Sharon Lou’s Post

One reason for the rise of the new super rich is Sweden's thriving tech scene. The country has a reputation as the Silicon Valley of Europe, having produced more than 40 so-called unicorn start-ups - companies worth more than $1bn - in the past two decades.🇸🇪🇸🇪⭐⭐ Skype and Spotify were founded here, as well as gaming firms King and Mojang. More recent global success stories include the financial tech start-up Tink, which Visa acquired for around $2bn during the pandemic, healthcare company Kry, and the e-scooter company Voi.🚀🚀🚀 In 2023, 74% of all venture capital funding to Swedish start-ups went to impact companies. This the highest percentage in the EU, and far above the European average of 35%, according to figures from Dealroom, which maps data on start-ups. 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 An interesting story if you want to know Why and How Sweden made a lot of $€ billionaires in the past decades. I would not say it is as simple as it's described in this article but it gives the reader a bit of insight into the creation of a new kind of wealth. #sweden #fintech #tech #billionaire #dealroom #founders #impact #funding #stockholm #gaming #music #entrepreneur #startups #saas #baas https://lnkd.in/dESjg-5U

🇸🇪 ”#Sweden - with a population of just 10 million - also has one of the world's highest proportions of "dollar billionaires" per capita. Forbes listed 43 Swedes worth $1bn or more in its 2024 rich list.” 🇸🇪 ”One reason for the rise of the new super rich is Sweden's thriving #tech scene. The country has a reputation as the Silicon Valley of Europe, having produced more than 40 so-called unicorn start-ups - companies worth more than $1bn - in the past two decades.” No 1 in the world per capita? 🇸🇪”In 2023, 74% of all venture capital funding to Swedish #startup s went to impact companies. This the highest percentage in the EU, and far above the European average of 35%, according to figures from #Dealroom, which maps data on start-ups.” See Sweden.dealroom.co to not miss any impactful companies 🌱 🇸🇪 "Yes, it's where people can create new money, create new wealth, but it's still very closed and the double standards are quite high in terms of who gets their ideas funded," says Lola Akinmade, a Nigerian-Swedish novelist and entrepreneur. "Sweden is an incredible country that's a leader in many ways, but there's still a lot of people excluded from the system." Great additional quotes and insights from Niklas Adalberth, Ola Ahlvarsson, KONRAD BERGSTRÖM and Andreas Cervenka on what is the recipe for happiness, swedens secret sauce behind the billions… a must read 🤩😎 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 "You don't have to move out of Sweden if you're a billionaire today. And actually, some billionaires are moving here," says Mr Cervenka. Hans Otterling thanks for sharing and investing 🤑

As Women's History Month comes to an end and we celebrate International Women's Day, it's important to acknowledge that there's still a long way to go towards achieving gender equality, especially in the tech industry. Shockingly, just 7% of European funding rounds went to all-women founding teams in the first nine months of 2023, and only 1.4% of unicorns are founded by a team of ethnic minority founders. The lack of diversity in European startups is a problem that needs to be addressed. That's why I'm excited to share The Inclusive Startup Playbook podcast with you all. This podcast focuses on understanding the best ways to build an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable startup with real stories. It provides good food for thought on how we can work towards creating a more diverse and inclusive tech industry. Let's take action and make change happen. #diversityintech #inclusion #startup #womenintech https://lnkd.in/d8uuYEMj

Considering applying for the next cohort of the Founder Residency? Don't miss the chance to connect with Santiago Zindel Mundet Cruz, program director; Pere Perewari, Trameter founder and current cohort member; and Carmen Iao, Chargely co-founder, CFO, and current cohort member. You'll learn more about the program, how we connect participating companies with mentors, our in-house services, and more. RSVP today! . . . #Maine #Entrepreneurship #Founders #Startups

⚠Canada's Innovation Frontier⚠ Here is a pivotal initiative for our entrepreneurial ecosystem. Together with top tech leaders, ARKI (Antler W23) identified over 20 transformative opportunities in sectors such as: 👾 AI, 💡 Energy 🔐 Cybersecurity This is your compass for groundbreaking innovation in Canada! Join us in turning these insights into impactful actions. 🌟 Explore more ⬇ #entrepreneurship #innovation #startups

A thoughtful profile by Ashoka Canada, welcoming Venture for Canada's Founder and CEO, Scott Stirrett as one of their new Fellows! The article provides insights into the pivotal role of VFC's entrepreneurial programs in contributing to the development of a more resilient Canada. 🍁👏 Excerpt: “Accessibility and inclusion are core pillars in VFC’s philosophy. As Scott points out, it’s much easier to be entrepreneurial if you have access to capital, mentors, networks, safety nets, and other resources historically less accessible to marginalized communities. In 2022, 71% of VFC’s program participants identified as racialized, 52% identified as women, and 9% identified as 2SLGBTQ+. Within their employer network, 47% of the businesses VFC supports are majority owned by women and 17% are majority owned by people who identify as racialized." 🔗 Read More at: https://lnkd.in/eA4PzNYb

What do you know about cooperative practices? Are you familiar with sustainable business development? I'll be happy to answer any of your questions. Just share them in the comments. #businessdevelopment #sustainablebusinesses #smallbusiness #startups #cooperative #workerowned

Think of the most successful business people you know! Now focus on the successful entrepreneurs you know. What do they look like? If they are all different looking (age, gender, skin color, size, education levels, geographic ovation etc,) with all different backgrounds, life experiences and across all veritcals then we’ve made it!!! When I close my eyes and consider what I know today - it’s not that, yet but my insides yearn for it to be the case. Do you? Four and a half years ago Anne Descalzo and I started Clutch, on my kitchen floor surrounded by colorful sticky notes, dreams, and our vision for what we could do differently. That journey has been incredible- and not without some extremely difficult experiences. Rapid growth is a blessing AND requires cash infusion to pay your amazing employees which is a commitment that MUST be met while we awaited payment on government contracts. We landed some amazing contracts and couldn’t get traditional financial institution backing. We were more than two years old, with credit scores people dream about….. and it wasn’t enough. Anne and I have combined 35 years of banking experience prior to this entrepreneurial life we have chosen. A lender once told us, “you can’t possibly expect to continue to have this level of success” as his reason that we weren’t lendable….. After that experience, we promised ourselves and the universe we would find a way to support others who like us, needed alternative investment to achieve their vision and get backing in their mission and purpose. Our goal is to support transformation in health, education, fintech, govtech and we are holding space for what we call “cool shit”. We will be intentional in holding space for female entrepreneurs and others who may be overlooked if you don’t match the vision of what people think of when they invest or don’t know your target audience. Today, MinervaVerse is hosting a MinervaFund kick off luncheon!!! We maxed out the space for the event and will engage with 40 investors, many of whom have been on this journey with us for nearly a year of venture capital education and learning. It’s been a beautiful exploration of alternative investment opportunities with an eye on the goal of access to informaiton. We are putting our money where our mouths are. The fund is active! We don’t NEED anyone else to ensure success - instead we GET to invite others to invest alongside. If you feel called, please join us - you can invest directly through the site. This is a sandbox, we built the box, and we’re playing in the sand, creating cool stuff and sharing the sand toys. The fund is for qualified investors and the MinervaAccelerator is for founders who have had some success and need support. So excited! 😆 Remember: The SEC has rules about qualified investors, know that this investment is high risk and some funds return nothing at all. Minerva-verse.com visit the site, follow the LinkedIn page!

🗣 Overlooked founders (BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, etc.) combined get less than 10% of venture capital funding. I'm raising a $5 million fund at Kabila to invest in founders in our ecosystem with co-founder teams of more than one gender, race, or ethnicity. Why? Because those teams give investors a 30% greater return than the status quo. If you're a founder and this mission resonates with you, and you want to be part of a global community of badass founders, join us 👇🏾 https://lnkd.in/gT2iEM-b And if you're looking for a co-founder, try our co-founder matching app that is designed to eliminate unconscious bias 👇🏾 https://lnkd.in/gN26pcEa Let's grow! https://lnkd.in/eTT9Jx7M

https://lnkd.in/eijfd4Qm Please give my new business page some love! ❤️ Like, share, invite friends! You have no idea how much I would appreciate this a new startup! #SmallBusiness #Startup #Inclusion #Neuroinclusion #DEIB #Wellbeing #Training #Coaching #Consultancy #SupportSmallBusiness