Got questions about the Startup City Vienna? Find answers here.

Getting started in Vienna?

1. Can I come to Vienna and just get started right away?
   Basically, yes. If all the legal requirements are met, then you can start a business in Austria quickly. The Vienna Business Agency as well as the Austrian Business Agency offer comprehensive consulting and support services to help you.
2. What do I have to do to start a business?
   Depending on the legal form (one-person business, limited partnership (KG), general partnership (OG), limited liability company (GmbH)) and type of trade (free trade and regulated trade), different steps must be adhered to when starting a business in Austria. You can find details on these steps in the Guide for startups or at investinaustria.at.
3. What do I have to pay attention to when it comes to arrival, stay and visa?
   If you want to stay in Austria for longer than six months, there are a few small things to be aware of. You will need a residence permit if you are not from Switzerland, the Member States of the European Union or the European Economic Area. You can find information concerning permanent immigration to Austria at migration.at. People who want to live and work in Austria can also apply for a Rot-Weiß-Rot Karte (Red-White-Red Card) if they fulfil certain criteria. You can get support on all your questions from the Expat Service of the Vienna Business Agency.
4. Where can I find employees?
   With 200,000 students, Vienna has a large pool of talent at its disposal. Job postings can be advertised on startup job platforms such as Startus and derbrutkasten.
5. How high are taxes in Austria?
   Austria occupies a leading position on the Scale of Startup Friendly Countries. Taxation of the limited liability company (GmbH) – one of the most common legal forms of companies in Austria – has a fixed corporate tax rate of 25%. Generally, the taxation of company profits in Austria depends on the legal form, amount of profit obtained, whether the profits are paid out or taken from the proprietors or not. All information about taxes can be found at bmf.gv.at. 
6. How and where can I find office space?
   Here you can find information on co-working spaces, while an overview of shared facilities is available at https://www.bespaced.com/ and https://sharedspaces.at/ .
7. What services does the Vienna Business Agency offer for international startups?
   Our soft-landing programmes Discover Vienna and the Vienna Startup Package offer the chance to gain a quick insight into Vienna’s startup ecosystem and to establish important initial contacts.
8. How and where can I find an apartment?
   It is customary to rent an apartment in Vienna. These can be found via the major apartment platforms such as www.immobilienscout24.at, immowelt.at, willhaben.at.

Vienna – the right place for your startup?

1. Why Vienna?
   The best city to live in the world? Yes, and so much more!
   Vienna is, above all, an economic and political centre in the heart of Europe, boasts high economic power, top-qualified professionals, an excellent infrastructure and wide pool of talent (200,000 students). The combination of these factors makes Vienna the ideal starting point for the European market.
2. What is Vienna’s startup ecosystem like?
   You can find the best overview of co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators, media and services in our Startup Ecosystem Overview.  We have listed current events for you here, while information about current calls is available here.
3. What industry focuses are there in Vienna?
   In Vienna, the ICT sector dominates the startup scene with focuses on AI, Blockchain, robotics, IoT and visual computing, and is highly consistent with international trends here. The Life Sciences sector plays an important role, with a separate Life Science Platform even being started for this purpose. Furthermore, the creative industries and social entrepreneurship scene around the Impact Hub Vienna add a breath of fresh air to Vienna’s ecosystem.
4. What funding opportunities are available in Vienna?
   Vienna leads at the pre-seed and seed level, as well as in providing ongoing support to startups. Here is an overview of funding & financing opportunities.