House of Startups: the link in the start-up eco-system

Three questions for Karin Schintgen,  Ex-CEO of House of Startups

1. You don't just rent offices to start-ups. House of Startups also accompanies innovative businesses in their start-up phase. What are HoST's missions?

House of Startups is a campus for incubators, accelerators and innovation hubs which in turn rent directly to start-ups.  We are trying to bring together and federate at House of Startups a whole host of all the players in the eco-system who are all involved in different or complementary tech sectors, in addition to what is already being done: FinTech with LHoFT (Luxembourg House of Fintech);  UrbanTech, commerce, tourism, environment, logistics, construction at LCI (Luxembourg City Incubator); climate funding  at ICFA (International Climate Finance Accelerator); maritime and space technology, FinTech, cyber-security, etc. at the hub operated by the Crédit Agricole group.

HoST's mission is to be a driving force for Innovation in the Grand Duchy by federating, promoting, supporting and catalysing the eco-system and world of the country's businesses.

2. How do you judge the evolution of the start-up eco-system in the Grand Duchy in recent years? In what areas would like to see new start-ups emerge?

I would say that amazing progress has been made in terms of both the offer of space and support (coaching, funding, marketing, etc.). Recent years have also seen a lot of specialisation, particularly in the direction of finance, which was a necessity in the aftermath of 2008, and more recently towards SpaceTech, which is also a necessity in as much as the Grand Duchy's survival depends on the country constantly reinventing itself. Obviously I think it's important to consolidate all that and continue developing our skills in so-called transverse technologies such as cyber-security and artificial intelligence. In addition, I would like to see more strong tech centres develop in sectors  such as retailing, tourism, town planning and construction, education, logistics, etc. Progress is also needed in terms of funding this economy – at present, it's in the hands of the public authorities and financiers such as VC operators. I think we need to find a way of involving the public and young people, otherwise Luxembourgers will become passive spectators of their own economy.

3. How is HoST positioned in the Greater Region? How do start-ups set up in the Grand Duchy take advantage of any cooperation there may be with the neighbouring countries?

The Grand Duchy's Chamber of Commerce is a very dynamic player in the Greater Region, so it came to me quite naturally as an idea that this historical and economic reality could be applied to the world of start-ups. A start-up doesn't think in terms of local markets, since one of the main factors in the success of start-up models is their 'scalability' - their ability to replicate their economic model on other markets. The Greater Region offers a market of  11 million people as well as more than sixty incubators and major centres for research and skills in Europe. It you take a close look you see a real technological megalopolis capable - as long as it is organised - of competing on a coherent platform with the major capitals such as Paris and Berlin. It's essential that we manage to keep the talents and skills that we have in our regions, and it's also essential that we attract foreign businesses and investors to this technological market. This can only be successful if we pool our forces. That's what's involved in the EU-TRIBE project, which currently includes about twenty incubators in the Greater Region (Rhineland, Saarland, Lorraine, Wallonia, and the Grand Duchy)