The Sting companies’ aggregated revenues increased by more than 40% in 2017 and the aggregated company valuation was doubled to now exceed 10 billion SEK. These positive figures are presented today when the the leading startup ecosystem in the Nordics, Sting, publishes its annual figures at Sting Day.

Sting Day today gathers 400 personally invited guests at Sweden’s most exclusive matchmaking event for startups and investors. 170 investors from 15 countries will be present to meet with a large number of carefully selected startups. The theme for this year’s event is sales and growth.

As a part Pär Hedberg’s introduction speech, a summary of the Sting companies’ performance during 2017 is presented.

“The figures we present here today speak their clear language, the Sting companies  contribute with jobs and export revenues to Sweden,” says Pär Hedberg. We are especially pleased that the companies’ sales growth is strong and we view the doubled company valuation as a receipt that external investors also appreciate the potential of these companies.”

Some key figures 2017 (2016 in parentheses) *:
Aggregated sales: 2.11 billion kronor (1.47 billion)
of which export revenues: 1.50 billion kronor (1.17 billion)
Number of employees: 1819 (1532)
Gender distribution in the companies: 26 % women / 74 % men
Private capital invested in the companies: 752 million kronor (649 million kronor)
Public financing attracted to the companies: 126 million kronor (209 million kronor)
Aggregated company valuation: 10.2 billion kronor (5.1 billion kronor)
* The figures are based on the 240 companies (of which 168 are active today) accepted to Sting from the start in 2002 until the end of 2017/2018.

“An area where we see improvement potential is the gender balance in our companies. The tech industry is still dominated by men, and we see that we have an important role to play in order for more women to choose work in startups. Our ambition is that at least 50% of the companies accepted to any of Sting’s programs should have at least one female founder. We also have good opportunities to contribute to the recruitment of more women through our own recruitment service,” says Pär Hedberg.

During Sting Day, the audience will listen to experienced entrepreneurs and investors who reflect on the subject of the day. About 55 of Sweden’s most promising startups present their solutions in an exhibition and entrepreneurs and investors can book “speed meetings” via a digital platform, with the aim of providing an opportunity to establish a first contact that can eventually lead to long-term relationships. Among the speakers are Niklas Adalberth, founder of Norrsken and co-founder of Klarna, Stina Ehrensvärd, founder of Yubico, Wendy Tan White, founder of Moonfruit and Hanna Meiton, Chief Growth Officer at Soundtrack your Brand.

For more information
Maria Ljungberg, Communications Manager at Sting, 0708-36 22 31, maria.ljungberg@sting.co