Futuristic, energetic, and inspiring- Startup LIVE! delivers an immersive experience to anybody who wants to be part of the local tech community

Startup Live! It is a mood, a cult, an emotion that has etched itself into the startup ecosystem in Skåne. It is the coolest community event in southern Sweden. Imagine recreating all those feelings and much more after a pandemic interruption. It seemed like a daunting task, but the team did everything they could to meet community's expectations in the 2022 Helsingborg chapter during Skåne Innovation Week.

All this started in 2015 with the idea of bringing the tech community together. With the support from partners and the community, the event grew from strength to strength, earning a reputation as one of the most sought-after startup events in southern Sweden. Previous editions in Malmö and Lund attracted over 1000 founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts. Startup Live! enjoys a good reputation because it provides an excellent platform for entrepreneurs and investors to meet and exchange ideas.

From founders and entrepreneurs to VCs and angel investors, from students to business advisors and support organizations, tech enthusiasts to marketing and community managers, Startup Live! has a place for everyone to grow.

While the idea is to stay on top of the trends, we cannot turn a blind eye to the unprecedented times and chaotic future of business due to natural and economic calamities. This thought gave birth to our 2022 theme - Into the Future where we wanted our experts to lead us into new dimensions of technologies for a better, sustainable tomorrow.

Our goal is to provide you  a platform to connect with experts in the community. We promote entrepreneurship and want to help startups connect with the right people at the right time, but in a “let your hair down” kind of way. That is why we chose ‘Rock n’Roll’ as the theme for the evening.

Some highlights from the stage show

💚The future of impact investing

Sustainable investing is a topic that is increasingly on everyone's mind, and most have begun to include ESGs (environmental, social, governance) in their investment portfolios. Mainstream venture capital firms are looking for their next unicorn in companies that have a major social or economic impact beyond financial returns. We took the pulse of our panel of experts on why and how the investment sector should look at companies that solve global challenges.

Meet the panel - Joel Larsson, GP, Pale blue dot, Aurora Kroon, Global Art Director, Sproud, and Alfredo Jollon, CFA, Managing Director, Stockholm Techstars Accelerator, and moderated by Thathsara Palliyaguru

Panel takeaways:

• Think wisely of who and what you support. Time to put our skills, strengths, and passion behind sustainable business models;

• Connecting innovators, the new breed of entrepreneurs, and creative minds in the social mission of saving the planet has become an important task;

• Stop investing money and energy in things with negative impacts. It's like Medusa -changes behaviors;

• Impact investing is at the risk of being marginalized or postponed as startups find it hard to raise money in the current times;

• Both non-technical and technical innovations like 6G, IoT, and next-gen quantum computing software may take the form of clean energy storage or electric battery storage;

• Technological innovations will happen but founders should be concerned about raising money for the innovations amidst a financial crisis;

• Remember bad times lead to the birth of great companies;

🛣️The future of transportation

In the wake of global and local urgency for the future of mobility to become sustainable, Elonroad is part of the solution! A pioneering digitalization of roads concept with IoT sensors and software, Elonroad collects and analyzes transport data and integrates with both moving and stationary vehicles in real-time Our dynamic first keynote speaker of the evening, Karin Ebbinghaus took to the stage to share her company’s vision to innovate the future of transportation and make an impact on the climate. “It all started on a snowy, winter day in Lund, Sweden Dan Zethraeus was out driving in the snow….” she began regarding the idea of charging on the go.

Speaker takeaways:

• About time that we all agree that factoring electric vehicles must be the most preferred solution for reducing carbon footprint;

• But decarbonizing is hard as electric vehicles are four times more expensive than traditional vehicles;

• Enter Elonroad- the right time to hit the markets. A solution that has developed a new system of charging while you drive and have a huge climate impact;

• Creating a sustainable future is not just about introducing new technology, but also about changing people's behavior;

• From standing still to closed areas like ports and mines to highways, electrification is required everywhere;

• Take advantage of the energy generated and available to everyone. Think of how autonomous vehicles can be shared and used to optimize our resources.

• If we can stream music, we should stream energy as well;

After listening to Karin, we want to confidently say that the future of charging is here!

🌍The future of the African tech ecosystem

The African startup ecosystem has experienced dynamic and rapid growth in recent years. With African tech startups set to exceed $4 billion by 2022, there has never been a better time to be optimistic. The fact that venture capital investment has increased significantly over the last five years is a good narrative for Swedish tech startups to get involved on the continent. Our next panelists have not only ventured into the African market but are working tirelessly to build a better future for the people of Africa.

Met the panel -Prudence Persson, Co-founder, and CEO, Manje Health, WJ Y., Founder and CEO, Mbegu Solar, and Gertrude Chilufya Westrin, Jnr Developer, Qlik.

Panel takeaways:

• If you want to invest in Africa, do your research. Understand how the industry works and businesses are done; understand the cultural differences because it is a massive continent with a lot of diversity. Experience the culture firsthand. That is the starting point;

• East Africa is a testbed for innovation with a mature and vibrant tech ecosystem. It is convenient to find partners and collaborators;

• If one has to take Swedish tech into Africa, one needs to identify and understand the problems;

• If you want to solve problems, take advantage of the existing stakeholders instead of doing everything on your own because that will make your work much easier. Using networks of international organizations and community groups, local people can prove advantageous;

• Don't come to Africa if you don't value the people and the opportunities because the market has the potential to turn your business scalable;

🍎 The future of food

Food waste is not only a social or economic problem but also an environmental one. With food waste comes waste of energy and water, and greenhouse gas emissions. We must remember that our challenge in combating the world population is not only to grow more food but also to save food. But trust our innovative food tech startups for leading the change and coming up with technologies that can contribute to climate change in pressing times. In his keynote on protecting nature, Vahid Sohrabpour. Ph.D., CEO, and co-founder of SAVEGGY shared alarming global statistics to bring forth how SAVEGGY‘s biotech edible solution can combat food wastage and reduction of plastic consumption at the same time.

Speaker takeaways:

• One-third of all the food produced in the world goes to waste. 45% of fruits and vegetables get wasted;

• A quarter of entire greenhouse gas emissions comes from agriculture. On the other hand, 7% of the freshwater has been consumed by agriculture. At the same time, 1 out of 9  people on the planet are hungry, and with COVID, the numbers have gone up as we speak;

• With the world population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, the plan of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is at risk globally;

• In terms of plastic waste, 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is procured every year out of which 91% cannot be recycled; out of which 60% of toxic waste is from packaging;

• Around 6 to 7 million cucumbers in the EU are covered in plastic wrap;

• SAVEGGY is on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic on fruits and vegetables; SAVEGGY’s edible solution protects produce from harmful plastic and increases shelf-life; The solution is extracted from natural ingredients, which means nature  protects nature;

• SAVEGGY’s dream is to contribute to zero hunger by making more food available with shelf life extension and minimal wastage;

♻️The future of product

Tomorrow’s businesses are leading us into a world where our economy serves society within the safe operating space of our planet. But how can one achieve this ambition? With global attention now on climate change, a circular business model is more relevant than ever. But how do we develop products that are accepted and loved by society? How do you build a circular business model?

Meet the panel- George Charkviani, CEO and Co-founder, Freedrum Studio AB, Mariana Sanchez, Digital Product Manager, Allihop AB, and Andreas Granath. founder of Waerna.

Panel takeaways:

• To reach global sustainability goals, we need future companies to create services that serve society and the planet;

• We need to live and develop products within a circular economy; To make the transition, think strategically about how your products will not exacerbate the problems we already know to exist;

• Make consumers aware of the choices they make and the impact they will have as these decisions pile up with time;

• Companies with physical products to sell are much more at scrutiny in a circular economy; As part of the circular economy, companies should think about how they can be more than just a recycling basket;

• To develop a truly compelling product, start early by testing the idea with a partner or company that believes in and shares your dream. Test one prototype at a time and get continuous feedback as you develop;

• The true value of an idea or product is only when they have been mobilized; just an idea may not be enough;

• When companies develop a sustainable product, they should think not only about what they are building (the product) but also about who they can help people become;

• A good starting point is to get a picture of how you want to be seen in society and what you want to contribute;

💰The future of venture capital

Scaling a business  without VC funding might be a daunting prospect. Does that mean partnering with VC is the only way for a startup to grow? Whether tech companies should continue their funding crusade or whether the traditional VC model will fall by the wayside is something we wanted to hear from our panelists in 'Into the Future of Investing'.

Meet the panel - Kenneth Dambo, VC at Copenhagen-based Dreamcraft Ventures., Isabel Nilson, Investment Manager at Spintop Ventures, and Ida Herbertsson, Head of Fast Track Capital, Minc.

Panel takeaways:

• There are pros and cons of raising VC capital when scaling the business and it goes beyond the money; there is no right or wrong way to build your business, there are just different ways;

• Think through the type of business you want to build and the journey you want to take ahead of you;

• Just as the VC makes due diligence on the company, the company should make its due diligence on the VC, great VCs will also invite the company to talk to existing portfolio companies;

🧑‍💻The future of technology

Technological advancements in the 21st century got us into the climate change conundrum. Can technology reverse climate change? We invited Rodrigo Rios, a startup community evangelist and Innovation Manager at Sony Startup Acceleration Program Europe (SSAP) to deliver a keynote on SONY is building a technologically advanced, sustainable future for the world to imagine.

Keynote takeaways:

• Sony has embarked on Road to Zero -a mission to be completely carbon-free by 2030;

• With Innovation Studios, Sony aims to apply 'cradle-to-cradle' design principles including LED walls to minimize environmental impact throughout the product life cycle;

• Mentor early-stage startups to understand the potential of their core business - that their technology can save the world from challenges;

• Startups should focus on technologies that can reduce emissions by at least 80%;

• SSAP believes in building a world combining software, hardware, and AI;

• SSAP portfolio companies range from cutting-edge technology companies to mobility, agriculture, gaming, SaaS, and health tech;

🌠The future of next-generation entrepreneurs

Every day we hear more success stories stemming from student ventures. Do you think tech investors today have the FOMO effect and are more aware that young adults are among the first to adopt new technologies and spot trends? Should early-stage investments focus on people or ideas? Representing the next breed of entrepreneurs was Aliya Sabir, Head of Sustainability and Startup Space at HETCH AB, who is the force behind TECHSHIP, a program that empowers young adults between 18-25 to test their ideas in Helsingborg and beyond. Through the program, Aliya mentored the young entrepreneurs to translate their ideas into reality.

Talk takeaways:

• TECHS is a 10-week program for young adults interested in tech innovation or entrepreneurship. It is specifically designed to truly understand what it takes to go from idea to prototype and from prototype to a company;

• TECHSHIP School supports these young tech minds through inspiration, knowledge-building, and self-leadership development;

• Project X is about product development, understanding how to build a prototype, checking if the idea is innovative enough, gaining insights to bring the idea to the market and testing and validating it, and understanding the entire business cycle;

• As a tech community, we should be open-minded and offer aspiring entrepreneurs the (tech)experience they may be lacking;

• If you have some young people around you, if you see potential and good energy, you should invest your time, money, and team in mentoring them, because great things can come from this experience;

❤️‍🩹The future of mental healthtech

With billions worldwide suffering from mental health concerns, it was only a matter of time before startups to step up and leverage new technologies to get people the help they need. With that exact intent, we invited Tiffany Boswell, Co-founder, and Co-CEO, of Meela, a unique matching platform that connects women with the therapists best suited for them.

Talk takeaways:

• The field of psychology has been created, written, and researched predominantly by men, and that has created some biases within the field;

• Understand that therapy is one of the most effective solutions we have today to address the mental health crisis we are in;

• Therapeutic modality is crucial in mental healthcare. It is the approach a therapist takes and can easily influence the tools and techniques, including the way they behave in the room;

• Women are overrepresented in mental health statistics and are currently twice as likely as men to enter and pay for therapy;

• Meela's research shows that on average, it can take up to 18 months to find the right therapist, and once the therapist is on board, there is a 50% chance that the patient will drop out after 1-2 sessions;

• The high dropout rate is due to predominantly a bad match between the patient and the therapist; Faster access to standardized care can be meaningless if the care does not work for the patient;

• Meela's research-based, data-driven matching algorithm predicts the most appropriate therapists for patients based on modality and patient response;

• Meela has matched over 200 patients and the dropout rate between session 0 and session 3 is 2.2%;

Final thoughts

There’s nothing that matches the energy of startup events. Inspiration is a constant companion. Startup Live! has evolved to become the perfect platform for the Skåne tech community to network with founders, investors, angels, community partners, and tech talents to give birth to new ideas, build long-lasting relationships, and together stand committed to boosting the Swedish ecosystem.

We have a long thank You list. But keeping it short, we’d like to thank all our partners, ambassadors, Region Skåne, and everyone involved in Skåne Innovation Week for supporting us through our journey. Thank you Martin Güll, Chief Digital Officer, the City of Helsingborg for opening doors for startups and providing opportunities for founders to test-bed their ideas in Helsingborg. Thank you to the staff at The Tivoli for a perfect backdrop to our theme and vision of Startup Live! To the wonderful and electrifying Skåne Startups board and team for putting their heart and soul into reliving the magic of Startup Live!

But most importantly, we’d like to thank all our wonderful attendees for coming as far as Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Gothenburg and making this evening a great success. You have ignited a spark in all of us with your energy and confidence to serve the community better.