Final exam for graduating startups of DigitalWell Ventures

At Demo Day all of the startups of DigitalWell Ventures pitched at PierX in Oslo. One last test in meeting real investors – before graduateing from the accelerator and start scaling their companies.

One of DigititalWell Ventures’ main tasks is to attract more investment to the health tech sector. But although profiled investors from Anchora Capital, Investinor and many others attended the pitch session at the 8^th of December, money on the table was not most important at ”Demo Day”.

Live practice in front of investors

– The purpose is to get the start-up’s ready to present their business in a clear and professional manner. These skills are critical to their future ability to attract investment and build investor networks. The experience of getting feedback and questions from real investors is something you must experience to fully understand, says Stefan Skoglund, Program Manager of DigitalWell Ventures.

The DigitalWell Ventures team celebrates graduation with the startups of the fourth cohort!

During an intense hour, all eight start-up’s did an excellent work on stage. Demo Day also marks the end of the twelve-week accelerator program – as the startups graduate.

Program that prepares for investments

Elisabet Kolbrun Hansen, co-founder of CanEat, points out two important take aways from their perspective:

– The first thing is that we thought we were ready for investment before entering the accelerator, but we really were not. Now we are! But the thing that really stand out is the fantastic network we have gotten access to, thanks to the DigitalWell Ventures team.

Cecilie Ågotnes and Elisabet Kolbrun Hansen of Can Eat during their pitch at ”Demo Day”.

”Demo Day” is also important for building bridges between Sweden and Norway for the dual-located accelerator. Both to create a larger market for digital health services, but also to find areas within the health sector where the neighbouring countries can cooperate. As an example, one of the startups, Jodacare, has been testing their secure service for video communication in healthcare in a project (PREVIS) involving both countries.

Niche that makes accelerator stand out

This far, a majority of the 25 startups that’s past the accelerator program are from Sweden and Norway. In addition to create a ”home market”, it is the niche towards digital health services that makes the accelerator stand out, David Holm, Investment Manager of DigitalWell Venture, thinks:

– The competition between accelerators is getting tougher all the time. I believe that our specialisation in health tech and the connection to the Nordic market are two important factors that have made us successful.

Magnus Bårdén and David Holm talking at Investor Breakfast Club, before the startups entered the stage.

The accelerator is also crucial for DigitalWell Arena. On the “Demo Day”, Magnus Bårdén, Managing Director of DigitalWell Arena, stated how innovative companies have an important role to play in the transformation towards a more individualised and preventive healthcare system, also mentioning DigitalWell GovTech Incubator.

– One of our missions is to make it easier for startups to meet and collaborate with the public sector – that’s why we started an accelerator and incubator. DigitalWell Arena is a “system innovation lab”. We want to work with the entrepreneurs that have the best solutions for the future, says Magnus Bårdén.

The startups on Demo Day:

• Avanto Care
• CanEat
• Eduqi AB
• Firemesh
• Habbie
• Healthgoing
• Jodacare
• Mood Social