Building the Danish investment ecosystem is fundamental for securing that the innovative companies and transformative technologies of tomorrow can grow and reach their potential. In order for startups to succeed, all three keynote speakers (Lars Frølund from NATO Innovation Fund, Kenneth Dambo from Dreamcraft Ventures and Theis Malmberg from Noon Ventures) agreed that more and better networking between business angels and VCs is required. This will strengthen the funding journey.
At Dreamcraft Ventures, they believe that founders need investors with a certain type of skillset:
"The three major challenges for founders are people, customers and financing. I believe it takes an investor with operational experience to truly understand and help founders bridge those gaps when building the companies of tomorrow,” says Kenneth Dambo, VC Investor.
Another take away from the summit was the fact that we need a stronger focus on international market reach for Danish startups. In short, we need more IPOs and unicorns in Denmark. And according to Mia Grosen from Canute, if you ask the experts our biggest barrier to more scaleups is global connectedness. Denmark is not a big market so if the ambition is to build a big business we must think beyond our national borders. Also when constructing advisory boards and boards of directors.
Watch a video from the summit in the beautiful surroundings of Aarhus City Hall:
We also got insights from Thomas Geuken, futurist and clinical & leadership psychologist, who urged the audience to use megatrends to identify emergent opportunity spaces. There is a wealth of opportunities for investors to consider when it comes to current megatrends, but don’t think you can predict the future. We need to base our investments on facts and insights, like Swiss multinational private banking and finance company, Pictet Group, did when using megatrends within future studies to identify new investment opportunities. It especially gets interesting when megatrends intersect – that is when we truly have the opportunity to create value. According to Thomas Geuken, the magic happens in the interface between two or more megatrends.
Aarhus Investor Summit is not only an event that creates a gathering point for investors, but it is also a platform for startups to meet investors and bring home investments. At this year’s summit, five strong and knowledge intensive thus pitched on stage.
In addition, 25 startups exhibited at the summit and had the chance to network with the participants. Get to know all the exhibitors here.
Last but not least, the winners of the INCUBA Awards 2022 were announced. The biotech company NMD Pharma and business angel Bo Wase received the INCUBA Awards in the categories 'Startup of the Year' and 'Investor of the Year'. NMD Pharma because they have created a scalable, innovative solution that contributes to creating a better quality of life for many people and Bo Wase for his great work and tireless commitment as an active investor in his portfolio companies and the startup environment in general.
Watch an interview with both winners:
Thank you for participating in Aarhus Investor Summit | Tech Edition 2022! We hope to see you at the next summit which will be a Science Edition. Mark your calendar on May 9th 2023.
Facts about Aarhus Investor Summit
A series of community building investor events in Aarhus, Denmark