NEWS June 20, 2018

Sting Demo Day released 13 new startup stars to the world

13 Sting companies graduated from Sting’s Accelerate and Incubate programs at Sting Demo Day at Bryggarsalen yesterday. An audience of over 130 investors and other guests listened when the companies presented their business ideas on stage.

Sting Demo Day is the final event for companies that have participated in the Sting Accelerate and Sting Incubate programs, giving them the opportunity to present their business ideas and plans for the future to a highly qualified audience of investors and potential business partners.

The lastest edition of Sting Demo Day treated the audience to pitches in as wide-ranging areas as innovative transport services, ethically-made leather accessories, access to specialist health care, and digital sales and marketing tools.

–Today, the tenth batch of Sting Accelerate completed their time with us, and with them 248 companies have now passe through Sting’s programs since we started in 2002, said Pär Hedberg, CEO of Sting.
–When I speak to companies that left our programs six months or a year ago, and have recently taken in an investment, it often turns out that it was here at Demo Day that they met their investors. It shows us that Demo Day actually works, and I think that’s a pretty cool thing, continued Pär Hedberg.
When the Demo Day audience was invited to vote for the day’s best pitch, the result was a tie betweenSuavoo and Airmee, who got to share the win.

Suavoo is a digital concierge that boosts customer experience at hotels. Through an on-demand platform, Suavoo offers hotel guests on-demand services in beauty, wellness and environmentally friendly transport.

“It felt great to win, especially because I’ve always felt it’s quite difficult to be stage. I’ve had a fantastic pitch coach here at Sting, Jenny Lindblad, who has helped me improve myself. We’ve also gotten a lot out of the business coaching during Sting Accelerate, especially as we have expanded our offer form beauty, where we began, to become a digital concierge. Being able to get feedback during that journey has been extremely valuable, said Linda Absberg, CEO and co-founder of Suvoo.

Airmee’s service changes how goods are transported in cities through revolutionary research-based technology that connects customers with messengers that can deliver good on-demand.

“It was especially fun to finish off our time in Sting Incubate with a win in the pitch competition. We have receieved great coaching from our business coach Ivar Strömberg, who has been a valuable sounding board both when things were going well, and when things were going not so well. Now it’s all about growing for us, said Julian CEO and co-founder at Airmee.

The companies that participated during Sting Demo Day were:

From Sting Accelerate
Baetes
Bukvy
ContentStudio
Cryptolens
Dockstr
Foodla
Konowlocker
Suavoo

From Sting Incubate
Airmee
LocalLife
MediCheck
Need Insights
Tölve

NEWS May 29, 2018

Wehype – the innovative advertising platform that helps advertisers reach gamers – closes funding round

Wehype helps advertisers conduct influencer marketing campaigns targeted to the gaming world. Now the company is backed by John and Martin Wattin, of Inbox Capital, along with several other well-known investors.

Wehype makes it easy and painless for advertisers to reach the huge audiences that follow gaming and esports. In Wehype’s digital platform ad buyers are provided powerful tool allows them to launch scalable influencer marketing campaigns targeting millions of gamers around the world, in under ten minutes.

Watching other people play computer games is a trend that has exploded in recent years. In 2017 Superdata reported that more people watch gaming videos online than those who watch HBO, Netflix, ESPN and Hulu combined.

– We have a product that is unique on the market today. We cut out the unnecessary intermediaries and put ad buyer in direct contact with those influencers who have the most relevant audience. In addition, we use a number of technical elements to simplify time-consuming steps such as communications, payments and data collection, says Robin Åström, founder and CEO of Wehype.

Now the company has closed a successful funding round and Wehype’s shareholder list has grown to include a number of renowned and experienced entrepreneurs and investors, including John Wattin and Martin Wattin of Inbox Capital, Betsson founder Pontus Lindwall, and Christian Ehrhardt (e.g. Vitamin Well).

– We have worked a long time on finding the right investors who can support us in our continued growth and international expansion. We primarily chose to bring in people who see their ownership in the long term and that can contribute and add synergies to our operations, said Robin Åström.

Wehype’s network already consists of thousands of influencers, reaching an audience of tens of millions of people. Its customers include well-known brands such as ASUS, Warner Music, Hertz and SJ.

– Wehype is a very exciting company that is at the forefront in its field. I look forward to being on this journey with them and contributing with my experience, says John Wattin.

Wehype was part of the Sting Accelerate program in the spring of 2017.

BlueCall secures millions in new funding – will help employers increase the wellbeing of employees

BlueCall, the app for anonymous therapeutic calls and chats, teams up with Soläng Invest, a former KING Studio Manager, and a stress researcher from Stockholm University in a new investment round. The money will be used to finance a new partnership strategy aimed at employers and health service providers.

–We are thrilled to bring even more skills into the company and now we can take the leap from being a start-up to becoming a more established company. Having research expertise in our core area, as well as experts in the field of digitization amongst the investors, we are convinced that we can strengthen our position as the service that prevents mental illness. With our anonymous solution, we lower the thresholds for individuals to dare to and want to address their situation, said Caroline Rödén, CEO of BlueCall.

The new funds will be used to finance a new strategy for partnerships with employers and health service providers. A new sales manager, head hunted by Wise Professionals and with a solid HR background, will lead the launch of the new strategy. The investment will also help BlueCall prepare to launch their service in new markets.

–As an investor, I am drawn to simple solutions to difficult societal problems and to driven founders who are determined to succeed. BlueCall has a business idea that addresses a huge and global societal problem, and a prominent issue for employers – mental health issues account for 46% of all sick leave. The company has launched an effective tool to prevent mental illness by getting the employee to act even before the situation has become serious. I am convinced that many employers will benefit greatly from this, says Anders Göransson from Soläng Invest, sometimes referred to as Sweden’s largest technology investor.

The new investors are

Soläng Invest, Anders Göransson
Fredrik Åhlberg, former studio manager at KING
Oddball Ventures, Ashkan Fardost
Helena Schiller, stress researcher at Stockholm University
Cecilia Storåkers Hjelmstedt

BlueCall was a part of Sting Accelerate in the fall of 2016.

About BlueCall

BlueCall was founded in 2016 by Caroline Rödén, Lisa Löfgren and Tamara Bernad. The service is an app for anonymous therapeutic conversations over phone and chat – a simple and scalable solution to the huge social problem of mental health. The vision is to help millions of people across the world to better wellbeing. BlueCall has 10,000 users and over 150 call therapists connected to the service. The company is based in Stockholm, and consists of a team of 8 people.

Press Contact

Lisa Löfgren
Lisa@bluecallapp.com
+4673 905 16 05
bluecallapp.com

NEWS March 26, 2018

Kinexit–the IT platform that takes training to a new level–raises millions in new funding

Kinexit is a digital platform that detects body movement restrictions, and automatically selects personalized and animated training solutions based on the chosen sport and the individual’s goals. The company has raised over two million SEK from private investors, including former NHL pro Mattias Weinhandl, to continue their expansion in the United States.

The team behind Kinexit has many years of experience in training, physiology and business development, and the company has contributed to thousands of users improvin their physique and health, since launching in since 2016. Kinexit offers personalized training for nine different sports.

“The range of intelligent and digital personalized solutions has not been keeping pace with the development in sports and training towards ever more personalized training. Many of us have consulted with a trainer or physical therapist and received a piece of pape with exercises drawn as stick figures” says Michael Dahl, former Nordic head of the golf giant Titleist and currently co-owner and COO of Kinexit.

Kinexit measures and detects body movement limitations, and based on the measurement data personalized and animated training films are automatically selected for the user and made available in their phone as a playlist for workouts.

“Our sights are initially set on the golf and rehabilitation markets. These areas have strong connections with each other, particularly in the US, and now we have the muscle to continue our expansion in this gigantic market” says Chris Månsson, CEO and co-founder.

Kinexit was one of the eight companies in the Sting Accelerate Program during the fall of 2017. Four of the six new investors are also part of Sting’s investor network Propel Capital, notably former NHL and KHL pro hockey player Mattias Weinhandl who immediately saw the potential in Kinexit’s platform.

“To me as an athlete, the need for personally designed and cost-effective training is obvious and I can see that this is the perfect time for Kinexit’s solution, where the user gets all the training information easily and directly to their smartphone” says Mattias emphatically

For more information contact Kinexit CEO and co-founder Chris Mansson: 0709-901 699 or Chris@kinexit.com.

NEWS November 28, 2017

DPOrganizer closes 3 MEUR Series A round led by Industrifonden

DPOrganizer raises a 3 MEUR Series A investment round led by Nordic VC firm Industrifonden. Other investors include Creades, existing owners Inbox Capital, Soläng Invest and private investors. The financing will be used to ramp up global expansion, keep strengthening the product and grow the tech team in Stockholm.

Sweden-based regulation tech company DPOrganizer offers a Saas tool that helps businesses map, visualize, report on and manage their personal data processing. The software helps businesses comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into effect on May 25, 2018. The regulation affects any business handling personal data of European citizens. Due to the rapidly growing GDPR market, DPOrganizer has grown tenfold over the last year, both in number of employees and in revenue, and serves customers in Europe, Asia and the US.

“It has been important for us to find investors who truly understand the craft of building a business. We are very happy to get Industrifonden and Creades onboard, both of whom share our vision and can help us grow smarter and faster. Hundreds of thousands of businesses will be affected by the GDPR, and we now stand better positioned to become an important player in the market,” says Egil Bergenlind, CEO and founder of DPOganizer.

With less than 6 months to go, previous studies have shown that only 6% of UK FTSE 350 companies are completely prepared for the GDPR. A Swedish study indicates that 92 % of European companies are not at all prepared for GDPR.

“GDPR is not only about compliance, it’s about handling personal data in a way that your customers would expect you to. In short, it’s about trust. With the deadline approaching, we find that more businesses are starting to do the work needed and understand the reasons behind having to do it,” says Egil.

”We’re thrilled to join forces with DPOrganizer to meet big challenges on many markets. We are very impressed by the company’s growth so far and their strong product. What convinces us the most though is how much their customers love the product. We believe DPOrganizer has the potential to become a market leader,” says Sara Resvik, Industrifonden tech investor, who also joins the company’s board of directors.

About DPOrganizer
Data Protection Management Software company DPOrganizer was founded in Stockholm in 2015 by Egil Bergenlind, previous Chief Compliance Officer at iZettle. DPOrganizer offers a Saas solution to help businesses live, and grow, with GDPR. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, with sales offices in London and Amsterdam. Other co-founders include Sebastian Norling, CTO, previously from Viaplay, Head of Design Andreas Yannelos, previous product owner at Radioplay within Bauer Media, and Head of Sales Lelle Cryssanthander, with a background as CEO of Wineasy within Song Networks Group. www.dporganizer.com

About Industrifonden
Industrifonden is a Nordic venture capital investor, partnering with technology and life science companies with global potential. Industrifonden-backed companies include: Qlik, Oatly, Soundtrack Your Brand, Adfenix och Fishbrain. www.industrifonden.com.

Contact
Egil Bergenlind, CEO and Founder, DPOrganizer
egil.bergenlind@dporganizer.com
+46 707 25 97 09

Sara Resvik, Investment Manager and Investment Lead for DPOrganizer, Industrifonden
sara.resvik@industrifonden.com
+46 708 47 99 84

NEWS November 22, 2017

Sniph gears up with big name investors and begins European expansion

The innovative Swedish perfume service Sniph has raised 5 million SEK from new and existing owners in its latest investment round to fund the company’s international expansion. First up is a launch in the UK, to be followed by the rest of Europe.

There is potential in scents. In 2024 the global fragrance market is estimated to be worth 92 billion dollars*, and Swedish startup Sniph intends to be player in that market. The company offers a subscription service for perfume, where the customer gets to sample and discover a new scent from an exclusive perfume house every month. The company has raised capital in the amount of 5 million SEK in an investment round in order to expand the business.

Sniph’s existing owners – media entreprenur Peter Settman, sibling business angels Helena Herlogsson and Fredrik Månsson, and Sting – have choosen to reinvest in the company. New investors include previous Spotify investor Rosello and a number of business angels, among them Anna Ljungbergh, Fredrik Berglund and Tara Derakshan. Tara Derakshan will also be joining the company’s management team.

Challening the perfume industry: launching in the UK

Sniph wants to challenge the traditional perfume industry and allow consumers to easily discover new scents and niche perfumes. As a first step in their international expansion, Sniph launched their service in the UK market on November 21. Additional markets will be added soon.

The company is also bulking up their digital marketing muscle by bringing on Tara Derakshan as Chief Experience Officer (CXO). Tara joins the team of four founders, bringing with her experience from being Global Marketing Director for digital media company Kiosked in London and previously Marketing Manager at World Childhood Foundation in New York.

– With unique experience in global tech marketing and branding Tara is a dream addition to the team. She has a great ability to think big and act with a personal touch. With her passion for fragrance Tara will be extremely important to us as we take ‘perfume as a service’ to new levels, says Lisa Kjellqvist, CEO and co-founder.

– In the same way that the music industry was outdated before Spotify, the perfume industry is obsolete and ready for change and digitization. By combining our passion for fragrance with data driven customer insight, we will revolutionize the perfume industry and make perfume shopping a personal experience, says Tara Derakshan, CXO and co-founder.

*Source: Mintel

About Sniph

Sniph is a subscription service that makes it easy to discover new scents from exclusive perfume houses. Each month, subscribers get to try a new scent, which is sent to them in a 7 ml bottle. The service costs 99 SEK/month and subscriptions run month to month.

Sniph launched in Sweden in 2015 and in November 2017 in the UK. The company has since sent over 20 000 perfume bottles to their subscribers since the start, and has more than doubled its sales between 2016 and 2017.

Sniph want to challenge the traditional perfume industry by focusing on smaller niche players that previously stood in the shadow of the global perfume giants. Sniph has agreements with 30 exclusive niche perfume houses, including Swedish Agonist, French Heeley Parfums, Etat Libre d’Orange and Brittish Miller Harris.

The scents are divided into six collections, to help users easily find the scents they like. The six collections are:
Trending Now – for those who want the latest trends.
Clean – for those who want to smell light, clean and fresh.
Female Classics – for those who like safe bets and timeless fragrances.
Avant-garde – for those who want complex, experimental scents.
Work/Play – for men who want to smell right both on the job and in the club.
Aesthetic – for men who want to embrace the original and playful.
Read more at www.sniph.com

Contact

Lisa Kjellqvist: lisa@sniph.com, +46 709 31 25 27
Tara Derakshan: tara@sniph.com +46 708 76 24:22

NEWS October 30, 2017

On-demand car wash Woshapp launches collaboration with DriveNow

The car wash industry challenger Woshapp has started a collaboration with car-sharing service DriveNow. Woshapp will wash DriveNow’s whole fleet of 300 cars in Stockholm.

Woshapp is the car wash that comes to you with a simple push of a button on your phone. Using an environmentally friendly car shampoo adapted to the Nordic climate, water-saving washing technology as well as bicycle transports, Woshapp is an environmentally-friendly and time-saving car wash option. A typical automatic car wash consumes approximately 200 liters of water per wash, compared to Woshapp’s washing technology, which only needs 350 ml of water per wash.

– We are very pleased that DriveNow is choosing Woshapp’s car wash solution. Not least because car-sharing services contribute to reduced climate impact, but also because this gives us the possibility of expanding internationally together with DriveNow, one of the world’s leading car-sharing services, says Jens Karlsson, co-founder and CEO of Woshapp.

– That a major player like DriveNow chooses Woshapp confirms that our washing method works well and that there is a demand for our innovative and environmentally friendly service among established companies. We will be recruiting new car attendants to join us on this journey, continues Jens Karlsson.

– Woshapp gives us a cost-effective solution and the ability to wash our cars in an environmentally friendly way. Our services have a lot in common and we look forward to a long-term partnership that will increase profitability for both companies, says Henric Hedenqvist, Senior Fleet Manager at DriveNow.

About Woshapp
Woshapp wants to revolutionize the car wash industry in a sustainable way. The service is an environmentally friendly car wash alternative, that saves water and uses environmentally-friendly cleaning agents. Businesses and private customers in Stockholm can easily book a car wash online. When the reservation is made, Woshapp sends its car attendant to the designated place where the car is washed. Upon completion of the car wash, before and after images are sent to the customer.

Contact
Jens Karlsson, CEO and co-founder at Woshapp: Mobile: 072-324 91 91, E: mail: Jens@woshapp.se

www.woshapp.se

NEWS September 15, 2017

Elly Pistol raises 3 MSEK

Elly Pistol, the online fashion company dedicated to the digital generation, has closed its first investment round and has raised 3 MSEK for expansion into new markets and expansion of the team. Amongst the investors are JNE Invest and BLCBX Investment Group.

Elly Pistol is a digital street wear brand launched in 2015. The company was founded by Cecilia de Champs with the goal of creating non-seasonal products and that consequently can live much longer than traditional summer / autumn / spring / winter collections.

Many people know Elly Pistol through their bomber jackets that quickly became popular and were frequently seen in social media and on influencers. The design takes place in-house in Stockholm and the sale is done without resellers via Elly Pistol’s own website. Social media is Elly Pistol’s premier communication channel.

– Our target audience is the digital generation that lives as much online as offline. We want to create a community where we together with our fans can develop our collections, shape our brand and promptly receive feedback on our ideas. As more people become aware of the environment and consumerism, I am convinced that our non-seasonal products are right in time, said Cecilia de Champs, CEO and founder.

The new investors complement the Elly Pistol team with experience and network.
– We have grown rapidly organically with very little funding so far, and I am looking forward to further accelerating the expansion rate with our new owners. It has been important for us to make a “smart” round and gain access to new skills and experience from the industry, mainly in e-commerce and online media, says Cecilia de Champs.

– For JNE Invest, Elly Pistol is an investment in a smart, courageous and dynamic fashion company that is absolutely right in time.” Says Niklas Norén, Managing Partner for JNE Invest. Hugo Hågemark, Partner at BLCBX Investment Group, continues – Sales growth is impressive and we are convinced that Elly Pistol’s trip has just begun. We are really looking forward to being part of the global launch this fall.

Contact
Cecilia de Champs, CEO Elly Pistol, cecilia@ellypistol.com
www.ellypistol.com

NEWS April 10, 2015

FastForward changes names to STING Accelerate

In 2013, STING launched a new program for Stockholm’s most promising internet startups, FastForward. It is focused on effectively increasing the growth rate of these companies by testing, measuring and initiating to find useful areas and business models that work at a faster pace. In the autumn of 2015, STING will change the name of the program to STING Accelerate and increase the investment amount to 300 000 SEK.

At the same time as the four month long accelerator program changes to its new name STING Accelerate, there will be a name change for the longer incubator program (previously Excelerate) to STING Incubate.

− We have chosen to create a shared name for our programs and to use words that distinguish them from one another more clearly. Our hope is that the name change will lead to the founders and entrepreneurs getting the sense that they are all part of the same STING, says Jill Lindström, Marketing- and Communications Manager at STING (Stockholm Innovation and Growth).

Although the accelerator program will change name to STING Accelerate, the content will be the same as before and each company will continue to receive an investment, now by Propel Capital II. In addition to the individual weekly meetings with the program’s three coaches there will be an emphasis on sales and pitch training. The entrepreneurs will train to deliver two minute pitches and longer five minute pitches that will be presented in front of investors and journalists at the program’s final event STING Demo Day. At this stage, the companies in STING Accelerate have all reached a further stage with a complete product/beta and proven demand for the product.

A novelty for autumn is to increase the investment from 250 000 SEK to 300 000 SEK per accelerator company through the new Propel Capital II to fast forward the companies’ growth.

The incubator program STING Incubate is up to 18 months in duration and supports companies within ICT, Smart Energy, Life Science and Internet/media. The companies in the program receive an individual coach that they meet with half a day per week. The aim is to verify the technology, build on the business model and develop and launch the first product, find financing and recruit team members. Emphasis is also placed on sales training, pitch training and international exposure.

All STING companies have access to STING Business Angel, a business angel network comprised of close to 40 technology entrepreneurs and STINGs international network of investors and industry contacts.

The application period for STING Accelerate opens on April 13 and closes May 10. Eight internet/media companies will be chosen for the program that is now running for the fifth time.

> Read more about STING Accelerate