Why you shouldn't save on investments for the future was the topic of the last digital T-Breakfast at Magenta.
Digital T-Breakfast: Runtastic founder Florian Gschwandtner (center) gave a keynote on visionary ideas and then discussed their implementation with Maria Zesch and Andreas Bierwirth
It only takes a few clicks to take part in a talk these days. That you can follow the Digital-T-Breakfast with Maria Zesch (Chief Commercial Officer Business & Digitalization at Magenta, Andreas Bierwith (CEO at Magenta) and Florian Gschwandtner (Runtastic founder and start-up investor) via a streaming platform and ask questions in a Typing and submitting a mask is no longer unusual. After a year of pandemic, certain processes have been looped in.
To be on guard
But the development there was not foreseeable before the pandemic. “Digitization is not always immediately tangible,” says Maria Zesch. Later in the discussion, which revolves around innovation and digitization opportunities for companies, Andreas Bierwirth will also say that Magenta was not always “on guard”.
It was only noticed during the crisis that they had no products for video conferences in their portfolio. “That's not good for a telecommunications company.”
Andreas Bierwirth: “New trends often arise overnight.”
New trends overnight
According to the conclusion, digital trends come faster than you think, customer behavior can sometimes change overnight, and even large, established companies are sometimes too slow to adapt their products to the trends.
“You don't see what's coming, you don't recognize the topic. Flight providers could have set up an infrastructure for video calls much earlier, as an alternative to business flights. “
Every industry affected
The subject of digitization often makes the difference between a successful and unsuccessful company, adds Maria Zesch. No industry can be excluded from it.
“The business models range from online ordering from the landlord to digital management of vehicle fleets, smart waste management and temperature monitoring in food production.”
Maria Zesch: “We want to network Austria digitally.”
“No” as a motivation
Florian Gschwandtner knows the uncertainty that lies at the beginning of many innovations. “You only see the problems, even as a founder you often hear a 'no' from investors. But that can also be very motivating. “
The start-up founder recognized that crisis-related, hybrid work also requires new leadership cultures and that solutions are needed and just founded a new one: Leaders21. The aim is to establish a new leadership style in companies.
Florian Gschwandtner: “To stay on top, you need innovation.”
Covid-19 caused a digital transformation in the Austrian entrepreneurial landscape. “We were catapulted forward at least ten years.” But: In the long term, you also have to take money into your hands. “Innovation is not a coincidence, but an investment.”
