#AARsome a danish startup community

The startup community in Stockholm has its own hashtag for the social media called #sthlmtag, the startup community in Oslo has its own hashtag called #Siliconfjord, and the startup community in Copenhagen has introduced its own hashtag called #cphftw.

The startup community of the second largest city in Denmark, Aarhus has recently introduced its own hashtag – called #AARsome. Behind the initiative is Lasse Chor (he was the guy that suggested that we should have a hashtag. The name #aarsome was suggested by some other entrepreneurs), who has been part of the startup community in 10 years now. It all started when he moved from the northern part of Denmark to Aarhus. Lasse Chor is an active entrepreneur, he invested in some startups and today he is trying to connect investors and startups in Aarhus. We have interviewed him about his view on the startup community in Aarhus.

In Aarhus there are a lot of investors, that want to invest their money in new companies, but not all of them has sufficient knowledge about technology or the online world. If a startup pitches their idea about a ‘free to play’ gaming app, the investors might have difficulties understanding that business model. Therefore I’m trying to connect the two parties with the knowledge I have about technology and investing and by activating much more experienced people in the community. – Lasse Chor

We asked Lasse Chor about why he thinks its necessary for a startup community like Aarhus with a hashtag.

Well, honestly I don’t think it’s necessary per say – but I’m sure it can play a role in connecting the ecosystem. Aarhus is a very small community, so it is very important that we work together and embrace all the partners in the ecosystem. Aarhus is so small that it makes no sense to compete with Copenhagen or other communities. In Silicon Valley Denmark is Copenhagen, so I can’t stress it enough that the reason why we’ve have made this hashtag is not to give cphftw competition, but to help the startup community in Aarhus. I think what #cphftw do is amazing because it helps Danish startups to attract investors from UK and Silicon Valley. – Lasse Chor

Even though Aarhus has generated some famous startups like the Trustpilot, Just Eat, and Firmafon the city is not yet that well known for a large number of startups that have grown and scaled to be international success stories.

We have recently seen some startups from Aarhus within the life science and technology sector been sold for nine digit numbers, so I think the startup community in Aarhus has a very bright future. But it makes sense that startups like Truspilot move to Copenhagen and Silicon Valley because they need to be closer to the investors and potential customers. – Lasse Chor