You have made it! You’ve started your own company, you have a team, a product, you are out there and found yourself a market, the numbers are all good and you can’t wait to conquer the world. And then after the fast take-off you might reach a plateau where you can sustain your business on a certain level for a while but your market or customer base reached its limitations. Here comes the next hardship of building a business: scaling.
Scaling up your company and entering international markets require enormous amount of tenacity and grit from the founding team to make sure the product and the team are both capable of adjusting to the new challenges.
The Nordics as a whole are a powerhouse of growth, leading the way when it comes to scaling – and Sweden’s ecosystem is especially built to support your scaling journey. Here’s why you should start from here:
1. Following the footsteps of unicorns
In Sweden, there’s more $1 billion-plus companies per capita than anywhere outside of Silicon Valley. Learning from the best of the best doesn’t require you to look too far, the best practices are within reach and the ecosystem as a whole have already gained the trust of investors, they know big visions and on-point delivery will align here.
2. Global mindset
As the local market is very limited by default, companies are required to have a global mindset from the get go – if you are not aiming for the moon, you’ll soon reach the limits. In Sweden, this mindset is deeply rooted, entrepreneurs are encouraged to dream big.
3. Supporting ecosystem
A highly accelerated network effect will help you bump into all the right people if you know where to look: co-working spaces, meetups, quality matchmaking events – check out our guide to help you get started.
4. Access to capital
Sweden is ranked first as a destination for investments where technology readiness is a criterion. And investments are flowing: last year saw 165 transactions worth nearly €645.5 million according to Pitchbook data. Both international and Swedish VCs are actively eyeing Sweden when it comes to seeking new investment opportunities – and they are especially interested in scale-ups.
5. Access to talent
KTH, Karolinska Institute or the University of Uppsala – top-notch universities providing research opportunities and hands-on experience for students. And the examples set by Swedish unicorns breed a new generation of entrepreneurs: who aim to start their own business or join a startup instead of a big company as soon as they are out of school (or even before). Apart from local talent, Sweden is in the top 10 when it comes to talent competitiveness alongside the other Nordic countries, making it an ideal place for your scale-up journey.
So no matter where you started from, if you want to take the next step with your company, Sweden is the place to be for your international scale-up journey.
