Two of Compare's employees, Stefan Skoglund and Lina Svensberg, have been accepted to the Founder Institute's VC Lab program. The cutting-edge knowledge from perhaps the world's sharpest company builders can become the basis for a high-quality accelerator in Värmland, which builds successful companies in digital health.
The Founder Institute, based in Silicon Valley, is the world's largest "pre seed startup accelerator". Since 2009, they have supported over 4,300 entrepreneurs in starting their businesses. Over 1,000 participants from around the world applied to the program, of which only 118 were accepted.
For 16 weeks, they undergo a rigorous, structured process on how to build a venture fund. And if the education leaders do not believe that the fund can be realized, they must leave the program.
- We work together with other international working groups, which are in the same phase as us, and receive input from some of the sharpest company builders in Silicon Valley, says Lina Svensberg, process manager for commercialization and entrepreneurship in DigitalWell Arena.
Will build high quality accelerator
The task in the VC Lab is to build a venture fund linked to a real case. For Lina Svensberg and Stefan Skoglund, this means building a fund that finances a high-quality accelerator within the DigitalWell Arena. The work is done together with the Norwegian partner Xplorico, which has taken the initiative for the current program.
The accelerator will give companies and entrepreneurs the very best conditions to create digital health services that are scalable and can be commercially successful. The ambition is also for it to connect Värmland with the Oslo region and to be up and running already next year.
- It can be a way to give Swedish and Norwegian companies access to each other's markets, but also to bring in high-quality startups from all over the Nordics and the Baltics to an accelerator in Värmland with locations also in Oslo. It provides the conditions for both growth and an influx of competence, says Lina Svensberg.
Testbeds attract investors
David Holm, co-owner of Xplorico, believes that the key for the accelerator is that it has access to test beds for digital health services in both Sweden and Norway. Not least Värmland as a gateway to the EU, he believes, will attract Norwegian investors.
- It provides the opportunity to create international test beds with potential for paying customers. It is usually very difficult to achieve, but has a very high value for investors, says David Holm.
According to David Holm, the support an accelerator can offer startups is absolutely crucial for their chances of success:
- According to Marmers Stages, an accepted method for evaluating startups, 76 percent of all startups believe they are ready to scale their product or service, when in fact they are not. A premature scaling often has disastrous consequences. We can ensure that startups get the conditions to really scale up.
If the plans go through, it would mean a big step for Värmland's business community, believes Stefan Skoglund, digital business developer at Compare:
- Värmland needs more startups and more risk capital, this investment can make it possible. And the connection to Norway is fantastically exciting!
Here you will find more information about DigitalWell Ventures and contact details.
