🌟 Reflections on Oslo Innovation Week 🌟
What an amazing three days in Oslo! 😍 Although I was only able to attend the first half of the Innovation Week, I walked away energized from all the insights, learnings and thought-provoking discussions.
A few key takeaways stood out:
💡 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who share your vision is key. As they say, you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with, so make sure those are the people that support you to reach new heights.
💥 𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. It’s about taking risks, thinking big, and having the courage to pursue opportunities that don’t yet exist. Founders need to be able to imagine a bold future and then create a credible roadmap on how to get there.
🎯𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. Securing funding isn’t just about the pitch; it’s about building strong relationships, understanding what investors are looking for, and demonstrating the right momentum. Whether it's finding the right venture capital fit or leveraging your early-stage investors for introductions, strategy and timing are everything.
One of the highlights of the week was the panel discussion I had with Viktoria Hensler, Anna Munthe-Kaas and Lars Johan Bjørkevoll about building an optimal environment for impact startups in the Nordics. It reminded me that we’re all part of something bigger than ourselves, and that while it’s the collective effort that will continue to push sustainable innovation forward in Nordics and beyond, we all need to act as individuals as well.
Finally, a huge shoutout to the incredible people I got to meet in all the many events. It’s clear that the future of the Nordic startup ecosystem is bright, bold, and full of opportunities.
Here’s to taking more risks, dreaming bigger, and doing everything we can to build a future we can all be proud of! 🚀
#OsloInnovationWeek #StartupEcosystem #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #NordicInnovation #RiskTaking #GrowthMindset
