The Nordic

Sustainable Brands is a global business community dedicated to helping shift the world to a sustainable economy.  In anticipation of their Copenhagen conference in 2016, founder KoAnn Skrzyniarz outlines 7 sustainable, global business trends. KoAnn Skrzyniarz  travels around the world working with large brands to promote sustainability while still maintaining a competitive business. “There will be new sustainable ideas and …

Juwan Lee has spent over 30 years working around the world in financial services, before leaving money management to create NexChange, a global social network for the financial services industry. Armed with in-depth experience from the worlds major financial capitals, he shares his insights for the Nordic countries. Fintech, such as electronic finance, digital wallets, and cryptocurrencies, are changing the …

Did you know that the greatest crowdsourcing story ever told was from the mining industry? And that NASA is crowdsourcing Jupiter?  Read on to find out the possibilities of crowdsourcing to accelerate innumerable processes. Crowdsourcing a gold mine In 1990, Rob McEwen took over a mining company called Gold Corp, which was failing to yield profit, despite his geologists telling …

The world of SEO (search engine optimization) tools has become a jungle, and choosing which tool to promote your website in search engine rankings is a tough decision.  Below, we compare two of the newest SEO tools geared specifically for startups. RankScanner vs SEORanking RankScanner,was developed by Rune Jensen, an active entrepreneur since the age of 14 with experience in …

Getting a high valuation for your startup is not the measure of success many founders believe it to be. Below, the different elements behind getting a good valuation are deconstructed. Books and lawyers can help entrepreneurs learn the art of negotiation, but when it comes to valuing a company, negotiation is only part of the equation. Many founders want a …

The World Economic Forum released its report on the Future of Jobs earlier this week, and several industries were highlighted as big winners in net job growth.  Artificial Intelligence was singled out as one of these future change drivers. The gist?  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not the hydra-headed beast that demolishes jobs as it tramples on the global economy.  Nor …

A number of countries are competing to become the world’s first economy to ditch paper currency.  NexChange recently reported that Kevin Jenkins,  managing director of Visa Europe, stated that within five years, cash will be seen as “a peculiar way of paying for things.” But one region stands out as the front runners in the race to become cashless:  the …

Denmark has just been named the best place to start a business Europe. However, funnily enough the startup environment here is quite disconnected from the rest of Europe. Danish companies tend to expand either to other Nordic countries or go big and enter the US market. Why not enter other European countries? Even though Danish startup scene seems international, majority …

Investing in startups is not an easy job. As an investor, you are not only betting on a specific startup and team, but often on a market that doesn’t exist yet. Even the best team in the world is doomed to fail if it undertakes the wrong market.  The opposite is not always true. One of the biggest mistakes venture …

Recruitment is forever ‘hot topic’ for startups.  On the one hand, they need wildly talented employees, and on the other, they cannot offer high salaries.  Available funds must be used wisely.  The good news is, there are great ways to find talent and save money using LinkedIn. You do not need to spend money hiring expensive recruiters or posting on …

Mike Hearn, one of the core developers of Bitcoin, recently wrote a Medium post in which he publicly announced that he will no longer be taking part in Bitcoin development and that “the bitcoin experiment has failed.” A New York Times article soon followed, and then countless other journalists joined in, echoing Hearn’s remarks without attempting to explain the highly …

Sean Percival,  serial entrepreneur and investor, has been in Norway for his project 500 Startups.  Through a $15 million Nordic fund, growth marketing programs, and an accelerator, 500 plans to bring Silicon Valley’s best practices to the Nordic region. Like it’s Nordic neighbors, Norway is famous for Janteloven.  Janteloven, or the Law of Jante, describes a set of social norms …

Bloomberg has released their annual ranking countries based on their ability to innovate in six equally weighted metrics, and all of the Nordics placed in the top 30. Sweden ranked highest in 3rd place, with Finland and Denmark in 7th and 9th place, respectively.  Iceland ranked at number 28. The economies were scored on 6 equally weighted factors including research …

Crowdfunding is fun and exciting, but it also requires hard work and a bold attitude to go the extra mile. It cannot be overemphasized how important it is always to try new things, fail quickly, and learn from the mistakes so we can turn them into opportunities. Cautious optimism is an indispensable attitude when launching an equity crowdfunding campaign. Below …

STARTnordic, is organizing a cross-country collaboration for the greater good. The project aims to create a framework that will better enable potential high growth companies to reach unicorn levels of success, and consolidating the small Nordic countries into a single regional powerhouse. As part of this initiative, STARTnordic is providing free flights and accommodation to San Francisco for the LAUNCH …

The VR Hackathon is coming to Europe from San Francisco this weekend.  With a slew of product releases and project sales of 14 million units, it is not without reason that 2016 is being called  “The Year of VR”. The VR Hackathon in Brussels, hosted by the Danish Sound Innovation Network and EUVR.org from January 15-17th,  marks the start of …

In Q4, tech startups based in Nordic countries collectively raised $309.8 million in 107 rounds. Though not the biggest quarter of 2015 in terms of amount raised – a distinction still carried by Q2 and its massive $812.8 million cumulative intake – it is the top quarter for amount of individual investments, by an easy 40 rounds. This funding analysis …

Fintech companies have been a hot topic in the Nordics as startups rush to disrupt the traditional financial sector.  Here is a look back at some of the main fintech trends and Nordic companies to watch in 2015.   Bitcoin Bitcoin reached a big milestone in 2015, when it scored a major win in Europe by earning EU tax free …

While many consider innovation to be the province of Silicon Valley and other high-tech centers in developed markets around the world, the reality is very different.  A look at where intellectual property is being created gives us some indication that we have to broaden our horizons when we look at new innovations. By Ajay Krishnan, Roger Edgley, and Laura Geritz …

Atomico and Slush released a study,“The State of European Tech”, at Slush 2015. The study is the most comprehensive review to date carried out on the European tech community, its tech talent, capital flow, entrepreneurial mindset, and success stories. Niklas Zennström, CEO and co-founder of the investment firm Atomico, co-writers of the report,  spoke at Slush about the big changes …