03/03/2025
🚀 And with that, Founders.Week 2025 comes to an end!
What a week it has been! Founders.Week 2025 brought together an incredible mix of individuals from different cities, countries, and academic backgrounds—united by their passion for entrepreneurship. Over the past days, they collaborated, innovated, and developed groundbreaking ideas, from an AI-driven personal development tool to a digital stamp card and a bulk-ordering solution for specialized products.
🏆 The Grande Finale on Friday was the highlight of the week! After opening words by Maren Umdasch, Christiane Tusek, and Thomas Gegenhuber, six teams took the stage to pitch their business ideas in front of the audience. Anna Maria Brunnhofer-Pedemonte then delivered an inspiring keynote speech about the entrepreneurial journey, leaving us all motivated to push forward.
Our esteemed jury - Christiane Tusek (Johannes Kepler Universität Linz - Vice Rector for Finance and Entrepreneurship), Florian Dorfbauer (Dynatrace), Raphael Friedl (tech2b Inkubator GmbH), and Elisabeth Berger (Head of JKU - Institute for Entrepreneurship) - then faced the tough decision to select the winning teams of Founders.Week 2025.
🥇And the winner is... 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝.! Their grant-matching platform stood out, securing them a well-deserved spot at JW Summit 2025 in Tyrol (sponsored by Junge Wirtschaft OÖ). Congratulations to Cassandra Quean, Bastian Reich, Fatema Elseidy, Julia Niederwimmer, and Kyrylo Meliushko 🎉
👏 A massive shoutout to all the teams—your dedication, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit were truly inspiring. We can't wait to see how your ideas evolve!
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all the experts, mentors, and everyone who made Founders.Week 2025 possible. Your support and commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship make all the difference. 🙌
📅 Mark your calendars: Founders.Week 2026 is set for February 23 - 27, 2026! We can’t wait to do it all again!