Lead Today. Shape Tomorrow. is the event where startups, investors & innovation opinion leaders get together to create an inclusive future of entrepreneurship.

watch now
Check out the highlights video from LTST 2022
In 2022, LTST attracted over 2100 participants (online and on-site in Vienna) from 78 countries across 6 continents with a fantastic lineup of 106 international speakers (out of which, 71 % were women). The atmosphere cannot be described in words so we hope this video helps 😉
Lead Today. Shape Tomorrow. 2022
in numbers
Registrations
1600
Participants
110
Speakers
68
Partners
participants
Who is it for?
Investor & Corporate
For VCs, institutional investors and Corporates
General Attendee
For individuals including those from scaleups, academia and government
Startups
For early stage startups – Less than five years old and under £10 million in funding


Are you a female-led or gender-diverse startup trying to solve the world’s most pressing challenges? Then we want you!
We are looking for 14 European startups (7 pre-seed and 7 seed) to join us in Vienna at the LEAD TODAY. SHAPE TOMORROW. conference and pitch their ideas to thousands of live and virtual attendees!
Do you have what it takes to win over our jury members? Send us your application now.
focus topics
Change the game.
Not the players.

Beyond Business: a holistic perspective on entrepreneurial life

Creating a Tech & Innovation Ecosystem where everybody belongs (DEI)

Technologies that shape the future

The Fundraising Playbook

Running and scaling a business
European thought leaders
Meet the #LTST23 Speakers
Be part of it
Startups
For early-stage startups less than 5 years old and under £10m in funding

€159
(until 28 July)
Regular
€199
What you get:
- Full access to two day conference and expo
- Ability to pre-schedule meetings and reach out to attendees (online & in-person) via the event platform and app
- Access to after party, drinks and food for two days
- Ability to apply to roundtables, workshops and side events
General Attendee
For individuals including those from scaleups, academia and government

€285
(until 28 July)
Regular
€356
What you get:
- Full access to two day conference and expo
- Ability to pre-schedule meetings and reach out to attendees (online & in-person) via the event platform and app
- Access to after party, drinks and food for two days
- Ability to apply to roundtables, workshops and side events
Investor & Corporate
For VCs, Institutional Investors and Corporates

€440
(until 28 July)
Regular
€549
What you get:
- Full access to two day conference and expo
- Ability to pre-schedule meetings and reach out to attendees (online & in-person) via the event platform and app
- Access to after party, drinks and food for two days
- Ability to apply to roundtables, workshops and side events
Online
For Investors, Startups, Corporate attendees, and anyone else, who wants to be part of the LTST event.
€0
Are you interested in Ticket Bundles or joining as a Group?
The entire team was fantastic putting together such a complex hybrid event! The content and speakers were an inspiration and I already look forward to the next event!
Your conference is one of a kind in the sense that everybody attending is engaged, open minded, and easy to approach. You manage to bring together a group of value adding speakers and participants, and imo you are one of the leading organizations in EMEA. Keep it up, happy to have been part of it!
2023 Partners
We are partnering with companies & organizations that are confidently striving towards a more diverse European tech & innovation startup ecosystem!






Meet our Investors




Meet our Community Partners


#LTST23 Media Partners

Become an official Event Partner

The Odeon Theatre
The Serapions Theater, which moved in 1988 to a part of the stock exchange for agricultural products, gave it’s new venue, revitalized by the ensemble itself, the name Odeon. The building with its Viennese charm and integrated theatre perfectly reflect the capital city of Austria.
Beyond Business:
a holistic perspective on entrepreneurial life
- (Mental) Health
- Self Care- & Optimization
- Family & Work-Life Balance
- Biohacking
In this focus area we’re looking at entrepreneurship from a broader perspective that goes beyond financial success. As an entreprneur you often face challenges that might affect your mental and physical well-being, relationships, and overall quality of life. So, let’s talk about (mental) health, self care- & optimization, family & work-Life balance & biohacking to get inspired and learn how to adopt a holistic approach to entrepreneurship, so you can thrive both personally and professionally.
Creating a Tech & Innovation Ecosystem
where everybody belongs (DEI)
- Allyship
- Diversifying Dealflow & Portfolio
- DEI Strategy development & implementation
- Inclusive Company Culture
DEI efforts in tech and innovation must address systemic inequalities that exclude marginalized groups from participating in the industry, while also enabling everyone to be an active ally. Successful implementation of DEI requires a comprehensive strategy that engages all stakeholders – including entrepreneurs, investors operators, and corporates. In this focus topic you’ll learn all about DEI to unlock the full potential of diverse perspectives and experiences, drive innovation and create a more equitable future.
Technologies
that shape the Future
- AI, Web 3 & Metaverse
- Sustainability & Impact
- Inclusive Tech
- Deep Tech
This focus area will take a close look at current developments in the tech sector and their influence on shaping how we live, do our jobs and interact with each other – like AI, Web3 and Cleantech. The impact technologies already have is massive and will grow drastically, shaping not only the wold of business we (used to) know but also our society. Learn about the hot topics in tech and innovation from various perspectives from leading experts, who’ll map out the world of tomorrow and how to navigate through it.
Navigating the Startup Fundraising Landscape
- Early-stage Startup Pitch Track
- Fundraising Status Quo & Outlook
- Alternative Ways of Funding
- Impact Investing
One of the core pillars of innovation and entrepreneurship is funding. But what is the fundraising status quo and outlook for 2024, what’s the potential of alternative funding forms, why is impact investing so relevant and how has the current economic situation influenced the ecosystem and its players? This focus area will not only be uncovering which potentials are still untapped and what to expect in the future, but will also bring a diversity & impact lense to the topic of funding. As a program highlight 14 gender-diverse early stage founding teams will pitch their startups on stage to a jury of international investors.
Running and Scaling a Business
- Talent Acquisition
- Internationalization: Scaling in new markets
- Customer-centric brand building
- Designing for efficiency
Running and scaling a business requires a strong team, a clear understanding of the market and competition, and the ability to navigate challenges and opportunities along the way. As an entrepreneur you must design your operations and processes for efficiency, reducing costs and streamlining workflows to optimize performance. From Internationalization to Customer-centric brand building: the content pieces in this focus topic will equip you with the know-how and showcase of best-practices to bring your operations to the next level.

Bettine Schmitz
GP at Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund
Bettine is a believer in the unharnessed potential of female founders. To this end she has set up the Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund as founding partner. She previously worked as a strategy consultant, product manager, accelerated nearly 100 companies at Axel Springer Plug and play and has made nearly 20 angel investments. A trained mathematician, Tine loves to crunch numbers, preferably in her weekly focus sessions.

Barbra Gago
Founder & CEO at Pando
Barbra Gago is the Founder and CEO at Pando, the first employee progression platform. She was formerly the CMO at Miro where she led the re-brand from RealtimeBoard to Miro in 2018, and scaled from $3 to $50m revenue in just under 2 years. As a VP of Marketing, Barbra also brought both Culture Amp and Greenhouse to market and initial scale. Having worked at the intersection of people tech and future of work for over 10 years she’s expert at scaling high performing teams and businesses.

Julia Zhou
Co-Founder at Tidal Impact
Julia is the co-founder of Tidal Impact, an impact advisory and investment holding firm catalyzing companies driven by social, environmental and financial returns. She also serves as an executive board member of the Sigma Squared Society, a global community of 800+ of the world’s most ambitious founders in their early 20s, previously known as the Kairos Society.

Dr. Lisa Smith
Co-Founder & Managing Director at Prewave
Dr. Lisa Smith is co-founder and managing director of Prewave, an AI startup making tomorrow’s supply chains more transparent, resilient, and sustainable. Lisa developed the technology behind Prewave in her PhD at the Vienna University of Technology. Together with her team, she transformed it into a leading supply chain intelligence platform. Prewave has more than 100 employees and serves companies with large supply chain networks such as Lufthansa, VW, BMW, Dr. Oetker, and many others.

Stuart Bruce Cameron
Founder & CEO UHLALA Group / Co-Founder at PANDA | The Women Leadership Network
Stuart is the CEO and founder of the UHLALA Group and has been involved in various professional projects for LGBT+ in the working world for more than 10 years. Since 2009, the UHLALA Group has been committed to the networking, further education and promotion of LGBT+ people in their professional lives worldwide, and bringing them in contact with LGBT+ friendly companies and organizations.
Stuart truly believes in diversity & inclusion in all its dimensions and thus his engagement is not limited to LGBT+ visibility, but also the promotion of women in management positions: with his PANDA Women Leadership Network, which he co-founded in 2012 together with Isabelle Hoyer.

Peter Windischhofer
Founder of refurbed | Forbes #30Under30
Peter was a consultant at McKinsey for several years, advising large marketplaces and e-commerce companies in Europe. Before that he studied business administration in Vienna, Hong Kong, Shanghai & San Francisco. He comes from Upper Austria and has been living in Vienna for almost 10 years.
Refurbed is a marketplace for refurbished products. These are completely refurbished phones, laptops and tablets that look and work like new. Customers save up to 40%, get a guarantee of at least 12 months and the products are 100% sustainable. The combination of sustainability and cheaper products is particularly attractive to many people. The company’s goal is to bring a refurbished product into every household.

Oliver Holle
Founder and Managing Partner at Speedinvest
With more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience in the mobile and internet industries and 10 years as co-founder of Speedinvest, Oliver is a leading expert in Europe’s technology startup scene to Austria and secured €10M from private investors to found Speedinvest. As of 2023, the early-stage venture capital fund has more than €1B in AuM, +250 portfolio companies, six offices across Europe, and is routinely ranked as one of Europe’s most-active investors

Deepali Nangia
Partner at Speedinvest / Co-Founder of Alma Angels
Deepali joined Speedinvest as a Partner in 2022 with a focus on finding and funding investment in underrepresented founders. Previously, she co-founded Alma Angels, a community for female angels and invested in and mentored multiple female-founded companies.
Originally from Kolkata, India with a background in investment banking, private equity, and operations, Deepali has a keen interest in technologies solving society’s large problems in sectors such as Digital Health, Femtech, and Climate Tech

Gazelle Vollhase
Recruiting & D&I Partner at idealo | Speaker and Content Creator at @gazelleishername
Gazelle is a Content Creator on TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn, where she discusses being trans, using pronouns and inclusive language at the workplace. She tells her stories from a humorous but nonetheless educational and empowering point of view. For ten years, she has been making a career in Recruiting and corporate D&I work.