Sweet Smell of Success

At the Siemens Forum in Wien. The University's startup service INiTS has gathered some 150 people to listen to professor and entrepreneur Robert D Hisrich from Thunderbird. I'm mainly here to see the director Michael Rauhofer (incubator managers with a great sense of humor is a rarity) but the speech is quite interesting. I often wonder if it's at all possible to boost entrepreneurship in a protected welfare state - or if you must have the competitive societies of the US or South-east Asia to shake people into action. At events like these - where a successful entrepreneur shares his insights in a personal way, and you can sense the eagerness of the audience - it's easier to believe that it's possible. Can successful companies be built out of pure lust to create something valuable?