Inspiration

Ski innovation 2019

The start-up conference on skis

Start-ups, investors, innovative companies and entrepreneurship enthusiasts meet up to ski together, take part in discussions in the ski hut and pitch directly on the ski lift.

F.acT: How did the idea of Skinnovation come about?

Kathrin Treutinger: I moved from Germany to Innsbruck at the end of 2014 to work at the university in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. Since I have always organized a lot of events and had just organized a major startup event in West Africa, I thought I could also organize something here in Innsbruck. After some brainstorming with a friend from the former CAST, the result was Skinnovation - an innovation day on skis for students. The home advantage (new to me) of "mountains" had to be used, of course. After the first "pilot", however, it quickly became clear that this event format had more potential and so we were able to expand Skinnovation into a real international startup conference in the second year with the help of the WKO as a partner, which is of course still constantly evolving and growing.

F.acT: What is ski innovation today and what challenges are you facing?

Kathrin Treutinger: The special thing about Skinnovation is certainly the fact that the conference does not take place in a typical event location but in a ski resort. All participants, including start-ups, investors and speakers, are on skis. As the presentations take place in the ski huts, where the technical infrastructure may not always be perfect, the atmosphere is very special and a really intensive and effective exchange takes place. Of course, these special locations also come with many logistical challenges. We are in up to four different huts, some of which can only be reached on skis, and then we also have different locations in the evening. So far, however, most things have always worked out very well and I think the dynamic of the conference is also due to the fact that there is so much movement in the event.

Zwei Skifahrer sitzen auf einem Sessellift und genießen die Aussicht auf die schneebedeckten Berge. Der Mann in der gelben Jacke lächelt und winkt, während der andere konzentriert schaut. Die Sonne scheint hell und der Himmel ist klar.

F.acT: Skinnovation will take place for the 5th time in March. Where will the journey take you in the future?

Skinnovation has actually evolved every year and will continue to do so. Of course, some things are also tried out, which are then continued and expanded depending on their success or discontinued again if they are not so well received. As Skinnovation was created relatively spontaneously and has developed further based on demand, professionalization naturally also plays a major role. When I sometimes look back, I think "Wow, we didn't even think about that at the first Skinnovation, it's cool that we're doing something like this now." We already have a few exciting expansions planned for 2020. But I don't want to give too much away yet.

Kathrin Treutinger is an entrepreneur and doctoral candidate. She works as a research assistant at the University of Innsbruck. As part of her academic work, she conducts research in the field of entrepreneurship and start-ups.

Kathrin not only deals with the topic of startups in theory, but also founded the NGO AMPION in 2014. AMPION operates startup buses throughout Africa to promote tech entrepreneurship. In 2015, she founded her second startup project, Skinnovation. Last year, 300 participants from all over Europe took part and Techcrunch, a leading startup magazine, named it the biggest startup event in Western Austria. In summer 2016, Kathrin also founded develooper GmbH, a web development company, together with Ammar, a refugee from Syria. They are both equal partners in the company.

In addition to her start-up experience, Kathrin worked for HYVE Innovation Community GmbH in Munich and advised companies on the topic of open innovation. Kathrin also worked as a volunteer for various social organizations, for example in the UK, where she lived in a community with disabled people for more than a year, or in Ivory Coast, where she worked with young people from difficult family backgrounds and young prisoners.

Kathrin holds a Bachelor's degree in International Business Administration and a Master's degree (cum Laude) in Marketing Management from the Rotterdam School of Management.

Ski innovation 2019

Prepared for what lies ahead in tourism