Entrepreneurial spirit

Source: DIE MACHER

Export hit punk rock - SBÄM

It can be written without exaggeration: Birgit and Stefan Beham are currently the most sought-after young entrepreneurs in Austria, and probably far beyond. Which founding team can claim to be accompanied for days on end by an American camera crew for a planned, multi-part Netflix documentary? Or easily get appointments with the stars of Blink-182 or actors from "American Pie" or "The Big Bang Theory"? Exactly. Their industry is not necessarily one in which you would expect to find a fast-growing, globally expanding young company from Upper Austria: punk rock. With "SBÄM", the two want to create aglobal brand for the music genre, as a label, creator of artwork for bands and organizer of concerts, music festivals and other events.

It all started very small. "I was a fanboy who made merchandise for punk bands and sent it to them so that I could meet them and get on guest lists," recalls Stefan Beham with a laugh. He organizes small festivals and concerts on the side. But the bands wanted more and more - and the fun project slowly turned serious. Stefan, previously an art director at agencies in Linz, Hamburg and Munich, now concentrates fully on his own company. "The company was founded at the end of 2018, and three years later we opened here," says Birgit Beham, sitting on the sofa in the small SBÄM office on Obere Donaulände in Linz. Drinks used to be served in the former "Ost", today concerts are planned. Shelves are stacked with records by various bands and merchandise - from clothing to skateboards. "During the company's start-up phase, tech2b's support in drawing up a professional business and financial plan was enormously valuable.

USA branch and business Oscar

The company has been well known since the "SBÄM-Fest" at Tabakfabrik - Austria's largest punk festival with 8,000 visitors. "Over the last year and a half, many people have realized that it's pretty cool that we exist," says Birgit. That wasn't always the case. Stefan: "Punk isn't particularly socially acceptable, some people think it's just those who scrounge on the street or stand in the front row at the demo when things escalate, so it was difficult to find sponsors." Postscript: Of course punk rock is political, but there are still many unfounded prejudices. Nervousness was also palpable before the festival at Tabakfabrik. "There was a great atmosphere at the end, the Linz police commissioner had a beer with us and thanked us, after his shift of course." The US film team also accompanied the two founders in the Tabakfabrik and during the planning. "At first, of course, it takes some getting used to being followed at every turn, but later it was like being out and about with friends," says Birgit. The plan is to make a documentary about the history of punk from the 90s until now, much of which will be filmed in the USA. Matthias Schweighöfer's Pantaleon Films is the producer. "We had numerous interviews with scene icons in Los Angeles, attended shows, met important partners and installed pop-up stores in skateboard stores."

SBÄM was therefore nominated for the "Business Oscar" by the Californian branch of the Chamber of Commerce together with three other Austrian start-ups that want to gain a foothold in the American state. An SBÄM location is currently being set up in Arizona. "The American market is very important for us," explains Beham, "we met people wearing our shirts when we went out in Los Angeles, which is crazy." In future, the two want to spend about half the year in the USA, and will soon be going to the opening of a punk rock museum in Las Vegas. The scene is close-knit and has a lot in common. The demands of bands - the biggest acts come with an entourage of up to 60 employees - are also very humane. "There are hardly any airs and graces or special requests. Once we were asked if we could get heroin, but such requests are common in the music business."

Punk rock and business thinking: for Stefan Beham, this is not a contradiction. "Otherwise you wouldn't even be allowed to sell records or merch as a band. If you have a good basic idea and focus on regionality, it's not mutually exclusive. Of course, you don't have to accept every deal or cooperate with companies that exploit people. We would never do something like that." NGOs such as Viva con Agua, Amnesty International and Kein Bock auf Nazis were invited to the SBÄM festival. Young talent work is particularly important to the founders. There is a fixed contingent of free tickets for each event - visitors under the age of 18 don't have to pay anything. Birgit Beham: "We want to get young people excited about music." It seems to be working. "We recently had a show at the Stadtwerkstatt in Linz with a 78-year-old singer - and half of the audience was under 25."

gofellow

Christian Marschalek and Harald Eriksson originally wanted to build a platform that would provide uncomplicated inspiration for leisure activities. "After a while, we realized that we wouldn't be able to get past the big players with our business model," says Marschalek. Scrapping the old project after a lot of passion and programming work? "It wasn't easy at all, sometimes you have to make difficult decisions in order to be successful." Today, the two are convinced that they made the leap at the perfect time. In favor of their new plan: a provider that enables companies to offer their customers digital experiences in the form of scavenger hunts, guides, competitions and surveys. "For consumers, this works entirely without registration and without an app, just via the browser," explains Eriksson.

goFellow has been around since April 2022. "At our pilot customer Tierpark Stadt Haag, we did a digital scavenger hunt through the zoo, where visitors had to visit a total of six stations and complete quiz questions in order to receive a voucher," recalls Marschalek. QR codes are used to access the web app directly, allowing users to participate easily and spontaneously. The two want to make products and experiences that already exist even more interesting through a digital and interactive approach. Keyword: gamification.

The company's USP is a creator platform for customers. "They can build their own digital experiences using a modular system and fill them with content - easily and without any programming experience," says Eriksson. The two also offer editorial support for the creation of experiences.

"Opportunity to inspire customers"

"Our offer is an opportunity for our partners to inspire customers in a new way and thus make customer loyalty and customer acquisition more effective," explains Marschalek. They are currently working primarily with zoos and leisure parks as well as municipalities and regions. They were also able to convince a five-star hotel of their approach. The use in schools is also exciting. "You could impart knowledge in a playful way." Overall, the company's target group is broad - they don't want to limit themselves to one sector at the moment, as the concept can work in many industries.

Carbon Cleanup

Carbon Cleanup founder Jörg Radanitsch remembers April 1, 2021, the day the 2021 amendment to the Landfill Ordinance was passed. The content: in future, carbon fiber materials may no longer end up in landfill, but must be recycled. His company provides the solution to precisely this problem. "It was particularly cool to know that we would have the right solution at exactly the right time," he says. The amendment came into force at the beginning of the year - and the company's cleanup camps process waste from the automotive and aviation industries. "Our camps are container-sized, mobile facilities in which automated mechanical recycling is carried out," explains the founder. The systems are equipped with cameras and pass on information about the materials. The end result is material that has an 80 to 99.3 percent lower carbon footprint than new products.

The idea for the company came to Radanitsch as a technology consultant for the aviation industry: "I saw how waste was being handled and realized that there was a great opportunity here." In 2018, he began working on the idea, drew sketches on his iPad and took them to a major aviation supplier. The feedback from the managing director: "That's innovative, I want that!" Radanitsch applies for a patent and immediately starts implementing it. "In the start-up phase, the support from tech2b was particularly valuable, there were so many little things that we didn't think about at first." He also praises the local funding landscape. "We paid in 300,000 euros ourselves, but with 10 employees you don't get very far with that." The start-up was awarded funding from the state, federal government and the EU.

200 tons of material per year

The company's first recycling plant is located in Traun - it can process up to 200 tons of material per year. The next camps are set to double that. "Austria is not the biggest market for us, we've been operating in neighboring countries for a long time and we've also received business in the USA," says Radanitsch. Numerous large waste disposal companies have already expressed their interest. In order to handle the large quantities of material, planning is currently underway for a "very large" interim storage facility - but the company is not yet prepared to reveal exactly where.

Currently, recycling carbon fiber materials is still expensive. Carbon Cleanup's vision is to make recycled materials cheaper. Radanitsch explains: "Even organic fruit was once a niche market in Austria and more expensive." The infrastructure for a circular economy is currently being created. "We are working with the Ministry of Climate Protection and with customers, and everyone is very interested in a solution." Companies are investing heavily in the transition. "New ideas are welcome and a budget is immediately made available, which is not a given."