Polytone @ CultTech Summit 2025 in Vienna

With Polytone, we were part of this year's batch in the CultTech Accelerator, a start-up support programme for young companies working at the intersection of the creative industries, education and technology to the benefit of culture and society. Since May 2025, there have been weekly online sessions on topics such as financing, scaling & growth, marketing & sales, pitch & presentation training, networking, VC funding and one-on-one mentoring sessions.

In October, the CultTech Summit took place in Vienna, which also marked the end of the programme. Philipp looks back on two intensive days in the Austrian capital:

In October, we attended the CultTech Summit in Vienna with Polytone – a great event that combines culture, technology and impact investment. We had our own booth at the Expo, had the opportunity to pitch and were able to initiate many relevant conversations with investors and partners via the Talque app. Despite all the digital tools available, it is still real encounters that create closeness and trust. The atmosphere was dynamic and open – an ideal environment for our mission to rethink access to high-quality musical instruments.

Highlights included discussions with Simona from OPES Fund (Italy), Severin from New Renaissance Ventures (Austria) and Laura Callanan from Upstart Co-Lab (USA). All three showed great interest in our model, which combines social impact with stable returns, in particular through innovative access to musical instruments as an alternative asset class. Our focus on the interface between music, impact and investment is understood. The interest in our model also shows that impact investing is gaining relevance in the cultural sector. 

It was also nice to meet my colleague Anja in person again, rather than remotely – a brief but valuable exchange in between. The intensive dialogue with the many other founders on site was equally enriching. The chats with like-minded people were inspiring – especially in terms of learning about new perspectives and challenges. The whole experience was rounded off by perfect autumn weather in Vienna, coffee house moments and a thoroughly inspiring atmosphere.