The talk will focus on how successful platforms made in Europe work.
In 1999, five McKinsey managers decided to shake up the confusing procurement market for business customers in Germany. Their aim was to launch a digital marketplace in order to revolutionise the market by making purchasing more efficient for companies. The platform that would achieve this finally went live in 2000 – mercateo.com. One of the five founders was the Austrian Dr Sebastian Wieser. He has been a mainstay of Mercateo ever since the birth of this brilliant idea. In his talk, he will give insights on how the former start-up with five employees at the turn of the millennium has become Europe’s leading B2B platform with more than 600 employees. Furthermore, he will explain why the constant drive for process optimisation and digital networking are the keys to success in the business world.
Born in 1970 in Austria, Dr Sebastian Wieser studied technical physics in Vienna at the TU Wien. After completing his doctorate, he first started working in the operational management of an IT company. He then joined McKinsey & Company, where he mainly advised large companies from the financial sector on their IT strategy. As a co-founder of the company, Dr Sebastian Wieser has been a member of the board of Mercateo Deutschland AG since 2000. For Mercateo Group, he is responsible for IT and business development.
The Founder & Investor Talks organized by the Innovation Incubation Center (i²c) at TU Wien enable the audience to learn first-hand from experienced founders, investors, and innovators. They share their international experiences, dos and don’ts and lessons learned during inspiring talks and answer questions in interactive Q&A-sessions.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
