Jeppe Rindom

From today's article in Berlingske: "If you're a founder or visionary, you must firmly believe in what you're doing. If everyone could see what you see, it wouldn't be so innovative." When we founded Mono Solutions in 2007, the B2B SaaS model faced a lot of skepticism. Back then, software was installed on servers – the cloud was barely a concept. Thanks to the visionary insight of my co-founder David Højelsen, we persevered. This belief is also the inspiration behind "Ugly Duckling Ventures" – supporting those 'ugly ducklings' destined to become beautiful swans. #startups #venture #vc #uglyducklingventures

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🎙️Do VCs have moral obligations when investing in & nurturing startups? I'm thrilled to share the latest episode of "Startup to Scale Up Game Plan" where I sat down with Robin Egerot, Managing Partner at Goose Valley Ventures . Robin's extensive experience investing in companies like Klarna, Lunar Bank, and Receipt Hero makes this episode a must-listen! We explored: 🧭 The ethical considerations in venture capital & the Mensarius Oath 🤝 The crucial role of trust & loyalty between investors and founders 🧠 Goose Valley's proactive approach to supporting founders' mental health 🚀 Insights into the Nordic startup ecosystem & emerging technologies like AI Robin's wisdom and passion for fostering innovation shine through, offering invaluable advice for both budding VCs and startup enthusiasts. Watch the clip below and share your thoughts! ⬇️ You can also listen to the full episode via the links in the 1st comment #VentureCapital #MentalHealth #AI #NordicStartups

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Exceptional entrepreneurs come in many shapes and sizes - show us who you are and what you can do! 🛠️💡🚀 Since we at KRING mainly develop our venture concepts in-house, we care less about your idea, and more about YOU as a potential co-founder. Ideas change, people remain. The mindset and values we are looking for in individuals are (among others): 🤘🏼Proactiveness, hands-on, structured thinking, skin in the game, empathy, and kindness. Our experience has taught us that while the mindset and drive is alike, the educational, professional, and personal experiences across the best entrepreneurs differ a whole lot - and thank god for that! We don’t like to put people in a box - but nevertheless we have tried to provide a framework for our typical #cofounder profiles: 💚 Health and Energy industry experts 🦸🏽‍♀️ Second-time entrepreneurs (successful or failed) 📊 Management consultants 🛠️ Operators in high-growth startups / scale-ups 🌈 ...Surprise us and show us what you got! We are constantly looking for great people to join us on our mission to make the world a better place - one #impact venture at a time. Are you curious and what to learn more about building a venture with KRING? 👉Reach out to our Head of Talent & Culture, Agnes Agada. Have we forgotten an ideal co-founder above or do you have any reflections to share! We would love to hear from you! #venturestudio #teamiskey #peoplegame

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This is huge for us at Strise! We’re excited to announce that PwC has joined the Strise family as a customer! Read the full article in The Paypers: https://lnkd.in/dHsZAz_3 This is exciting for several reasons. First, it's an incredibly strong and respected brand. Secondly, this marks a new vertical for us, as PwC Norway is our first customer in the professional services space. By selecting Strise to automate their AML processes, PwC Norway is set to significantly reduce manual work and streamline their workflows. With Strise's AML Automation Cloud, they’ll save countless hours from day one, all while ensuring compliance across their operations. This is a testament to how Strise’s technology is empowering companies to tackle financial crime in smarter, more efficient ways.

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Our SaaS Valuation Insights Q1/2024 report, concentrating on small and mid-sized Nordic SaaS companies, is now accessible for download on our website (link in the comments) Key observations: 📈Throughout Q1/’24, SaaS valuation multiples have remained close to their one-year averages. Presently, the EV/LTM Sales multiple for TSI stands at 3.2x, notably below its five-year average of 5.7x. 💼 In the first quarter of 2024, we continued to observe take private transactions which echo the pricing discrepancies between public and private valuations that we highlighted in our previous report. 💰 Profitability has surpassed growth as the primary factor behind the Ro40 figure – For upper quartile companies, profitability is contributing to nearly two-thirds of the Ro40 composite (Ro40 median was 48% for upper quartile in Q1/’24). 📊 Vertical SaaS companies typically outperform horizontal SaaS companies, resulting in a higher valuation multiple (29% higher in EV/LTM Sales compared to their horizontal counterparts in Q1/’24). 🤝 Nordic SaaS M&A activity stayed steady in Q1/2024. 🚀 Despite facing challenges, the SaaS sector has upheld its momentum, with Nordic SaaS companies garnering interest from global investors and competition for top-tier Nordic SaaS businesses is steadily intensifying. In Q1/’24, nearly 50% of the Nordic SaaS M&A transactions recorded involved financial investors.

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Got a killer idea or early case within digital health or energy? Read on to see if you are a match and get in touch ⚡️ At KRING, we have two tracks for investments; we invest in our developed ventures in our #venturestudio, BUT we also invest in early-stage external cases, when there is a match 🎯 First of all, there needs to be a match between you as co-founder(s) and KRING's values. Naturally, we have some key criteria for our external investment strategy. We could be a good match if your startup is: 1) 🧬 Within digital health, focused on early diagnostics and early intervention, chronic disease prevention, management and reversal, functional medicine, or behavioural-based health interventions. 2) 🌏 Within energy, focused on energy renovation, optimization, grid flexibility, EV infrastructure or the built environment. 3) 👶🏽 Early in the journey with ongoing development needed for product-market fit, go-to-market strategy, team capabilities or other strategic work. 4) 💻 Has a digital business model that is asset-light with low fixed costs and high scalability. 5) 💸 With early focus on profitability - we build ‘Zebras’ rather than ‘Unicorns’ and aim to make our companies sustainable with early profitability. Classic “VC journeys” are the exception. 6) 🤓 Has a B2B2C or B2C focus. We focus on solving real end-user problems with a demonstrated high level of value-add and consumer demand, either directly or via corporate partnerships. In the case your startup does not fall within each category above, there may still be a relevant match between your case and KRING. If you are interested in learning more, please get in touch with me or fill out the assessment on our website: https://lnkd.in/dvNGP_iW 📩 Don’t hesitate to get in touch - we would love to hear from you! 🤘 #venturestudio #startupstudio #impactstartups

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The team at Verdane has a nice playbook and advice for the CTO in private equity-backed companies. In the rapidly evolving world of technology, CTOs in private equity-backed companies need to master a set of skills to drive growth and innovation. Here are nine skills that Thomas Hellstrøm, CTO of Talentech, believes are crucial: 1️⃣ Communicating Well and Understanding the Bigger Picture: A successful CTO needs to foster effective collaboration between the tech team and the rest of the firm. This requires understanding the overarching business goals and effectively communicating the technical vision to all client-facing parts of the company. 2️⃣ Customer-First Thinking: Regular participation in client meetings ensures that the team’s work aligns with the challenges faced by clients. This approach also helps in product development and keeps the team motivated. 3️⃣ Formulating and Selling Your Vision: A CTO needs to formulate a vision that aligns with the business strategy and sell it to the management, team members, and clients. This vision should clearly define what each team needs to excel at and why. 4️⃣ Building Autonomous Teams: Rapid growth often involves multiple acquisitions in a short span of time. Building autonomous teams that can take full responsibility for the whole development cycle is key to managing this growth. 5️⃣ Using Geographic Distance to Your Advantage: Geographically dispersed teams can foster creative synergies. The CTO’s role is to sell the vision to these teams and coach them while they execute it. 6️⃣ Automation: The actual effect of the platform being built is automation. Understanding whose pain points are being solved can help insert the product into new conversations to grow revenue. 7️⃣ Rewarding Ideas that Promote Platform Innovation: Encouraging product development that leads to platform-wide innovation requires a system for allocating resources. Projects to improve integrations or functionality should be rewarded with bigger budgets and the best developers. 8️⃣ Balancing Legacy with New Development: While developers generally prefer working on forward-leaning projects, keeping legacy products up to date is essential. An 80-20 rule, where developers spend 80% of their time on familiar and 20% on new projects, can help achieve this balance. 9️⃣ Encouraging the Right Kind of Leadership: Autonomous teams need leaders who facilitate processes and coach their teams rather than exerting authority. Encouraging people to champion development in an entrepreneurial style in the early phase of projects can foster engagement. 🎯 In conclusion, a successful CTO in a private equity-backed company needs to be a visionary, a communicator, a customer advocate, a team builder, and a leader. These skills will enable them to drive growth, manage rapid expansion, and create lasting competitive advantage. The link is in the comments

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What are the lessons learned from the Nordics, a region that is seen as a successful PE and VC ecosystem in Europe? Great discussion at invest.austria event with Pekka Mäki, Lauri Isotamm and Gabriel Navarro-Rubio Poole! 💪 There is no overnight success, it is all about hard work.  🎡 Flywheel is real aka as Skype, Spotify, Bolt, Wise stories.. and hopefully soon more. 🙄 In Denmark there is no capital gain tax for VC investments (e.g. compared to investing in real estate) which has attracted more capital and talent to the region 👏 Nordic pension funds have being investing in the asset class since decades, and have learned and show that investing in several mangers is fundamental for success 🌿The Nordic ecosystem is a role model for ESG practices, LPs caring not only about returns but also about ESG factors.  👍 Mature regulation, experienced lawyers, tax accountants etc. are also an important puzzle piece for the ecosystem to function and thrive. 🚀 However, the real deal is not about the Nordics or another region in Europe. It is about Europe acting as one, supporting innovation so that we can also build a 100 B dollar/euro company here.

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The sun has come out in Sweden, and you know what that means: the Nordics' best SaaS entrepreneurs are arriving in sunny Malmö for SaaSiest! ☀️🇸🇪 I'm excited to be speaking this Wednesday about the transformative potential of AI-driven "secret agents" in SaaS operations. 🤖💼 We'll dive into how these technologies can revolutionize the way entrepreneurs streamline their operations, boost efficiency, and scale new heights. 🌟 As part of the session, we'll be sharing tactics to bring the power of secret agents into your workflows. Let's take the focus on AI from the hypothetical to the actionable and concrete. The near-future of AI is agentic, so let's discuss how to get started building as soon as possible. If you're in town for the conference, say hi! And don't miss out on the sessions hosted by my Oxx colleagues Mikael Johnsson and Ingrid Bonde Akerlind. #SaaSiest #AIinSaaS #SaaS #Secretagentsarechangingthefutureofsaasandthisconferenceisagreatwaytolearnabouthow

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3 months ago I spoke to Snorre Lothar von Gohren Edwin from CTO Roundtable Invest about an idea to gather the top CTOs from the Norwegian tech scene. I felt most of the events I attended focused too heavily on the CEOs of the companies. Something I found absurd as I personally know the importance of the technical co-founder. The person who in the end will have the heavy responsibility of building the cornerstone of the company -> A scalable and state-of-the-art technology. 1 week before the event I am excited to share that we just reached full capacity! 🤩🍾💻 Looking forward to welcoming some of the speakers, Nico Cormier from reMarkable, Martin Abelson Sahlen from Alvin, and Øystein Ellingbø from Ardoq, for the planned panel. They will discuss how AI is affecting their workflow and share their best practice insights on how to use and NOT use AI. Thanks a lot for all the introductions and recommendations to companies attending: Superside, Strise, Unacast, SEEN, Be Your Best™, Curipod, Unleash, Breyta, Vev, Plaace, Plateful, Physical Robotics, DoMore Diagnostics, Exabel, Cardboard, Celsia, Relynk, Kobbr, Aprila Bank, Boitano AS, Deckmatch, Skyfri, Odins.ai, Noddi, + many more. Fun fact: When I curiously joined Mesh Community as a flex desk member back in 2016 hardly any of the mentioned companies were founded. We have come a long way in 8 years. 💪🏻🔥🚀

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🎊 Great news for early-stage businesses in Denmark! The new government reform introduces significant funding opportunities, tax relief, and legal changes aimed at boosting startup growth. This is a perfect time for innovative ideas in health, wellbeing, and energy sectors to thrive. If you have a startup or an idea, we want to hear from you! Learn more about the reforms and send your pitch to us for a chance to collaborate. At KRING we not only invest in impact ideas and business concepts, we co-create! https://lnkd.in/dSBnmuDS #Startups #Innovation #Health #Energy #Entrepreneurship #DenmarkReform #EarlyStageBusiness #impactinvesting #Venturebuilding #kring

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I recently spoke to Bootstrapping.dk about my new roles as GP at Ugly Duckling Ventures and Chair of the Board at the Fonden for Entreprenørskab sharing my thoughts on how to best navigate as a smaller VC in Denmark. The article is featured as "Investor of the Week." Link to article in the comment section below 👇 #bootstrapping #uglyducklingventures #venturecapital #startups #fondenforentreprenørskab

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Join Us: Sweden's Fintech Innovation Landscape 2024. Are you ready to explore how the Nordic fintech powerhouse is shaping the future of financial technology? KPMG's latest Fintech Pulse highlights game-changing trends that are transforming the industry: - Enterprise solutions becoming the next big frontier. - AI revolutionizing cybersecurity & regulatory compliance. - ESG opening new doors in green finance. - Asset tokenization emerging as a key investment focus. Learn from Swedish market leaders like Klarna, Trustly, and Zettle by PayPal who are already embracing these innovations! Don't miss our expert panel on November 28th featuring: Anders Norlin - Strategic adviser and venture builder specializing in fintech & climate tech. Michael Akampa - Co-founder of Ultiro & Nobon, pioneering climate finance innovation. Kim Sandström - Senior advisor at Ultiro with 10+ years in fintech strategy. What you'll gain:  ✓ Insights into navigating regulatory frameworks. ✓ Partnership opportunity identification strategies. ✓ Emerging technology implementation tactics. ✓ ESG innovation opportunities. Perfect for fintech companies from developing countries. Time: 13:00-13:55 Swedish time (UTC+1). Best part? It's completely FREE! Organized by Kommerskollegium | National Board of Trade Sweden. Ready to dive into Sweden's fintech ecosystem? Register now: https://lnkd.in/dtayVyvC #Fintech #Innovation #SwedishTech #GreenFinance #AI #DigitalTransformation #ESG #FinancialTechnology

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YES - next week it's thankfully time to once again meet up with awesome scaleup founders, VCs,and startup ecosystem friends at TechBBQ here in #Copenhagen. I've had the pleasure to participate since the 2016 version, and though being a Dane 🇩🇰 I have to say I'm pretty impressed on the way Avnit, Sam, Kay and their cool team have improved year after year. 🚀 The stage program is amazing, and so is the both net networking opportunities at the venue, and at the many side events too. Day 0️⃣ I'm happy to join the Investor Breakfast hosted by our friends Lars / Scale Capital and Pirkka / Maki.vc - fully booked, not surprised, can't wait ✅ Nordic Investor Day 2024 at Industiens Hus is also too good to miss, so many of our Nordic Secondary Fund VC friends will be present, what's not to like ✅ Finally, TechBBQ Speaker Networking Event, where the +300 official speakers will mingle and be networking ✅ Day 1️⃣ I'm proud and excited to be on Forest Stage at 10.30-10:55 with Nils - Co-Founder & CEO from Minut 🇸🇪 , our last N2F portfolio member. The topic is "UNLOCKING CAPITAL" : The Benefits of Secondary Market Transactions ✅ Meeting a lot of new and old nice and smart people like; Karl Ágúst Matthíasson, Ebba Sandbecker, Andreas Claudi, Jonatan Kutchinsky, Jaspur Langgaard, Sofia Hjelmberg, Mads Troelsgaard, Lars Fløe Nielsen, Peter Lauerbach, Wouter Vorstman, Peter Baech, Ata Bærentsen, Sander Janca-Jensen, Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen, Thomas Lenz, Raphaël G. , Luisa Alix Orsini, Elena Enache only to mention a few ✅ Day 2️⃣ So far only very few appointments, so if YOU will be around the venue or the side events and wants to learn more about our unique offering on secondaries, doing tickets from €2-9M, don't hold back, ping Frank Lyhne Hansen, Karl Emil Uhre Christensen or me here at LinkedIN, DM us, or come and talk to us ✅ See you soon ☀ #secondaries #liquidity #scaleups #founderfriendly

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Why I do Barma can be summarized in many things, one of them is hearing from customers! This is a quote by quote from Kristian Baattrup Jakobsen Linkedin post yesterday, co-owner of a forward-thinking bar/nightclub chain, wrote yesterday: "Working with young people in the nightlife is a unique experience – and Barma has already made a difference for us! 🚀 As a bar/nightclub "chain" with many young, part-time employees, it can be a challenge to create both structure and room for development. We've taken the first steps with Barma, and while we're still figuring out how to best use the platform, we're already starting to feel the difference. It feels like an investment in our team and in their experience of being with us. An easier start for new members of the team ✅ It means a lot to me that our young employees feel welcome and well-equipped from the start. With Barma, we can now offer a more structured onboarding so that they quickly get into the flow. Watching them go from uncertainty to confidence is a great experience, and Barma has made that process easier. Opportunities for continuous development ✅ Even though many only work part-time, we still want to give them the opportunity to grow. Here we can now offer training and continuous development so that they can develop, no matter how many hours they work. It's really motivating to see how some people seize the opportunity to learn more and become even better at their job. Everything in one place – a help in everyday life ✅ Having both communication, onboarding, development, roster (via Workfeed), etc., in one place has already given us more structure. For us, this means an easier everyday life, where we do not have to look for information in several places, and where the team always has an overview. Checklists that create security and quality ✅ The checklists in Barma are one of the most recent implementations we have done. In the long run, we hope that this tool can ensure that tasks are done in the right way every time. It creates a sense of security for the team – especially for the young people who are new to the job – and it raises the quality of what we deliver to our guests. A workplace they want to stay at ✅ My hope is that with Barma, we can give our team an experience that they can develop here and therefore stay for a longer period of time. For me, it is important that they feel recognized and supported so that they want to become part of the community and grow in their roles. We are still on a journey with Barma and have a lot to learn. But already now, I can feel that we are heading in a direction that gives both the team and myself new opportunities to create a great workplace. I'm looking forward to seeing how we can take full advantage of Barma – and continue to create a strong, cohesive experience for our team. It almost came to sound like a sales pitch. But that's just my honest enthusiasm for the product. Thanks to Emil Skjold Andersen and Co. for this!"

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🌟 Antler Nordics portfolio company Arkion announces a $4 million funding round 🌟 Antler has supported Arkion (formerly Skyqraft) from Day 0, from the time they joined our Nordic Founder Residency program. We are really excited about the great company. Awesome work so far from Louise Gauffin, David Wickström and team. Arkion recently achieved some truly impressive milestones, including closing several key client accounts in the US and Europe, tripling revenue, and achieving over 80% AI coverage of faults in distribution grids. Arkion delivers energy asset analytics through scalable, AI-powered asset intelligence, for a power grid that’s ready for an electrified future. With energy consumption poised to double by 2045, the resilience and modernization of grid infrastructure are necessary in shaping a net-zero future. Swift, precise, and sustainable inspections of energy infrastructure are imperative for getting the grid ready for this global transition. Round was led by Subvenio Invest with Neptunia Invest and Antler participating. 🚀 #Antler #AI #PowerGrids #Sustainability #Arkion

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🌟 Antler Nordics portfolio company Arkion (formerly Skyqraft) announces a $4 million funding round 🌟 Antler has supported Arkion (formerly Skyqraft) from Day 0, from the time they joined our Nordic Founder Residency program. We are really excited about the great company. Awesome work so far from Louise Gauffin, David Wickström and team. Arkion recently achieved some truly impressive milestones, including closing several key client accounts in the US and Europe, tripling revenue, and achieving over 80% AI coverage of faults in distribution grids. Arkion delivers energy asset analytics through scalable, AI-powered asset intelligence, for a power grid that’s ready for an electrified future. With energy consumption poised to double by 2045, the resilience and modernization of grid infrastructure are necessary in shaping a net-zero future. Swift, precise, and sustainable inspections of energy infrastructure are imperative for getting the grid ready for this global transition. Round was led by Subvenio Invest with Neptunia Invest and Antler participating 🚀 Let’s go 🌶️🌶️ #Antler #AI #PowerGrids #Sustainability #Arkion

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Skagerak Capital is a venture capital investment firm that prefers to invest in early-stage companies operating in the deep-tech and SaaS sectors. They invest time, capital and effort to build companies that contribute to sustainable, long-term value creation. They invest in companies with positive impact. Megatrends like climate change and resource scarcity are some of the challenges we are facing. So they believe technological innovations will contribute to a positive impact on people and the planet. https://lnkd.in/deFcYDpx #venturecapital #firm #investors #enterprenuers #founders

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What makes the Nordics an exemplary hub for startups and innovation? ✅ A Thriving Ecosystem ✅ Innovation at the Forefront ✅ Collaboration Over Competition ✅ Global Impact ✅ Resilience and Adaptation Read more in the Nordics Startup Report 2024, crafted by our team in the region. https://lnkd.in/d-TD8Jse #PNPTC #NordicInnovation #StartupTrends2024 #TechInvestmentOpportunities

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