EU|BIC accent turns overlooked regional universities into a pipeline of founders who stay in Lower Austria

Lower Austria faces a challenge many regions know well. Promising talent and ideas are often pulled toward the nearest major innovation hub, in this case, Vienna. What starts in Lower Austria can quickly move out. The region risks losing companies before they ever have the chance to take root.

accent, Lower Austria’s EU|BIC, responded by launching the Creative Pre-Incubator (CPI) in 2013. The idea was simple but powerful: go where the talent already is. Across Lower Austria, universities of applied sciences were generating ambitious student and research projects, but too few were turning into companies. Instead of waiting for founders to find the startup ecosystem, accent brought the ecosystem directly into the universities and helped build founders where they study, work and develop their first ideas. The goal is to find and develop potential that would stay in the region, not to compete with Vienna.

The CPI started with one university of applied science and one clear principle: design the programme around the needs of the institution, not the other way round. By 2015, the model had expanded to all four universities of applied science in Lower Austria. Today, it targets students, alumni and employees with serious founding potential. Over two semesters, teams move from raw idea to investor-ready pitch through individual coaching, university-based coordination, monthly workshops on business modelling, market research, team formation, intellectual property, sales and pitching, a midterm review with external experts and a final demo day in front of a jury. The demo day winner earns a place at Berkeley’s entrepreneurship summer school.

The results show how much hidden entrepreneurial potential was already present in the region.

One example is Circly. The idea was developed in the CPI in 2019 and the company was founded in 2021. The company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver highly accurate demand, sales and supply-chain forecasts for manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. By helping companies optimise inventory planning and improve operational efficiency, Circly shows how an early regional idea can grow into a scalable technology business with relevance far beyond Lower Austria. The important point is that the company developed as part of a regional pipeline designed to keep entrepreneurial talent connected to Lower Austria.