Nordic Innovation House Helps Startups in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley can be a totally new world as a market for most new startups from the Nordics. Whether new startups try to find a place for meetings, are in need for a mentor or a new friend in the same situation, the Nordic Innovation House is the answer. They help Nordic based startups with all issues startups face when entering the new world, Silicon Valley. The Nordic Innovation House is part of the Team Finland network for Finland.
The main reason for establishing the Nordic Innovation House was the startups' real need for help when coming into Silicon Valley. The organization started in 2011 as Innovation Norway, and soon other Nordic innovation organizations interested in similar activities joined. They all started to cooperate in 2014 under the name Nordic Innovation House. The main idea behind the house is to provide local and Nordic support for the startups.
The Nordic Innovation House offers a lot of different types of support for startups, since every startup has unique needs. They offer co-working space with all utilities needed in the heart of Palo Alto, and they help with daily practical arrangements such as coordinating a physical mailbox or booking conference rooms. They organize also different types of accelerator programs where startups can, for example, test their business models together.
Already over 180 Nordic companies are a part of the Nordic Innovation House community, including 30 Finnish companies. Finnish based Rightware is one of them. The company is specialized in helping automotive industry to personize on-board interfaces for customers.
"The Nordic Innovation House provides an easy access for the Nordic companies to land in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. Rightware has a virtual office lease through the Nordic Innovation House that provides a cost effective way to use their premises for temporary working and meeting facilities to host meetings. They also provide excellent networking possibilities, as well as contacts that can help companies to establish their operations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rightware has already grown from startup phase to a high growth stage, but we still enjoy their excellent services,” describes Ville Ilves, President of Rightware.
As Ilves also mentioned, one of the most valuable things the Nordic Innovation House can offer for startups, is to become a part of the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Relationships are the key for succeeding in Silicon Valley. The Nordic Innovation House is organizing a lot of networking events and other possibilities to introduce startups to the right stakeholders. Members get also access to coaches, mentors and advisers.
"Nordic startups are doing very well especially in industries such as health tech, clean tech, and industrial IoT. Local investors highly value the Nordic competence in the field of technology and research. They also think the Nordic governmental system is sustainable and trustworthy, which is good for the business too," describes Paula Salomaa, Community Manager of the Nordic Innovation House.
Salomaa hopes that the Nordic startups will spread positive aspects of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurship culture, such as learning from failures and being brave while facing risks, back to the Nordics. At the same time she hopes the startups don't forget the Nordic values and their heritage.
The big, great idea in Silicon Valley in general is to change the world for a better place. Salomaa believes that with the Nordic creativeness and capability, the Nordic startups have the keys to join this vision!
The Nordic Innovation House is constantly looking for new companies to join their community and the different accelerator programs. More information about the Nordic Innovation House and its services can be found here: www.nordicinnovationshouse.com(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)