HousingAnywhere’s booking platform and the scaling of the teams that build it. He’s still involved in many parts of the development of the platform, including features like Messaging, Payments and Search, but also the creation of new exciting products and features. From the moment he joined the company, Seelmann set his sights on growing HA into the global platform it has become today.
“How technology is disrupting the real estate sector and how we live“
Real estate has existed since the beginnings of time as it serves a basic human need. In the past thousands of years, home technology has had a large impact on the quality of living. People have also become more mobile and nowadays, anyone with a phone and a credit card can rent a place anywhere in the world, in a matter of minutes. In this talk, we explore the opportunities of modern-day technology on the real estate industry and why PropTech is gaining more and more traction. +1: Dasha Burtseva
Is there anything else you need from Djordy?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Daniel Gebler
CTO, Picnic
Daniel Gebler
CTO, Picnic
Daniel Gebler is CTO of Picnic, the world’s fastest growing online supermarket that makes grocery shopping simple, fun, and affordable for everyone. Previously, he was Director R&D of Fredhopper, responsible for the product and technology roadmap, and led engineering teams located in Amsterdam and Sofia. Daniel holds a PhD in Computer Science and an MBA.
“Everywhere commerce- voice interfaces, autonomous warehouses, self-driving delivery“
In this keynote it will be shown how a unique combination of IoT, AI, Drones and autonomous vehicles is forming the next generation of commerce. From mobile to voice interfaces, from manual to autonomous warehouses, from human operated to self-driving cars. The technology is there, pilots are in operation, and broad adoption is not far away. It will be shown how Picnic and other retailers are building logistic platforms that unlock the next generation of commerce experience.
Janis Meyer-Plath
Co-Founder, Friendsurance
Janis Meyer-Plath
Co-Founder, Friendsurance
Janis started out with an education in Management and 2 years of a pretty flat learning curve in the insides of an energy corporation before stepping into a lot colder water (with a steeper curve) co-founding an e-commerce business that failed quite painfully. In love with an idea with the potential to change the face of an industry, he co-founded Friendsurance, the leader in peer-to-peer insurance, in 2010. Janis is taking care of business (development) and everything that brings customers to the Friendsurance platform – both in Friendsurance’s B2B2C and B2B offerings. He loves to go skiing whenever he can steal a day away from his two primary passions: His family and – you guessed it – growing Friendsurance.
“From B2C to B2B2C: Our learnings“
Many startup companies focus on a B2B or a B2C strategy – but how do you deal with a shift of focus when you are already on your way? Janis will share some of the decisions you will have to take and learnings he made with Friendsurance.
Irina Marinescu
Associate, Paul Hastings LLP
Irina Marinescu
Associate, Paul Hastings LLP
Irina Marinescu is a senior associate in Paul Hastings LLP’s New York office focused on helping fintech companies meet their debt capital needs and helping lenders in the space build tailored credit solutions. She also has experience in middle market leveraged finance, project finance and securitization as well as in prosecuting market manipulation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and working with large multinational partners while at the World Bank. She holds a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, a B.A. from New York University and publishes on Medium as well as in the American Bar Association-sponsored Uniform Commercial Code law journal in respect of blockchain, capital raising and commercial law.
“Debt capital raising – U.S. market landscape, success and cautionary tales and how to optimize“
Debt capital can prove a helpful bridge between financing rounds and is always a non-dilutive form of capital raising; here I’ll cover the U.S. market experience along with success stories and some cautionary tales.
Claus Unterkircher
General Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Voi
Claus Unterkircher
General Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Voi
Claus joined Voi in 2018 to bring electric mobility to cities in DACH. Voi was soon the first scooter provider to get a general operating license in Germany and scaled within few months to millions of rides, 40+ active cities, and more than 600 employees. With a funding of 138 million USD Voi is the largest European micro-mobility startup and has big plans for 2020.
Before Claus scaled business operations for Uber from the first day to a profitable multi-million business five years later. He also consulted and worked in the travel and aviation industry for several years.
“Cities made for living – how we could improve air quality, win back space and make our cities safer.“
More than 1 million cars in Berlin, 800k and growing in Vienna. Most cities have not succeeded to reduce traffic, pollution and car ownership despite climate change. Scooters and micro-mobility can contribute to climate targets if done well.
Alexander Wahler
CEO, Onlim
Alexander Wahler
CEO, Onlim
Alexander is CEO and co-founder of Onlim. He is in charge of business development and investor relations. Alexander has been a successful serial entrepreneur in the SaaS industry for over 15 years now and graduated in electrical engineering at the University of Technology Vienna.
“Artificial Intelligence: Whats inside for startups?“
Anna Yona
Co-Founder of Wildling, Wildling Shoes
Anna Yona
Co-Founder, Wildling Shoes
It was the feet of her three children that inspired Anna Yona, founder and managing director of Wildling Shoes, to start a company. When reading Middle Eastern Studies and English Literature at Tel Aviv University she met her husband, Ran, and started a family. In 2013 the family moved back to Germany. The biggest challenge here was buying shoes for the children, who in Israel were mainly used to running about barefoot. There seemed to be no shoe that would meet their requirements regarding freedom of movement, sustainable materials and fair production. And just like that, the idea of Wildling Shoes was born.
Today, Wildling employs over 100 people in a remote company structure.
“How to build a digitally native vertical brand“
From storytelling to purpose – what are the key steps to building a successful dnvb?
Remco Livain
CEO, GANDT Ventures GmbH
Remco Livain
CEO, GANDT Ventures GmbH
Remco Livain is a serial digital entrepreneur who started his online career in the mid-2000s. As co-founder of MIFLORA, C-Date and Head Of Online Marketing at Westwing Home and Living, he developed his skills as a data-driven digital marketeer.
The last 5 years, he has devoted most of his time to the GANDT Ventures team; who support both corporates and teams with great ideas in the execution of digital business plans. With offices in Zürich and Munich, as well as clients in the USA, the team has grown to 20+ FTE.
With a strong believe in co-creation and working out loud, Remco and the GANDT Ventures team are hands-on digital innovators. Some clients include: Bucherer, Tourneau, Ricola, iWay, Allianz (Elvia e-invest), True Religion, and Hapimag.
“Why you need to use marketing data for (early stage) product development“
Product is key, right? Well… Not necessarily. The thing is, some products are better than others. If you are developing a new service, do you really know who your target audience ultimately will be? Do you think you know what the best USPs are to promote your product? I would like to share some insights from my own personal experience regarding product creation. I’ll share my thoughts on product development and why it is important to use marketing data from day one – focus on the customer and the way you present your product, potentially more than the product itself.
Sebastian Legler
CEO Flightright
Sebastian Legler
CEO Flightright
Sebastian is the CEO of Flightright, Europe’s leading LegalTech platform.
Born with the idea of helping distressed flight passengers, Sebastian transformed Flightright from a single product business to a platform that today is giving consumers access to justice in 8 countries across several legal areas, including flight disruptions and labor law.
Prior to starting at Flightright, Sebastian founded an Insurtech company helping consumers get fairer access to insurance coverage, and spent several years in consulting at Oliver Wyman and McKinsey. Sebastian holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“David, Goliath and airlines“
Revolutionizing an industry, democratizing law, being blacklisted by airlines – how technology enables small players to shape an industry and change the world.
Pia Victoria Poppenreiter
Co-Founder & CEO Zeitgeist Tech
Pia Victoria Poppenreiter
Co-Founder & CEO Zeitgeist Tech
Recently called ‘the Goddess of Creative Rebellion”, it’s true: As the daughter of an entrepreneur and an artist, the sister of a rebel, she has been inspired to be a lionhearted fighter, who challenges the status quo with a purpose. With her background in finance and business ethics, she feels well-equipped to have a take on startup land, in particular on the (paid) dating industry. Pia is interested in the potential of increasing human-wellbeing on scale with tech.
“Ethics in Tech (development)“
What it is, why it is important and how it can be done – explained with a concrete example: reinventing and digitalizing something called “sexwork”.
Bettina Engert
Director/Advisor Communications, Acton Capital
Bettina Engert
Director/Advisor Communications, Acton Capital
As one of the first execs and employee No. 1, Bettina shaped FlixBus’ success story and reputation from early startup team to a corporate player in mobility.
Being responsible for the communications of FlixMobility/FlixBus, she was guiding the market launch of long-distance buses in Germany, Europe and the US, introducing various M&A deals, new products like FlixTrain and business units like FlixCharter, as well as developing strategies for crisis communication and change management.
In 2019, she switched perspectives from startup to venture capital
“How to create momentum to support your startup’s growth and brand awareness.“
What’s my CI, my founding story, my vision and mission, what is “newsworthy”? How can I place my company, my products and myself by using classic and new media channels to shape my (employer) brand and get some traction? What to do, when the mood shifts?
Katharina Mayer
Founder Kuchentratsch
Katharina Mayer
Founder Kuchentratsch
After her traineeship in hotel management in Munich Katharina graduated in business administration with a focus on social and health-care management in Austria and Argentina. With Kuchentratsch, founded in 2015 in Munich, she successfully combines social impact within a business model. Her Start-Up employees more than 50 grannies, bakes 40.000 cakes per year and sends the granny cakes germanywide via DHL. In 2015 Katharina won the Münchner Gründerpreis and holds different scholarships. On a voluntary basis Katharina works for an organization on crisis intervention. She led for example a team of doctors in Mexico giving medical help just 24h after the enormes earthquake in 2017 and 2018 after the foods in Malawi. As a speaker she co-opened 2018 the Bits&Pretzels and spoke 2019 at the United Nations in New York about social entrepreneurship.
“Social entrepreneurship: Combining impact and business.“
Katharina Unger
Founder & CEO Livin Farms
Katharina Unger
Founder & CEO Livin Farms
Born and raised in Austria, Katharina is currently living and working in Hong Kong. She is often described as a thought leader in the space of design for sustainability, food and agricultural innovation.She has worked as a design advisor and consultant in agencies and for her own clients in London, Hong Kong, Vienna, across the USA and Africa.
Katharina has founded Livin Studio and Livin Farms, companies leading in the field of edible insects and novel food innovations. She has brought her own and her clients´products successfully from idea to market.
Katharina has given multiple lectures at universities and public events and is frequently booked as a lecturer, professional keynote speaker or for TV interviews worldwide. Katharina is Alumna of the US Fulbright Program and studied Industrial Design (Masters Degree) and Design for Social Impact in Europe and the US.
“Feeding the world while saving the planet: building a startup against the “yuck” factor.“
Livin Farms is growing insects as alternative protein source on food “waste”. Learn about the story and the adventure of building it!
Table Host
Michael Strobel
CEO of UP STREAM SURFING
Michael Strobel
CEO of UP STREAM SURFING
Born in 1988, he discovered his passion for freeriding during a winter season in Canada and surfing accompanied him on every trip to the ocean.
Since 2014 his new home is Innsbruck.
As a sports engineer, he wrote his master’s thesis about a mobile standing wave.
With our product UP STREAM SURFING we are able to help the landlocked surfers.
Our mission: Bring sustainable surfing into your city!
“tbd“
Johannes Mulert
Senior Manager, Strategic Channel Marketing, Under Armour
Johannes Mulert
Senior Manager, Strategic Channel Marketing, Under Armour
Johannes Mulert is currently heading up all Under Armour marketing activities together with Pure Players in Europe. His biggest accounts are Amazon, Zalando and ASOS.
Under Armour is an American company that manufactures footwear, sports, and casual apparel that generated a revenue of 5.2 Billion USD in 2018. The global headquarter is based in Baltimore and the EMEA business is run through Amsterdam.
Johannes has been working for two years in Amsterdam after having worked for three years in the DACH headquarters in Munich being responsible for all of DACH’s trade marketing.
Johannes has been a speaker at various Amazon Conferences, the OMR (Online Marketing Rockstars conference) and has been mentoring students in Russia over a nine days innovation workshop at the Skoltech institute of Science and Technology.
“Market entry strategies in the sports and fashion business“
Tina Umbach
Managing Director
Tina Umbach
Managing Director
The topic of corporate investments runs through Tina’s professional life. She got to know it from all perspectives: as a consultant (KPMG Transaction Services), in the corporate sector (Media-Saturn-Holding GmbH) and in her own start-up with Exit (stilrad°°). Managing primeCrowd Germany she is able to provide a wide range of expert advice and experience for startups and the investors network.
“Deal brakers during the investment phase“
Riccardo Ravagnan
CSO
Riccardo Ravagnan
CSO
Ravagnan has been handling strategic scientific consulting in the field of sport since 2013 (Sport Meteorology & Environmental Physics for Outdoor Sports). Today, he held the position of technical manager (Weather Strategist) for the Spanish Olympic Sailing Team. He helped the World Championships victory as well as he took an active part in numerous ocean expeditions and extreme record attempts. He led the outdoorsman Alex Bellini through the Island Vatnajökull glacier. Ravagnan is an expert in analyzing physical and environmental dynamics in order to develop race strategies. He is certified as Nord Walking trainer and Sport Coach at the Milan Signal Center.
“Sport Meteorology for a skiing Comfort Index“
Nico Wirtz
CMO
Nico Wirtz
CMO
LOVE. LEARN. GIVE. EARN.
Communication expert, connector, go-giver and creative leader in broadcast, public relations and marketing. Passionate about innovation and creating meaningful partnerships. Delivering forward thinking strategies, creating integrated campaigns (B2B and B2C), developing business, founding new profit centers and business models, and consulting top level management for more than 20 years.
“Sell emotions not products“
Dr. Ofer Zellermayer Ph.D.,
Marketing and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Ofer Zellermayer Ph.D.,
Marketing and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Zellermayer has a BA in Psychology and Business Administration from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (magna cum laude) and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Marketing and Decision Sciences from the Social and Decision Sciences Dept. at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He’s always combined between and academic and the practical worlds.
Dr. Zellermayer’s research interests lie at the crossroad of Marketing Psychology and Behavioral Decision Making. His real-world career engulfs in addition management and entrepreneurship.
In his Ph.D. thesis he explored The Pain of Paying.
Dr. Zellermayer teaches in two of Israel’s leading private colleges, the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) and the Ono Academic College (OAC) where he served as the head of the Marketing track.
His teaching includes Consumer Behavior, Decision Sciences, International Marketing, Marketing Communications, Marketing-&-Law, Marketing-&-Movies, Marketing Research both at the undergraduate and MBA levels and as a visiting professor at Friedrich Schiller University (FSU) in Germany and (TSU) in Georgia.
As part of his professorship role Ofer guides numerus graduate students’ entrepreneurial projects; He also serves as a mentor in a variety of additional innovative business.
Prior to the beginning his professional career, Ofer served as a commanding captain at the Israeli Air Force (AIF).
Dr. Zellermayer had also served on the board of a directors of two of the country’s largest public companies: “Delek-Motors” – Israel’s most successful automobiles importer to Israel, which is the Israeli franchisee of Ford, Mazda and BMW, and “HOT” – a daughter company of Altice – a group of communication companies that offers customers variety of communication services. In both positioned he served as the head of the Balance Sheet Committee and the Audit Committee.
Believing that learning is much more than teaching, in 2014 together with the ministry of education in Andorra, he founded Academski – a novel program that combines skiing with academic studies. In 2016 he first heard about Skinnovation – an innovative entrepreneurship-educational program, by the University of Innsbruck – arrived as a lecturer and became hooked. He’s been a speaker there for the last four years.
Skiing is a passion of Ofer and he’s been lucky to have been skiing in: Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, California, Colorado, France, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Utah and Wyoming. His short wish list includes Japan and Finland.
During 2017 Dr. Zellermayer served as a member of: The Committee for Examination of Ways to Reduce the Number of Casualties from the Use of Smartphones While Driving (Sheffer Committee), by the National Road Safety Authority. The committee issued a report about one of the country’s aching issues: texting and driving.
“Biases In Decision Making“
Toon Bouten
CEO, tado
Toon Bouten
CEO, tado
Computers and GN Store Nord and smaller companies like Jobline, AND International Publishers and Tomorrow Focus. Besides being executive in companies Toon is also investor and advisor for internet and technology companies. For 2 years Toon has joined tado° as an investor and CEO. tado° is a Munich based company young company focusing on intelligent heating and cooling solutions for homes to save energy and to deliver more comfort. The main focus at tado° is to professionalize, expand and scale the company.
Toon holds an engineering degree from the University of Technology in Eindhoven. He is married and has 3 children. Toon’s passions are tour skiing, climbing, golf, scuba diving, discovering new worlds, design and classical music.
Toon’s motto: let’s build a sustainable world as there is no planet B
“Scaling companies“
Karin Trocker
Mitarbeiterin Gründerservice Wirtschaftskammer
Karin Trocker
Gründerservice Wirtschaftskammer
After my degree in Tourism Management studies at the Management Center Innsbruck, an Applied Scienes University in Innsbruck, I worked as a coordinator for the youth hotel and restaurant organization in South Tyrol. Afterwards I worked for the Olympia Sports and Congress Centre in Seefeld in the position of the management assistant and chief of Marketing. I have been supporting the team at the Founder Service at the Economic Chamber Tyrol (WKO) now for more than 3 years.
“Consulting session – start your business in Austria“
Janis Meyer-Plath
Co-Founder, Friendsurance
Janis Meyer-Plath
Co-Founder, Friendsurance
Janis started out with an education in Management and 2 years of a pretty flat learning curve in the insides of an energy corporation before stepping into a lot colder water (with a steeper curve) co-founding an e-commerce business that failed quite painfully. In love with an idea with the potential to change the face of an industry, he co-founded Friendsurance, the leader in peer-to-peer insurance, in 2010. Janis is taking care of business (development) and everything that brings customers to the Friendsurance platform – both in Friendsurance’s B2B2C and B2B offerings. He loves to go skiing whenever he can steal a day away from his two primary passions: His family and – you guessed it – growing Friendsurance.
“Insurtech and the answers to everything else“
Gernot Schwendtner
Co-Founder of weGrow International
Gernot Schwendtner
Co-Founder of weGrow International
Gernot Schwendtner is Co-Founder of weGrow International, an Amsterdam-based internationalization service focused on start- and scale-ups growing in Europe, Asia, and the USA. weGrow is helping companies such as WeTransfer, Honeypot, UnitedWardrobe or HelloPrint to enter markets in both a strategic and hands-on way. Gernot was VP Marketing and International Country Manager of TravelBird, Managing Director of Newsreisen and built up a venture-builder for an Austrian media company
“Scaling internationally – international growth & expansion“
Andres Schabelman
VP International Expansion, Fiverr
Andres Schabelman
VP International Expansion, Fiverr
Andres Schabelman was one of the first 30 employees at Airbnb, leading their global expansion efforts and opening up 12 different global markets in 11 different countries. He currently is the VP of International Expansion at Fiverr, the world’s largest online marketplace for digital services. He has a unique ability expand businesses with a heart-centric approach, often leading to companies to find the key to organic, network growth. Not only does he work to create emotional resonance with users in new markets, but he operationalizes amazing company cultures and values in different markets. Before Airbnb, Andres worked at Google helping build the US-Latino advertising unit, and he founded mealsharing.com, a platform to connect travelers and at-home cooks for social meals. He holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and focused his studies on grassroots organizing, which has influenced his community, consumer-focused growth approach to international expansion. Since leaving Airbnb, Andres has mentored/advised/invested in marketplace businesses, often within the sharing economy and travel industries. Andres grew up in New Orleans with Argentine parents, loves live music, thinks he’s excellent at ping pong, goes to Burning Man every year, and would love to be a travel show host on tv when he grows up.
“How to address core fears in yourself and with your business and feel deeper into the heart to grow“
Olga Wieser
Startup Consultant
Olga Wieser
Startup Consultant
Olga’s passion is to support startups from the idea through to investment maturity. She focuses on empowering women to found startups and is responsible for establishing international partnerships with incubators and accelerators. After studying international economics in Innsbruck and at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, she worked in various creative industries as a product manager and conceptionist. Before she started to work for Startup.Tirol she gained experience as a freelance (visual) facilitator, where she worked for international companies and passed on her knowledge in start-up consultation.
“International incubator&accelerator knowledge exchange“
Alex Koll
COO Werkstätte Wattens
Alex Koll
COO Werkstätte Wattens
Alex Koll is COO of Werkstätte Wattens, an international entrepreneur, startup and creative space near Innsbruck, Tyrol, opened in 2015 and now home to over 65 companies and 300 members. Tasked with the conceptualization of the initiative 5 years ago, he is now responsible for the strategic and operative management including the support for startups in their growth phase and corporate business partners in their innovation activities. Formerly, Alex used to work for Swarovski for over 15 years in various intrapreneurial management roles, including the market entry of a new design technology and the setting up and running of Swarovski’s feature film business.
“How can Entrepreneurship & Technology solve the Big Alpine Challenges“
Moritz Nachtschatt
Vice President of Protect Our Winters Austria
Moritz Nachtschatt
Vice President of Protect Our Winters Austria
Moritz Nachtschatt grew up in Vienna but with his mom being from Innsbruck, he always spent a lot of time in the mountains surrounding the Innsbruck area. He started taking pictures on family vacations and later on during vacations with friends.
Until 2014 he never thought of the possibility of being a professional photographer and didn’t even own a DSLR. In 2014 he finally had the guts to quit his studies of biotechnology, to buy a beginners DSLR and take the first steps to a professional photography career. Together with a friend he founded the company KusebauchNachtschatt in mid 2015. Since 2018 he’s a member of APA (Austria Press Agency) and the collective “Die Familie”. The only thing that didn’t change over the years, was his love for mountains.
Next to his role models, nature influenced his style a lot and over the years he had witnessed the first signs of climate change in Austria first hand. His first solo exhibition “Snow Stories (from Lech)” succeeded all expectations and had the goal to show the people in Vienna the beauty and importance of snow. All profits from the opening night went to Protect our Winters Austria (POW). After the exhibition Moritz became an active member of POW, started to make most of their graphics and became vice president in October 2019. He’s now spending most of his spare time to raise awareness and fight climate change together with POW for a better and more sustainable future with lots of snow.
“How can Start-Ups “Protect our Winters”“
Jana Ganzmann
Co-Founder of SETup
Jana Ganzmann
Co-Founder of SETup
Jana Ganzmann is a passionate social entrepreneur and believes in the power of business to make a positive impact. After her studies in nonprofit- and social management, she gained experience in Berlin supporting newcomer entrepreneurs. Connecting her knowledge from the NGO sector with innovation methods, she founded SETup in 2019, an incubator and connecting point for social entrepreneurship in Innsbruck.
Next to skiing and ski touring, she loves to go climbing, which has accompanied her all her life.
“Entrepreneurial impact – how to manage and harness sustainability in your startup“
Melanie Vöhringer
aws Consultant
Melanie Vöhringer
aws Consultant
Melanie is Consultant at Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (aws) the Austrian federal promotional bank for growth and innovation. aws supports young and innovative Austrian Start-ups, founders, as well as SME’s and the industry sector. She advises and supports companies from the first steps to internationalization for more than seven years.
“How to boost innovation with aws“
There are many challenges and issues for people with creative, innovative ideas who want to found a company in Austria or have already founded a company. aws offers programs like soft loans, guarantees for bank loans, grants, equity, as well as coaching services and networking programs.
Kathrin Treutinger
Founder Skinnovation
Kathrin Treutinger
Founder Skinnovation
Kathrin Treutinger is the founder of Skinnovation. She inititated the event in 2015 as a small one-day innovation event. Quickly Skinnovation grew and now is one of the largest startup events in West-Austria and the only startup conference on skis.
“Adventure venture – driving a rally“
Claus Unterkircher
General Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Voi
Claus Unterkircher
General Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Voi
Claus joined Voi in 2018 to bring electric mobility to cities in DACH. Voi was soon the first scooter provider to get a general operating license in Germany and scaled within few months to millions of rides, 40+ active cities, and more than 600 employees. With a funding of 138 million USD Voi is the largest European micro-mobility startup and has big plans for 2020.
Before Claus scaled business operations for Uber from the first day to a profitable multi-million business five years later. He also consulted and worked in the travel and aviation industry for several years.
“Electric micro mobility“
Anna Yona
Co-Founder of Wildling, Wildling Shoes
Anna Yona
Co-Founder, Wildling Shoes
It was the feet of her three children that inspired Anna Yona, founder and managing director of Wildling Shoes, to start a company. When reading Middle Eastern Studies and English Literature at Tel Aviv University she met her husband, Ran, and started a family. In 2013 the family moved back to Germany. The biggest challenge here was buying shoes for the children, who in Israel were mainly used to running about barefoot. There seemed to be no shoe that would meet their requirements regarding freedom of movement, sustainable materials and fair production. And just like that, the idea of Wildling Shoes was born.
Today, Wildling employs over 100 people in a remote company structure.
“Retail of the future – digitally native vertical brands –“
Philipp Niedermeyer
attorney at law Osborne Clarke Germany
Philipp Niedermeyer
attorney at law Osborne Clarke Germany
Philipp Niedermeyer advises national and international investors, funds and technology-driven growth companies on Venture Capital and M&A transactions and other strategic matters such as the implementation of employee incentive schemes.
He focusses on tech and digital business models such as e-mobility, artificial intelligence, fintech.
He has represented Venture Capital Funds from Europe, USA and Asia.
“negotiating terms – understanding the metrics of VC terms“
Alex Pientka
Senior Maintenance Manager (Airbus DS)
Alex Pientka
Senior Maintenance Manager (Airbus DS)
Alex was born in Moscow where he spent most of his youth. Back in Germany he started working for the Deutsche Bundeswehr as mechanic for the navy helicopter Sea Lynx. Since 2009 he is employed with Airbus and works on maintenance missions. When not being abroad he enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids in his home near Leipzig. Alex is a passionate Quad driver and in 2019 he participated in the charity rally Dresden-Dakar-Banjul.
“Aid and Fun combined“
Andy Gstoll
CEO Mixed Reality I/O
Andy Gstoll
CEO, Mixed Reality I/O
Andy is an entrepreneur, business executive and advisor thriving on new business ideas and technology innovation, particularly in the field of Mixed Reality (Augmented and Virtual Reality). Andy is a global citizen who has spent most of his career on building international businesses in Asia (6 years), America (8 years) and Europe where he grew up and now lives again. He has significant experience with both the corporate world from working with multinationals like AOL Time Warner, Lonely Planet / BBC Worldwide and Electronic Arts as well as the rollercoaster startup world filled with excitement, innovation and hunger for disruption. Andy now runs Mixed Reality I/O, an advisory and consulting firm helping selected startups as well as corporates navigate through the worlds of AR and VR.
“Do you believe in Augmented and Virtual Reality?“
Till-Manuel Saur
attorney at law Osborne Clarke Germany
Till-Manuel Saur
attorney at law Osborne Clarke Germany
Till advises investors and growth companies on venture capital and M&A transactions as well as other corporate matters such as establishing employee incentive schemes.
A main focus of his work is providing legal guidance to venture capital funds and start-ups that he has advised in numerous transactions from early stage financing rounds to exits.
“negotiating terms – understanding the metrics of VC terms“
Pia Victoria Poppenreiter
Co-Founder & CEO Zeitgeist Tech
Pia Victoria Poppenreiter
Co-Founder & CEO Zeitgeist Tech
Recently called ‘the Goddess of Creative Rebellion”, it’s true: As the daughter of an entrepreneur and an artist, the sister of a rebel, she has been inspired to be a lionhearted fighter, who challenges the status quo with a purpose. With her background in finance and business ethics, she feels well-equipped to have a take on startup land, in particular on the (paid) dating industry. Pia is interested in the potential of increasing human-wellbeing on scale with tech.
“Ethical decisions in the startup world“
Johann Füller
CEO HYVE AG / Prof. University of Innsbruck
Johann Füller
CEO HYVE AG / Prof. University of Innsbruck
Johann Füller is Professor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Innsbruck University School of Management. He is Fellow at the NASA Tournament Lab-Research at Harvard University. Prof. Dr. Füller has published more than 100 articles in the field of crowdsourcing, co-creation, online innovation communities. He is CEO of HYVE, an innovation agency, directing crowdsourcing initiatives for more than ten years, and has already conducted over 100 theme-related open innovation and crowdsourcing projects.
“Entrepreneurial spirit for corporates”
Katja Hutter
Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Katja Hutter
Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Katja Hutter is Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Innsbruck School of Management, Visiting Fellow at the Laborartory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) and senior research associate at HYVE – the innovation company.
Her research examines the transformation of innovation processes to the edges of organizations into innovation labs, collaboration with start-ups or communities. She investigates incentive schemes and consumer interaction behavior facilitated by new technologies to generate insights for new products, services, or business models that revolve around customers and their needs. Further she is interested in the digital transformation of companies and industries.
“Entrepreneurial spirit for corporates”
Bettina Wenko
Founder Fuckup Nights Innsbruck
Bettina-Wenko
Founder Fuckup Nights Innsbruck
Initiator and Host of Fuckup Nights Innsbruck. Experienced Marketing Professional with a history of working in the startup consulting and services industry. Strong skills in Marketing, Communication, Social Media, Leadership, Systemic Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Business Development, and Strategic Planning. Strong passion in empowering people. Always on the lookout for great people making the world a better place for themselves and others! Doesn’t do sports – thus the picture.
“Share the Failure”
Andreas Arquin
Falkensteiner Ventures – Partner, Finance & Investment Director
Andreas Arquin
Falkensteiner Ventures – Partner, Finance & Investment Director
I’m the CFO of Falkensteiner Ventures, the CFO of Falkensteiner Hotels South Tyrol and the Managing Director of Falk Tours. I‘m internationally experienced in Finance & Controlling from Startups to consolidated balance sheets.
“Startup financing – from the beginning to the successful exit”
Chris Miess
President DAAA (Digital Asset Association Austria), CEO and Founder ICONIC Capital
Chris Miess
President DAAA (Digital Asset Association Austria), CEO and Founder ICONIC Capital
Chris worked for many years in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in London. He advised FinTech companies on capital markets and M&A transactions. Chris then became the CFO of TenX conducting a 80m USD ICO. This ICO was the largest in Asia and has set the standard for many ICOs and STOs (security token offerings) to come. Afterwards Chris founded ICONIC Capital, a leading Blockchain consulting and investment company that he is now leading as its CEO. Furthermore, Chris was appointed as a Blockchain advisor to the Austrian government in the FinTech Advisory Board of the Finance Minister and he is the president of the Digital Asset Association Austria.
“Blockchain, Crypto and DeFi”
Josef Mayerhofer
CEO of Empatic – User Experience Strategy
Josef Mayerhofer
CEO of Empatic – User Experience Strategy
UX strategist & adviser, lecturer at University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien and founder of Empatic – User Experience Strategy
Josef Mayerhofer is the founder and CEO of Empatic UX, where he helps his clients to strategically plan and build digital products. His motto: “Experience is the battleground”. He teaches at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien and often shares his experience and knowledge on human-centered philosophy in workshops and talks. Previously he was Marketing Technology Manager at Deutsche Börse AG, author of reference books and founder of two start-ups in the publishing industry.
“Product Strategy and UX”
Katharina Mayer
Founder Kuchentratsch
Katharina Mayer
Founder Kuchentratsch
After her traineeship in hotel management in Munich Katharina graduated in business administration with a focus on social and health-care management in Austria and Argentina. With Kuchentratsch, founded in 2015 in Munich, she successfully combines social impact within a business model. Her Start-Up employees more than 50 grannies, bakes 40.000 cakes per year and sends the granny cakes germanywide via DHL. In 2015 Katharina won the Münchner Gründerpreis and holds different scholarships. On a voluntary basis Katharina works for an organization on crisis intervention. She led for example a team of doctors in Mexico giving medical help just 24h after the enormes earthquake in 2017 and 2018 after the foods in Malawi. As a speaker she co-opened 2018 the Bits&Pretzels and spoke 2019 at the United Nations in New York about social entrepreneurship.
“Social Entrepreneurship“
Markus Wieser
Product Innovation Manager at Raiffeisenbank Tirol
Markus Wieser
Product Innovation Manager at Raiffeisenbank Tirol
After working as a skiing instructor and bike tour guide while studying at the university, Markus Wieser currently works as a passionate banker with focus on product innovation and new trends in the banking industry.
“Beyond Banking – How can banks and start-ups fit together?“
Being open-minded, we are eager to experience together the latest trends in the start-up community. Letting ideas grow and coming to common solutions is what we are looking for. We feel free to connect the new thinking of banking and start-ups and plan to open our company for future trends – beyond banking.
Jan Kus
CEO of Railslove
Jan Kus
CEO of Railslove
Jan is co-founder and CEO of Railslove, a Cologne-based agency for web applications and digital products, and hack.institute, a company that brings creative communities together with corporates. This is where hackathons, innovation events and workshops are created that contribute to sustainable cultural change and digital transformation in companies. Jan also helps start-ups to kickstart their business in the best possible way and offers due diligence services for investors. In the past he was co-founder of the Interactive Cologne Festival, a joint initiative of Railslove and the c/o pop music festival.
“Early stage Tech Due Diligence – how to survive“
AGENDA 2020
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 15:00 – 18:00 | Checkin & Ski Rental at Die Börse | Wirtschaftskammer // Wilhelm-Greil-Str. 7, Innsbruck |
| 18:00 – 19:00 | Welcome Drink | |
| 19:00 – 19:30 | Welcome Notes by the Organisers | |
| 19:30 – 20:00 | Keynote: Sebastian Legler, CEO Flightright | |
| 20:00 – 20:30 | Network Pitch | |
| 20:30 – 23:00 | Startup Dinner & Networking |
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Meet-up & Bus Drive to Axamer Lizum | Triumphpforte // Leopoldstraße 2 |
| 09:00 – 16:00 | Ski & Talks | Axamer Lizum |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Investors lunch | Axamer Lizum // Sunnalm |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Hosted lunch tables | Axamer Lizum |
| 13:00 – 15:00 | Lift Pitch | Axamer Lizum // Karleiten Lift |
| 16:15 – 17:00 | Bus back to Innsbruck | Axamer Lizum // Parking |
| 19:30 – 23:30 | Tyrolean Dinner | Stiftskeller // Burggraben 31, Innsbruck |
Talks:
| When | Hoadlhaus | Lizum 1600 (1) | Lizum 1600 (2) | Lizum 1600 (3) | Lizum 1600 Restaurant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Transition from a start-up to a (young) company
Toon Bouten // tado |
Managing the emotional rollercoaster ride as an entrepreneur
Heidi Neururer // former professional snowboarder |
Diversity rules – why diverse teams earn better results and how you should consider this while building up your startup
Svenja Lassen // primeCrowd |
Start-up PR – how to pitch your story to journalists
Meike Neitz // Zukunftsmanufaktur |
|
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Ethics in Tech (development)
Pia Poppenreiter // Zeitgeist Tech |
Artificial Intelligence: Whats inside for startups?
Alexander Wahler // onlim |
How to sell with your heart (in German)
Nina Wirtz |
How technology is disrupting the real estate sector and how we live
Djordy Seelman // Housinganywhere |
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 – 09:00 | Meet-up & bus to Schlick2000 | Triumphpforte // Leopoldstraße 2 |
| 09:00 – 16:00 | Ski & Talks | Schlick2000 |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Hosted lunch tables | Schlick 2000 |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Corporate Lunch | Schlick 2000 // Sennjochstüberl |
| 12:00 – 14:30 | Ski Race | Schlick 2000 // Race track |
| 15:45 – 16:00 | Final Downhill with the Yeti | Schlick 2000 // Panorama Restaurant |
| 16:15 – 17:15 | Bus back to Innsbruck | Schlick2000 // Parking |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Pitch Final | Congress // Rennweg 3 |
| 20:30 – 22:00 | Dinner | Orangerie at the Congress // Rennweg 3 |
| 21:30 – open | Party with Live Band |
Talks:
| When | Panorama Restaurant | Sennjochhütte | Schlicker Alm | Fronebenalm | Bruggeralm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Social entrepreneurship: Combining impact and business
Katharina Mayer |
Cities made for living – how we could improve air quality, win back space and make our cities safer.
Claus Unterkirchner // Voi |
Feeding the world while saving the planet: building a startup against the “yuck” factor
Katharina Unger |
From B2C to B2B2C: Learnings & Insights
Janis Meyer-Plath // Friendsurance |
How to build a digitally native vertical brand
Anna Yona // Wildling Shoes |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Everywhere commerce: voice interfaces, automous warehouses, self-driving delivery
Daniel Gebler // Picnic |
How to create momentum to support your startup’s growth and brand awareness.
Bettina Engert // Acton Capital |
Why you need to use marketing data for (early stage) product development
Remco Livain // Gandt Ventures |
Personal and business growth lessons from the early days of Airbnb
Andres Schabelmann // fiverr |
Microsoft will hold four round tables with following topics:
- From idea to realization // Marc O’Dwyer, BigRed Book
- David and Goliath: how to engage with big corporations // Simone Massaro, BAXEnergy
- Building the right team, having a good mixture of different skills, experiences and personalities // Harm Poelen, WorkFlowWise
- Business model, monetizing the idea, pricing strategies // Christian Rognes, Tieto
SPONSORS & PARTNERS 2020
FRIENDS & AMBASSADORS 2020
Media Partner 2020
Participating Corporates 2020
Alumni Startups
