Prior to the Covid19 pandemic, Susanne Klepsch, the founder and CEO of Meetfox, had invest a lot of time in persuading target customers about the benefits of her video-conference scheduling software. This drastically changed when everything shifted to “remote-only”. Tune in and learn how Susanne enabled her company’s growth potential, what she thinks of Accelerator programs and what she wishes to have known prior to coming to the U.S.

 In this episode, we will discuss

• strategies for Accelerator programs and how important they are for a newcomer entering a market
• differences between U.S. and Austrian investors
• management tips for startups

About Meetfox
MeetFox is a one-stop-shop for efficiently managing client meetings with scheduling, video calls, and payments. MeetFox combines online scheduling, seamless video calls and instant payments in one product, helping professionals save a ton of time and focus on growing their business. With the vision to make expertise accessible at a push of a button, MeetFox is now used by over 15,000 professionals worldwide.

In this episode we are interviewing Dieter Eier, Vice President of Product and Solutions and one of the co-founders of the Austrian subsidiary Frequentis USA, Inc.  More than 20 years ago he was sent to the United States with the goal to set up a successful company in five years.  He did it in three and never left. 

In this very personal talk Dieter tells us about his real-life experiences of how he had to adapt to the American dream as a Vienna-native and his most surprising lessons learned: 

• The glass is always half-full
• Studying English extensively in school did not teach me to understand "American"
• Wow, the world is really big out there!

About Frequentis
Frequentis provides communication and information systems for Air Traffic Management, Space Flight Operations, Air Defense, Vessel Traffic, Coastal Surveillance, and Public Safety and Transport. The company’s products and solutions are behind more than 25,000 operator positions in over 140 countries. Frequentis is the world's leading provider of safety-of-life-critical voice communication systems … all making our world a safer place every day!

Thomas Schauer has established himself as one of the world’s leading culinary film directors and photographers, shooting extensive campaign work for over two decades between around the world. Operating two photography companies in Vienna and New York plus one film production company TASTE.

Growing up in his native Austria, Thomas cultivated an artistic sensibility inspired by the European culture that surrounded him. His deep knowledge and passion for food led to work with Samsung, Nespresso, Uncle Ben’s, Wegmans, Papa John’s, Harper Collins, Fuji Film, Simon & Schuster, Chick-fil-A, Breckenridge, Carl’s Jr., Marzetti, Publix, Newman’s Own, Panera, Kroger, Pepsi, Patron, Outback, Budweiser, TGI Fridays and Burger King.

Thomas’ work has been exhibited globally. His first solo exhibition “Pure Real Taste” took place at La Boite in New York City. That same year, he was invited to exhibit in Osaka, Japan.

Thomas has created over 25 cookbooks for celebrated chefs including Dominique Ansel, Lior Lev Sercarz, Daniel Boulud and David Bouley. Complementing his portfolio is the nomination for the Onaeba “Shimizu Award” in Osaka, Japan; the second place Pink Lady Award for “Best Food Photographer in the World,”; and the Gourmand Cookbook Award for Best Cocktail Book, “Cocktails.”

Climate Risks, Opportunities & Policy

In this episode we interview Gernot Wagner, a climate economist and associate professor at NYU and discuss the following questions: 

• How will the new admninistration address climate change
• Which climate policies are useful to address current issues
• What can we as people do to help the cause
• How did COVID-19 change our actions in regards to climate change

 About Gernot

Gernot Wagner is a climate economist. His research, writing, and teaching focus on climate risks and climate policy. He teaches climate economics and policy at NYU, where he is a clinical associate professor at the Department of Environmental Studies and associated clinical professor at the NYU Wagner School of Public Service.

Gernot writes the Risky Climate column for Bloomberg Green and has written three books: Stadt, Land, Klima (“City, Country, Climate”), published, in German, by Brandstätter Verlag (2021); Climate Shock, joint with Harvard’s Martin Weitzman and published by Princeton (2015), among others, a Top 15 Financial Times McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2015, and Austria’s Natural Science Book of the Year 2017; and But will the planet notice?, published by Hill & Wang/Farrar Strauss & Giroux (2011).

In this episode we interview Thomas Meth, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Enviva and discuss the following questions: 

• What it is like to start a company & raise money in the US.
• Cultural differences in Entrepreneurship between Austria and the US and the right to fail.
• What it is like to be an Austrian in an entirely American company. 
• The Biden administration and Renewable Energy in the post Trump world.

Thomas Meth was born and raised outside of Vienna, Austria in Gablitz. He graduated from high school in Tulln and then studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.  He was the head of Sales at Europay (MasterCard) Austria (today Paylife) before he did his MBA at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  After a 2 year stopover in Germany as Head of Sales and Marketing for Colfax, EMEA he returned to the US in 2004 to start Enviva (formerly known as Intrinergy) in 2004, now the largest wood pellet manufacturer in the world. Traded at the NYSE (EVA) valued at almost $2bn, the company employs ~1200 associates in the South East of the US with offices in Bethesda, MD (HQ), Raleigh, NC, Berlin, York, UK and Tokio. 

Tune in and listen to Florian Krisch, our Sector Manager for Startups & Innovation interviews one of New York’s startup gurus. Over the last years, Brian Frumberg has transformed VentureOut into a well established platform for foreign startups seeking to enter the U.S. market. Hundreds of companies participated in customized VentureOut programs and collectively raised over two billion USD in Funding from investors. Enjoy 40 minutes of condensed “startup-talk”, learn what is going on in NYC’s innovation ecosystem and how founders can react to the ongoing crisis. 

Main topics:

• Digital transformation: How VentureOut went from 100% in person to fully virtual and maintained its revenue stream
• How to raise funds remotely during the pandemic
• What to expect from the new U.S. Administration in terms of their startup policies
• Brian’s personal take on the NYC startup ecosystem – What could be the next “hype”

About Brian
Brian is the CEO and founder of VentureOut, which he launched in 2012 while working at Gotham Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund. He started VentureOut as a vehicle to help bridge the gap between the innovators around the world and the opportunities available to them in the New York and San Francisco technology ecosystems.

Prior to VentureOut, Brian’s career has spanned venture, at Gotham Ventures, consulting, supporting early stage tech startups in NYC, business development, at OTR Global, and sales, as the youngest institutional salesperson globally at Standard & Poor's. Brian received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Richmond.

About Florian
Florian Krisch acts as a sector manager for startups and innovation at Advantage Austria’s New York office. Over the last 4 years, he has advised numerous Austrian startups on their U.S. market entry strategy and organized one-week long fast accelerator programs. Florian seeks to foster meaningful relationships between the Austrian startup ecosystem and stakeholders in NYC. 

In this episode Petra, the office manager of the Austrian Trade Commission in New York, talks to Dan Casterella, CEO of American Christmas, an MK Illumination company. 

Dan Casterella talks about how the "Magic of Christmas" is created and how this iconic American company became Austrian and is now spreading cheer around the world. 

American Christmas has been in charge of a large share of NYC's holiday decoration for years. In this episode you will hear

• what were some of the most challenging decorating projects
• where you can take a stroll in NYC to find traditional and new creations
• why NYC businesses decided to decorate in this difficult year 2020
• and why NYC is the "Christmas Capital of the World"

American Christmas was acquired by Austrian company MK Illumination, a world leader in holiday decorations and light installations. This has started a whole new chapter and brings exciting new opportunities for the traditional American company. We look forward to seeing many more projects from American Christmas and MK Illumination in the future. 

Dan Casterella has had a long career with the company, starting by counting ornaments to production to sales, overseeing production and visiting facilities around the world to gain moe knowledge about the industry. He will tell us what makes his job so fascinating and why becoming part of MK Illumination is a great opportunity for the company but also himself personally.

In this episode Angelika Heitzmann, who is based at our Austrian Commercial Office in Atlanta, is talking with Barbara Dolleschal, General Manager of Zotter Chocolates US in Cape Coral, Florida. 

 In the conversation Barbara Dolleschal kindly provided feedback regarding the following questions:

• How did the business relationship with the Austrian company Zotter chocolates start?
• How did you set up the Austrian subsidiary of Zotter chocolates in the USA?
• How did you familiarize yourself with the craft chocolate industry in the USA?
• What are the daily tasks of an importer and distributor of premium Austrian chocolates
• Who are your valid customers? What are your distribution channels?
• Did you experience any disruption of your business due to the global pandemic?
• Could you describe some terms always used in connection with organic Zotter chocolates like single-origin, bean-to-bar, fair-trade?

Barbara Dolleschal is also co-owner, VP & CFO of the IT company Smargasy Creative Solutions which is also located in Cape Coral, Florida.

In this episode Michael, the Austrian Trade Commissioner in New York, talks to one of the most famous Austrian journalists and TV anchorwomen.

Hannelore Veit talks about the US presidential elections in 2020 and the role the so-called traditional media and social media played. She tells us more about the beginning of her career in Europe and Asia and how a marriage with two international careers and many subsequent moves can work. The following topics will be discussed:

•  The different of the role of the media plays in Austria, Japan and the US
• Media in the 21st Century and during the 2020 US presidential elections
• Working and living in different countries and cultures

 Hannelore Veit is one of the best-known faces on Austrian TV. She started her career as a radio correspondent for the Vienna office of Voice of America, and later as a Foreign Correspondent for the European Business Channel in Japan.

From 1993 until 2002, she was one of the lead anchors of Austria’s biggest and most popular news format Zeit im Bild.

In 2013, she assumed her post as the Bureau Chief of the ORF office in Washington D.C. while publishing many articles and a book about her time in the US.

In this episode, Verena talks to Michaela Grob about leaving a job at a large tourism corporation to starting a vegan cheese shop and the challenges involved.

Michaela speaks about the main differences of working for somebody else compared to working for oneself, running a standalone store versus operating a booth inside a large food market.

They also speak about the growth of the plant based food sector in general and how her shop, Riverdel, has adjusted operations during Covid.

The following topics will be discussed:

• making a complete career change to fulfill one´s dream
• the use free resources available to get going
• the challenges involved in running a business, in particular in 2020
• the rise of the plant based food sector

About Michaela:
Michaela´s  background is in the hospitality and travel industry, which has allowed her to explore many countries, cultures and different foods. Originally from Austria, Michaela grew up on a meat heavy diet. She also always loved animals, and eventually realized that she can not support a diet consistent of animals and call herself an animal lover. She made the switch to a vegan diet about 6 years ago and has never looked back. After giving up her corporate sales career in 2014 she decided to open a vegan cheese shop in Brooklyn, called Riverdel (named so after two of her pets “River” and “Fidel” = “River-del” ).

 Host:
Verena recently joined the team at Advantage Austria after having worked in the hospitality industry for the past five years. She has worked in a three Michelin star restaurant as well as in more casual establishments. 

At Advantage Austria, she helps Austrian food, drink and creative companies wishing to export their products to the US market.