Insight

I had the great pleasure of paying a week long visit to South By South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas in May 2016. My first thoughts on scene were that the interesting mixture of music, film and interactive events created a relaxed environment for people to present their companies and find common goals in their future business. By Kaius Meskanen, …

Many of the world’s most successful companies and organizations are building open innovation platforms and communities and repositioning their brands as part of a global innovation network. As part of Crowdsourcing Week, April 11-15th,  Roland Harwood, co-founder and managing director of 100%Open, shares his tips on how to build your own open innovation ecosystem. By Roland Harwood Building on some …

Across the Nordic region, schools are looking to use ed-tech solutions to create a more individualized educational experience for students through adaptive and interactive learning, and help teachers better manage their classrooms.  While ed-tech companies rush to fill this need, it is worth remembering that it takes more than hardware to make adaptive and interactive learning a success. Ed-tech has …

Doubling each year over recent years, Crowdfunding has seen dynamic growth from $2.7 billion in 2012, to an expected level greater than $34 billion for last year 2015.  In the Nordics, crowdfunding continues to gain legitimacy, with Finland-based Invesdor becoming the first crowdfunding platform to be granted a MiFID license, which legitimizes the companies ability to do business across Europe. …

As Money2020 Europe, the largest fintech event in Europe, winds down this week, we take a deeper look at what makes a successful fintech hub.  The Nordics are competing for the mantle of best fintech ecosystem. Should London, the current frontrunner, be worried? The UK currently occupies one of the top positions within fintech hubs, but they cannot afford to …

Pitch doctors will help you to make cool competitor slides. This post will not. Instead it will do the opposite. It will deconstruct competition into what really matters. In the process I will offend you. I will use examples involving your wife. I will use women as examples. Some will find it objectifying and sexists. My intention is to give …

As London continues to gain dominance as the undisputed fintech capital of Europe, we look at some of the contributing factors for this success and what lessons aspiring fintech cities can learn from their example. The UK fintech sector accounted for more than £6.6 billion in revenue in 2015 and attracted over £520 million in investment over the same period. …

SV House TV, aiming to help startups from all over the world learn the learn the know-how, mindset, and culture of Silicon Valley, hosted a Corporate Investor Panel to discuss the hottest investments in 2016. The investors pinpointed mobile technologies and Internet of Things (IoT) as the hottest investments in 2016, and discussed the role of big corporations in the …

Ever thought on working abroad? Taking a Jobbatical? Teleporting yourself to a new country? That’s something Erik did when he came all the way from LA to work at Startup Wise Guys in Estonia. This happened in March 2014. For two years, he was living in Tallinn, Estonia. Having great time and working at Startup Wise Guys accelerator. But now …

Banks are kicking the tires on blockchain technology, but implementation is some time away – especially since banks need to learn to collaborate extensively to make it work. By Rubert G. Walker Blockchain is a type of “distributed ledger”, that is, a database maintained collaboratively by several participants.  The computers update transactions using a “consensus mechanism” after which the modifications …

The most widely known products are wearables and fitness devices, but the potential in IoT healthcare is much greater than that, explains Christian Graversen, Managing Director of Welfare Tech. But it is important to know the rules, and to have control over data security. There is great potential for the IoT in the healthcare industry, which is expected to grow …

Technology has undoubtedly changed the way we live our lives. It’s changed our social habits, it’s changed our relationships and it’s changed the way we access information, and of course the sheer amount of that information. If my 40-year-old self could revisit my 16-year-old self and present him with the latest iPhone, or the even more advanced Microsoft Lumia 950 …

The “tech startup ecosystem” Livit, which operates internationally,  focuses strongly on international talent. Why? To get the best educated employees, gain local insights on specific countries, be able to communicate fluently with international customers – and have the most dedicated employees. Livit has a combined 100 employees in 5 offices worldwide; Bandung in Indonesia, Copenhagen, Zurich, Switzerland, Ukraine and Bali.  …

Earlier this month, a #nordicmade delegation of 30 Nordic startups attended the LAUNCH Festival in San Francisco.  The tour, organized by STARTNordic, was part of an initiative that promotes the Nordic startup scene by connecting it to other startup ecosystems around the globe.  Juraj Pal of Sure gives a recap of the festival. Juraj Pal is a founder of Sure, …

Couriers Track has created an infographic of their top cost-cutting tips for startups, including  digital advertising, “cloudsourcing”, and taxes. Check it out below. Infographic courtesy of CouriersTrack.

For years, it’s been a norm that sending something in long distance means going to a post office or using Fedex-like businesses. Shipitwise is here to change the way people experience logistics. Sander Gansen writes about their path to success from Garage48, the largest startup hub in Estonia. By Sander Gansen On average, the complete process to send something long …

In a male dominated industry women excel in the world of investing.  Read on to learn why women make better investors than men. The world has changed a lot in the last 50 years; many industries that were once exclusively dominated by men have become more transparent and equal to both genders where applicants compete on their abilities. However as …

This year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival is now in full swing.  The entire world has gathered for the massive event, which includes film and music festivals, and a technology conference where the latest trends and innovations make their world premiers.  But this year, like previous years, Denmark is practically invisible. The SXSW Festival is one of the largest festivals …

The phenomenon of innovations from the emerging world making great impact in developed markets, popularly known as “reverse innovation”,  has been keenly observed since the 80’s. Read on to learn which trends in fintech from emerging economies gaining traction in the developed world. Reverse innovation is generally a response to global MNCs falling short of fulfilling the market needs in …

Business schools and MBA programs will help you calculate market size. This post will not. Instead it will do the opposite. It will deconstruct market size into what really matters. Knowledge is power. Use it. Many founders go after billion dollar markets. Or so they say. They think they must. Everyone knows that is what investors want. So founders adapt …