Content and Locations
Program Start and Pitch Exercise
Silicon Valley Field Trip (California, USA)
Sales and business relationships
Marketing strategy
Business Review and Venture Financing
Startup Metrics
Metrics and Sales
Demoday
Demoday
Most modules will take place in Stockholm and a few in Gothenburg and Malmö.
The Born Global Program
Born Global is an accelerator program for ambitious Swedish startups that aspire to go global. The program will put ten startups through an intensive process of Customer Development and Business Prototyping in an effort to accelerate their identification of scalable business models. The methods used are developed by faculty at Stanford University and Chalmers in collaboration with entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and Sweden. The program has been running since 2012 accelerating 50+ startups.
Born Global provides a stepping stone to going global – one of the modules is carried out in Silicon Valley, California, where we meet with American entrepreneurs and VCs. The Silicon Valley field trip is a an intense module packed with workshops, company visits and pitching opportunities. Workshops are run by American practitioners with solid Silicon Valley track records. You will for sure raise your global ambitions!
Born Global is a select program and only ten startups will be accepted. The program runs for five months and is organized around a number of practical workshops that train entrepreneurs in Customer Development and Business Prototyping. Throughout the process, each startup will be supported by an experienced team of coaches. Through Business Reviews a panel of seasoned VCs and entrepreneurs provide feedback, insights and share experiences. Most of the program is run in Swedish (in the US workshops and pitches are in English).
Born Global provides each startup with an experienced coach throughout the program. Each company is represented by the CEO plus one. The program relies on the CEO and one or his/her business partner to conduct a great amount of customer interviews. As a result, a very strong commitment from the participating team is required.
Born Global does not take equity. The cost for participation is SEK 250 000 per company. Vinnova will cover SEK 200 000. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the participating companies themselves (we meet in Stockholm about every third week for full-day sessions).
Testimonials
Born Global was instrumental in getting the founders to examine, question and reach consensus about our business model. We entered Born Global as “Paperton” and graduated ready to start our current business “Ztory”. In addition to improving our business model, we made new contacts that proved invaluable the coming year. A year after we had introduced Ztory to the market (in conjunction with the Born Global graduation 2013) we had managed to refine and sell Paperton with good profit for all owners, and brought in investors to Ztory (Axel Johnson Group and Wellington Partners, Spotify’s first international investors).
ZTORY, Nima Samimi, Founder & CEO
For an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get caught up in the daily activities and not give oneself time to a structured review of its marketing strategy and customer offering. For Speedment, Born Global has been a great help. Working with these issues has become easier as we have had the opportunity to bounce ideas with Born Global coaches and participants and especially because of the tools provided to work with customers. For us, it was the trip to Palo Alto that gave the most. Partly because it confirmed that Speedment’s product is attractive in the international market, but also as an energy boost for the whole team. As a result of the trip, we move large parts of the company to California.
Speedment, Carina Dreifeldt, Founder & CEO
Without Born Global the start of my last company Kittat would have been very different. The program taught me what an MVP is, how to define an MVP and how to test it. And most importantly, it gave me a chance to test new working methods with the support of coaches in a way that for example a book could never do. To validate our idea with Kittat we invested approximately SEK 3000. We visited garage sales and acquired inventory, signed contracts with suppliers without fixed costs and began sales on eBay. Within 30 days we had 100 people who wanted to sell through our service, just because we managed to create the illusion that it already existed. The basic idea thus cost 3000 SEK to validate thanks to the knowledge we gained through Born Global. Every time we get a new idea, we try to do the same, instead of building something we try to find the easiest and cheapest way to test that idea and then build something only if the test was successful. Thanks to Born Global, we have applied this way of thinking to everything we do. Born Global opened the door to a new and easier way of validating business ideas and I think the program should be offered to companies in various stages. The mindset that is taught is just as important when you only have an idea as when you have a stable company that needs to renew itself.
Detectify, Annelie Näs, Former Managing Director
Scypho’s management team participated in the Born Global in the Q2-Q3 2013. Finally a program where someone has made a real effort and that efficiently develops innovation and entrepreneurial companies. A leadership mindset pushed us all forward. The program’s structure is perfect for early stage start-ups. For us at Scypho, Born Global contributed to very radical reconsiderations regarding positioning and business model. This was priceless. Big regards and appreciation to the CBI-team at Chalmers, who shared its competence, experience and network, through out the program to our great benefit. Born Global demands a lot of time and engagement from the companies’ management teams, on the other hand this was a well spent investment. It is a pity that not all Swedish start-ups get the chance to go through this type of early stage “boot camp”. The Born Global Program is a reality check that should be a necessary condition for all Swedish start-ups that want to get government funding thorough Almi, Vinnova and similar sources.
Scypho, Trued Holmquist, Founder & CEO
Born Global Start-ups
AIFLOO
Aifloo develops a non-intrusive e-health system which increases security at home for elderly and disabled. The Aifloo Smart Wristband is worn by the elderly user and the relatives will receive relevant health information on their smartphones. The brand new e-health system from Aifloo makes use of Artificial Intelligence to detect health issues.
TEAMHUB
Teamhub greatly simplifies planning, field worker management, time tracking, material usage, project management and reporting for construction companies.
SHING
Shing is a SaaS-system for businesses (manufacturers, distributors, wholesale or retailers) that want to enter the Sharing Economy. It is a general Things Information Management system for different verticals and markets. Shing is helping our customers in taking care of the whole process that are needed for a business, to safely and securely start sharing/lending/renting out their products through the whole value chain.
EDUCATESMART
EducateSmart is an EdTech company offering serious game-based education with certification in health and safety for the mining, manufacturing and construction industries.
BOKIO
Bokio utilize the power of AI to fully automate accounting and corporate administration. We free up time for entrepreneurs and enable entrepreneurship to new groups in the society, as administration is no longer a knowledge barrier. The step in version is free to use and our platinum service removes the need of an in-house economics department.
IPLAY
IPlay offers a unique social platform for sports that connects athletes, clubs, coaches, agents and sports fans worldwide.
.
SPRANCHER
Sprancher.com connects recruiters with candidates that have a job today and want to change. Recruiters search for free through Spranchers database and pay only for candidates they want to contact or spread their job ads to.
HAPPYBOOKING
Happybooking is an all-in-one SaaS PMS (Property Management System) for small Hotels and Hostels. We help our customers to manage their hotel more efficiently and at the same time lower their commission costs. We are also integrated to all the big booking channels such as booking.com, hotels.com etc.
.
RACEONE
RaceONE is the new solution for sharing and following races. We create a new experience for racers, followers and race organizers through live interaction and tracking.
HIOTECH
When storing or shipping valuable products around the world there’s no room for surprises. Cargo Beacon puts you in control with quick and reliable monitoring of cargo in transit, in handling or in stock. Historical cargo data can also be examined letting you optimize the supply chain to save costs and the environment. Built upon cloud services and modern cell phone technologies it probably provide today’s most cost efficient solution for goods monitoring.
Born Global Start-ups Alumni
WEMATTER
Delivers high strength 3D-printed production parts and prototypes as a service.
MATCHi
Online booking network for racket sports.
AIRDINE
Global community that invites people to dine in homes around the world.
LIFESYMB
Individualized 3D posture and movement scans to improve health.
CODEMILL
Video-publication platform for e-commerce leveraging metadata extraction.
FORSWAY SCANDINAVIA
Combined satellite and mobile solutions for Internet access in remote areas.
PPAM SOLKRAFT
Aesthetic turn-key solar power installations.
CHILDFOODFACTORY
Ecological child-food products.
SPEEDMENT
Speeding up existing relational databases.
MYCLOSETROOM
The basic idea is to have your own closet in mobile phone.
DETECTIFY
Analyzes the level of security of your website.
MEWEMOVE
is developing a motion classification engine. 1st product: mySKILAB, a ski-coach
QLUSTER
Qluster organizes your favorite brands och shops in one single spot.
ACOSENSE
Sells a Clamp-on instrument measuring complex fluids in the process industry.
MARINE BENCHMARK
Customized analyses of maritime information.
Customized analyses of maritime information.
ROADROID
solution to a smartphone based & cost-efficient survey of the road network.
MINALYZE
Instruments for fast and reliable analyses of drill samples on mining sites.
Instruments for fast and reliable analyses of drill samples on mining sites.
SPORTSWIK
Turns anyone with a smartphone into a sports reporter.
STOCKHOLM COOLING
Reduces the cost of cooling.
GLIMR
Brings targeting and precision into mobile marketing using offline location data.
NUITEQ
Software for multi-user interaction on touch screens.
ARKIMERA
Digital accounting assistant with self learning capabilities.
TINGEER
3D printing to personalize consumer goods.
UNITABLE
Social dining platform.
PIECES INTERACTIVE
Game development.
TWEBCAST
Event management platform that activates your audience.
COLLRA
unites collectors all over the world in one spot.
unites collectors all over the world in one spot.
VOLUMENTAL
3D scanning and software to enable customized products.
CONTENT CENTRAL
A distribution platform of editorial material for media & journalists.
ATC
Scypho – Self-learning Home Energy Management System.
ASYS INTEGRATION
Manages product information.
PROJTOOLS
Correct information to the right person at the right time.
YOOBA
Enables businesses to simply create and manage an unlimited number of apps.
REALBRIDGE
Combines QR-codes and mobiles to keep track of information.
PENNYBRIDGE
New way of giving and charity fundraising.
DUGGA
Computer-based examination system developed by educators for educators.
METRUM
Measurement instruments and software applications for energy and power quality.
NIB
Interaction design bureau with focus on the automotive industry.
RAYBASED
Wireless control and measurement of buildings.
DELBAR
p2p platform for sharing products and services.
PUBLIT
Book publishing and sales platform.
IDEA2INNOVATION
Cloud platform for collaborative idea and innovation management.
ZTORY
Subscription to magazines and childrens books.
EXIBEA
Offers the most userfriendly & appealing energy management tools on the market.
ELASTISYS AB
Solution to of autonomous capacity scaling for cloud services.
GREENBYTE
Increased data quality for better decisions on where to build turbines
PROPOSALS FACTORY
Your online tender process.
PERCEPIO
Create faster and more predictable software development.
VIRTUAL TRAINER
innovative IT products & services for the fitness industry.