This last Thursday the first LIFT Nordic event was held in Oslo. Lift is a real time elevator pitch competition. Participants step into an elevator rigged with hidden cameras and an investor, and on the ride to the top have to convince them they are worth their time. If the investor is not interested in doing follow-up questions they step out of the lift, leaving the entrepreneur to take it to the top floor by themselves. If they are interested the investor invites the pitcher out for follow up questions. “With LIFT we aim to bring the message of aspiring entrepreneurs to the public, and the same time help create real deal flow between investors and startups” says Tor Grønsund of Lingopr.com, one of LIFT’s co-creators.
The first event was a test in DNB’s offices in swanky Bjørvika, and the pitching took place in a 45 degree angled lift to the top. Slower than a normal elevator, the pitchers had 13 floor, or one minute and forty seconds to pitch while trying to not be distracted by the views of Oslo passing by them outside the window.
The participating companies were Capsule.fm, Blink, Edgefolio, mYouTime, confr.com, InstrumentChamp, Feat.fm and appear.in, the investors were from Schibsted Growth, Creandum, Betafactory, and Eilert Hanoa. The price was a five day VIP tech tour to Tel Aviv and the DLD Conference in September, provided by the Embassy of Israel in Oslo. Invited to witness was a select group from the Oslo startup scene, while the event had also been liberally promoted on twitter through the new #siliconfjord hashtag.
Although the event was hampered by technical problems, there was very little sound between the lift and where the rest of us were watching on TV, it did not in the slightest dampen the mood of the assembled group. The group was mostly made up of former and current entrepreneurs, a group who seemed to have an absolute understanding of technical issues on first attemps. As the pitchers were done they came into the room and gave us a rundown, with a couple of follow up questions. Only one entrepreneur did not get the investor interested enough to not get follow up questions, with the rest coming in with beaming smiles.
Winner @feat.fm announced by #LIFTnordic Crew @johanbrand – all expenses VIP tech tour to Tel Aviv & @DLDConference pic.twitter.com/UxHddpYq5a
Winner @feat.fm announced by #LIFTnordic Crew @johanbrand – all expenses VIP tech tour to Tel Aviv & @DLDConference pic.twitter.com/UxHddpYq5a
— Nordic Connection (@nordiccool) May 9, 2014
What was special about this event was that this was the first time anyone could remember that there were two events on at the same time, and one had trouble deciding which one to go, being at the same time as Arctic Evening. Although it might be quick to draw conclusions, this was the first event that was heavily publicised on twitter with the new #siliconfjord hashtag, probably contributing to the diversity of the crowd that was present.
A lot of people are working hard to build the startup ecosystem in Oslo, is this a sign of it working? Maybe, this event was at least strong evidence it is. One attendee remarked dryly “the corporate types actually wanted to talk to us.”.
The event was won by feat.fm, the youngest company of the bunch. Their software for live-streaming concerts and hard-hitting pitch convinced the judges that they were the ones to bet on. When their investor Christian Horn Hansen from Schibsted Growth started pitching them to the crowd it was clear who would win. In addition Blink, got a follow-up meeting with Creandum the next day. Lift was a great event because of the crowd and the energy present. LIFT Oslo was a test for an event that will come to the rest of Scandinavia, hopefully occupying the elevators of many fancy office buildings across the region with its own version of Dragon’s Den.
Oslo is ready to rise and shine, and LIFT is only the beginning.
Edvard Nore started Europe’s first student-led investment fund while he was a student at UCL and his first company right after that, which failed pretty miserably. He’s now working at Zoaring, helping build Norway’s startup community, as well coming up with a new genius idea.
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Edvard Nore started Europe’s first student-led investment fund while he was a student at UCL and his first company right after that, which failed pretty miserably. He’s now working at Zoaring, helping build Norway’s startup community, as well coming up with a new genius idea.