Linnify expands into the US with a new office in Austin, Texas

Linnify, an IT company from Cluj-Napoca, announces its international expansion into the US market. The company has opened its new headquarters in Austin, Texas, one of the fastest-growing technology hubs in recent years, backed by a strong partnership with the Austin Venture Association. This is the second location after the one in Cluj, marking an important step in the company’s evolution and continuing its mission to support the startup and scale-up ecosystem in areas such as Healthcare, Education, the Future of Work, and Energy.

The company takes the first step in expanding into the US market, opening its second headquarters in Austin in an economic context transformed internationally for the IT sector.

“The decision to expand in the Austin market was a natural step considering the favourable market context. The crisis of March 2023 caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank significantly impacted the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem in the United States, diminishing risk appetite in the local investment sector. This was an additional reason to focus on managing risks in product development by using our innovative validation methodologies”, said Cătălin Briciu, Co-CEO of Linnify.

Expansion into Austin, Texas, was consolidated by the collaboration with the Austin Venture Association (AVA), initiated at the beginning of 2023. AVA is a nonprofit organisation that facilitates the development of start-ups, bridging real connections between the entrepreneurial and investment ecosystems. To Linnify, the partnership contributes to increasing regional trust and adapting to the local American market. From the perspective of the entrepreneurial community, the collaboration represents a real opportunity to develop validated products, maximising the chances of securing investment.

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“The collaboration with the Austin Venture Association allows us to amplify the impact of our validation approach in an environment where the start-up ecosystem finds itself in an increasingly accelerated development process. The partnership offers numerous growth opportunities, allowing us to integrate and adapt validation-oriented thinking in a dynamic and full of potential context”, continues Cătălin Briciu, Co-CEO of Linnify.

Moreover, the company’s international presence was supported by numerous regional visits during 2023 and the involvement of industry events through mentoring actions. Thus, Linnify facilitated six theoretical and practical workshops for over 100 American start-up founders in health, education, and energy domains, presenting the validation process through the Validation Playbook, a Linnify methodology. The events include a roundtable hosted by the Texas Innovation Center, where key Austin innovation players discussed the current challenges in the ecosystem. 

“This is not only a partnership but a transformative move in Austin’s innovation ecosystem where we provide local early-stage and growing start-ups with access to critical information and resources. We created our Business Member Services Program to provide value to our membership community. Linnify, as a new member, clarifies the business development plan based on real market data, essential information for venture capital investors in their funding decisions”, says David Valentino, Managing Director of Austin Venture Association.

Efforts were made to disseminate the internationally recognised validation methodology nationally. This year, the company has been involved in multiple support programs, incubators, and accelerators such as Innovation Labs, LevelUP (part of INNO Accelerator), Startup Reaktor, and Global Startup Cities, where the Linnify validation process was partially or fully implemented.

Another strategic partnership like the one in Austin is the validation partnership with RubikHub, an organisation with the mission to develop the entrepreneurial environment in Romania. As such, Linnify will actively participate in the Scale to USA program, supporting participants through the validation process and connections with the business community in Austin. 

”While we have had several events in Austin and participated in national validation programs where Linnify’s validation process has been integrated, our involvement in the Scale to USA program allows us to actively contribute to introducing promising and validated Romanian start-ups to the Austin investment environment”, added Cătălin Briciu, Co-CEO of Linnify.

Linnify differentiates itself in the IT sector by offering a variety of advanced methodologies to validate digital products. This is achieved through the main differentiator – using a dynamic validation-based process intelligently adapted to market needs. To achieve this, the team is skilled in full digital product development, rapid prototyping, UX/UI, and digital solutions to facilitate clients’ go-to-market strategy. The company is oriented towards supporting entrepreneurs with start-up projects in the early stages of development or at the MVP level, aiming not only to scale products but also to provide added value, thus establishing itself as a business mentor in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment.