Resources related to startups and social enterprises in Sweden and the Nordic countries, curated by Gregg Vanourek
General Swedish Startup Resources:
- ALMI (advisory and financial support)
-
Avodocs (free legal documents for startups)
- Breaking Into the U.S.: An Easy Guide For European Founders
- Brilliant Minds podcast (on creativity and entrepreneurship)
- Connect Sverige (nonprofit supporting innovative companies)
- Coompanion (advice and support for founders all over Sweden)
- Drivhuset (guidance and training for entrepreneurs)
- Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting a Business in Stockholm (Invest Stockholm)
- ESBRI (Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research Institute)
- Founder Institute (Stockholm chapter) (business incubator)
- Företagarna (Swedish Federation of Business Owners)
- Ideaction (innovation program)
- Ideation360 (ideation and selection part of the innovation process)
- Nyföretagar Centrum (business planning and other startup support)
- Startup Docs (free legal templates for Swedish startups)
- *Startup Guide Stockholm
- Stockholm Tech Scene Guide
- *SUP46 (events, networking, co-working space)
- Swedish Central Bureau of Statistics (data for business planning, etc.)
- Swedish Patent and Registration Office
- TIE Nordic chapter (world’s largest networking organization for entrepreneurs)
- Vinnova (research, networking, funding, etc.)
- Young Entrepreneurs of Sweden (network for young founders)
Competitions and Challenges:
- Student Competitions (platform for student competitions)
- Venture Cup (Sweden’s largest venture idea competition)
Co-Working / Co-Living Spaces:
- Epicenter (Stockholm house of innovation for corporations and starts)
- Guerilla Office (co-working group for entrepreneurs & creatives, around Sweden)
- Knackeriet (co-working space for Stockholm entrepreneurs)
- *Norrsken House (co-working space and investor in impact)
- OpenLab (co-working space for Stockholm social enterprise)
- *SUP46 (events, networking, co-working space)
- The Park (co-working and event location space in Stockholm)
- THINGS Stockholm (co-location space for Stockholm hardware startups)
Education & Universities:
- AIESEC-Sweden (Sweden chapter of world’s largest non-profit youth-run organization)
- Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship
- Drivhuset (guidance and training for entrepreneurs)
- Hyper Island: Stockholm (global tech innovation school with Stockholm HQ)
- KaosPilots (innovative business education based in Denmark)
- KTH /Royal Institute of Technology:
- *Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (TEILM) program
- *KTH Innovation (supporting commercialization of research)
- OpenLab (co-working space for Stockholm social enterprise)
- THINGS Stockholm (co-location space for Stockholm hardware startups)
- SSE Business Lab (Stockholm School of Economics)
- *Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship (SSES) (consortium of six of Stockholm’s top universities)
- SU Inkubator (Stockholm University)
- Uppsala University Entrepreneurship unit
Events and Meetups:
- Brilliant Minds
- Startup Grind Stockholm (monthly events from startup community)
- Startup Weekend (Stockholm chapter)
- Stockholm Startup Events List
Finance and Venture Capital:
- 100 Tech Investors Active in the Nordics
- ALMI Invest (VC)
- A-Z of Swedish VCs (in Swedish)
- Before the Angel
- Creandum (top Nordic VC based in Stockholm)
- Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting a Business in Stockholm (Invest Stockholm)
- Industrifonden (VC investor in early-stage growth companies)
- Invest Stockholm (Stockholm business development & promotion arm)
- Luminar Ventures (VC)
- *Norrsken Foundation (co-working space and impact investor)
- Northzone (tech VC with offices in Stockholm, Oslo, London, NYC)
- STING (incubator, coaching, network, funding)
- Stockholms Affärsänglar (STOAF, Stockholm Business Angels network)
- Vinnova (research, networking, funding, etc.)
Incubators and Accelerators (sample):
- Bonnier Accelerator
- Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship
- Fast Track Malmö
- Ideon Innovation (Lund)
- KTH Innovation (Stockholm)
- LEAD (Linköping & Norrköping)
- SE Forum (Social Entrepreneurship Forum)
- SSE Business Lab (Stockholm School of Economics accelerator)
- *STING (Stockholm Innovation and Growth)
- SU Inkubator (Stockholm University incubator for startups)
- Uppsala Innovation Center
Job Boards / Matchmaking:
- Hyper Island Job Board (for Stockholm & the Nordics)
- SUP46 Member Job Board
Social Entrepreneurship:
- *Ashoka Scandinavia
- Entrepreneurs Without Borders
- Forum for Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Sweden (Mötesplats Social Innovation)
- Fryshuset
- *Hult Prize (accelerator and competition for budding social entrepreneurs)
- IKEA Social Entrepreneurs
- *Impact Hub Stockholm (co-working space & launch pad for social entrepreneurs & creatives)
- Impact Invest Scandinavia
-
Impact Pool (gathers top talent to solve global challenges)
-
IMPACT X (Nordic platform for enterprises with sustainable products)
- Leksell Social Ventures
- Mötesplats Social Innovation
- *Norrsken Foundation (invests in businesses nonprofits focused on positive social impact)
- Raoul Wallenberg Academy
- *Reach for Change (accelerator supporting children and youth working in Europe and Africa)
- *SE Forum (Social Entrepreneurship Forum) (accelerator)
- Social Initiative (helps companies develop community engagement via tailored CSR & sustainability projects)
- Social Innovation Summit (annual social innovation forum in Malmö)
- Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum (network organization for policy-relevant research on entrepreneurship)
- World Children’s Prize (initiative for equality, children’s rights, and democracy)
- World Values Initiative (student-run network, events, workshops focused on values)
- Young Entrepreneurs of Sweden (network for young founders)
