My experience in Vienna with EOI European Coworkings

Aida Bresoli is one of the entrepreneurs taking part in the EOI European Coworkings programme. She has spent five weeks in Vienna working with mentors and european entrepreneurs to develop her startup, Meloc, «the Airbnb for filmmakers and photographers». She has written the next post about her experience.

These are my last 30 minutes in Vienna, now itʼs time to fly back home. EOI European Coworkings has been a unique experience. 33 days, 2 excellent companions, assisting in 20 events, organizing 1 event, 5 schnitzels, 4 swims in the Danube, 6 weisser spritzes, 120 hours in the hub, 1 hour in the chill out, 73 bike rides, 4 tortillas, 10k hiking, 2 heurigers, 39 new friends, 91 new pages in my notebook and 1 new start-up.

My hotel room before leaving (pic: Aida Bresoli)

Vienna wasnʼt my first choice in the EOI program, in fact not even the forth, but I am very happy it went this way because I discovered a new and exciting city. The first week, my inner me was a huge mess, I was inspired by every person I met and my initial idea kept mutating and transforming into a shapeless flubber that jumped from one room to another. I didnʼt create just one business plan but three, as well as three websites. I believe my mentor felt more like a psychologist at this point than a business advisor, the same goes for my Spanish friends who made fun of me repeatedly. After not polishing but cutting large chunks out of my initial startup Dings, Meloc was born, the Airbnb for filmmakers and photographers where everyone can offer their own shooting location in exchange for a half or full daily rate.

I couldnʼt tell what exactly drove me towards Meloc, but for sure it was influenced by the events we attended, the hours in the Impact Hub, the entrepreneurs I met throughout my month in Vienna and my previous experiences in the field. Forbes Magazine named Austria one of seven international startup hotspots, every second company already works with startups and in the study of Global Entrepeneurship Monitor Austria is the strongest country in Europe for public pre-seed investment. So I guess the winds of destiny carried my seed to the right place.

One of the events that realIy influenced me was Startup Avenue, an university organized event with motivated motivational speakers like the co-founder of Runtastic, or the yelling presentation of Steli Efti. From every single one of them I learnt how tough the journey can be and how likely one is to fail, so once you accept that fact, you can move forward. I found so much talent sprouting from within this building, but who doesnʼt feel inspired by this architecture? What I would recommend is to go over and over your idea in your head (or aloud) until eventually you learn how to sell it. I attended some pitching workshops that really helped me to convince both myself and others and I also I kept asking everyone to tell me just how ugly my baby was so I could improve it or find plus points to convince the Meloc detractors.

Impact Hub Vienna (pic: Aida Bresoli)

The life in the Impact Hub was absolutely the best work environment I could have had during this month, everything is well organized to make your working time more pleasurable and tranquil, they even have a woman who can help you with your posture, or lack of. The chill-out area was regularly used by my fellow Spanish entrepreneur Pedro to take the mandatory “siesta”. Liters upon liters of coffee where consumed and they even have a room nicknamed the library where silence is golden (foto library).

But the best part of the hub are the hubbers, professionals from all countries and all walks of life who are fantastically curious and helpful. When I had my ideas messed up I decided to entertain myself and the others organizing a sketching event. Sketch Club Barcelona became Sketch Club Vienna for a day. My EOIs friends, Pedro and Sonia, helped me enormously, Pedro being the master chef and cooking 4 potatoes omelettes until 22h and Sonia preparing 3 liters of the best sangria I ever tried, (that says a lot of good things of Sonia). Plus I enlisted the help of my new cute and talented friend Karin as the perfect guest illustrator who guided us through the sketching with her games and knowledge. I have to say she also prepares a pretty delicious Viennese cake and couscous. This helped me a lot to disconnect briefly from Meloc and meet lovely Austrians. You can watch a short summary of the event here. Sometimes you need to stop doing what you are doing and do something with your hands.

Discovering the city is another good way to disconnect. Vienna is simply beautiful, has a perfect size and is bike friendly. Awesome tip, you can take the City Bike for free, this is how I managed to clock up a total of 73 bike rides… Opera for 3 euros, kebabs for 3.5… I know they are all Catalan tips but I was scared that Vienna was going to be very expensive and it happily surprised to find the opposite. Also wine is sacred and everyone seems to be a connoisseur, but I know the reason, the city is surrounded with Heurigers (vineyards) where you can drink the fresh wine of the month enjoying a sunset with incredible views of the city.

Picture: Aida Bresoli

But I think it was really through the people I met that make me consider my month in Wien a success. Stefan who makes customized cinema cameras that blew my mind, Klaudia who is helping retired people and startups to find their match and goes hiking everyday, Barbara who spends days in the hub planning the perfect documentaries, Martin, an awesome and spontaneous (hard when you are Austrian) filmmaker who shared the film scene of Vienna with me, Filippo for listening and inviting me to his awe Better Agency, Matthias for showing me the secret veggie garden, Kristen for her endless smile, Katharina for the fun walks in the woods, Bakir for supporting me so much, Sorin for the photo challenge, Sebastian and Flo to give me the big push when I needed it and and many others that I remember with a big smile.

Another big thanks to all the EOI team, Ondrej, Sarah, Daniel and Ioana for the organization and making this month such a productive one. The only thing left to say is a threat: I will be back!

PS: If you go to Vienna gave me a shout or take me with you, also if you are interested in taking part of Meloc in any way I will be super happy to hear from you!

Meloc – Find your perfect shooting location. from Aida Bresoli Aliberch on Vimeo.

More about Meloc: https://me-loc.com // www.instagram.com/meloc_locs

No hay comentarios / 10 Jul 2017 por Redes
alumnos, economia digital, emprendedores, experienciaeoi / European Coworkings, Filmmaking, Meloc, Photography

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