TINC Spring 2019 - Accelerating in Silicon Valley
By Ingrid Odlen, Junior Fellow Wallenberg Foundation, Vinnova Silicon Valley
Nordic Founder Talk - Accelerating in Silicon Valley: from the left Sondre Rasch/Safetywing; Armann Kojic/Greenvolt, Alexander Bergo/MeetingSift, Janne Salminen/SiftWallet.
Busy start for TINC Spring 2019 participants
Hectic. Rewarding. Intense.
- Eirik Talhaug, CEO of JET Seafood
The two first weeks of this spring’s TINC accelerator program have been filled with workshops, events, seminars and mentor meetings. The Nordic participants have been exposed to topics such as “Focus and prioritize for scale”, “Startup sales”, “Funding models” and pitch coaching.
We also hosted a panel discussion with Nordic founders who have gone through some of the major Silicon Valley Accelerators; Y Combinator, Alchemist, Village Global and Plug & Play. The speakers shared their experiences in accelerating from Silicon Valley and what challenges they have faced when raising seed funding.
Even one of our TINC participants joined the panel, Armann Kojic from Greenvolt took part in Village Global and is currently using those networks to raise funding. “It is like a video game, even if you get to the next level you still need to keep on hustling”.
Here are some takeaways from some of the TINC participants mid-way through the program:
CE Check
Tobias Rydell, CEO and Founder, and Max Strålin, CTO
CE Check makes product certification easier, quicker and more affordable by providing a web platform which guides and streamlines the CE marking process, reducing cost by 50%, time to market by 75%, and making you consultant independent.
Describe the first week in three words
Clarifying. Fun. Inspirational.
The most valuable input you have gotten so far in the program
Being able to visualize the different steps of the whole startup process and to know where to focus. We have also learned to drill down on very specific customer identities and problems.
The highlights from the first two weeks
The mentor meetings and the workshops have been above all expectations, especially the workshop with Scott Sambucci about startup sales.
Advice to companies applying to TINC
One advice, that we wished we had listened to more, is to book as many meetings as possible before arriving to Silicon Valley. This can easily be done from back home.
Njus
Rolf Bäck, CEO, and Jari Merikanto, VP of Growth
Njus is a new way to consume and distribute news solving the three biggest problems in the news media industry: revenue model, fake news and trolls & bots.
Describe the first week in three words
Wonderful (people). Helpful. Inspirational.
The most valuable input you have gotten so far in the program
The mentor meetings have been highly valuable for us. We could not pick a favorite. Thanks to the input we’ve gotten, we have been able to make small pivots every day. TINC has made us think in new ways in order to generate more value for your company, and in our case to the product.
The highlights from the first two weeks
All the mentor meetings and Julie Hanna. The seminars, both at Stanford and NIH, have been extremely useful.
Advice to companies applying to TINC
Try to make sure that you’re at least two people when arriving here. You need to be able to reflect and discuss. It’s easier to bring back to the team when two people are discussing the changes rather than being alone. Why hesitate? It will help your company grow enormously.
JET Seafood
Eirik Talhaug, CEO
JET Seafood is a B2B marketplace for seafood, starting with salmon.
Describe the first week in three words
Hectic. Rewarding. Intense.
The most valuable input you have gotten so far in the program
The discussion on pricing models for marketplaces with the mentors and the network you acquire when getting here; very valuable connections.
The highlights from the first two weeks
Julie Hanna, Scott Sambucci tremendously good! The lunch talk by Carl Fritjofsson was also very good and insightful.
Advice to companies applying to TINC
Don’t go alone. I would also advise everyone to find accommodation together with other participating companies. You can learn so much from talking to the other companies outside the program as well and it also becomes more social and enjoyable.
