Advantage Austria Berlin and Silicon Allee collaborate on Residency, a program to support Austrian health tech startups entering the German market
Last year Austria’s startup scene made headlines with three new unicorns, but 90% of the capital invested this year came from outside of the country(1), and the combined amount of all investment is yet to tip the haloed 10-figure mark. In contrast, startups in Germany have attracted almost 6 Billion in funding, more than any other country in the EU, and less than half of this investment came from international investors (2). So what should a fast-growing Austrian startup do? Follow the money to…Germany.
To make it easier for Austrian startups to attract investment and access the German market, Silicon Allee and the Berlin office of Austria’s trade promotion agency, Advantage Austria Berlin, will collaborate on a five-week soft-landing program called Residency. Over this period, Silicon Allee will support five early-stage health tech startups from Austria, by connecting them for one-on-one meetings and workshops with Silicon Allee’s renowned network of founders, technology experts, corporate partners and investors. The majority of the program will happen online and then conclude with a weeklong mission in Berlin where the startups will pitch in front of selected investors and meet potential partners. Through the program, startups will learn how to access and understand the German market, how to progress on their fundraising journey, how to further build out their growth strategy, and gain specific insights into the German health industry.
The overall goal is to help the selected startups access new pathways to funding and take their first steps into the German market.
‘With everything we do, our mission is to build bridges and provide access for startups so they can get to their next stage. So I’m excited that we can help Austrian startups come to Berlin.’
Travis Todd, founder and CEO of Silicon Allee
Applications open 26 January 2022 and close on 5 March 2022. Interested startups can apply by following this link. Applicants will be evaluated on their current product, traction, potential market size, and their investment-readiness. The program’s online component for selected startups starts on 1 April 2022. The in-person mission to Berlin will run from 29 April 2022 to 5 May 2022 and provides startups with the opportunity to work from the Silicon Allee campus, take meetings, and finish with a pitch and networking event in front of interested investors.
‘We chose to partner with Silicon Allee because of their deep connections in the startup ecosystem and their record of helping startups become investment-ready.’
Michael Scherz, Advantage Austria, Berlin Office
Silicon Allee has spent a decade building an authentic network of the world’s best founders, business executives, professional coaches, investors, and startup thought leaders. Silicon Allee has since leveraged this network to build the Berlin Founders Fund (BFF). For two years, the early-stage micro-fund has supported 15 startups. In addition, the portfolio companies have raised over €9M in further investment. The Residency soft landing program gives international startup ecosystems and the founders in their network access to the German and European markets.
Advantage Austria has around 100 offices in over 70 countries. It provides a broad range of intelligence and business development services for both Austrian companies and their international business partners. Around 800 employees around the world assist in locating Austrian suppliers and business partners. Advantage Austria organizes about 1,200 events every year to bring business contacts together. Other services provided by Advantage Austria offices range from introductions to Austrian companies looking for importers, distributors or agents to providing in-depth information on Austria as a business location and assistance in entering the Austrian market.