Icelandic Innovation

My first trip in business school was a long weekend to Iceland to study the growth of the innovation ecosystem. My classmates and I had the chance to meet Salóme Guðmundsdóttir, CEO of Icelandic Startups — the leading startup accelerator in the country. They provide services to startups of all stages free of charge and are very much focused on cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit of the country.

In meeting with Salóme, I wasn’t able to think of any startups from Iceland. She did, however, wow us all when she asked us if any of us had played QuizUp before. Pretty much all of us said that we did yet none of us knew that it was in fact an Icelandic company since we all likely played other contestants in our general area. The app got pretty successful very quickly and it became clear to us that Salóme and her team was focused on scaling the lessons of QuizUp’s growth to other local/burgeoning businesses. This comes from technical advice, pitch refinement, and even a central innovation house where likeminded folks can meet, connect, and build. Despite Iceland’s distance, her team has also made it a focus to connect with other innovation ecosystems and hubs around the world to connect resources, people, and ideas.

Very cool to see the beginnings of what will hopefully be an emerging innovation hub in Europe in the future.