Apart from missing venture capital, the biggest hurdle for a flurishing startup ecosystem is of a cultural nature. Failure is still somewhat of a taboo in Austr

Apart from missing venture capital, the biggest hurdle for a flurishing startup ecosystem is of a cultural nature. Failure is still somewhat of a taboo in Austria. Risk aversity is taught from an early age on in most households. That being said, things are starting to move a little. Small hubs develop around universities in Vienna/Graz/Linz, with regular meetups for networking. Much of it is in its infancy, and attending those events sometimes feels like being in a badly acted version of Silicon Valley. But it's still better than not having them.