The company provides software to create intelligent presentations, integrate interactive elements such as live polls, and generate detailed analyses afterwards. The company is enjoying great success as several thousand people are using SlideLizard to generate over 450,000 interactions that include over 60,000 participants. Both company founders, Daniel Amerbauer and Jakob Mayer, are JKU alumni.

How well did your degree program at the JKU prepare you to be an entrepreneur?
Daniel Amerbauer: As part of my business degree, I chose entrepreneurship as a specialization, getting initial insight into just how starting your own business actually works and everything you need to take into consideration. Other subjects were also important, of course, as when you start your own business, it pays to have a basic understanding in all different areas so you can build on it!

Did the JKU Gründerservice provide support during the start-up and preliminary phases?
Daniel Amerbauer: Our idea for SlideLizard came about in 2013 already. We worked on it during our studies, and JKU events - such as Founders.Week and Step.One - helped us a lot so our idea could take a more concrete shape. We also met one of our mentors through the JKU and they provided us with support during the first two years.

What advice do you have for anyone who wants to start their own company, and do you ever regret having started your own company?
Daniel Amerbauer: I definitely don't regret it. In my opinion, creating your own company is the best school of all. You learn something new every day and you have to constantly get out of your comfort zone. It’s not always easy but if you can do it, success can be the reward. I wouldn't want to undo the past three years at all! My advice to students is: 'Just do it!' The best time to start your own business is after graduation as you are more capable of learning, you will be more motivated (even if it doesn't work out), you will learn a lot, and still have enough time to pursue a different career later.