Collaboration is key for a thriving startup ecosystem in the Nordics — But what is our secretsauce?
Last week Rising North visited the leading impact event in the Nordics, Katapult Future Fest. The event was organized in the heart of Oslo and gathered speakers and attendees from all around the world to join the discussions on how to create a better and more sustainable future with the help of technology and entrepreneurship. A great article about the conference can be found here.
Prior to the two A-mazing Katapult days, Rising North organized a NordicMade Warm Up event. The event gathered Nordic entrepreneurs and community builders for a session on how to strengthen the Nordic startup community and discuss best practices for collaboration, learnings from abroad and practical examples on pan-Nordic projects that could further help the Nordic region thrive.
We had the chance to learn from the best. The panel was moderated by our honorary guest Seth Bannon from 50 Years, a Silicon Valley based seed fund that backs entrepreneurs solving the world’s biggest problems with technology. The panelists were Andreas Saari, CEO of Slush and Co-founder of Wave Ventures, Søren Stig, co-founder & Chairman of NIIN, Ida Faldbakken, Co-founder at Katapult Future Fest & partner at Nordic Impact and Henrietta Kekäläinen, founder & CEO at Carbo Culture.F
The panel shared their personal success stories in navigating in the startup scene and delved into the current state of the Nordic startup ecosystem. Here are the key learnings and food for thought:
The Nordic startup is suffering from the stigma to failing
Failure is a hot topic in the startup world. In some areas in the world it is more accepted than in others. The Nordics need to grow their courage to take risks as well as change the mindset towards failing. This way we can make sure to keep up with the leading startup hubs such as London, Berlin, and Silicon Valley.
“There have been a shift in measuring success, and people are redefining what it means to be successful for them. In the Nordics, we have the conditions to shape and define success how it feels right for us, and not just see how it is done elsewhere” Søren Stig.
We need more coalition points where people can trust each other
Diversity is the key to innovation — are we too homogenous in the Nordics, and how do we make sure that this doesn’t hold back innovation?
“We need to be better at mixing people in the Nordics and connecting more interdisciplinary people. We should use the brilliant minds from the universities, post-docs and researchers. These are not necessary people that will start their own businesses, but they are huge resource that are needed in the processes.” Henrietta Kekäläinen
The Nordics are lagging behind in founding companies that solves the world’s most pressing challenges
The Nordics might be good at running companies ethically but lagging behind Silicon Valley when it comes to starting companies that solves big problems from day one. By going to events like Katapult Future Fest is a perfect way to get inspiration and tap into the Nordic impact community, and most importantly get the right connections to the relevant investors and companies in the field.
“Getting the wind under your belt is the same in every business, is it an impact startup or not. So you might as well just start with impact.” Seth Bannon.
How to increase the attractiveness of the Nordic region?
According to a study made by Akava, a trade union confederation of affiliates for highly educated people, 44 % of millennials between the age of 18–35 are ready to move abroad due to better career opportunities. The same number of respondents consider it important that the working environment is international. This is a study made in Finland, but it is also a challenge on a Nordic level.
“We need to have a more diverse workforce in the Nordics. How could we get more international students to stay in the Nordics and perhaps work in startups for a longer period? Or could there be a Nordic visa, which would enable these students to not only work in one Nordic country, but welcoming them to try all five?” Henrietta Kekäläinen
This Monday, May 21st, we closed our second application round this year. This time, we received a record amount of applications, and now it is up to the Steering Board and Startup Foundation’s board to choose the most promising projects to support. Stay tuned!
Rising North is a fund that aims to help Nordic startups become global leaders. It finances unique spearhead projects and initiatives organized by Nordic organizations. The fund is finance by The Nordic Council of Ministers and operated by the Finnish non-profit Startup Foundation, which is founded in 2012 to support entrepreneurship and startups. This is the last year of funding projects.
