Advices for scaleups

Investor Are Traasdahl has to goals: Help technology companies successfully out of Norway and into the US, and help reduce […]

Investor Are Traasdahl has to goals: Help technology companies successfully out of Norway and into the US, and help reduce the food waste in the world.

We invited Are Traasdahl to Tinius Talks to share his best advices for scaleups and his latest take on technology and innovation.

Listen to the episode below or find Tinius Talks in your favorite podcast application, for instance iTunes, Spotify or SoundCloud.

Are Traasdahl is well known both as a dedicated and focused founder, as well as a startup investor. In august 2019, he opened a new innovation center and co-working space called Share in Oslo. Share offers a community to scaleups, and Traasdahl provides guidance on how to enter the US market.

Kjersti Løken Stavrum, the CEO of the Tinius Trust, start the interview with Traasdahl by asking what the difference between startups and scaleups are.

– Scale ups have customers, revenue and a proven business model in place. They typically need to accelerate faster and get access to international markets, Are Traasdahl explains.

I’ve been in the US for 20 years and built the majority of my network there. We can help scaleups with customer introductions, credibility, how to sell and market a products, how to adjust products to the US, fundraising and building a network, Traasdahl says.

Løken Stavrum asks how many companies they will invest in each year.

– Two a year, because we go very deep into it with a lot of capital, Are Traasdahl says.

Traasdahl believe the US market is challenging. He supports U.S. presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s proposal on breaking up big technology companies.

I do agree that the big tech companies in the US have become so powerful in so many verticals and places in society that the idea of breaking them up actually is a good one, Traasdahl says.

Løken Stavrum ask Traasdahl what advantages Norway and Scandinavia have in the international competition.

In Norway you have a phenomenal education system and smart solutions. But you need to combine two things with that foundation; capital and incentive to change something. I think innovation out of need, fear or something that needs to change is a much stronger driver than just making things a little bit better, Traasdahl says.

Traasdahl says technology companies has focused on needs placed at the top of Abraham Maslow’s iconic pyramid, such as self-expression and purchasing of goods. He believed the next generation of entrepreneurs will focus on the more basic needs like shelter and food.

Løken Stavrum asks if that is the reason he established the company Crisp with the mission of reducing food waste.

– The crazy fact is that 1/3 of all food that is produced never reach the table, he says.

– What we are good at is collecting and assembling data to optimize production towards an actual demand. What’s happening now is reactive, and because of that a lot of food gets thrown out, Traasdahl explains.

Løken Stavrum also asks if there is enough capital in Norway for startups who wish to scale up.

– It’s a lot of great professional investors and capital available, at least in this initial phase. But I am really concerned about the next phase. There is not that many investors that can write out 30-50 million checks, Are Traasdahl says.