Altman Scholars Matt Brown and Sam Wetzel traveled to Innsbruck, Austria, in March to attend Skinnovation, a startup and entrepreneurship conference that brings together investors, entrepreneurship enthusiasts, startups, and corporate groups. Matt and Sam spent three days attending talks, networking, and hitting the slopes with people from all over the world. 

The Altman Scholars attended talks entitled “30 Do’s and Don’ts for Starting a Business,” and “New Business Models with the Rise of AI.” They were also able to attend a pitch competition in which all of the start-ups at the conference had the opportunity to pitch their companies to the entire conference. Matt says, “We saw pitches about everything from encrypted data transfers, to electronic biomedical data cards, to a ski simulator. I was really impressed with the ingenuity and passion that the entrepreneurs brought to the table.”

The ski slopes provided a unique environment for such an event. Sam says, “The skiing brought people together in a fun and social way which established an interesting sense of camaraderie—whether we were in one of the networking sessions or sitting in a hut on the mountain (everyone with their boots off to avoid tracking in snow) listening to a talk.”

“I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend this event and connect and learn from these highly innovative and passionate people,” Matt says. “I cannot recommend this event enough for any future Altman student interested in becoming an entrepreneur. This was a great platform to get real insights into development of a business and to see how businesses function differently outside of the U.S.”