Blockchain Oscar is a Startup Competition, which will be held in two rounds. The first one took place online for three days on March 2-4.  These exact startups will join the the second and final round of the competition, which is to be held on the Main Stage of BlockShow Europe 2017 on April, 6. During this part of Blockchain …

In Finland, the sauna is a way of life.  It is not just a place to ease muscle pain after a hard workout, but a place for relaxing, drinking, and even doing business.  That’s why as part of the #nordicmade trip to South By Southwest Interactive, the annual tech festival in Austin, Texas, leading sauna heater manufacturer HARVIA brought a …

Being in a digitally connected economy is vital to being someone who works from home as an entrepreneur, a freelancer, or even as a remote worker. As the home of Spotify and Minecraft, Stockholm is one of the world’s top tech cities and proving that person for person, Scandinavia as a whole is one of the best regions for start-ups …

Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, has certainly entered 2017 flying — the price is 1245 USD on March 14th (according to CEX.IO exchange). The price of the revolutionary digital payment method has already exceeded its all-time record value. Driven by Japan’s apparent warming to the currency, a pending decision over the approval of a BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF), and a …

It is that time of the year again, we are starting the preparation for Startup Iceland 2017. The theme for this year is Personal Data, Health, Wellness and Technology. I want to bring emphasis to the health, wellness and fitness of the founders, my tribe. I have written about why I believe this is important for founders. I also feel …

Rising North is a fund that aims to help Nordic startups become global leaders. The fund was launched in October 2016 with a NASDAQ bell ringing as part of the #nordicmade trip to New York. In her keynote speech at the fund’s launch, Helga Valfells, CEO of NSA Ventures, Iceland, and Steering Board Member at Rising North, said: “In the Nordics …

With the unemployment rates as low as they are, it’s obvious that the traditional workforce approach is still favored in the Nordic regions. That being said, the evolution that is allowing up to a third of Americans to work from a remote site is fast becoming the new norm across the globe. By Jenny Holt The rise of the freelancer is not …

As Norway tops quality of life and gender equality indexes consistently, it is no surprise that more and more women are looking to leave Silicon Valley – and the bro-culture that dominates the valley- behind for beautiful fjords and generous paternal leave.  We interview 4 women who took the plunge and embraced the Nordic lifestyle. “I have been here three …

In these Trump-times it seems more important than ever to discuss discrimination and how we solve it. As the sharing economy grows it brings to light societal issues of bias and discrimination; but new approaches to data and business models offer hope that bias can one day be a thing of the past. By Pernille Spang Lyndegaard Uncovering racial bias …

The world’s biggest internet portal for crowdfunding seems to be the perfect platform for 5 Danish entrepreneurs. Just 24 hours on www.kickstarter.com, where anyone can choose to support creative projects with money or purchases. The team has already accomplished to raise 20% of the money they need in order to realise an “App” called IUSO. By Christoffer Tybjerg I stands …

The Japanese IoT powerhose SORACOM announced the launch of its advanced IoT connectivity platform and services in Europe to support customers and partners deploying IoT/M2M solutions. Widely recognized as one of Japan’s leading IoT technology providers, SORACOM  deploys a cloud-based connectivity platform that is both technically advanced and affordable. The company uses a unique approach and architecture to provide secure …

The Estonian e-residency programme is celebrating its two-year anniversary in 2017, and the idea of digital identity has attracted much attention from all over the world to the small country in northern Europe – even the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific (ESCAP) has published a report on the role of Estonia’s e-residency programme in …

Last year, the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, launched the first Young Transatlantic Innovative Leaders Initiative, an international exchange program focused on the themes of entrepreneurship skills and enhanced Euro-Atlantic integration. They selected 45 young professionals from 41 European countries, including some of the Nordics and Baltics. During the program, the fellows spent time in …

Ways is an Oslo-based tech company that designs and develops Android and iOS applications for businesses from a wide range of different industries. Last week, we had the opportunity to chat with Eivind Lindbråten, the Co-Founder of Ways. In just two short years, Eivind has gone from being a computer science graduate and freelance web developer to a business owner …

On CanopyLAB’s ed-tech platform, companies, NGOs and institutions offer online courses focusing on learning through interaction to support the next generation of e-learning. The vision now has a large investment from a number of business angels. During a research visit to Australia, PhD scholar, Sahra-Josephine Hjorth of Aalborg University became interested in how social media can be used to create …