The European country of Sweden has been a breeding ground for startups. It is home to many unicorns, including Spotify, King, iZettle, Klarna, Skype, Mojang and others. There are many reasons why entrepreneurs prefer to move to the Swedish capital – Stockholm. Access to top-notch investors, connectivity, stability and infrastructure make the city a great place to start or expand a business.
Stockholm is Sweden’s financial centre and home to the largest stock exchange in the Nordics. Stockholm has one of the best “startup ecosystems” in the world. The tech companies in Sweden have seen a rising level of success in exporting their products and services. Many impact technology startups are also emerging in Sweden that are developing products that not only aim towards company welfare but social welfare as well.
There are numerous factors that make Sweden a suitable place for establishing startups. Be it paying attention to gender balance, the standard of living, or work/life balance, many talented individuals are attracted to the country and work there.
Recent exits of Spotify and iZettle have also led to a large inflow of capital into Sweden, and much of that is being reinvested into the startup ecosystem. The success stories of Skype, Spotify and Candy Crush have paved the way for many new companies in Sweden, for whom seeking funding, including international deals, has become easier in the past few years. Thus, top young talents are encouraged to choose careers within a startup, rather than large corporations.
Sweden is on its path to becoming a globally competitive startup ecosystem. Let us look at some factors that make this country a magnet for talented individuals and startups:
Quality of Life and Work Culture
Sweden ranks above average in almost all dimensions for quality of life: education and skills, work-life balance, health status, environmental quality, civic engagement, subjective well-being, income and wealth, jobs and earnings, housing, personal safety, and social connections.
The capital Stockholm offers an attractive work environment. Sweden has one of the highest female and maternal employment rates in the EU. This has been possible due to its parental leave laws and affordable childcare.
There is very little hierarchy in the company structure in Sweden. Colleagues mostly address each other informally, and everybody’s ideas and views matter in making decisions. The values like teamwork, collaboration and sharing are taken very seriously. Also, the work-life balance is not compromised. Employees get a minimum of five weeks of paid vacation per year.
Investment Opportunities
Sweden is a country that supports its startup ecosystem pretty aggressively. The Govt. supports local startups and has also started many government-backed funding programs for entrepreneurs whose startups are not necessarily in the area of research. There are also Business Angels who are very active and are committed to enhancing the startup ecosystem. Besides the Business Angels, there is a second category called “Superangels” who invest together with venture funds.
Even though there are high taxes and a culture of high trust and low risk, there are other positive factors that balance these. Considering the fact that stock options have become a common practice for the local startups, not only founders, but regular employees gain massive rewards from exits. Later, they tend to start their own companies or re-invest the assets as angel investors. The individuals who invest in startups also receive tax deductions. The Swedish government provides safety nets to entrepreneurs to protect their income and reduce the launching risks.
Destination of Design
One of the great things about living in Sweden is that everything looks so damn great. Sweden is not just a beautiful place, but it is actually great at design.
From Ikea to H&M to the smooth interface of apps like Klarna and iZettle, Sweden has always been a design destination. “We have a long history of great design with many amazing designers,” said Johan Attby, CEO of Stockholm startup Fishbrain.
Moreover, Scandinavian design is traditionally clean and minimalistic. It keeps things beautiful while maintaining functionality at the core of the design. The people there believe that they have the perfect combo of great developers and a talent pool of brilliant designers that are needed to build a successful company.
Trust
The value of trust has been a significant ingredient behind Sweden’s startup success. The country doesn’t boast entrepreneurship, but intrapreneurship which means collaborative, innovative work within companies by employees. There is a high level of trust within individual economies and society at large. A strong level of trust is deeply rooted in Swedish culture.
The people trust the government with spending their money i.e. taxes. This creates an environment of a strong social safety net, including generous maternity and paternity leave, which makes employees feel more secure at work. This helps in promoting entrepreneurship and attracting talent from around the world.
Since Stockholm has a small population, startups can always find an advisor who has ‘done it before’ whatever it is, from product design to engineering on both the front end and back. According to LinkedIn research, Stockholm attracts an incredible number of talented people from the US, the UK, and India in particular. Sweden has managed to produce numerous successful tech companies and unicorn giants. Considering the thriving startup ecosystem and innovative companies that are coming up each day, Sweden is setting a high benchmark for other European countries to follow.
We try our best to fact check and bring the best, well-researched and non-plagiarized content to you. Please let us know
-if there are any discrepancies in any of our published stories,
-how we can improve,
-what stories you would like us to cover and what information you are looking for, in the comments section below or through our contact form! We look forward to your feedback and thank you for stopping by!
Next Story
