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start-ups news
Get an overview of our start-ups news:
all (92)
blog (5)
newsletters (12)
publications (16)
media coverage (4)
events (8)
press releases (26)
roadmap (21)
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises on sale of startup Timeular GmbH to Graz-based competitor TimeTac
Schoenherr advised Austrian startup Timeular GmbH and its shareholders on the sale to TimeTac GmbH. Until full integration, Timeular will continue to operate under its existing brand.
publication
26 June 2025
D.Birnbauer P.Podsiedlik J.Böszörményi F.Terharen N.Kerschbaumer D.Rutecka
to the point: technology & digitalisation l June 2025
Welcome to the June edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
event
Skinnovation: The startup and innovation festival on skis
26 - 28 March | Axamer Lizum, Innsbruck, Tyrol
roadmap
SAFE agreements in Poland: neither simple nor particularly safe
A Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) allows an investor to fund a start-up in exchange for the promise of future equity, but only if specific events occur. What sets SAFEs apart is that they do not require the company to be valued at the time of investment. Instead, the parties agree on a future trigger event for when shares will be issued, often with a discount as a reward for early backing.
roadmap
Start-up financing in Central and Eastern Europe
Start-up financing and governance are pivotal components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The region offers a diverse landscape for start-ups, with each jurisdiction presenting unique opportunities and challenges, shaped by local laws, economic conditions and cultural factors. This article explores the commonalities and differences in start-up financing and governance across these jurisdictions, providing a comprehensive overview for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
roadmap
Year one of FlexCo: strategic insights and lessons learned
The "Flexible Company" (FlexCo) was introduced in Austria with effect from 1 January 2024 in response to concerns raised by practitioners regarding the establishment and excessive rigidity and formal requirements of limited liability companies (GmbH). This additional legal form was created to offer start-ups and established businesses a modern and flexible alternative to meet the demands of a dynamic economy
publication
30 October 2024
Central and Eastern Europe
CEE team
to the point: technology & digitalisation l October 2024
Welcome to the October edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
newsletter
Hungary: Convertible loans simplified
Convertible loans have emerged as a pivotal financial instrument for start-ups navigating the challenging terrain of early-stage funding (pre-seed and seed), also called angel investment. These loans are a hybrid of debt and equity financing, offering a unique solution for companies that are not yet ready for a formal valuation or are seeking to bridge funding gaps between capital-raising rounds.
publication
27 June 2024
D.Rutecka P.Podsiedlik P.Baran T.Kulnigg A.Radonjanin M.Vlajković
to the point: technology & digitalisation l June 2024
Welcome to the June edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Verdane fund on investment in fintech fiskaly
Schoenherr advised the European private equity fund Verdane on its investment in fiskaly, a Vienna-based start-up in the fintech sector. Closing of the transaction is still subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises scale-up Storyblok on its USD 80m Series C financing
Schoenherr advised the Austrian scale-up Storyblok on its Series C financing worth USD 80m, bringing the total amount raised to USD 138m, marking the largest financing round to date this year.
publication
to the point: technology & digitalisation l May 2024
Welcome to the May edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
26 April 2024
D.Hofmarcher T.Kulnigg N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon C.Pretscher P.Podsiedlik D.Rutecka P.Baran
to the point: technology & digitalisation l April 2024
Welcome to the April edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
21 March 2024
K.Szczudlik D.Rutecka P.Podsiedlik F.Terharen K.Pikuła P.Baran A.Radonjanin M.Vlajković N.Kerschbaumer
to the point: technology & digitalisation l March 2024
Welcome to the March edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
Serbia: Schoenherr advises Fifth Quarter Ventures on strategic investment in Cosmic
Moravčević Vojnović and partners in cooperation with Schoenherr advised Fifth Quarter Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund, on its recent investment in Cosmic. This innovative start-up is at the forefront of developing a revolutionary platform for self-powered homes, aiming to redefine the construction of carbon-neutral, healthy and efficient homes in a fast and cost-effective manner.
publication
22 February 2024
D.Rutecka D.Hofmarcher D.Tyrybon N.Kerschbaumer F.Terharen K.Szczudlik K.Solarz-Włodarska P.Podsiedlik K.Pikuła
to the point: technology & digitalisation l February 2024
Welcome to the February edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
roadmap
The VCC: a new company form launched in Bulgaria
The eagerly awaited Variable Capital Company (VCC) was introduced on 1 August 2023 with amendments to the Bulgarian Commercial Act. It blends the limited liability company (LLC) and joint stock company (JSC), and somewhat resembles the UK's open-ended investment company (OEIC). Like the OEIC, the VCC can issue shares at any time and its capital may vary. But as it is not a regulated investment fund, the VCC is not regulated or supervised by the financial supervision authorities.
roadmap
Austria's new FlexCo: a gamechanger for company founders in 2024?
To address some issues voiced by practitioners in relation to the foundation of limited liability companies (GmbH) in Austria, the Austrian legislator proposed a new corporate form, the "Flexible Company" (FlexCo), offering some promising solutions for start-ups. Established businesses can also make use of this new corporate form. It is currently envisaged that FlexCos can officially be established from 1 January 2024.
publication
to the point: technology & digitalisation l January 2024
Welcome to this year's first edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
newsletter
Navigating the legal landscape of the Macedonian growing start-up sector
Macedonian start-up ecosystem is in a state of constant evolution, driven by legal reforms fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. With the introduction of the simplified limited liability company, convertible loans, digital payment systems and expanded global market entry, these legal changes have played an important role in advancing the Macedonian start-up scene. Nonetheless, it is crucial to systematically address pertinent legislative updates to ensure continual growth and competitiveness in the dynamic global market.
publication
21 December 2023
G.Leissler T.Kulnigg N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon M.Czernin F.Terharen U.Rath D.Rutecka
to the point: technology & digitalisation l December 2023
Welcome to the December edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
to the point: technology & digitalisation l November 2023
Welcome to the November edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
publication
31 October 2023
N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon M.Schmiedinger C.Pretscher M.Vlajković M.Pressler D.Rutecka
to the point: technology & digitalisation l October 2023
Welcome to the October edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises EIC Fund on investment in Kern Tec's EUR 12m Series A financing round
Schoenherr advised the EIC Fund, the venture investment arm of the European Innovation Council (EIC), on its investment in the EUR 12m Series A financing round of Kern Tec, an Austrian food tech company, led by Belgian firm Telos Impact.
publication
28 September 2023
A.Hirsch N.Kerschbaumer D.Tyrybon F.Terharen M.Vlajković D.Rutecka
to the point: technology & digitalisation l September 2023
Welcome to the September edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Usersnap on exit to saas.group
Schoenherr advised the shareholders of Austrian software company Usersnap on their acquisition by saas.group, a company active in the business of acquiring promising software as a service (SaaS) companies.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises shared-mobility start-up UBIQ on seven-figure Series A financing round
Schoenherr advised Austrian shared-mobility start-up UBIQ, a provider of AI-powered solutions for managing fleets in the shared (e-)mobility industry, on its seven-figure Series A financing round.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Inflexion on acquisition of majority stake in European fintech Nomentia from PSG Equity and Verdane
Schoenherr advised Inflexion, a leading mid-market private equity firm, on the acquisition of a majority stake in the European fintech Nomentia from PSG Equity and Verdane.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises proptech scale-up GROPYUS on major Austrian scale-up financing round
Schoenherr advised the Vienna-headquartered property technology scale-up GROPYUS on its ongoing Series B financing round led by Vonovia, Europe's largest residential real estate company. The volume of this financing round is at around EUR 100m, bringing GROPYUS' total funding to date to more than EUR 200m.
media coverage
The Ecosystem: Bulgaria joins the competition to attract start-ups from outside the EU
more
newsletter
Bulgaria paves way for innovative businesses with new start-up visa
Country welcomes non-EU investors to boost local start-up ecosystem
After Decree No 318 of 7 October 2022 adopting the Ordinance on the conditions and procedure for issuing, extending and revoking a certificate for a high-tech and/or innovative project (the "Ordinance") was promulgated in issue 82 of the State Gazette of 14 October 2022, Bulgaria joins the almost half of EU countries that issue "start-up visas".
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Storyblok on USD 47m Series B financing
Schoenherr advised the Austrian scale-up Storyblok on its Series B financing worth USD 47m, one of several major transactions in the Austrian start-up scene on which Schoenherr has advised in the recent past.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises e-mobility start-up Easelink on EUR 8.3m financing round (Series A)
Schoenherr advised the Austrian high-tech company Easelink, a provider of automated electric vehicle charging solutions, on its EUR 8.3m Series A financing round.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises on the sale of the oral hygiene start-up Playbrush to the Sunstar Group
Schoenherr advised the shareholders of the Austrian oral hygiene start-up Playbrush on the sale of the majority shares to the international health care company Sunstar Group.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Bitpanda on Austria's largest scale-up financing round
Schoenherr provided legal advice to Bitpanda on the largest scale-up financing round in Austria to date.
press release
Czech Republic: Schoenherr advises Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisenbank a.s. on acquisition of AKCENTA CZ a.s.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Austrian start-up Carbomed on multi-million euro financing round
After Schoenherr recently advised the Austrian fintech company Bitpanda on the largest European Series A financing round in 2020, the firm successfully advised on another start-up financing: Under the leadership of partner Thomas Kulnigg, the Schoenherr team advised Carbomed Medical Solutions, an Austrian FemTech start-up, on a EUR 3m financing. The financing round was led by aws Gründerfonds.
newsletter
Austria: FMA publishes guidance on ICOs and token classification
The Austrian Financial Market Authority (Finanzmarktaufsicht, FMA) has recently published guidelines on how it views Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) from a financial services regulatory perspective.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises Bitpanda on its USD 52 million Series A financing round
Schoenherr advised Austrian fintech Bitpanda, on the largest European Series A financing round in 2020 led by Valar Ventures, and including other fintech investors such as Speedinvest. The funding secures USD 52 million to further drive Bitpanda's expansion.
blog
We help Start-Ups!
In an attempt to help start-ups during the current corona situation obtaining the much needed financial liquidity support from their shareholders or other investors, we put together a short and simple forward equity agreement, the "Simple Equity Investment Contract (SEIC)".
roadmap
Electromobility on the rise
As part of the EU's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 (effective from January 2020) laying down CO2 emission performance standards for new automobiles and new light commercial vehicles (the "Regulation") was issued. Under the Regulation, individual manufacturers (or associations of manufacturers under Article 6 of the Regulation) will be obliged, inter alia, to reduce emissions from new automobiles by 37.5 % by 2030 (compared to the 2021 target of 95 g CO2/km).
roadmap
Together on the blockchain: Finding consensus in a decentralised network
An essential element of the blockchain and the technology behind it is the validation of transactions, i.e. confirmation that data in the blockchain ledger is entered rightfully1. But how, exactly, can data entered in a decentralised ledger be validated? Who does the validating? These questions arise once you look deeper into the workings and structure of transactions on the blockchain.
roadmap
A new reality for ridesharing apps in Poland
The battle between traditional taxi drivers as well as their supporters and those advocating a more digitalised approach focused on ridesharing applications such as Uber, Lyft or Bolt began a few years ago and is being waged in almost every country. In Poland, Uber started back in 2014 as the first mobile taxi application on the Polish market. Taxi drivers began protesting the app almost immediately after it became clear that consumers preferred Uber's efficiency and prices to those of traditional taxis. Criticism from traditional taxi drivers about the safety of Uber and the qualifications of its drivers led to the need for legal changes. A first draft amendment of the Polish Act on Road Transport was submitted to the Council of Ministers in July 2017 (the "Amendment").
roadmap
Romania: How to start-up an army of cyber guardians
This year, Romania's first tech unicorn reached a USD 7bln valuation. This has stirred things up, expanding the horizons for many Romanian entrepreneurs. While still far from being a major start-up ecosystem, the country is showing its potential, mostly due to high-quality tech talent available at still manageable costs.
media coverage
Beteiligungen: Entlohnung mit dem Prinzip Hoffnung
First published on Der Standard, 28.10.2019
Junge Unternehmen versuchen, ihre Mitarbeiter durch Beteiligungen in der Firma zu halten. Doch nicht jedes Modell funktioniert gleich gut
blog
FinTech 2019 in Austria
Financial technologies, or FinTechs, are rapidly changing the finance/banking sectors, and sometimes even shift whole markets online, and make it possible to deal, invest or lend money without ever needing to deal with a traditional bank.
press release
Schoenherr advises Spanish manufacturer Torrot on delivery of electric scooters and related technology to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab
Schoenherr Prague advised Spanish manufacturer Torrot Electric Europa, S.A. ("Torrot") on the delivery of complex technology solutions for scooter sharing (including also electric scooters, advanced IT technologies and IT services) to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab s.r.o. ("ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab"), which will use them for its new e-scooter sharing service BeRider in Prague.
publication
The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Fintech 2019
The International Comparative Legal Guides provide current and practical comparative legal information on a range of practice areas, following a Q&A format to ensure thorough coverage of each topic within different legal systems worldwide.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises bsurance on its Series-A financing
Schoenherr has advised Austrian insurtech start-up bsurance on its Series-A financing round. The investment totals EUR 4 million and was provided by UNIQA Ventures GmbH and an additional investor.
roadmap
Start-up acquisitions & exits - where expectations meet reality
Start-ups generally
A typical start-up is usually founded by three or four individuals as a limited liability company or a joint stock company focused on IT or online businesses. As the start-up grows, a number of investors (ten or more) come on board (venture capital funds and angel investors) by acquiring convertible loan instruments, newly issued or existing shares. The start-up company is focused on building up and investing in its team of specialists, which is often its main asset. This explains why employee share option plans are so common. Gradually, the client network expands and the brand is established. And then, a strategic company comes along with a lucrative offer to acquire the start-up.
roadmap
Legal hiccups in start-up financing
From pre-seed to exit, start-ups are chronically in need of money to ensure their steady growth. Due to lack of access to bank financing, start-ups are typically financed by their shareholders via equity finance or debt. But there are also hybrid instruments that can be used to bridge the gaps between financing rounds or to overcome valuation issues.
roadmap
What industries do investors in start-ups currently prefer?
From pre-seed to exit, start-ups are chronically in need of money to ensure their steady growth. Due to lack of access to bank financing start-ups are typically financed by their shareholders via equity finance or debt. But there are also hybrid instruments that can be used to bridge the gaps between financing g rounds or to overcome valuation issues. We interviewed Ivaylo Gospodinov, one of the managing partners of the investment fund BlackPeak Capital.
newsletter
Österreich: Ab 2019 vereinfachter Kapitalmarktzugang für KMU, Wachstumsunternehmen und Startups durch Öffnung des Dritten Markts
Am 25.10.2018 hat der Nationalrat die seit langem erwartete Änderung des Aktiengesetzes beschlossen, die den Zugang von österreichischen Gesellschaften, insbesondere von KMU, Wachstumsunternehmen und Startups, zum Kapitalmarkt erleichtern soll.
press release
Austria: Schoenherr advises crowdinvesting company CONDA on first-ever digitalisation of shares via blockchain in Austria
Schoenherr and CONDA AG ("CONDA") have succeeded in digitalising the shares of the joint stock company and enabled registered shares to be managed via blockchain technology.
press release
Schoenherr advises Endeit Capital in largest Austrian start-up financing round in 2018
Schoenherr is harnessing its start-up and venture capital expertise by advising Dutch capital investment firm Endeit Capital in a EUR 50 million Series C financing round for Austrian tour booking platform TourRadar.
newsletter
Österreich: Exit-Szenarien ausarbeiten und Finanzen managen: Was Start Ups vorab tun können um Krisenstimmung zu vermeiden
Schönherr lud vergangene Woche gemeinsam mit dem Branchennetzwerk primeCROWD ein, die Schattenseiten des Start Up-Unternehmertums zu diskutieren. Das Fazit: Wie in jeder Beziehung, ist ein offener und ehrlicher Dialog wichtig, um Krisen zu vermeiden oder zumindest gestärkt aus Krisen hervorzugehen. Zahlreiche Start Ups und Investoren waren in die Wiener Kanzlei gekommen um sich Expertenmeinungen und Tipps zu Gesellschafterstreitfälle, Verstimmungen zwischen Start Ups und Investoren sowie zum Thema Insolvenz zu holen.
newsletter
Are ICOs the future of fund raising?
With credit institutions still reluctant to provide financing to start-ups, many companies are looking for new ways to raise funds. Others are exploring ways to integrate new technology such as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Blockchain and SmartContracts into their existing business models. Either way, initial coin offerings (ICO) or initial token offerings (ITO) are currently trending.
press release
Austria/CEE: Schoenherr supports weXelerate and innovators in the region
Schoenherr has partnered with weXelerate, the largest start-up & innovation hub in Central Europe, as an active supporter and channel partner. On Monday 26 September the weXelerate on-boarding week begins for 55 promising international start-ups that will start developing their ideas in the innovation centre of the Nouvel Tower in Vienna.
newsletter
Austria: Avoid Expensive Mistakes As Startup Employer
As violations may lead to enormous liabilities, start-up employers are advised from the outset to comply with the applicable laws pertaining to their personnel.
newsletter
Austria: Participation rights as alternative investment and equity financing instruments
The typical way to invest in an Austrian company (eg, a limited liability company (LLC) or joint stock company) is by way of a capital increase. Alternatively, the investor can acquire existing shares from shareholders and provide capital contributions to the company.(1)
newsletter
"Start-Ups, die vorausdenken, sind attraktiver für Investoren"
Das Start-Up Ökosystem in Österreich wächst: A1 hat vor kurzem gemeinsam mit anderen Investoren 1,2 Millionen Euro in das Start-Up Parkbob investiert. Was macht das Investment in Start-Ups so attraktiv?
roadmap
Austria: Convertible Loans for Austrian Start-Ups
A convertible loan is a popular investment means to finance a start-up. Austrian law, however, does not foresee convertible loans for the most popular corporate form of Austrian start-ups: limited liability companies. Convertible loans thus have to be synthetically structured.