sandpit sessions
Our Sandpit Sessions are collaborative learning opportunities enriched by invited experts. They provide a space to share knowledge, tackle challenges together, and learn from both peer experiences and expert insights. Each session focuses on a specific topic or skill, driven by your interests. After the session, stick around for drinks, snacks, brainstorming, and connecting with the community!
From Spin-off to Scale-up: Scaling Readiness Lab & Key Success Components | 6 March 2026 - 8:30-10:30AM
The session aims to create a shared understanding of what “scaling readiness” really means, while enabling founders to diagnose strengths and gaps across core scaling dimensions. It provides practical guidance for prioritizing next steps and lays the foundation for a concrete, actionable scaling roadmap, with the option of expert office hours for selected participants for deeper, tailored feedback after the session.
After the session, participants will be able to:
- Assess their startup’s scaling readiness across key organizational dimensions
- Identify typical scaling challenges and hidden bottlenecks
- Evaluate the strength of their value proposition and product–market fit
- Understand how sales, marketing, and value delivery must evolve for scale
- Recognize the role of organization design, people, and culture in sustainable growth
- Benchmark their progress against peers and real startup cases
Konsultori experts Petra Wolkenstein (CEO & Founder) and Michael Kubiena (Partner, Strategy & Organization Design)
Konsultori is a Vienna-based boutique business development consultancy that helps startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), investors, and accelerator programs grow and succeed by offering strategic advice, organisational design support, finance and M&A guidance, coaching, training, and practical tools to implement effective business strategies; it combines experienced “been there, done that” experts with tailored services and an online learning platform to support sustainable entrepreneurial and organisational development.
Old School Marketing | 13 april 2026 - 4-6PM
This session highlights the strategic aspects of marketing and helps develop an understanding of the power and limitations of marketing activities.
It reviews the “old school” Marketing Mix and discusses its importance today, while also explaining the product life cycle and product portfolio to show how products are managed over time.
After the session, participants will be able to:
- Create a marketing strategy and marketing concept for an enterprise or a product.
- Recognize the role and responsibility of marketing and product management in different companies.
- Have an awareness of ethical aspects of marketing.
Understand the importance of (product) innovation.
Georg Conrad-Billroth brings more than 30 years of hands-on experience at the intersection of technology, software, and business. With a background in business administration in Vienna and computer science at University College London, he combines classic business thinking with modern technology. He has held senior leadership roles at companies such as Microsoft, Kapsch, and international software firms, building and scaling sales, marketing, and product teams in both corporate and startup environments. Alongside his industry work, he has been teaching marketing and sales at a university of applied sciences for many years, translating traditional marketing principles into practical tools for innovation-driven businesses, and was appointed Honorary Professor (FH) in 2023.
COMING SOON | 13 may 2026 - 4-6PM
COMING SOON | 1 june 2026 - 3-6PM
PAST SANDPIT SESSIONS
Company Formation & Fundraising Fundamentals
#ExpertLed
With Felix Kernbichler.
23 january 2026 – 3-6PM
This session is designed to make the early startup journey feel less overwhelming. We will discuss how to properly establish your company, walk through the key considerations for agreements with co-founders, and break down how fundraising works so you feel prepared for future growth.
Work Smarter, Not Harder: Automate Your Startup in Just Minutes
#PeerLed
With Martin Leitner.
1 December 2025 – 4-6PM
Learn how to automate everyday startup operations using no-to-low-code tools. In this hands-on session, you’ll build your own workflow to save time and focus on what really matters: growing your startup.
Demand Understanding
#ExpertLed
With Felix Günther.
18 June 2026 – 5-8PM
In this session, you will learn a clear framework to understand who buys what, why, and when, and how to turn assumptions into testable hypotheses and real-world experiments. Using the Demand Canvas, you will connect your offer with real customer goals, triggers, and alternatives, so come prepared with a clear view of your customer segments, value proposition, and existing competition.
The first 10 seconds
#ExpertLed
With U-Shin Kim.
26 July 2025 – 1-3PM
In this session, U-Shin Kim shares practical techniques to overcome stage fright, sharpen your communication skills, and craft a compelling opening that captures attention instantly. Learn how to tell your story with confidence and impact from the very first moment.
Strategic Analysis in Action: Using SWOT and PESTEL
#ExpertLed
With Ardita Gjeçi.
16 May 2025 – 4-6PM
In this session, you will apply SWOT and PESTEL frameworks to analyze your business environment and strategic position. The session helps you identify internal strengths and weaknesses, assess external opportunities and threats, and translate strategic analysis into clear, actionable insights.
ORBIT by MIT
#PeerLed
With Cosmin Combos.
18 April 2025 – 4-6PM
This session introduces MIT’s Orbit platform, a central hub for entrepreneurial resources that helps founders and students explore tools, frameworks, and opportunities to support venture development.
How to validate ideas and generate revenue faster
#PeerLed
With Gabriel Sperrer.
10 February 2025 – 4-6PM
In this session, a team shares how they validated their idea and generated revenue faster by testing demand early and focusing on paying customers from the start. Participants gain insight into the concrete steps, experiments, and real decisions that helped them move quickly from concept to first sales.
MVP - Minimum Viable Product & CollaboratED
#PeerLed
With Daniela Martinez.
18 October 2024 – 4-6PM
This session showcases a team’s journey in developing their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), sharing how they approached validation, iteration, and learning through practice. Participants gain insight into real decisions, challenges, and lessons learned while building an MVP.
FAQs
The program is open to all students, existing founders, potential founders, and peers interested in entrepreneurship, societal impact, and related topics.
To attend a Sandpit Session, registration is required. You will receive a reminder the day before the session and will be asked to confirm your participation. This helps us offer available spots to people on the waiting list, as places are limited.
No prior knowledge or experience is required. The Sandpit Sessions are designed to provide insights into entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, and related topics for everyone, with or without prior exposure.
contact
Have questions about the focus sessions? Need more information about the sessions, how to register and when the next focus session will take place? Don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here to help! Simply write a message to entrepreneurship@univie.ac.at and we will get back to you as soon as possible.