From Founder to Funding Decision-Maker: An Interview with Xiaoao Dong of the City of Graz

What to expect in this issue

• Deep Dive - Interview with Xiaoao Dong
• StartMatch News - Heinke leaves us all in the dust
• FörderRadar - New and expiring grants

🤿 Deep Dive: From Founder to Funding Decision-Maker - An Interview with Xiaoao Dong of the City of Graz

In the Deep Dive we regularly present a financing or funding topic in detail. Today, for a change, an interview:

Xiaoao Dong knows both sides of a grant application. As co-founder of Marry Icetea, he helped build the natural iced tea brand from Graz and financed it through crowdfunding. Today he is Startup and Founders Coordinator in the Economic Affairs Department of the City of Graz. We asked him what gets applications approved and what the ecosystem is missing.

Which Grant Would You Have Urgently Needed as the Founder of Marry?

A dedicated F&B innovation hub that supports startups from pre-seed all the way to scale-up and makes follow-on financing possible.

What Has Changed Since You Started Approving Grants Instead of Applying for Them?

It makes a huge difference whether I am reviewing and approving grant applications or applying myself. As founders, we chased after every euro to pre-finance the production batches for our Marry iced teas. Somehow you have to bridge the financing gap between production and sales. Back then we were very glad to receive a crowdfunding grant from the City of Graz. It allowed us to pre-finance our first batch. Either way, you are constantly sweating over whether you will get the grant or not.

Now I am sitting on the "other" side, working with the great startup organizations in Graz and Styria to figure out how we can develop the Graz startup ecosystem so that Graz remains attractive as an innovation hub. And all that with limited financial resources.

I bring my own experience and all the frustration of filling out grant applications with me. That has helped some applicants, because to a certain extent I can relate to the frustration that builds up along the way. Of course, it is not only startups that apply for our grants, but businesses in Graz in general and beyond. That is why platforms like startmatch.ai are so helpful for finding your way through the funding jungle.

What Separates Applications That Succeed from Those That Fail?

When I read through them, I can tell right away how much effort the applicants put into filling them out. Because more and more AI tools are being used, the answers are sometimes very similar and the sentences do not connect. The questions were simply pasted into the AI tool and the answers copied into the application without being checked. In my view, that does not make a good impression.

With other applications, I can see that the project owners have really thought things through and are trying to meet the formal and content-related criteria of the grant. They are solid. You know the information was not thrown together at random, but that there is a strategic process behind it.

Which Grant in Graz Is Most Underrated?

Hmm, hard to say. I have only been in the Graz Economic Affairs Department for just under 10 months and have less experience with the various grants than my colleagues.

But I would like to mention the current impulse grant from the City Management. The application period has just ended, but the grant aims to revitalize downtown Graz. Business owners, associations and institutions contribute new ideas and actively help shape the future of the city center. The City Management acts as a partner: it provides impetus and supports ideas, concepts and initiatives that increase foot traffic, activate vacant properties, enable new uses and bring lasting life to the city center.

The quality of the submissions was exceptionally good. Even though not all applications were approved, the ideas do not "die." They are reassessed in a separate process so they can be implemented under better conditions.

What Does the Austrian Startup Ecosystem Need Most Urgently in 2026?

At the federal level, the all-time classics:

• Tax cuts and tax relief, in particular lower non-wage labor costs
• Incentives and better conditions for private venture capital, such as a tax allowance for equity investments
• Faster processing and less red tape for grants

In addition:

• More venture capital for follow-on rounds from Series A onward
• More female founders and female role models
• EU Inc. Fingers crossed that it becomes a reality

At the local level:

• Funding for "ecosystem intelligence": corporates, startups and research institutions should be able to share relevant information in real time and find and implement meaningful partnerships
• Simpler grant applications between the City of Graz and project applicants
• Enabling public venture clienting

What Does This Mean for You?

Using AI for your application is not a problem. Copied answers that nobody checked are. Those who know the grant's criteria and tell a coherent story stand out.

You can find all current grants from the City of Graz here: Grants from the City of Graz

Thank you for the conversation, and continued success!

🗞️ StartMatch News: Our Fastest Team Member

Last Friday we closed our laptops and went BattleKart racing as a team event. It is a mix of go-karting and video gaming, with the track and the game projected directly onto the floor. It feels like being in a Mario Kart world.

The result was clear. Heinke finished at the top of the leaderboard and left us all in the dust.

Thank you to everyone who makes StartMatch a little better every day. Now we are back and fully focused on your grants! 😀

📡 FörderRadar: New and Expiring Grants

These Grants Can Be Submitted Now

FFG Talente regional 2026
Connecting educational institutions with industry and research, a consortium of at least one scientific institution, two companies and five educational institutions is required. Up to €130,000, funding rate up to 100%, open since 09.09.2026, submission until 02.12.2026.

Women TechEU
Equity-free grant plus mentoring for deep-tech startups with female founders. Up to €75,000 as a lump sum, eligibility submission on a rolling basis with weekly cut-offs until 13.07.2027.

FFG Go!Tech Praktika
Lump-sum funding for internship placements for high school graduates in scientific and technical fields. €3,800 for three months, €7,100 for six months, continuous submission until 04.11.2026 at 12:00 noon.

These Grants Are Expiring Soon

FFG Multilaterale Eureka Leichtbau Ausschreibung
Transnational R&D in lightweight construction, in Austria only with a mobility focus. Up to €750,000, funding rate up to 80% for startups and small companies. Submission deadline only until 12.10.2026, the international Eureka application must already be on file by 08.10.2026.

FFG AI Ökosysteme 2026
Cooperative R&D projects in Hybrid AI and Green AI, a consortium of at least two companies is required. €100,000 to €1,000,000, funding rate up to 85%. Submission deadline only until 06.10.2026.

Best of luck with your projects!

Best regards,
Robert & your StartMatch Team 👋