factorymaker co-founder Maria Zahlbruckner joined EY Austria’s podcast “Höher hinaus” to talk about how research becomes a company.
Technology alone isn’t enough
Spin-offs rarely start with a classic business idea. They start with years of research and a technological edge. To turn that into a company, you need more: a clear customer benefit, early market validation, clean IP rights and a team that combines technology with entrepreneurship.
Build with customers early
factorymaker also grew out of research. Talking to potential customers showed that it could become a viable business. The episode makes the case for developing products together with customers early, rather than working too long on a supposedly perfect solution.
What Austria needs for more spin-offs
Austria has excellent research and good support in the early stages. For more internationally successful spin-offs, it needs founding as a real career option, more willingness to take entrepreneurial risk and enough capital to scale.
On the panel
Maria spoke with Florian Haas (EY Austria), Stefan Krahulec (aws) and Denise Hirner (Co-Founder of UpNano). Thank you to EY Austria for the invitation and to everyone for the great discussion.
