Vienna Found The Key to Startups. Awi Lifshitz on Austria’s Ecosystem (E116)

How do you turn a slow-moving, traditional economy into a thriving innovation hub? 🇦🇹 In this special ViennaUp Festival edition of The Recursive Podcast, we sit down with Awi Lifshitz, CEO of weXelerate – Austria’s largest innovation ecosystem – to explore how bold vision, strategic partnerships, and startup thinking can reshape entire economies.

In this episode, Avi shares:

🔹 Why Austria lagged in innovation—and how it's catching up

🔹 Lessons from working with 30+ corporates to drive digital transformation

🔹 The birth of Venture Cake, a co-owned accelerator redefining startup support

🔹 The cultural clash between startups and corporates—and how to bridge it

🔹 How Vienna positions itself as a gateway between Eastern and Western Europe

From personal insights to macro-strategy, this is a must-watch for founders, corporate innovators, and policymakers alike.

📍 Recorded during ViennaUp Festival in the heart of Europe.

🔔 Subscribe to The Recursive for more interviews from the forefront of innovation in CEE.