One to Watch: Why Sophie Chung from Austria founded a company in Berlin

Sophie Chung jokingly characterizes her decision to choose business over medicine as “going over to the dark side,” but her customers would beg to differ. After all, Chung, a qualified doctor, grasped an opportunity to make a difference. “I saw there was a gap between what patients need and what they get in their local healthcare systems,” she says. “What I experienced as a patient was that people were left on their own to choose what was right for them.”

That’s why, in 2015, after a stint at a start-up in New York, the 32-year-old Austrian came to Berlin to launch Qunomedical, an online platform that connects patients to medical professionals around the world. Chung could have founded the company almost anywhere – the business works with doctors and hospitals in 25 countries and helps patients in over 50 countries – but she settled on Germany. “Whenever I get asked why I decided to launch the company in Germany, I always ask back: ‘Why not?’” she says.

Chung praises Germany for its rock-solid healthcare system and wealth of technological talent. The cost of living in Germany is relatively moderate, she adds, and the country has ample financing and funding opportunities. “The venture capital scene here has matured over the past few years,” she says. “And quite frankly, the European way of life makes it a good place to settle down.”