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Sweden is becoming one of the best places to build a startup, but most of the early-stage entrepreneurs we speak to aren't aware of the local tech resources that are available to help them.

With applications for the Sweden Founder Institute now open, we're excited to release the Sweden Startup Resource Guide, which is currently in Draft v2 below! It was developed by the Sweden Founder Institute and local leaders: Mehkar Sheikh (Regional Manager, Venture Cup Sweden), Naimul Abd (CEO, Connect Öst)

This is just a draft, and while we spent many hours on this research, more input is needed. Please leave your comments on this collaborative Google document to help us complete the list. There are definitely omissions on this current version. 

Are you looking to build a startup in Sweden? Then apply to the Sweden Founder Institute today!

 

Text version included below, for ease of searching:

 

Startup Stages


There is no one right way to build a technology company, but for the sake of simplicity we have outlined a basic, common, sequential framework.

1. Idea Stage

This is where new entrepreneurs get inspired, learn best practices, develop skills, validate ideas, and begin to build their team and product.

A. Inspire

  • Startup Media: Centralized local information, listings, and news. (i.e. startup blogs/ publications/ lists/ FB groups/ newsletters, Startup Digest)
    1. Breakit
    2. Di Digital
    3. Nordic Startup Bits Sweden
    4. Nordic Tech List
    5. Nordic Web
    6. Starta & Driva Företag
    7. StartUs Magazine Stockholm City Guide
  • Inspirational Events: Open, inclusive, beginner startup events (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups)
    1. Bitcoin Stockholm
    2. EdTech Sweden
    3. FemTech Sweden 
    4. Fuck Up Nights
    5. Impact Hub Stockholm Events
    6. Kambi Stockholm Tech Talks
    7. Silicon Vikings
    8. SingularityU Salons Stockholm
    9. Startup Events List Stockholm
    10. Startup Society in Stockholm
    11. Startup Sweden
    12. Startup Weekend Stockholm
    13. Sthlm Tech Fest
    14. Stockholm.AI
    15. Stockholm Virtual Reality Meetup
    16. SUP46 Happy Hours
    17. Sweden Food Tech 
    18. Synch Meetup

B. Educate

  • Best Practices: Beginner knowledge-sharing events. (i.e. beginner events that serve to educate more than inspire, like Startup Founder 101, etc).
    1. Coompanion
    2. Knock Data Stockholm
    3. Machine Learning Stockholm
    4. Startup Founder 101 Stockholm
    5. Startup Grind Stockholm
    6. STHLM TECH Meetup
    7. Stockholm Blockchain Meetup
    8. Stockholm Software Craftsmanship
    9. Sweden Cloud Data Professionals
    10. Swenug Stockholm
  • Training & Feedback: Skill & Idea development. (Ex. bootcamps and comprehensive training programs, like Founder Institute, etc)
    1. DiscoTech Oracle
    2. Drivhuset
    3. Founder Institute
    4. General Assembly
    5. Google Tech Talk Meetup
    6. Health 2.0 Stockholm
    7. Hyper Island
    8. Lean Startup Machine Stockholm
    9. Nyföretagarcentrum
    10. ProductTank Stockholm
    11. Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship
    12. Stockholm Startup: Idea to IPO
    13. Stockholm UX Optimization
    14. Venture Cup

C. Validate

  • Team Formation: Resources for teaming up. (i.e. events or other resources that facilitate early-stage recruitment and cofounder matching”)
    1. CoFoundersLab
    2. Expat Career Stockholm
    3. Foo Café Stockholm
    4. Founder2be
    5. FounderDating
    6. Founders Dinner
    7. Go Stockholm
    8. KTH
    9. NTRY
    10. Silicon Drinkabout Stockholm
    11. StartupBlink Stockholm
    12. Startup Dinner
    13. Startup Jobs Sweden
    14. Startupmatcher
    15. Startup Matchmaking
    16. Sthlm Startups
    17. Stockholm Entrepreneurs
    18. Stockholm RegTech Meetup
    19. The Hub
    20. Travel Tech Meetup
    21. University Job Boards
  • Build First Product: Hackathons & resources to build. (i.e. hackathons and other builder-focused events and resources)
    1. 3rd Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon Stockholm 2019
    2. Adobe XD
    3. BioNyfiken - Biohackers in Stockholm
    4. Code Night
    5. Coding After Work
    6. Figma
    7. Hack for Sweden
    8. IX Stockholm
    9. LiveHacks - Music Hackathon Stockholm
    10. Marvel 
    11. Media Hackathon
    12. STHLM Lounge Hackers
    13. Stockholm Makerspace
    14. Test My Product!
    15. The 3D Lab
    16. Toolspace

2. Launch Stage

In this stage, entrepreneurs establish and formalize the company, develop the product, get feedback from customers, and prepare for the next step.

A. Start

  • Establish: Law firms & banks for startups
    1. AWA
    2. Bird & Bird
    3. Danske Bank
    4. DeLorean Advokat
    5. Delphi
    6. DLA Piper
    7. Hamilton
    8. Handelsbanken
    9. Jansson & Norin
    10. Lindahl
    11. Magnusson Law
    12. Mannheimer Swartling
    13. Nordea Bank
    14. Pocket Law
    15. SEB
    16. Swedbank
    17. Synch Law
    18. Verksamt.se
    19. Vinge
  • Workspace: Co-working and flexible workspaces (note: “official” office space goes in 3.1.a. Infrastructure)
      1. 7A
      2. Alma
      3. Base10
      4. BlockStockholm 
      5. Box Space (Malmö)
      6. Cecil
      7. Changer’s Hub
      8. Convendum
      9. East Sweden Game
      10. Embassy House
      11. Epicenter Stockholm
      12. Flora Workspace
      13. GoTo10
      14. Hera Hub
      15. H2 Health Hub
      16. Helio
      17. Hive Workspace
      18. Impact Hub Stockholm
      19. KNACKERIET
      20. Lamb Work
      21. MindPark (Lund)
      22. No. 18
      23. Norrsken 
      24. OpenLab
      25. SBG18
      26. Skrapan
      27. STHLM Music City
      28. SUP46
      29. The Castle
      30. The Factory
      31. The Park
      32. THINGS Stockholm
      33. United Spaces
      34. WeWork

    B. Develop

    • Formalize: Accounting, development and HR for early-stage startups
      1. Amrop
      2. Bokio
      3. Bolageriet 
      4. Cornerstone International Group
      5. Doberman
      6. Dooer
      7. E&Y
      8. Empiric
      9. Fortnox
      10. Futurice
      11. Företagarna
      12. Grant Thornton
      13. KPMG
      14. Leinonen Sweden
      15. PWC
      16. Revideco
      17. Slagkryssaren
      18. Softhouse
      19. Speedledger
      20. Spoke Digital Agency
      21. Stockholm/Sweden
      22. The Books
      23. Varvet
      24. Wint
    • Prepare for Seed: Incubators and advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources for startup TEAMS)
      1. Antler
      2. Care of Business
      3. Founder Institute
      4. InnoEnergy
      5. KTH Innovation
      6. SSE Business Lab
      7. SU Inkubator

    C. Launch

    • Seed Accelerators: Seed funding mentor programs (Techstars-style programs that provide funding)
      1. Ericsson Garage
      2. Sting
      3. The Springfield Project
      4. Whale Shark
    • Pitch & Demo: Show local startups for investment (i.e. demo days for companies seeking seed investment)
      1. Afterwork Startup
      2. Startup Day
      3. Sthlm Pitch Meetup
      4. Sweden Demo Day


    3. Growth Stage

    Here, a startup proves their utility, receives recognition, and scales up. This usually requires funding, angels, VCs, and ways to connect them to startups.

    A. Recognition

    • Investor Networking:  Connect professional investors with founders. (i.e. events or groups that facilitate connections with professional investors)
      1. Angelr
      2. Connect Sweden
      3. Keiretsu Forum Nordics
      4. Nordic Business Forum
      5. Scandinavian Investment Network
      6. Startup Angels
      7. Stockholm Business Angels - STOAF
    • Major Media: Mainstream local business press. (i.e. major local or regional publications that frequently champion local businesses)
      1. Dagens Industri
      2. Dagens Nyheter
      3. Expressen
      4. Metro
      5. Mitti 
      6. Svenska Dagbladet
      7. The Local
      8. Veckans Affärer
      9. The Local

    B. Funding

    • Angels / Micro-VCs: Seed-stage investors (search AngelList, Gust, Crunchbase)
      1. Anil Hansjee
      2. Christer K Andersson
      3. Daniel Blomquist
      4. Erik Byrenius
      5. Erik Kahlin
      6. Fredrik Cassel
      7. Henrik Torstensson
      8. Krim Talia
      9. Lars Roth
      10. Linus Dahg
      11. Mattias Miksche
      12. Meg Charles Horn
      13. Michael Hoy
      14. Patric Blixt
      15. Peter Sjunnesson
      16. Simon Josefsson
      17. Stefan Lennhammer
      18. Västerås Tech Invest 
      19. XY Ventures
    • Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond
      1. Almi Invest
      2. BackingMinds
      3. Balderton Capital
      4. Blueyard Capital
      5. Bonnier Ventures
      6. Brightly Ventures
      7. Capital A Partners
      8. Cherry Ventures
      9. Creandum
      10. Eequity
      11. EQT Ventures
      12. GP Bullhound
      13. Graviton
      14. Gullspång Invest
      15. HealthCap
      16. Icebreaker.vc
      17. Inbox Capital
      18. Industrifonden
      19. Inventure
      20. MOOR Capital
      21. Nordic Capital
      22. Nordic Makers
      23. Northzone
      24. Open Ocean
      25. PunktB
      26. SEB Venture Capital
      27. Spintop Ventures
      28. Sunstone Capital
      29. Swedavia Capital
      30. The Nordic Web Ventures
      31. Verdane Capital
      32. Vostok New Ventures
      33. Walerud Ventures


    C. Growth

    • Infrastructure: Office space, HR, local business insurance. (i.e. office space/ HR/ insurance providers for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
        1. Allianz
        2. Bondi Executive Search
        3. Hays
        4. IF Försäkringar
        5. Instant Offices
        6. Länsförsäkringar Stockholm
        7. Moderna
        8. Officebroker
        9. Randstad
        10. Regus
        11. Rektra
        12. Relier
        13. Sweden HR Group
        14. Talentor
        15. Universum
        16. Verksamhetslokaler
        17. Zurich Insurance
      • Expansion: Growth accelerators/consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
        1. Accenture
        2. AT Kearney
        3. Atkins
        4. Bain & Company
        5. BearingPoint
        6. Boston Consulting Group
        7. BTS
        8. Capgemini
        9. Cognizant
        10. Deloitte
        11. Desifer
        12. Ernst & Young
        13. Gartner
        14. Grant Thornton
        15. Hill+Knowlton Strategies
        16. Infosys
        17. KPMG
        18. McKinsey & Company
        19. Mercer
        20. PwC
        21. Roland Berger
        22. Sogeti
        23. Tata Consultancy Service


      4. Success Stories

      Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.

          1. Acast
          2. Albacross
          3. Amuse
          4. Apica
          5. BehavioSec
          6. Challengermode
          7. Detectify
          8. Dynamic Code
          9. Epidemic Sound
          10. Ericsson
          11. Fishbrain
          12. Funnel
          13. Instabridge
          14. iZettle
          15. Karma
          16. Klarna
          17. Kognity
          18. KRY
          19. Lendify
          20. Lifesum
          21. MAG Interactive
          22. Mentimeter
          23. Natural Cycles
          24. Northvolt
          25. Oatly
          26. Paradox Interactive
          27. Readly
          28. Peltarion
          29. Spotify
          30. Storytel
          31. Tictail
          32. Tink
          33. Transfer Galaxy
          34. Truecaller
          35. Trustly
          36. TrusTrace
          37. Wrapp


                                                                                Supporters


                                                                                To facilitate the steps, every ecosystem needs strong supporters.

                                                                                1. Evangelists

                                                                                Successful local founders who lead the ecosystem & frequently mentor newbies.  (i.e. Local leaders who have taken a leadership position, speak at a lot of startup events, mentor all the programs, etc)

                                                                                  1. Anders Moberg
                                                                                  2. Andreas Kennemar
                                                                                  3. Anna Lindbäck
                                                                                  4. Baard Eilertsen
                                                                                  5. Barry O’Brian
                                                                                  6. Benjamin Ratz
                                                                                  7. Camilla Sandström
                                                                                  8. Cathy Xiao Chen
                                                                                  9. Donnie SC Lygonis
                                                                                  10. Erik Kruse
                                                                                  11. Fredrik Heghammar
                                                                                  12. Funda Sezgi
                                                                                  13. Håkan Ozan
                                                                                  14. Henna Keranen 
                                                                                  15. Ishtar Touailat
                                                                                  16. Ivo Kukavica
                                                                                  17. Jack Melcher-Claësson
                                                                                  18. Jenny Lindblad
                                                                                  19. Jenny Theolin
                                                                                  20. Jesper Kjellerås 
                                                                                  21. Johan Bäckman
                                                                                  22. Johan Jörgensen
                                                                                  23. Jonas Almeling
                                                                                  24. Jonas Hombert
                                                                                  25. Lukas Gräf
                                                                                  26. Mala Valroy
                                                                                  27. Marwan Ayache
                                                                                  28. Mehkar Sheikh 
                                                                                  29. Mizgîn Kanat
                                                                                  30. Naimul Abd
                                                                                  31. Randy Cottin
                                                                                  32. Simon Moritz
                                                                                  33. Sjoerd De Jong
                                                                                  34. Sofie Lindblom
                                                                                  35. Sokol Vjerdha
                                                                                  36. ​​Tatiana Solodko Krurca
                                                                                  37. Ted Elvhage
                                                                                  38. Tetiana Siianko
                                                                                  39. Therese Gedda
                                                                                  40. Tor Adamsson


                                                                                2. Government

                                                                                Public organizations that facilitate local economic development

                                                                                    1. Almi
                                                                                    2. American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden
                                                                                    3. Brazilian Chamber of Commerce
                                                                                    4. British-Swedish Chamber of Commerce
                                                                                    5. Dutch Chamber of Commerce
                                                                                    6. FDI Unit Italian Trade Agency Stockholm
                                                                                    7. German-Swedish Chamber of Commerce
                                                                                    8. Innovation in Sweden
                                                                                    9. Invest Stockholm
                                                                                    10. Kista Science City
                                                                                    11. Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation
                                                                                    12. Smart City Stockholm
                                                                                    13. Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
                                                                                    14. Stockholm Green Digital Finance
                                                                                    15. Swedish Incubators & Science parks
                                                                                    16. Swiss Chamber of Commerce
                                                                                    17. Tillväxtverket
                                                                                    18. Vinnova

                                                                                  3. Talent

                                                                                  Major local business or tech universities and employers that attract and retain local talent.

                                                                                  • Local Universities (universities with prominent technical or business programs)
                                                                                    1. Karolinska Institute
                                                                                    2. Konstfack
                                                                                    3. KTH Royal Institute of Technology
                                                                                    4. Royal Institute of Art
                                                                                    5. Södertörn University
                                                                                    6. Stockholm School of Economics
                                                                                    7. Stockholm University
                                                                                  • Local Employers (Major technical employers, like Microsoft or Google or large local companies, with large local offices
                                                                                    1. Amazon
                                                                                    2. Apple
                                                                                    3. Cisco
                                                                                    4. Electrolux
                                                                                    5. Ericsson
                                                                                    6. Facebook
                                                                                    7. GE
                                                                                    8. Google
                                                                                    9. HP
                                                                                    10. IBM
                                                                                    11. IKEA
                                                                                    12. iZettle
                                                                                    13. King
                                                                                    14. Klarna
                                                                                    15. Microsoft
                                                                                    16. NetEnt
                                                                                    17. Netlight
                                                                                    18. Nokia
                                                                                    19. Oracle
                                                                                    20. Spotify
                                                                                    21. Tele2
                                                                                    22. Tieto
                                                                                    23. Tobii

                                                                                  *  *  *

                                                                                  Learn more about the Startup Ecosystem Canvas here, and leave us your thoughts on the Sweden Canvas on this collaborative Google document (This is just a draft, and more input is needed!)

                                                                                  Are you looking to build a startup in Sweden? Then apply to the Sweden Founder Institute today

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