First Claims Announced And New Board Members Elected To The Luxembourg Federation Of Startups

The Luxembourg Federation of Startups (FLSU) announced today the results relating to the elections of the new members of the board as well as the results of the first claims. 170 voters registered. 123 voted. 72.35% turnout rate.

Antoine Hron (Klin), Sharon March (March Senior Consult), Pascal Lucchese (Atis Network), Giovanni Patri (Phoenici) and Martin Schoonbroodt (Probiotic Group) have been elected and will be the representatives of the startups in Luxembourg.

The vote showed that the startup financing system can be improved in Luxembourg. 88% of the voters agreed with this initial observation.

Voters also largely voted “for”:

• A change of status from Luxinnovation to a “financing agency”.
• A more favourable position of the CSSF in favour of Crowdfunding and ICOs
• The establishment of a bankruptcy prevention system and the right to a second chance in case of bankruptcy of non-fraudulent bankruptcy
• The facilitation of the business creation procedure and the processing of files siloed

Finally, the creation of a VC investment fund for local startups is largely supported. The “yes” vote wins by 92%.

The Federation wishes to position itself as an intermediary between the Ministries of Economy, Finance and Middle Classes, and startups. To this end, the Federation proposes to the various state actors (Ministries, CSSFs, banks, etc.) a meeting in order to to initiate exchanges. The objective is to open a dialogue. This vote lays the groundwork for discussions to improve the existing ecosystem. The Federation requests, in this regard its participation in the working group on the establishment of a tax shelter, which could be inspired by the Loi Rau or any other mechanism providing the same effectiveness.

The FLSU expects that each of the decisions taken and demands should previously be voted on in full democracy and transparency. Voting is anonymous and is done via the Balotilo.org website. The position of the Federation represents that of the majority of its members and in no case that of the individual members. The next vote will take place in mid-September 2019.

Here are the details of the votes:

Do you think that the financing startup ecosystem is strong enough in Luxembourg?
Yes: 12%
No: 88%

Do you support the creation of VC funds to invest in successful startups to prevent them from finding their funding abroad and leaving the country?
Yes: 92%
No: 8%

If so, do you think that these funds should benefit from a financial co-investment by the State?
Yes: 84%
No: 16%

Do you support the fact that the CSSF should adopt a position in favor of ICOs to make Luxembourg the European hub of the sector?
Yes: 88%
No: 12%

In your opinion, is Crowdfunding a viable alternative for financing startups?
Yes: 70%
No: 30%

Do you support the fact that the CSSF needs to relax its position on Crowdfunding?
Yes: 91%
No: 9%

Do you support the creation of a law allowing a second chance to an entrepreneur to systematically obtain a new business licence after a non-fraudulent bankruptcy?
Yes: 96%
No: 4%

Do you support the creation of tools for the prevention of bankruptcy for companies in difficulty?
Yes: 95%
No: 5%

In order to facilitate and speed up the process of setting up a company in Luxembourg, do you support the replacement of the “declaration of non-bankruptcy in front of a notary” by a “sworn statement” (objective: to avoid the 10 days of waiting for registration and notary fees)?
Yes: 89%
No: 11%

In order to facilitate and speed up the process of setting up a company in Luxembourg, do you support the replacement of the trade authorization procedure by simple notification, allowing the authorities a posteriori control?
Yes: 81%
No: 19%

In order to facilitate and speed up the process of setting up a company in Luxembourg, do you support the recommendation to banks to create their internal teams dedicated to facilitating the opening of accounts for startups, like those already put in place for the Innovfin program?
Yes: 96%
No: 4%

In order to facilitate and speed up the process of setting up a company in Luxembourg, do you support the move from silo management by ministries and administrations to centralized operation?
Yes: 94%
No: 6%

Given the number of companies coming from abroad and having left Luxembourg after graduating from the Fit4Start program, do you support that at least 75% of Fit4Start winners must be Luxembourg based companies at the time of application?
Yes: 86%
No: 14%

Do you support the fact that the Fit4Start laureates can themselves choose their coach from a list of mentors certified by Luxinnovation?
Yes: 83%
No: 17%

The minister of the Economy, Étienne Schneider announced in April 2014 “the opportunity to grant Luxinnovation the status of funding agency”. Now that Mario Grotz, General Director of Research, Intellectual Property and New Technologies at the Ministry of the Economy is also Chairman of the Board of Managers of Luxinnovation, do you support the fact that Luxinnovation must become a funding agency to speed up the application process?
Yes: 91%
No: 9%

Do you support the implementation of the use of the term “Visa Tech” for our procedures of affiliation of foreign talents to better market the arrival of new skills in Luxembourg?
Yes: 93%
No: 7%

As an entrepreneur, do you have difficulty to find qualified personnel?
Yes: 90%
No: 10%

(Photo by Parker Johnson on Unsplash)