Four days of a varied program for the next generation of eco-innovators are over. With talks, excursions (UNIDO), hands-on demonstrations (growing mushrooms on coffee waste) and workshops (business development, rhetorics) the Green Summer School in Vienna, 25-28Sep 2018, left a sustainable impression; on participants, contributors and organizers alike. Altogether 30 international young participants broadened their eco-knowledge, developed entrepreneurial skills and interactively built on green business ideas. One unanimous view and take-home messages conveyed by contributing start-ups, lecturers and workshop leaders was: “Gather your wits, strength and courage! Go and implement your Green idea!”

Take-home messages:

When asked to name key personal success factors, start-ups independently answered: “Patience & Passion”.  Three years of trying and pushing seem the minimum launch phase: “Who gives up earlier has not really tried. ”Finding investors for counselling and connections is also important, as “fast money at the beginning” and the ability to “sell your green image”. Interestingly, in one aspect attitudes diverge: “You need to dedicate 16-18 hours per day” or “Look after yourself, do not let your business control your life”.