The Venture Mindset Agenda

Tuesday, 13th January

Departing Vienna at 7am, participants will step away from the city and into the wild heart of the Austrian Alps. Guided by record-breaking polar explorer Ann Daniels and elite mountain coaches, the group will ascend the Rax Plateau for a snowshoe expedition at 1,800 metres. Returning to Vienna in the early-evening.

ANN DANIELS

A record breaking polar explorer

Surrounded by silence, snow, and shared challenge, this experience is designed to strip away titles and routines, forging genuine connections and renewed mental clarity before two days of deep discussion and collaboration in Vienna.

Wednesday, 14th January

​08:00-09:00

Coffee & Networking

​09:00-09:15

Opening

Michael Chaffe

Founder

The Alpha Omega Foundation

Kambis Kohansal Vajargah

Deputy Head of Founder-Services

WKO

Panel

Panel

Nicolas Sauvage

Founder & President

TDK Ventures

Marc van den Berg

Managing Director

Climate Investment (CI)

Franz Zöchbauer

Managing Director

VERBUND X Ventures

Irina Obushtarova

Moderator
Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor

The Recursive

Moderator
Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor The Recursive

​09:15-10:00

Investing in the Future: Where Corporate Venturing Meets Climate Leadership

Panel

Panel

​10:00-10:45

Bridging Continents: Strengthening LATAM–EU Collaboration in Innovation and Investment

Mirella Lisboa

Head of Open Innovation & Digital Solutions

BASF Agricultural Solutions LATAM

Gabriele Tatzberger

Director Startup Services

Vienna Business Agency

Rebeca De Sancho Mayoral

Senior Policy Officer

European Commission

Anna Heim

Moderator
Reporter
TechCrunch

10:45-11:15

Coffee Break

Keynote

Keynote

​11:15-11:30

Corporate Venturing Squads: Challenges and Opportunities to Achieve Collaborative Innovation
Josemaria Siota, Executive Director at IESE’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center

Corporate Venturing Squads: Challenges and Opportunities to Achieve Collaborative Innovation
Josemaria Siota, Executive Director at IESE’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center

Panel

Panel

Beatriz Camacho Ávila

Associate Director

IESE Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center

Marco Masia

Head of Entrepreneurship

University of Vienna

Josemaria Siota

Moderator

Executive Director

IESE Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center

Irene Fialka

Innovation & Deeptech Expert, Entrepreneur

11:30-12:15

Corporate Venturing Squads: Challenges and Opportunities to Achieve Collaborative Innovation

Keynote

​12:15-12:30

The Corporate VC Playbook: Accelerating Breakthrough Technologies at Scale
Nicolas Sauvage, Founder & President at TDK Ventures

12:30-14:00

Lunch & networking

13:00-17:00

Charity Poker Tournament

4-Hour Tourney

4-Hour Tourney

Workshop

Workshop

​14:00-14:45

Undertaking Resilience Work – Lessons from Entrepreneurs in Crisis
Rachel Doern, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths, University of London

Workshop

Workshop

14:45-15:30

From dream to reality against all odds - Build Your Startup the Right Way
Nir Melamud, Partnerships & Investments at ThinkUp

Workshop

Workshop

​15:30-16:15

From noise to signal: Capturing value in times of flux
Andrew Wrobel, Chief Reinvention Officer at Reinvantage

Workshop

Workshop

16:15-17:00

Beyond Compliance: Human Rights as Innovation Capital
Dr. Patrycja Buxton, Affilliated Researcher at University of Stavanger

17:20-20:00

Evening Networking

Keynote

Keynote

​12:15-12:30

The Corporate VC Playbook: Accelerating Breakthrough Technologies at Scale
Nicolas Sauvage, Founder & President at TDK Ventures

Thursday, 15th January

09:00-10:30

Leaders Circle
Powered by VERBUND X Ventures

An invite-only forum uniting international corporate leaders and senior figures from Austria’s public and private sectors to discuss strategy, innovation, and cross-border collaboration.

OR

09:00-10:30

Founders Circle
Powered by Vienna Business Agency

An invite-only gathering linking international scaleups with leading founders from the CEE and DACH regions to exchange experiences, build trust, and spark new partnerships.

Invite-Only

Invite-Only

Workshop

Workshop

​10:30-11:15

​11:15-12:00


Steady Minds, Better Decisions: Building Calm and Clarity Under Pressure
Rob Colley, former UK 
elite military leader, Founder at Thrival Instinct

Designing Trust: How Brands Build Lasting Relationships
Leart Zogjani, Founder at Skins Agency


​11:15-12:00

​10:30-11:15

Designing Trust: How Brands Build Lasting Relationships
Leart Zogjani, Founder at Skins Agency

Steady Minds, Better Decisions: Building Calm and Clarity Under Pressure
Rob Colley, former UK 
elite military leader
Founder at Thrival Instinct

Workshop

Workshop

Panel

Panel

12:00-12:45

From Intrapreneurs to Investors

Ina Nordsiek

Director of Intrapreneurshp

Miele

Łukasz Garbowski

Chief Investment Officer & Co-Founder

Btomorrow Ventures

Vinay Solanki

Founder & Head

Channel 4 Ventures

Aleks Petkov-Georgieva

Head of Organizational Development & Change Management

Raffeisen Bank International

Agnieszka Krukowska

Moderator
CEO & Founder

annimoIQ

Panel

Panel

Michael Claes

Director

SABIC Ventures

Kyle Petersen

Corporate Development

Manager

Oshkosh Corporation

Jacqueline Kressner

Moderator

Innovation Advisor

​12:45-13:30

Powering the Next Industrial Revolution: Corporate Venturing in Deeptech

13:30-14:30

Lunch & networking

​14:30-16:00

Beyond Capital – The New Era of Company Creation
Matthias Hille, Managing Director at whataventure fund and leading international builders

whataventure track

whataventure track

14:30-14:50

Global perspective on how systematic company creation improves venture performance and capital efficiency
Matthew Burris, Studio Expert, VentureStudioForum / 9point8 collective

Keynote

Keynote

​14:50-15:00

Learnings from running a multi-year European venture studio and scaling a portfolio across industries
Michael van Lier, Builders.Studio

Impulse

Impulse

15:00-15:10

Why VCs increasingly invest in and alongside venture studios — the investor’s perspective on systematic company creation.
Florian Fischer, StyxVC

Impulse

Impulse

​15:10-15:20

Operator perspective: building a new venture inside a corporate-backed studio and navigating strategic alignment
Dr. Felix Lau, Venture Lead, amberra

Impulse

Impulse

15:20-15:30

Corporate Strategy perspective: Which questions should a corporate ask and align on before building ventures or setting up studios?Jonas Krensler, Venture Builder & Founder, ex-Creative Dock

Impulse

Impulse

Panel

Panel

Florian Fischer

Co-Founder & CEO

StyxVC

Dr. Felix Lau

Venture Lead

amberra

Jonas Krensler

Venture Builder & Founder

ex-Creative Dock

Matthew Burris

Studio Expert
VentureStudioForum / 9point8 collective

Michael van Lier

Founder & Managing Director
Builders

Stefan Peintner

Moderator

CEO & Managing Partner
whataventure

​15:30-16:00

Studios, Funds & Corporates – Building the Next Generation of Companies

16:00-16:30

Closing remarks

16:30-21:00

Evening networking

Workshops

Workshops

Workshops

17:20-20:00

Evening Networking

17:20-20:00

Evening Networking

Workshops

Keynote

Join us as a Speaker, Partner
or Sponsor!

A unique opportunity to showcase your leadership, connect with decision-makers shaping the future of innovation and build lasting relationships with investors, corporates and entrepreneurs from across the globe.

Join us as a Speaker, Partner
or Sponsor!

A unique opportunity to showcase your leadership, connect with decision-makers shaping the future of innovation and build lasting relationships with investors, corporates and entrepreneurs from across the globe.

Get In Touch

Tuesday, 13th January

Panels

Panels

Panels

Surrounded by silence, snow, and shared challenge, this experience is designed to strip away titles and routines, forging genuine connections and renewed mental clarity before two days of deep discussion and collaboration in Vienna.

The Venture Mindset Agenda

The Venture Mindset Agenda

Tuesday, 13th January


Departing Vienna at 7am, participants will step away from the city and into the wild heart of the Austrian Alps. Guided by record-breaking polar explorer Ann Daniels and elite mountain coaches, the group will ascend the Rax Plateau for a snowshoe expedition at 1,800 metres. Returning to Vienna in the early-evening.

Departing Vienna at 7am, participants will step away from the city and into the wild heart of the Austrian Alps. Guided by record-breaking polar explorer Ann Daniels and elite mountain coaches, the group will ascend the Rax Plateau for a snowshoe expedition at 1,800 metres. Returning to Vienna in the early-evening.

Surrounded by silence, snow, and shared challenge, this experience is designed to strip away titles and routines, forging genuine connections and renewed mental clarity before two days of deep discussion and collaboration in Vienna.

ANN DANIELS

A record breaking polar explorer

Wednesday, 14th January

Wednesday, 14th January

Wednesday, 14th January

12:15-14:00

Lunch & networking

13:00-17:00

Charity Poker Tournament

Keynote

Keynote

The Corporate VC Playbook: Accelerating Breakthrough Technologies at Scale
Nicolas Sauvage, Founder & President at TDK Ventures

17:00-17:20

10:45-11:15

Coffee Break

Keynote

Keynote & Panel

Keynote & Panel

Corporate Venturing Squads: Challenges and Opportunities to Achieve Collaborative Innovation
Josemaria Siota, Executive Director at IESE’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center

​11:15-12:15

Corporate Venturing Squads: Challenges and Opportunities to Achieve Collaborative Innovation
Josemaria Siota, Executive Director at IESE’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center

12:15-14:00

11:15-12:15

Kambis Kohansal Vajargah

Deputy Head of Founder-Services at WKO

Michael Chaffe

Founder of the Alpha Omega Foundation

09:00-09:15

Opening

4-Hour Tourney

4-Hour Tourney

4-Hour Tourney

​10:30-11:15

​17:00-17:20

Steady Minds, Better Decisions: Building Calm and Clarity Under Pressure
Rob Colley, former UK 
elite military leader
Founder at Thrival Instinct

The Corporate VC Playbook: Accelerating Breakthrough Technologies at Scale
Nicolas Sauvage, Founder & President at TDK Ventures

Invite-Only

Invite-Only

Invite-Only

Thursday, 15th January

Thursday, 15th January

Thursday, 15th January

​09:30-10:30

Coffee & Networking

16:00-16:30

Closing remarks

​11:15-12:00

Designing Trust: How Brands Build Lasting Relationships
Leart Zogjani, Founder at Skins Agency

Designing Trust: How Brands Build Lasting Relationships
Leart Zogjani, Founder at Skins Agency

​10:30-11:15

Steady Minds, Better Decisions: Building Calm and Clarity Under Pressure
Rob Colley, former UK 
elite military leader
Founder at Thrival Instinct

Steady Minds, Better Decisions: Building Calm and Clarity Under Pressure
Rob Colley, former UK 
elite military leader
Founder at Thrival Instinct

16:30-21:00

Evening networking

​13:30-14:30

Lunch & networking

Panels

Panels

Panels

14:30-16:00

Beyond Capital – The New Era of Company Creation
Matthias Hille, Managing Director at whataventure fund and leading European builders

Beyond Capital – The New Era of Company Creation
Matthias Hille, Managing Director at whataventure fund and leading European builders

Workshops

Workshops

Workshops

whataventure

whataventure track

whataventure track