Elin Torstensson

Dear Community, if you like to read what are the trends of 2025+, below a good summary article. Two of the trends, are below. At the InnoQube Batch 1, we had a startup from of each. If you are an investor or company, these are two technologies you can't escape. Trend #5 is like in the past mobile Apps. Every company will have one! Check this company www.grizoon.com (Swiss) , which can make AI Avatars with your own face! or this company https://workkiai.com/ (Finland) that has amazing technology. So, my dear European friends, take your Checkbook out and Invest! you want to get in early. Companies: embrace these technologies and don't wait to be the last. DM if you like their contacts Trend #5 AI Avatars: Simulate human interaction across channels Trend #6 Deepfake Defense: Counter AI-powered attacks https://lnkd.in/gsMdRsjt InnoQube Switzerland Bündner Stiftung INNOZET Canton of Graubünden

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Very proud to announce emma Ventures’ first Direct Venture Secondaries deal! 🚀   Great to combine our vast experience in the Secondaries space with our activity in Venture Capital and to create a win-win situation for the company, the seller and emma Ventures as the buyer! 🤝   Venture Secondaries are on the rise – at a time when companies are staying private for longer, investors increasingly embrace the Secondaries markets as a practical third option to liquidity where they are able to control the timing of their exit, unlike in a traditional IPO or M&A. ↗️   By purchasing from early shareholders seeking liquidity, Secondaries buyers can acquire stakes in potentially high-growth companies at reduced risk and an attractive pricing - thereby supporting the company as long-term partner in the next phase of growth. ⚙️

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🌱 From seed to unicorn: The strategic funding roadmap nobody talks about 🦄 Remember when Spotify was just a small Swedish startup? Their journey from early-stage VC funding to global music streaming giant wasn't just luck—it was strategic funding done right. We've distilled the key lessons from companies that mastered the art of strategic funding into one simple guide. Swipe to learn: • The 3-step funding progression • Common pitfalls to avoid • How to align funding with your vision Tag a founder who needs to see this 👇 #StartupFunding #VentureCapital Read the full article on our website: https://lnkd.in/ecTV_dVG Madalina Lavinia Preda Dr George Shelton Sabine VanderLinden

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Want to build a successful, sustainable company? These are the kinds of milestones you should set: Land X paying customers Increase revenue by Y% Become profitable Reach $Z ARR Instead, too many startups set their milestones based on getting from one funding round to the next. You'll probably have to raise outside capital at some point to achieve those operational milestones. But raising that capital shouldn't be your end goal. You don't need to run on the VC hamster wheel!

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What are the opportunities to invest in Frontier tech 🤔 Very much looking forward to discussing this very topic during our LP dinner at Slush with BACKED VC & Google Theres no argument that Web 2, with companies like Meta, Monzo, and Uber, has played a pivotal role in shaping the internet. It also attracted more venture capital and funding, exists, into what is now one of the most dynamic and exciting spaces (bias aside). However, what got investors here won’t get them there. Regardless of where you stand on the decentralised vs centralised debate (open vs closed systems), no one can deny the power of crypto ecosystems to reimagine industries. The journey may have started with finance—Bitcoin creating "digital gold"—which paved the way for stablecoins (see bridge.xyz acquired by stripe for 1.1bn announced just last week), offering a superior alternative for cross-border payments. Much has happened in between, but as predicted, two technologies are now converging. Web3 infrastructure can solve some of AI’s most pressing challenges towards, data, cost of compute or even verification. If this all sounds interesting to you then DM me for more information or to chat.

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Calling all Startup Founders! Are you focusing on the sustainable movement of people, supplies, energy, or data? The The Company Lab (CO.LAB) Sustainable Mobility Investment Accelerator powered by gener8tor is here to help you build a successful, scalable venture. The program offers: ✅ Up to $120K investment in your startup ✅ Access to pilots and early customers with program corporate partners ✅ Access to 100+ experienced mentors, investors, industry professionals and business domain experts who are dedicated to helping you succeed ✅  Small cohort of 5-6 Startups all focused on rapidly scaling their ventures Michael Lim, Founder & CEO of Xtelligent, had this to say about his experience as a cohort member: "Given the bespoke nature of the program, the experience is especially ideal for an entrepreneur shooting for the moon in a highly complex and difficult vertical that is sustainable mobility. The genuine care and support from the program staff, mentors, advisors, and broader Chattanooga community also left a strong and lasting impression." Don't miss out on this opportunity to elevate your startup to new heights. Apply Now: https://lnkd.in/eW2xiiYk Learn More: https://lnkd.in/g_Vd9uzM If you are not sure yet, you can book some time on my calendar here: https://lnkd.in/gPYWsbrA Join the CO.LAB Sustainable Mobility Investment Accelerator and get the tools, support, and guidance you need to succeed. Rosimar Nieves and I are here to help!!! #SustainableMobility #Startup #Savetheplanet

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It is not always easy to find a good quality guide on unit economics to follow when you're a founder, and it is equally challenging to understand how investors think and what they're looking for. This is exactly why Jens Düing wrote this guide for Frog Capital on unit economics, helping founders understand how to think about investing as they scale and long-term profitability!

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Made With Intent Seed round 🚀 I'm so happy to finally be able to share that Intent has raised £1.5m led by our new friends at Mercuri, with participation from Portfolio Ventures and, of course, us! 😀 Haatch was founded by ex-retailers who have lived and breathed the pain Intent aims to eradicate. Currently, the way e-commerce communicates with their customers is nothing short of inappropriate. Generic tools built solely for pushing people to checkout reduces store visitors to data points, so you easily forget that on the other side of the screen is a real human being. These solutions are designed for everyone, yet serve only the few. Introducing Made With Intent.... allowing eCommerce to move from this digital directness to something more personal by focusing on their customers and their intent. By predicting where people are in their purchase journey and treating them accordingly. 📈 🎉 --- #madewithintent #intent #seed #venturecapital #team

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A fascinating keynote this morning at Slush #Helsinki by Itxaso Araque - Head of GTM at Google on the impact of AI on enterprises. With over 80% of corporates reporting an annual #revenue uptick north of 6%, and considering that over 70% realised returns in the first year of #adoption, there is only one way to go from here — upwards. This not only showcases the ongoing monetary impact of #GenAI adoption on #EMEA #B2B #enterprises, at least from Google's perspective in this case, it also uncovers how tailored #AIAgent enabled solutions are destined to revolutionise the workplace of tomorrow. We are about to witness a perpetual 'change' not only in the tools we leverage at the enterprise level, but also in the skillsets that corporates will look for in the workforces of tomorrow. There will be standard attributes regardless of the type of outcomes needed across departments. Yesterday's skillsets will soon become outdated and will no longer fit the dynamic future that we are headed into. In my view, this will pave way for a 'fresh' category in training and development over the next 3-5 years. One that will become imperative for us all to adapt and thrive, globally. #AI #AIAgents #Google #Slush #EMEA #GenAI #Helsinki #AICapital #B2B #Enterprises

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Don't validate your product. Invalidate it. As a partner at Antler I'm surrounded by founders trying to figure out if their business is going to work. It's often 10x faster to figure out if your business is NOT going to work. Everyone is so focused on finding product market fit (PMF) and validating their product. It can take *years* to do this. And when working in an early stage startup environment, I'd rather know something is not going to work early than know it is working really late. There's a huge cost to wasting time and building in the wrong direction and practically no founder has a map to reference. So I say figure out what will KILL your business. Figure out what you can ask that, if you get a specific answer, means it's NOT working. By the time you've played this process of elimination enough times (and often very quickly) you'll be left with something that probably is. #startups #founders #products

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The chances of a startup surviving is almost 0% The number 1 indicator of success? TIME Had an awesome chat with my buddy Bobby Wann a few weeks back who has been building Nok Recommerce since 2019 (Shout out to Noah Sanborn Friedman and the Uncharted community, we met at the Hamptons event a couple years back and have stayed in touch since then) Anyway, our conversation was wide ranging, but what really stuck out was the following: He said Chris You know what the number one indicator of success is in any startup? No Bobby, what? Its TIME The more time you're alive is the best direct indicator of success For a bunch of reasons - you're able to figure stuff out (internally) - you can do more of what is working - its a sign you're resilient (have been able to adapt/stay alive) He makes some great points! Fast forward to today I'm scrolling thru Twitter this AM Take a look at Amazon Web Services (AWS) numbers below In 2010 they were doing 500M in revenue In 2023 -> 90B!!! Obviously not a startup, but it was a totally different business than Amazon's core (selling physical goods online) It's good they kept going Stay alive Compound YoY Things can get big quickly

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Remote and Deel are fantastic tools, but tools alone can’t solve everything.🔧 Founders often need more than just part of a solution—they need the whole thing. 🎯 At Ramping Up, we don’t just offer services; we build a custom, end-to-end solution for you. 🎯 Everything is tailor-made for your needs—whether you need remote engineers or an office-based team with daily activities, we hire and manage your team based on your preferences. Plus, we provide the expert advice you need for managing cross-border teams effectively. 🎯 Our team has over a decade of experience managing cross-border teams. We help you with everything from keeping teams motivated to running effective daily meetings. Tools alone won’t give you that kind of support. If you’re ready to take your team forward, I’d love to help you get there. #RampingUp #GlobalTeams #StartupGrowth #RemoteWork #CrossBorderCollaboration #Entrepreneurship

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Product-market fit is the holy grail for all start-ups. It’s something every founder strives to achieve, but only a few actually do. Some may even think they’ve reached it when they haven’t. So, what exactly is product-market fit? 🤔 We asked Pašek Peter, co-founder of AceON Accelerator, for his insights: "I like the definition that says product-market fit is the state when customers love your product so much that the cost of acquiring a customer falls below the gross margin per customer over the entire duration of the business relationship (CLTV - customer lifetime value). This state must persist long enough for the start-up to achieve sustainability in the market. From a financial perspective, product-market fit isn't achieved just because customers want your product and you're growing exponentially if it's clear that you're losing money on every transaction. I often remind people that investors frequently check whether the customers who were acquired behaved similarly when choosing the product, whether they use it in the same way, etc. Essentially, from the founders' perspective, it's necessary to demonstrate that the signals, such as the difference between CLTV and CAC (customer acquisition cost), are not just a result of chance but are indicative of a repeatable and applicable sales model." 👉 Share your insights on product-market fit in the comments below. #aceon #aceonaccelerator #ProductMarketFit

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That damn product-market-fit - and what we do about it at KRING 👊 Building a startup is hard. Period. And the reasons for that are not sensational. We all know that getting product-market fit, go-to-market and the team right requires a lot of work. The top 4 reasons for startup failure are: 🧩 Poor Product-Market Fit (34%): This figure highlights the significant impact of misalignment between a startup's offering and the needs of its target audience. Without a deep understanding of your market and a product that resonates with customers, success becomes elusive.    🚀 Wrong Go-To-Market Strategy (22%): Even if you have a great product, how you bring it to market matters. A misstep in your go-to-market strategy can lead to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and ultimately, failure to capture market share effectively. 🦸🏽‍♀️Team Issues (18%): Building a successful startup requires a cohesive and talented team. Team dynamics, leadership challenges, and skill gaps can all hinder progress and contribute to startup failure.    💸 Fundraising and Cash Flow Problems (16%): Running out of funds is a common reason startups fail. Whether due to inadequate fundraising efforts, mismanagement of cash flow, or unforeseen financial challenges, a lack of capital can quickly derail even the most promising ventures. These typical reasons for startup failure is exactly why we have built our venture studio model and value proposition around: ✅ To navigate the product–market fit, we have developed our structured Speedbooting methodology with pretotyping (and created the company pree.to) to enable a proper validation of the market fit     ✅ To get the go-to-market right, we also use our Speedbooting methodology (https://lnkd.in/egm6im2s) to validate the strategy and benefit from our network of corporates and advisors to test the business model from different angles ✅ To address team issues we offer specialised recruitment support from a pool of talented individuals ✅ To take focus away from fundraising, we provide multi-round financing and can also support building external fundraising strategy if needed and connect with relevant investors Are you curious and what to learn more about building a venture with KRING? Reach out to our Head of Talent, Agnes Agada 👈 Do you have any reflections to share on how to mitigate the typical reasons for startup failure? We would love to hear from you! #venturestudio #startupstudio #productmarketfit Source: Exploding topics, Startup Failure Statistics 2023. Marina Miteva, Jacob Madsen, Jesper Kring, Thomas Krogh Jensen, Tommy Ahlers, Christoph Brandin, Thomas Hofman-Bang, Ulla Sommerfelt, Jacob Dahl, Kurt Bligaard Pedersen, Peter Mægbæk, Martin Bøge Mikkelsen, Betina Nygaard, Ole Herstal, Søren Thorsen, Jakob Bjerre Kistorp, Anders Colding Friis, Flemming Breinholt, Claus Rehfeld, Peter Midtgaard, Lars Thomassen, Lars Monrad-Gylling, Claus Omann Jensen, Erik Holm, Joergen Raguse, David Heinemeier Hansson

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The Nordic region was the most active European startup ecosystem, attracting €5.8B ($6.2B) in Q1, followed by France and the Benelux region with €3.4B ($3.6B). Relevance: Swedish green steel producer H2 Green Steel’s €4.75B ($5B) funding round was the largest round to close this quarter in Europe. After two years of retreat, non-traditional investors increased their dealmaking, participating in 721 deals worth €13.5B ($14.4B), representing 37% of the total deal value. The increase in VC funding came despite a tepid exit environment, with only 215 VC-backed exits reported in Q1 worth €1.9B ($2B). 47 funds collectively raised about €4.6B ($4.9B) from investors in the first quarter of this year, putting it on track to surpass last year’s tally. #investment #VentureCapitalists #fundraising #funding #fundmanagers #Generalpartners #limitedpartners #USFunds #familyoffices #EUfunds #institutionalcapital #GPs #LPs #VCs #familyoffices #hedgefunds

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Haha. Slush was wild! Watch my supercut below. Once again, we spent most of the time hustling and building partnerships, but I did manage to hear one talk by Benedict Evans, and it was very insightful. Bundling and unbundling SaaS is the only way to make money, and we can help with that 💪 I think what surprised me the most was the presence of so many major American VC funds—Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Pear VC, … Maybe Europe is not so uninnovative and stagnant after all? 🇪🇺🚀 We didn’t win this time, but I’m still very proud of us being in the top 20 out of 1,000 startups. More and more people are starting to see the enormous potential. Congrats to our fellow top 20 builders: Pal | Digital Palliative Care, arterioscope, ContentRadar, DevAlly, Flowcore, FULLY AI, Inzipio, Lendorse, Metabob, Crono, MinersAI, Mohana, Pyrpose, Senara GmbH, Sightwise GmbH, Signatur Biosciences, SLY , Supersight, and of course OASYS NOW🥇 Reach out if you’d like to team up. Listing your SaaS on https://gralio.ai is completely free. 💪

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In recent months, the Swedish startup ecosystem witnessed the unfortunate downfall of three promising companies: Mycorena, Coloreel, and &Repeat. These startups, with unique value propositions, faced challenges that led to their bankruptcy. Let's analyze the common factors contributing to their struggles. Mycorena aimed to revolutionize the food industry with sustainable mycoprotein products. Despite the growing demand for alternative proteins, scaling issues, high operational costs, and intense market competition hindered their success. Coloreel brought innovation to the textile industry with its coloring technology for textile threads. However, intensive R&D, supply chain disruptions, and slow market adoption contributed to its downfall. &Repeat focused on a circular economy for disposable food packaging but encountered challenges in driving behavioral change, navigating regulations, and securing funding. Key themes among these startups include financial strains, market entry barriers, and external factors like the pandemic and regulatory changes. Their experiences highlight the importance of effective financial management, strategic scaling, and adaptability to market conditions for long-term success. While the bankruptcy of these startups is a setback, their innovative spirit leaves a lasting impact. Their journey provides valuable lessons for future entrepreneurs to learn and grow from, shaping a more resilient startup ecosystem.

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4️⃣ SaaStock Fundraising Chatter: Finding the Right VC for You. A key takeaway from Tuesday’s post was how important it is to qualify your investors. With so many options, here's how to be strategic: 🔎 Qualify ruthlessly. Treat your investor funnel like a sales funnel. AlbionVC, for example, invests $1-10M in UK-based B2B software and deeptech. If you’re a Paris-based consumer marketplace raising $20M, it’s a non-starter. Founders waste precious time crafting outreach to funds outside their scope. 🥇 Prioritise Smartly. Rank your target funds by both appeal and likelihood of success. 💘 Find a Warm Intro. If you don’t know the fund directly, network like you would for sales. Get a concise, compelling intro via a mutual connection. Remember a “pass” could even lead to a referral to another, better-fit fund. 🎮 Sequence Pitches. Start with lower-priority VCs to refine your pitch with early feedback. Then, approach your top picks with a polished narrative. Generating interest early creates momentum in your process. ⚠️ Requalify Your VCs! It’s as important to assess us as it is for us to assess you. ➡️Ambition Alignment: Are their expectations aligned with yours? ➡️Personal Fit: Grab a coffee, breakfast, lunch, go on a walk: will you enjoy working with them for years? ➡️Support: What do you need? Do your diligence to ensure they deliver it. ➡️References: Talk to portfolio companies, successes and struggles. Were they fair? were they kind? ➡️Partner Stability: The partner who leads your investment will be emotionally and intellectually invested in you and your vision. They will be on call. They will fight for you when things get tough (bridge rounds, etc)…far more than someone who replaces them later. Also, high turnover at a fund could signal cultural issues. #SaaS #Fundraising #VC #AlbionVC

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Linear extension is a favorite pastime of all companies and their managers. And I understand them, because this is the basis of positioning: it is difficult to change consciousness after the buyer has made a decision for himself. This equally applies to the decision that linear extension is the only right way, when the brand is already at its best. When a company decides to release a new product and instead of creating a new name for the new product, the company decides to release it under an already known brand. But the main problem is that the more products are released under one brand, the more the brand and name itself are blurred, which the client no longer associates with a particular product. In fact, companies kill themselves by blurring their positioning in the minds of customers by releasing different products under one brand. For example, the Ford company, what is Ford to you?! Nothing, it's just a car and what sounds in your head when you hear Mercedes?! Volvo?! That's what automatically sounds in your head, this is positioning, which cannot be blurred by linear extension.

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