Webster Vienna Hosts Startup Factory Entrepreneur Night

Panelists at Webster Vienna Private University’s second annual Entrepreneur Night. From left: Thorsten De Jong, Alina Metliski, Eliot Mannoia, Markus Lang, and moderator Samuel R. Schubert.

Webster Vienna Private University (WVPU) recently hosted its second annual Entrepreneur Night, featuring a panel discussion about the various facets and challenges of being an entrepreneur. The event was hosted by the university’s Career Services team and the Webster Vienna Alumni Association. 
  
The event, billed as “Startup Factory: Building Ventures from Idea to Investment,” included a keynote address, panel discussion and networking reception. The Startup Factory was moderated by Samuel Schubert, associate director of WVPU. 
  
Markus Lang, of Speedinvest, provided a keynote address about venture capital 101. 
 
"Universities play a crucial role of magnifying entrepreneurship. It's less about learning it than awaking entrepreneurial spirit,” Lang said. 

Markus Lang shares advice during the keynote session as the panelists look on.

Panelists included Thorsten de Jong of Finyoz, Alina Metliski of FoodNotify and Eliot Mannoia of BrandKarma. Under Schubert’s moderatorship, they shared their expertise about building a successful startup (it’s a lot about scalability) and honing storytelling skills to raise the first round of funding (get those elevator pitches ready).  
  
“Everyone can be an entrepreneur, the difference is courage,” de Jong told attendees. 

"What's the worst that could happen? That you fail?  No, the worst is if you never try,” he said. 

The first round of funding will be raised on the promise, panelists said, and the second on your progress. Attendees learned about documents needed for the fundraising process—for example, your business plan, financial model, pitch deck—and heard about grants offered to entrepreneurs in Austria. 
  
Venture capitalists (VCs) look for new solutions, proof of a large enough market, a scalable business model, customer validation and they particularly emphasized the value of building a strong team.  

“If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far, go together,” Metliski said.  

Lang reiterated this idea. “...if you have a mediocre team with a great idea, they won't be able to make it real.” 

The Webster Vienna Startup Factory event aimed to inspire and motivate attendees, particularly those who are pursuing their own ventures and want to make meaningful contributions to the startup ecosystem. 

An aerial overview of Webster Vienna Private University’s second annual Entrepreneur Night.