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NEWS July 3, 2018

Propel Capital IV raises 8 MSEK from Saminvest and opens for matching of business angel investments

From left: Pär Hedberg (Sting), Peder Hasslev (Saminvest), Erik Wijnbladh (Saminvest), Jens Lundström (ABI) and Jeanette Andersson (Minc)

From left: Pär Hedberg (Sting), Peder Hasslev (Saminvest), Erik Wijnbladh (Saminvest), Jens Lundström (ABI) and Jeanette Andersson (Minc)

Propel Capital IV, founded by Sting, is one of three selected business angel companies that raises capital from Saminvest to improve the financing and growth opportunities for its incubator and accelerator companies. In addition to the 8 MSEK investment in Propel Capital IV, Saminvest undertakes to invest together with selected business angels when they make follow-on investments in Propel Capitals portfolio companies.

Propel Capital I – IV are business angel companies linked to Sting, the leading ecosystem in the Nordics for startups with high growth potential. Propel Capital allows business angels to become indirect shareholders in a large number of promising startups with a relatively small capital investment. The angels also have the opportunity to make direct investments in their favorite Propel Capital companies.

“Since the start in 2002, Sting has contributed to the development of a large number of interesting companies and built a network of experienced business angels. It was therefore natural for Saminvest to have Sting and Propel Capital as part of this first investment round in incubator-based business angel companies. We are now building on this structure and we look forward to taking the concept to other parts of the country,” comments Peter Hasslev, CEO of Saminvest.

Including the investment from Saminvest, Propel Capital IV, has raised more than 20 MSEK to invest in up to 40 companies. As a complement to the investment in Propel Capital, Saminvest will also match selected business angels’ continued investments in Propel Capitals portfolio companies.

“Propel Capital has so far funded over 70 startups in Stockholm. It has made us one of Sweden’s most active private investors with great reach among entrepreneurs and investors in early stages. Through the investment from Saminvest, we now have additional resources to help entrepreneurs to realize business ideas and build more growth companies in Sweden,” says Niclas Lilja, Chairman of Propel Capital.

Saminvest’s investment initiative initially involves investments in business angel companies linked to three incubators from north to south – Sting, Minc (Malmö) and the Arctic Business Incubator (Luleå), all participants in Vinnova‘s excellence program. The aim is that these investments will soon be followed by similar investments in business angel companies linked to incubators in other parts of the country. The management of both Propel Capital and Saminvest’s additional investments in Propel Capital companies are handled by Sting.

“Business angels play a key role in funding young growth companies. In this context, today’s launch of the matching initiative, where Saminvest will match selected business angels’ follow-on investments, is extra pleasing. Sweden now get a business angel investment booster corresponding to similar initiatives in many other parts of the world,” says Erik Wijnbladh, Head of Fund Investments in Saminvest.

For more information contact:
Peder Hasslev, CEO Saminvest, 076-117 31 70
Pär Hedberg, CEO Sting, 070-855 03 18

About Saminvest
Saminvest is a venture capital company, formed by the state in 2016. Saminvest is actively working on the creation of new venture capital funds (“VC”) with sufficient qualities and long-term ability to develop the Swedish venture capital market. This is done by identifying new teams with experience in developing successful companies that manage funds that have the potential to attract private capital. Together with other investors, Saminvest will invest in these new venture capital funds, which in turn become active owners of portfolio companies in future industries.

About Sting and Propel Capital
Since 2002, Sting has helped entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas into successful growth companies. We offer startups financing, business development support and world-class networks. Sting has supported over 240 startups, of which 70 percent continue to grow and grow today. Together, all Sting companies have a turnover of over SEK 2.1 billion. In addition, they have created over 1800 jobs. Linked to Sting is Propel Capital, which since its inception in 2014 through Propel Capital I, II III and IV has invested nearly SEK 25 million in over 70 STING companies. The portfolio includes companies such as Sellpy, Signal Signal, DP Organizer, Elly Pistol, Sniph, Airinum and Sudio.

NEWS February 5, 2018

Sting welcomes new companies

This week Sting kicks off the Sting Accelerate and Sting Incubate programs with 14 new, carefully selected, startups. Climate-smart food, neurocognitive tests, micro insurances, an on-demand beauty service and several innovative software services focused on B2B are among the products and services that the selected companies offer.

The new Sting companies will receive coaching in business development and financing, recruitment support and get access to Sting’s wide network of industry contacts and investors, to increase the pace of development, rapidly enter the market, and increase the chance of success. The companies also have the opportunity to get an investment of SEK 300,000 from Propel Capital, Sweden’s most active private seed investor.

“We’ve had a large number of applicants to the programs and we are very pleased to have several strong international teams among the companies accepted. The group represents a wide variety of business ideas ranging from e-commerce and digital marketplaces to a number of cloud-based services that target the business market. We are excited to get started with the entrepreneurs”, says Fredrik Rosengren, Business Coach at Sting.

Mindmore is one of the newly accepted Sting Incubate companies. The company develops digital neurocognitive tests, including The Minnemera service, a diagnostic tool initially aimed at primary and inpatient care. Sara Wallén, CEO and founder of Mindmore, has high expectations on Sting’s support:
“Sting’s long-term experience and broad competence will be valuable now that we prepare to take our service to the market. Targeting the care industry can be challenging, so we look forward to Sting’s coaching and concrete tools for establishing dialogues with our users for our future development.”

One of the new companies in the Sting Accelerate program is Bukvy, which creates smart bags and accessories for urban people in constant motion.
“We are very pleased to have been selected for Sting Accelerate and we look forward to an intense, eventful and challenging spring! Bukvy has been our inspiring hobby project over the last two years; we have satisfied customers all over the world and this is an important opportunity for us to become stronger on the online side of our business. We are looking forward to get to know the coaches and the other selected teams and to share their experience as well as the challenges ahead of us”, says Elena Ekström, co-founder of Bukvy.

Since the start of 2002, Sting has coached over 250 startups. Stings alumni include companies like Barnabys, Bioservo, DPOrganizer, Karma, Videoplaza, Volumental and Yubico.

The new companies in Sting Accelerate

Baetes develops the next-generation e-commerce platform for the fashion industry. Using the latest VR, AR and 3D scanning technologies, the company creates a brand new digital shopping experience through virtual showrooms. www.baetes.com

Bukvy creates smart bags and accessories for the urban people in constant motion. By combining multi-function and classic aesthetics Bukvy simplifies the carrying experience through items that transforms with the customers need. All items are made by hand, ethically in Europe by genuine leather of great quality and are sold through Bukvys webshop and a few carefully chosen retailers. bukvy.se/

ContentStudio is an AI-based and data-driven social media marketing suite for businesses to grow their social media presence by helping them discover, compose and share engaging content in their industry. Users can keep an eye on trending content in their industry along with analytical stats presented in a meaningful way that help them make better decisions for their content marketing and social media marketing. contentstudio.io

Cryptolens offers a state-of-the-art cloud service that makes it trivial to launch and protect any kind of software, with unique AI analytics to optimize revenue and capture untapped customer segments. cryptolens.io/

Foodla is a marketplace for you to buy and sell your organic goods in local communities – making the market more efficient, reducing food waste and promoting locally produced food which decreases transportation, mass production, and the excessive use of pesticides. getfoodla.com/

Knowlocker is a knowledge management platform for organisations large and small, helping ensure that businesses, the teams within them and external groups, such as customers, have access to the right information at the right time to achieve their goals. By giving internal teams access to the knowledge of an organisation, Knowlocker significantly improves effectiveness and efficiency of operations. knowlocker.com

Margot International transforms trade in services and equipment in the offshore and marine industries.

Suavoo is a beautytech company that provides beauty services to customers’ desired locations, such as the home, office or hotel, through a touch of an app. Suavoo’s digital platform connects freelance stylists and customers and ensures high availability. suavoo.com

The new companies in Sting Incubate

Cribble develops toys for children, developed with foundation in research in psychology and pedagogy.

Intakt will offer digital micro insurances and fundamentally change the concept of what an insurance company is. The company will offer an automated, digitalised and user-friendly solution that makes it possible to offer competitive insurances to a large number of users. Furthermore the platform will give control back to the users over their personal data.

Mindmore develops digital neurocognitive tests, including The Minnemera service, a diagnostic tool primarily aimed at primary and inpatient care. www.minnemera.se

Nutrient is a FoodTech Startup developing concepts and processes for producing climate-friendly proteins and nutrients. We aim to make a real difference by producing sustainable food in a truly circular way where nothing goes to waste. By using untapped resources and converting them into new proteins we strive to innovate the value chain from farm to table. www.nutrient.se

Qofind develops the new generation baby monitors that monitor both temperature and motion when the child is sleeping. www.parvel.se

Skillbreak is a smart social learning platform for unique local learning experiences.  All Skillbreaks are taught by experienced and interesting creative experts. We build relationships with our experts and we’re making it easy for them to showcase and share skills with their fans. skillbreak.com

Internet/media December 4, 2013

Tuesday lunch break with Henrik Lenberg

Henriklunchpic

On Tuesday (Dec 3), the FastForward startups caught up for lunch with Henrik Lenberg, former VP at SoundCloud. During two years in Berlin, and two in San Francisco, Henrik was part of the core team that turned the music platform into its current state.

Now back in Stockholm, Henrik’s got his sight set on establishing his own music creation startup. The ex-Soundclouder also regularly coaches and teaches, to inspire and encourage other entrepreneurs.

Here are some of the insights Henrik shared with us:

Quit your job
“I think people should be faster at leaving their jobs and trying something new, when they feel they’re not doing the right thing.” Henrik is indeed a man of his own word. When he felt he was ready for a new challenge, and wanted to move back to Sweden, he picked up his things and left his position at SoundCloud

Start with why
Initiate a sustainable vision, or ideology, before establishing a business, is another great advice from Henrik. Most successful startups didn’t have a clear plan for becoming billion-dollar companies when they started. Focus on solving a problem that you care about, and have a clear “why” behind the business idea and concept

Think big but start small
According to Henrik, it’s important to steer away from thinking too big too fast. Having said that, a strong ambition is crucial, and there’s nothing wrong with an overarching goal of taking over the world – at some stage. Being a big advocate of the lean startup model, Henrik points out that a startup doesn’t need to have a crystal-clear idea initially. Rather, that’s a part of the iteration process, and will probably change over time.

A good team is your most valuable asset
This is perhaps of no surprise to anyone. Finding the perfect team is an enormous challenge. “If you’ve got a great little team, that is willing to commit, work together and start up a business together – but simply unsure of what kind of business – just get on with it!” A strong team is an incredible asset. Henrik discusses this further on his website: “I believe a great team is usually more valuable than a great idea, and that great ideas usually come from great people working on problems together.”

Make sure you’re geared up
Starting your own business inevitably means you need to be ready for it – on all levels. Somewhat financially, but most important: mentally. Persistency is an important skill shared by all successful entrepreneurs. Once the business starts moving, the energy and full attention has to be there every day, all day – from the entire team.

During the lunch, Henrik mentioned the following books for everyone involved in building a startup:

Thanks Henrik for coming over. Good luck with your startup, we look forward to seeing more of you and your creations in the near future!