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start-ups news

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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.

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publication

to the point: technology & digitalisation l September 2023

Welcome to the September edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!

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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.

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event

14 September 2023 - 15 September 2023

D.Hofmarcher B.Kapeller-Hirsch I.Sirakova A.Natterer

Start-up Academy | Erste Bank

14.-15. September | Erste Campus Wien

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publication

to the point: technology & digitalisation l June 2023

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event

Austrian Startups' Legal Office Hours

28 June 2023 | 10:00 - 13:00 CEST | Austria

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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.

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event

16 March 2023 - 18 March 2023

austria

N.Kerschbaumer A.Lengger

Skinnovation: Start-up Conference

Skinnovation is a start-up conference on skis.

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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.

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roadmap

Better SAFE than sorry: Combating volatile tech valuations with future equity agreements

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roadmap

Digital execution of venture capital transactions

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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.

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media coverage

The Ecosystem: Bulgaria joins the competition to attract start-ups from outside the EU

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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".

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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.

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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.

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roadmap

New game in town: dual class voting shares

Although dual class voting structures have been around since the early 20th century, opinions remain divided on their merits.

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roadmap

The phenomenon of special purpose acquisition companies

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press release

Austria: Schoenherr advises on 360kompany AG's sale, one of Austria's biggest start-up exits

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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.

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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.

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press release

Austria: Bitpanda becomes a Unicorn with the support of Schoenherr

Schoenherr provided legal advice to the Viennese crypto-fintech Bitpanda on the implementation of an investment in the amount of EUR 143 million. 

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press release

24 February 2021

romania

M.Florea M.Piuk

Romania: Schoenherr advises Elevator Ventures on seed round investment in fintech start-up Finqware

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press release

Czech Republic: Schoenherr advises Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisenbank a.s. on acquisition of AKCENTA CZ a.s.

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event

Webinar: Model Convertible Loan Agreement

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press release

Austria: Schoenherr advises Storyblok on EUR 7m financing round (Series A)

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roadmap

Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.

The ability to adapt, improvise and overcome obstacles is a key feature in the start-up world. We have asked our clients and friends in the community to tell their stories about how important it is to adapt, improvise and overcome.

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roadmap

Austrian Limited: a new type of corporation for start-ups in Austria

The agenda published by the Austrian Federal Government at the beginning of 2020 has already provided for the establishment of a new type of corporation: the Austrian Limited. Implementation plans are becoming more concrete. The general aim is to ensure that founders and start-ups have an "internationally competitive option" in the early stages with a new form of corporation.

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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.

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newsletter

08 October 2020

austria

U.Rath T.Kulnigg

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.

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press release

29 September 2020

T.Kulnigg A.Lengger D.Tyrybon

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.

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publication

to the point: technology & digitalisation l March 2020

Welcome to our March edition of Schoenherr's to the point: technology & digitalisation newsletter!

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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)"

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blog

25 February 2020

romania

Romanian fintech start-ups combine powers and create the first Romanian fintech association

For the last couple of years, the fintech industry has become of great interest in the Romanian entrepreneurial scene. Numerous Romanian start-ups or long-existing financial and IT companies have switched focus on what fintech means and on what it can bring to the table.

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blog

31 January 2020

austria

T.Kulnigg

New hope for the Austrian start-up scene

The new government promises great things for start-ups and for blockchain users. We have looked into the government's agenda  - here is a brief overview:

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roadmap

cee overview - start-up & venture capital services/technology & digitalisation

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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).

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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.

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roadmap

How to manage complex IT projects

Gone are the days when purchasing new software was mainly the job of procurement departments and driven by economic considerations. Nowadays, IT projects are incredibly complex and require the seamless interaction of many different stakeholders.

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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").

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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.

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roadmap

Start-ups and venture capital: There is no gift shop at the exit!

In the life cycle of a start-up1, the exit is the final act and beginning of the next cycle.

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press release

15 November 2019

austria

T.Kulnigg

Austria: Schoenherr advises fintech start-up Credi2 on investment from Volkswagen Bank

Schoenherr advised Austrian company Credi2 GmbH on an investment from Germany's Volkswagen Bank, which will henceforth hold a 20 % share in Credi2.

 

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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

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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.

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newsletter

12 September 2019

poland

W.Kapica A.Stawiarska

An innovative solution for start-ups - Poland

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press release

12 September 2019

czech republic

V.Čížek

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. 

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publication

13 May 2019

slovenia

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.

Chapter Slovenia

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press release

29 January 2019

austria

T.Kulnigg

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.

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roadmap

The life cycle of a start-up

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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.

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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.

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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.

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blog

21 November 2018

austria

T.Kulnigg

video: IP Recht für Startups

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newsletter

29 October 2018

austria

U.Rath T.Kulnigg

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.

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press release

04 September 2018

austria

T.Kulnigg

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. 

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press release

11 July 2018

austria

T.Kulnigg

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. 

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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.

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blog

22 January 2018

austria

T.Kulnigg

video: Gesellschaftsverträge für Startups

Der Gesellschaftsvertrag ist das A und O bei der Gründung eines Startups. Bei welchen Bestimmungen muss man aufpassen?

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newsletter

30 September 2017

austria

T.Kulnigg

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.

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press release

22 September 2017

austria

T.Kulnigg G.Stangl

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.

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newsletter

06 July 2017

austria

T.Waidmann

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. 

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press release

04 July 2017

austria

Schoenherr advises Roche on acquisition of mySugr

Schoenherr has advised the Roche Group ("Roche") on the acquisition of all shares of mySugr GmbH ("mySugr"). 

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press release

04 July 2017

austria

Schönherr berät Roche beim Erwerb von mySugr

Schönherr hat Roche beim Erwerb sämtlicher Anteile an dem weltweit erfolgreichen Diabetes Service-App Provider mySugr beraten.

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newsletter

05 June 2017

austria

T.Kulnigg

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)

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newsletter

24 April 2017

austria

T.Kulnigg

"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?

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newsletter

Boost your Start-Up with an Advisory Board - Points to consider

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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.

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