Even Newsletter Aug 2024
This is edition number 4 of your monthly roundup of insights, opportunities, women founders, and updates on the startup happenings in the Nordics.
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What’s up from Even Founders
🥳 We’ve just opened the waiting list for the most female-friendly startup community in the Nordics!
We couldn’t wait to spill the beans on this news, so as I sat down to put together our monthly roundup, it was a no-brainer to start with this one. We’re launching the most female-friendly startup community in the Nordics! Woo-hoo! 🎉
We need everyone on board to help close the gender gap in entrepreneurship. That's why this isn't just a community for women—it's for all startup actors (founders, investors, ecosystem supporters) who are looking to join a community. The platform goes live in the coming weeks, but you can snag your spot on the waiting list right now! Sign up.
Catch us at these September events
The Copenhagen weather’s been treating us well with a few extra summer days, so we soaked up the sunshine while prepping for an event-packed September. (yep, that’s us brainstorming over lunch in the backyard 😄) Check out where we’ll be, swing by for a chat, or catch one of our talks.
Community: Brand-build a Truly Engaged Following - Tech BBQ, Sep 12th, 10:05
We’ll start the Tech BBQ at the Forest Stage, with our very own Ana Andonovska moderating a discussion on how to build a genuinely engaged community that boosts your startup and amplifies brand relevance. Hear from Lorrain de Silva, Managing Director of Best Night VC, Entrepreneur and Advisor, Veronica D'Souza, and Marcus Mcdowell, Founder & Marketing Lead of Innovate Black, as they share insights on building real connections and strategies to make your brand stand out in a crowded market.
Female founders. Who cares? - Tech BBQ, Sep 12th, 15:10
You do! Come join us at the community tent during Tech BBQ for an engaging discussion on turning awareness of the gender gap in entrepreneurship into real action. Ana Andonovska from our team will moderate, with panelists Jasenko Hadzic from BackingMinds and Amalie Paludan from Kromann Reumert.
Women x Health x Tech (TechBBQ unofficial side-event) - Sep 12th
We’re back after last year's fantastic event, where over 100 people came together for networking, drinks, and great conversations. This time, we've teamed up with Daya, SexTech Nordics, Femtech Studios, and Torsten Kolind for another social mixer focused on women’s health and technology. If you’re interested in connecting with others passionate about women’s health innovation, this is the place to be. Secure your spot.
Entrepreneurship for underrepresented minorities - Sep 19th
We’re teaming up with an incredible Sumeya Hassan, Founder of Reclaim Active, for an event dedicated to founders from minority backgrounds. It’s going to be an amazing afternoon with a panel discussion, a hands-on workshop on turning ideas into startups, a resource fair, and mentorship circles. Spots are limited, so grab yours before they're gone! Secure your spot.
Opportunities in Women's Health - Sep 20th
Join us for an inspiring gathering of the players in the Danish startup ecosystem to explore the opportunities for women's health. As femtech and women-centric health solutions gain momentum, together with Antler & Tech Nordic Advocates we aim to spotlight opportunities for startups in this sector. Secure your spot.
Co-work & Connect: A Founders' Day Out
We’re in full countdown mode for our next Startup School cohort and can’t wait to get this journey started! This time, it’s even more exciting because we’ll get to meet and co-work in person. In collaboration with BLOXHUB, we’re hosting A Founders' Day Out - a day filled with connection, productivity, and learning with fellow women founders. If you’re in our upcoming cohort, you’re already on the list. If not, there’s still time to apply! Apply now.
This month’s hot potatoes
-i.e., a section featuring the wildest and latest numbers from the world of women founders
85% of women angel investors in Denmark want a hands-on role.
Angella Invest, a Danish community for women angel investors, recently released a report diving into the investment behaviors, opportunities, and barriers for female business angels in Denmark. And here’s a stat that caught our eye: 85% of women angel investors want to get involved in the companies they back. Female investors want to actively participate in the companies they support, and contribute their expertise, networks, and insights to help drive success.
Source: Angella Invest
497 support organizations in the Danish startup ecosystem.
Heyfunding's quarterly graphic overview of the Danish startup ecosystem is a super handy resource for founders and anyone navigating the scene, giving a clear view of key organizations and initiatives. However, Torsten Kolind recently made a solid point in one of his LinkedIn posts. Denmark has 497 startup support organizations, and nearly 90% are backed by the government — yet not a single large public company founded in the last 25 years. So perhaps it’s time to question whether the current setup really works. Are we funding what really matters? And are the organizations building impactful projects, or just chasing what’s “fundable”? Some food for thought.
The sport playing field gets EVEN: 50:50 gender parity reached at the 2024 Olympic Games.
This August, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris came to a close, marking a historic moment with gender parity on the field for the first time ever! Women have come a long way since they first competed in the Olympics in 1900, also in Paris, when they represented just 2.2% of all participants. While this milestone is a significant step forward, the journey toward full gender equality isn't over yet—according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2023, it will take another 131 years to achieve true parity.
We spend more than 1/3 of our lives working.
Wrapping up the "hot potatoes,” here’s a reality check for your first Monday in September: we spend over a third of our life at work! In Sweden, it's 43.1 years and 41.3 in Denmark, on average. So, after those summer vacations, today might be a good time to pause and ask how you really feel about what you're doing every day. Whether you're back to a 9-5, building your own business, or finding your way on a different path, here's your friendly nudge: don't wait until you're "ready". Start testing that idea, pivot careers, and do whatever it takes to make your daily life something you actually love.
Source: Eurostat
This might be relevant for you
“Breastfeeding in an LP meeting is a fantastic way to vet your potential investors.”
Heidi Lindvall, co-founder of the ClimateTech VC, Pale Blue Dot, was a host on a recent podcast episode of The Sifted Podcast, and we LOVE it! Before launching Pale Blue Dot, Heidi was a founder and has since become a mom of two. In this interview, she shared the current opportunities and challenges from the climate-tech space but also made a powerful stand of bringing motherhood into a VC space, board meetings, and conferences. Give it a listen or read the highlights from the discussion, it’s definitely worth it! Read more.
Oslo Innovation Week 2024- 23-27th Sep
After Tech BBQ in Copenhagen, Oslo Innovation Week is coming up at the end of September. This week-long umbrella event unites more than 80 events about innovation, tech, and sustainability, and it's perfect for startup founders, investors, creatives, tech enthusiasts, policymakers, and anyone keen on entrepreneurship and solving global issues. Some events need tickets, others just require registration, and some are totally open. If you're based in Norway or up for a trip to Oslo, definitely check it out! Read more.
Opportunity for Tourism SMEs
If your SME is in the tourism sector and focuses on sustainable, digital, and innovative growth, you might want to check out a new 5-month program by FU-TOURISM. It offers up to €20,000 in funding and expert support to help grow your business. This is a preliminary notice before the official open call, to stay informed about the application process and launch details. Sign up here.
Funded!
We want to change the narrative around women founders, and the continued focus on how little money women receive. Let’s start talking more about the amazing companies We want to change the narrative around women founders, and the continued focus on how little money women receive. Let’s start talking more about the amazing companies they are building!are building!
Denmark: Tiimo, Copenhagen-based app supporting neurodivergent individuals, has raised an additional €1.4 million and closed their Series A round, led by Crowberry Captial, People Ventures and The Inner Foundation. The founders **Helene Lassen Nørlem and Melissa Würtz Azari** plans to use the additional funding to further their mission of transforming the lives of the 1 billion people worldwide with ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergent profiles.
Norway: Oslo-based Cardboard, co-founded by **Vidhi Kumar,** has closed their Seed funding round, raising €1.9 million to enhance the management of SaaS subscriptions across Europe. Led by Skyfall Ventures, the funding round included participation from RunwayFBU and Sondo.
SportAI has raised €1.6 million in Seed round led by Skyfall Ventures to support technology development, team expansion, and market growth. Co-founded and led by Lauren Pedersen, SportAI is a Norwegian-based B2B2C sports technology company offering a SaaS platform for instant, precise, and scalable sports technique analysis powered by AI.
Ocean Oasis, a Norwegian cleantech co-founded and led by Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen, has secured a €6 million grant from the EU to advance its wave-powered desalination technology. The funding will be used to develop and deploy the first fleet of offshore desalination buoys to address water scarcity on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria.
Sweden: Swedish e-commerce startup UpUp, co-founded by **Ann-Charlotte Baudin** secured €4.3M from Almi Invest and Gorilla Capital. With creative approach to microgifts, UpUp is on a mission to make people and companies happier by providing instant access to statistics and allowing for control over recipients' usage. With this funding round, the team plans to focus on technology development and prepare for expansion into the EU market.
Biotech company Melt&Marble has raised €2.76 million in EU grants from the EIC Accelerator and Horizon's Farm to Fork initiative to support its development of designer fats as sustainable alternatives to animal fats, cocoa butter, palm oil, and other agriculturally derived lipids. The funding will help strenghten the efforts in driving the transition towards a more sustainable food system under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Anastasia Krivoruchko.
Nordic SeaFarm, co-founded by Elisabet Brock and Gunilla Toth, secures €2.2M to scale up ocean cultivation in Europe and improve R&D potential.
Finland: Finnish NADMED has raised €3.5 million in a Series A round, led by Nordic Science Investments, with additional support from Voima Ventures and University of Helsinki Funds. The funding will accelerate the international expansion of NADMED's proprietary NAD measurement technology, aimed at helping clinicians develop more precise and personalized treatments for various diseases. The leadership team includes co-founder and COO Jana Buzkova, co-founder and CSO Lylia Euro, and chairperson of the board Anu Suomalainen Wartiovaara. Amazing news!
So, that’s a wrap from us! Thanks for reading. If you’ve made it to the last lines of this newsletter, not only are you caught up on the latest news, but you’ve also met 17 amazing women founders along the way.
Share your thoughts with us and feel free to drop us a message if you have anything on your mind that you'd like us to cover next month.
Looking forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events.
Until next time 👋
Jasmina from Even Founders
