So here we are again, back where it all started…
Yes, going forward, at least for the time being, The Nordic Web will be publishing any new articles here on Medium.
I am sad to say that despite investing a large amount of my time, effort and money I could not make The Nordic Web work, at least not in the way I first envisaged.
As I originally set out here on Medium in “The Nordics are the World’s biggest contributors to technology” the vision was to create a quality publication with collaborators including contributors from Wired, Forbes etc to bring a type of quality coverage that had not been seen in the region before.
Unfortunately I underestimated the cost of this, and with the failure of our data intelligence product The Nordic Numbers in getting off the ground, money to pay for these contributors quickly dried up, and we took a slightly different direction, and ultimately ended up shutting down for a period of time while we figured out what was next.
This quiet period was also due to my own circumstances changing, and due to personal reasons I have had to move back to the UK for the foreseeable future. Although my friends, links and network in The Nordics remain, and I will be visiting the region regularly, I feel uncomfortable with running a product and company which positioned itself on “local intelligence meets big data” when I am not based in the region.
Therefore The Nordic Web will cease to exist in it’s previous format.
Although the product and revenue stream for The Nordic Web failed, our content continued to be a success. However, it is extremely hard to run a business based solely on content, therefore we are making some significant changes going forward.
The Nordic Web will continue, just in a more simplified, infrequent, not-for-profit form with three main strands:
Monthly and Quarterly Analysis of Funding, Investment and Exits.
Articles published here on Medium analysing all the funding raised in the region, assessed by stage, size, vertical and source. As well as looking at all the exits that happen across the region.
A fortnightly discussion between Karsten Deppert and Myself where we talk about the biggest stories from the region that have occured in the last couple of weeks. You can subscribe via Soundcloud .
Our popular Friday newsletter which curates all of the hottest startup news in the region, as well as bringing you the latest articles from The Nordic Web. You can subscribe here.
In addition to these three things, we will also have:
The odd guest post on our Medium page, as well as occasional articles from our previous contributors.
We will be repackaging the best of our existing content and posting it here on Medium.
By publishing past and future content on Medium, we hope to expose it to an even greater audience, and further spread the word and brilliance of The Nordic startup scene.
Finally, we will be posting the latest startup news as it happens on our Twitter and Facebook page.
Ultimately, instead of running The Nordic Web as a business, I will be running it as a labour of love. Hey, some people watch TV with their spare time, I want to produce The Nordic Web with mine.
It should be noted that I would not have been as motivated as I am to continue with it in this format had I not received so many messages of support, concern and well wishes from the community and our readership through the difficult times. So thank you, this is for you.
I would also like to say a particular thank you to Emma, Helder, Karsten, Gordon and Eeva, who believed in this from the beginning and have shown an unbelievable amount of patience and understanding as well as giving their time, effort and support to the venture.
I started The Nordic Web because I believed that The Nordics have a great story to tell, and are underrepresented in the mainstream technology media, and ultimately because I fell in love with the startup scene there. Despite The Nordic Web failing as a business venture, my difficult personal circumstances and the change in my location, these motivations remain.
Be sure to follow us here on Medium and sign up to our newsletter in order to make sure you catch our new articles going forward, we will be bringing you our Q3 funding analysis next week, so watch out for that.
Hello, and Goodbye…
This post was written by Neil Murray, Founder of The Nordic Web.
The Nordic Web is an online resource providing insight and analysis into the Nordic Startup scene through a weekly newsletter, a fortnightly podcast and monthly articles.
We can be reached on contact@thenordicweb.com
