Stock fast track to the Nordics for Norwegian fintech companies
– We have been “fostering” early-stage fintechs for quite a few years. Well, we think it was time to do a scaleup program for Norwegian fintech companies, says Hans Christian Bjørne, general manager of The Factory Innovation to Shifter when we meet him in the office premises of the law firm DLA Piper at Aker Brygge in Oslo.
It’s meeting-investor day for the seven selected companies in the Fintech Fast Track program for The Factory, and Bjørne has some time to spare to talk about the venture while participants have one-on-one meetings with those who are sitting on the money.
It is the third meeting for the participants: Accountflow, Address, Dealflow, Horde, Luca Labs, Monetor, Unnoted. A few weeks ago they were at Nordic Fintech Week in Copenhagen, they were shown in a startup zone. A kick-off where Signicat was participating to talk about its scaling journey internationally.
Unfortunately, it was just a video presentation for the Bergen delegation. Drone alarm at Flesland meant that Dealflow and Horde did not get to travel to Oslo.
Uses its Nordic network
When it comes to the difficult scaling phase it is that things repeat themselves. Money and skills to be able to establish yourself internationally. The Factory must try to facilitate both.
– We are trying to take advantage of the network we have built since 2016. Among other things, we helped start the Nordic Fintech Alliance, says Bjørne.
Close contacts with Copenhagen Fintech, Findec in Stockholm, Helsinki Fintech Farm, trips to all the major Nordic fintech events are planned. Copenhagen is settled in a month Slush awaits in Helsinki and Stockholm Fintech Week awaits in February.
Dress rehearsal
The Norwegian investor day, which is one of two such that The Factory holds each year, is in a way the dress rehearsal for the trip to Sweden. Then a Nordic investor day awaits, with The Factory organizing a Nordic investor day and inviting family offices, VCs and investors.
The Fast Track program came into being after The Factory applied for and was awarded DKK 800,000 in ecosystem grants from Innovation Norway.
– The ambition that it should become an annual programme. We believe there is untapped potential here. We have several companies that have expressed their interest in participating next time, says Bjørne.
Wide spread between the companies
The Factory has made a name for itself in the fintech environment as an incubator, accelerator and angel investor, and it is a not inconsiderable proportion of Norwegian fintech companies that have received help, investments or both in an early phase.
In the Fast Track programme, the spread between the companies is considerably greater. Horde and Monetor have already established themselves internationally, while address and unlisted have still not had an official launch of a product. Some are looking for investor contacts, while others are trying to build networks ahead of a venture abroad.
– We have no special requirements for the participants. We have included companies that we think are interesting, and there are some who have established yet another, says Bjørne.
So what do the companies themselves have to say about what they want to get out of the program. Shifter asked four of them when they came out for photography or the investor meetings:
International ambitions in Stavanger
The Stavanger company Unoteret is building a social ownership platform which will digitize everything that has to do with ownership for an unlisted company. Recently executed the company and closed launch of a few companies. Even if something remains before Unlisted is ready to open the platform to everyone, the ambitions are clearly international.
– We have built an international platform from one day. The other Nordic countries are a natural first step. Through The Factory, we get an opportunity to meet investors from all over the Nordics and build the network we need to get out, says general manager Fredrik Harestad.
Unlisted has not worked directly with The Factory before, but was tried to be part of the Fast Track program.
One of the other companies in the group, Monetor, on the other hand, is a classic The Factory startup.
– We first met them with a bad Powerpoint and a nervous smile. After that, we have been well followed up and therefore we are here, says founder Kevin Graeter.
Monetor is perhaps the company that has come the furthest in its internationalization, the company has today managed in four countries on continents. Then the company is also by its very nature international.
– We are B2B fintech, which helps to reduce currency risk and protect the company’s bottom line, says Graeter.
– Why are you participating here?
– There are a number of reasons. We want to expand the investor network, to learn from the other companies and, even though we already have Nordic customers, we want to become better acquainted with the cultural differences that exist, so that we can get better at finding the customer, he says.
Accounting with cash requirements
For accounting supplier Luca Labs, the Nordic dimension is not the most important thing about participating in the Fasttrack program. The company remains fully focused on Norway, and wants to fight with Fiken for the very smallest Norwegian holdings.
– We have to do a job to become better known. For that we need money, so the opportunity to meet potential investors is what is important to us, says Ben Fisher, CEO of Luca Labs to Shifter.
Launching next year
Address stands out among the seven participants. The company is still in the start-up phase and plans to launch early next year. Then Norway finally gets a player in the fast-growing area – alternative forms of investment for people who find it difficult to enter the housing market.
– We work with a rent-to-own concept, much like Obos, but as an independent platform for property developers, says Nedim Mavric, general manager of Address.
– Isn’t it a little early to participate in a scaling program before you have a product on the market?
– We already have a fairly Nordic team. The need for our products is present in all the Nordic countries, so it is a short way to scaling. That’s why we think it’s good to be able to make contacts and build networks already now, says Mavric.