Jodapro provides new insights into remote care. Their secure video communication service connects healthcare professionals in the field with medical expertise – paving the way for a more equal healthcare. By joining DigitalWell Ventures accelerator Jodapro aims for a rapid scaling of their service.
The CEO and founder Kristil Håland got the idea for Jodapro after meeting a doctor working on the ambulance helicopter in Norway. A recurring problem was paramedics consulting doctors over the phone whether a patient needed a helicopter transport or not. As important was deciding which hospital to go to – a decision that can be vital based on the patient’s condition.
– These questions were much better answered if a specialist doctor could see the patient, says Kristil Håland.
After two years of testing and developing in collaboration with Innlandet Hospital Jodapro’s secure video communication platform is now in operation in 20 ambulances and helicopters in the region of Innlandet. By the end of 2022 the service will be used in the regions whole fleet of emergency vehicles.
According to Kristil Håland the key to success for Jodapro is the simplicity of the software that doesn’t require any personal settings, which is crucial in emergency healthcare. Basically, the paramedics just put on the camera headset and use voice control to get assistance from a handful of predetermined contacts. The specialist then sees what the camera sees, and the method also frees both hands for the healthcare staff. A development when using the service have also made it possible for the patients to see the specialist doctor via a separate screen.
– The ambulance staff have been invaluable for developing the service. One example from their practical experience and input is that there should be no way to accidentally exit the system, so a lot of the development has been about the practical simplicity, says Kristil Håland.
Kristil Håland, CEO and founder, sees a bright future for Jodapro with many different areas of use for their service.
The healthcare system has rapidly identified new areas where Jodapro could contribute. During the pandemic the platform has been used when specialists have examined patients outside the hospitals, to restrain the spreading of the Corona virus.
– Covid-patients often suffer from multiple diseases. As an example, using Jodapro it was possible to contact the patient’s ordinary cardiologist, says Kristil Håland, pointing out the need to involve different areas of expertise in healthcare.
Since the start of 2021 Jodapro has also been tested in a project treating common wounds encountered in homecare, where 12 Norwegian municipalities are involved. Several of the municipalities have extended the use to other areas, like pain relief in cancer treatment and palliative care.
The expert video assistance not only helps healthcare professionals in the field to make correct choices, but it also offers more equality for the patients.
– There is basically a humane principle that every inhabitant of Norway has the right to the same treatment regardless of where they live. Support of specialist competence for assessment and treatment of elderly increases the possibilities to stay longer at home, says Kristil Håland.
The market potential in homecare is enormous, with approximately 280 000 patients in Norway. Today, about 30 cameras are being used in homecare and Jodapro has received positive reviews from the nursing association. The collaboration with Innlandet Hospital has also resulted in a risk and vulnerability analysis been made, which makes it easier for municipalities to implement the service.
The simplicity and user friendly software is what makes Jodapro stand out. Today the service is used in a headset from RealWare, but the the technique is transferable to many other hardware solutions.
This summer, Jodapro got a framework agreement with Atea, who handle procurement in Norwegian healthcare. In addition, interest to use the service in areas outside healthcare makes the scaling phase a priority for the company.
– This is the main reason for entering DigitalWell Ventures. Since the product already is scalable, we need to attract investors to develop our sales capacity and bring the product to new markets. We are talking with UK and Australia, and it is really a global problem we are addressing, says Kristil Håland.
There are companies providing similar services, but the simplicity of Jodapro have given them an edge. Today Jodapro uses a headset from RealWare, originally designed to cope with the strains in industrial use. Though, Jodapro’s software is possible to use in many other hardware solutions.
This week’s Investors Breakfast Club was focusing on GovTech. To summarize: the possibilities for startups in this field are very bright – but there are also strong interests with a different agenda. ”There are massive forces against scaling and innovation. The big consulting companies don’t want it at all,” said Trond Riiber Knudsen.
The 18th edition of the Investors Breakfast Club, focusing on GovTech, was organized by Xplorico and DigitalWell Ventures and moderated by Lina Svensberg & David Holm. Being one of Norway’s most active super angels Trond Riiber Knudsen in a way represented a backwards perspective when asked to speak at the event. GovTech is one sector that haven’t really got the investors’ attention. Basically because of two different reasons.
One is that the fragmented market in public sector makes it difficult for startups to scale fast.
– In Norway we have a big issue with enormous fragmentation in public sector. There are 365 municipalities making independent decisions about tech solutions, said Trond Riiber Knudsen, making a funny remark of municipalities rejecting existing solutions from other municipalities, even when handed over for free.
He also pointed out the dichotomy between buying from an external tech company and building with help from a consulting company, where public sector tends to be very focused on building with consultants. That’s been creating a monolithic system giving no room for startups enhancing public services.
Two of the keynote speakers of the event was Trond Riiber Knudsen and Liza-Maria Norlin. To the right the hosts David Holm and Lina Svensberg, of DigitalWell Ventures.
This creates the second big hurdle: The big consulting companies’ satisfaction with the current situation. This makes it profitable to create isolated solutions for each customer, but also stops public sector and startups benefiting from scalable services.
– These companies are living of the public sector and makes huge deliveries, but they are all one off’s, said Trond Riiber Knudsen.
Though, the need of new digital and scalable services is great. Liza-Maria Norlin of Govtech Sweden was the opening speaker of the breakfast seminar and pointed out the EU’s ambition that all key public services should be available online in 2030. The effect of those ambitions, in Sweden alone, would require 10 000 new digital services.
The potential for startups with innovative services looks great even when you put it in economical terms. In the report “The State of European GovTech” the European GovTech market in 2021 is valuated to 116 billion euro.
– We are in the very beginning, which makes this interesting. The heart part, the ethics, is very important in GovTech. Not the technology itself. The shift that we can see is that governments have become more willing to adopt to new approaches to solve public problems. We cannot work the way we have done for the past decades, said Liza-Maria Norlin, also mentioning a trend in public of favouring working with smaller companies.
Karlstad is a Swedish municipality where this seems to be the case. Thomas Wernerheim, Development Strategist, told that about half of the tenders in Swedish municipality’s procurements comes from smaller companies. Karlstad is also shifting to a more innovative approach when trying to solve their public challenges.
– The ones who can provide that best is the small companies, so I would say this is a obvious trend, said Wernerheim.
And even Trond Riiber Knudsen in the end presented a much brighter future for startups considering the GovTech sector. Strong arguments are the mixed economy, where state-owned companies have a mandate to invest in innovative startups, and the digital maturity in public sector in the Nordic countries.
– The fact that public sector has a good digital maturity in Norway makes it possible to build on top. That means when you have digital map and building data you can create companies like Spacemaker, to model much better how you can optimize plot of lands for apartment buildings. This company could only be started here, and it grew globally and become a wonderful success.
Many thanks to all speakers also including, Lars G Fröjd, Virtual Management, and Jenny Thalin, DigitalWell Arena. The Investor Breakfast Club will return January 27 – focusing on Extended Reality. More info on Investor Breakfast Club´s LinkedIn page.
Den här veckan startade den helt nya YH-utbildningen ”Digitaliseringsledare i välfärdssektorn” i Arvika. Syfte är att ge yrkesverksamma inom vård och omsorg specialiserade kunskaper om hur digitalisering och välfärdsteknik kan skapa nya möjligheter.
38 studenter fanns på plats, både fysiskt och digitalt, vid kursstarten i Arvika Näringslivscenter. Intresset att medverka har varit så stort att de initialt 30 utbildningsplatserna fick utökas, och för de som missar årets kurs så ges en ny chans nästa höst.
Syftet med utbildningen är att kursdeltagarna ska få kunskap om hur välfärdsteknologi, teknikutveckling och digitalisering kan användas som hjälpmedel och möjliggörare inom vård och omsorg. Det handlar exempelvis om vilka tekniska verktyg och hjälpmedel som finns tillgängliga samt omvärldskunskap kring de trender som finns inom området.
En del av utbildningen är också inriktad mot lagar, regler och olika säkerhetsaspekter. Det ska ge en grund för att hantera etiska ställningstagande och riskbedömningar kopplade till användandet av välfärdsteknik och teknikutveckling.
Utbildningen riktas till personer med yrkeserfarenhet och samtliga studerande jobbar parallellt med utbildningen inom vård och omsorg, från primärvård till socialtjänst. Syftet är att de ska ta med sig ny kunskap tillbaka till sina arbetsplatser för att öka möjligheterna att tillämpa och tillvarata ny, digital teknik för ökad hälsa.
Hans Karlsson, kommundirektör i Arvika och ordförande för utbildningens styrgrupp, hälsade personligen deltagarna välkomna. Han har tidigare haft ett uppdrag som ansvarig för vård- och omsorgsfrågor inom SKR och ser ett stort värde i den nya kompetens som kursdeltagarna kan ta med sig ut i verksamheten.
– Den här utbildningen har jag längtat efter i flera år. Vi behöver den för att långsiktigt klara av vårduppdraget. Behovet av välfärdstjänster ökar stort, men inte tillgången på arbetskraft, sa Hans Karlsson.
Han liknar de kunskaper utbildningen ger med en översättares, som kan förena teknikernas språk med det språk som pratats inom vården och omsorgen. Förutom att frigöra resurser underströk han också värdet i att digitalisering och välfärdsteknik kan bidra till att öka självkänslan och självständigheten hos brukare och patienter. Hans Karlsson nämnde bland annat en robotdusch och läkemedelsautomater, där Arvika har flest i landet per invånare, som exempel.
– Men det också viktigt hur vi inför den här tekniken, det är inte bara att rulla ut den.
Flertalet kursdeltagare kommer från Värmland, men det finns också deltagare från övriga landet. Therese Åsberg arbetar till vardags på ett LSS-boende i Göteborg, där man redan jobbar med digitala verktyg för att göra brukarnas vardag mer självständig och överblickbar, bland annat en app som ger stöd i olika vardagssituationer.
– Jag hoppas att utbildningen ska ge mig ett större nätverk för att jobba med digitaliseringsfrågor. Jag jobbar på ett boende med särskilt stöd och service och hoppas också få en större kunskap för att implementera tekniken i vårt arbete, säger Therese Åsberg.
Stora delar av utbildningens styrgrupp fanns på plats i Arvika vid kursstarten för att möta studenterna. Från vänster: Cecilia Karlsson, digitaliseringsstrateg Region Värmland och innovationsledare DigitalWell Arena, Ann-Sophie Gustafsson, utvecklingsledare Karlstad kommun, Per Hanning, digitaliseringsstrateg Region Värmland, Elisabeth Lejroth, sjuksköterska och systemadministratör Arvika kommun, Mia Hernell Blomqvist, utvecklingsledare/digitaliseringsstrateg Hammarö kommun, Hans Karlsson, kommundirektör Arvika, och Johanna Collander, utbildningssamordnare Yrkeshögskolan i Arvika.
Oculaudio literally changes the view of better hearing. This disruptive technology combines hearing and vision, also dealing with the stigma of hearing loss. In DigitalWell Ventures accelerator, the company hopes to get the last pieces of the puzzle in place before launching their product.
A dinner in 2017 was the moment when Norwegian tech-entrepreneur Tom Austad first came up with the idea of Oculaudio. Two of the dinner guests took out their hearing aids, as the background noise became too prominent.
– Today’s hearing aids brings a rather sharp sound experience, as they amplify mostly high frequencies you cant pick up when getting older. Our system amplifies voices, it analyses what is going on around you (!). Then our algorithms break down that analysis and determine what is noise and select voice, and minimize the noise, says Tom Austad.
Oculaudio glasses are a game changer for picking up the right voice when several people are in a discussion. The technology is partly based on the same principles as autofocus in a camera. This means that the sound from the person you are watching is identified from a camera beam, and when turning your head, a built-in gyro helps to widen the sound range. The latency when shifting to another angle in a conversation is 8 milliseconds and not noticeable to the user.
Oculaudio is a hearing aid where sight and hearing are intertwined. A camera beam identify the person speaking to you, amplifies the voice and minimizes the noise. Intelligent ear buds adapts to the situation.
The glasses are equipped with a HD face detection camera, Bluetooth, two DSPs and a total of 16 microphones.
– It’s a challenge making space for all that technology, so the glasses are crucial. Sight and hearing are intertwined. We have asked many audiologists why hearing aids have the microphones at the back, when everything you want to hear is in front of you. The answer is that there is nowhere else to place them, says Tom Austad.
Oculaudio’s ear buds adds another technical dimension. In a normal conversation the eartips are open to stop occlusion. (Hearing your own voice in your head). This is the default mode, but when listening to music, the eartips automatically expand when tapping on the temples of the glasses – and starts working like regular ear buds.
Getting rid of hearing aid cables is also about liberating the users from showing their hearing loss, Tom Austad states:
– Hearing aids brings a stigma for many users, wearing designer glasses with earbuds gives a whole new impression.
Tom Austad, Ceo and founder of Oculaudio.
Tom Austad says that today a lot of hearing aids end up in a drawer because the users are disappointed both with the sound experience and the look. But the need of hearing aids will grow rapidly in the future, according to WHO one billion young adults is in risk of hearing loss due to unsafe listening practice.
– This is also a problem in addition to getting older. Even a 60-year-old with normal hearing loses ability, says Tom Austad, who believes this new target group will have completely different requirements:
– We presented Oculaudio for HLF (Norway’s community for hearings disabilities) and they said, if you get this right it’s going to revolutionize the hearing aid industry.
The final fine-tuning, design and testing are underway and the planned launch of Oculaudio is in early 2023. The decision to join the DigitalWell Ventures accelerator is an important step to get in touch with the right investors.
– We must show that we are investor ready and undergoing a program focused on Health Tech. When you really can prove to the investors that everything is in place, it is much easier for them to make an informed decision, says Tom Austad.
DigitalWell Ventures is starting a partnership with Founder Institute. The collaboration is offering a greater roadmap for all startups – and creates an extended path for those specialized in Health Tech.
Founder Institute is the world’s biggest pre-seed-accelerator. Being a worldwide organisation, they have this far contributed in the making of plus 5 000 companies since the start 2009. The basic idea is to give startups and entrepreneurs early-stage support, committing to a four-month program that is not about running a company. It is about running your company. This operative perspective goes along with the goal that every idea that gets accepted to the program should result in a real business.
The concept has spread to more than 200 cities, giving access to a network of local experts, mentors, and investors. Now Founder Institute’s Norway chapter is teaming up with DigitalWell Ventures. Both parties see great benefits in being able to guide startups in both directions, based on what stage they´re in.
– It is about creating a value chain and making it easier to connect to the next phase. If DigitalWell Ventures has some founders that aren’t up to scratch – we can bring them up to scratch, says Dimitris Polychronopoulos, Lead Director of Founder Institute Norway.
This perspective gives greater possibilities to support and keep in touch with startups and entrepreneurs in need of more preparation, before reaching the scaling phase and entering DigitalWell Ventures accelerator. It also offers an exit plan after Founder Institute for startups specialized in HealthTech.
– We are creating a bigger service for the audience and the founders. A larger roadmap is going to restore faith and hope that the journey doesn’t end after our program. If you have invested in Founder Institute’s program you have gained experience to become more appealing to customers, investors, partners and team members. To have a bigger picture in mind also makes it easier tosell your idea which will make an angel investor more at ease, so we are quite excited with this partnership aligned, says Faraaz Ali, Communication Director of Founder Institute.
The Founder Institute team in Norway, with Faraaz Ali and Dimitris Polychronopoulos to the right of the image.
There is also a common history since the founders of DigitalWell Ventures participated in the Founder Institutes VC Lab-program, before launching the HealthTech accelerator. To start the deal flow in the new partnership DigitalWell Ventures have been given a “golden ticket” to be passed on to an interesting startup that will join Founder Institute’s program.
David Holm, Investment Manager of DigitalWell Ventures, is extra excited that the partnership creates a bridge between the Swedish and Norwegian start-up eco-systems. Hopefully attracting startups from Founder Institute to test their services across the border.
– Many startups need a born-global perspective. If you can prove that early on, it is easier to attract interest from investors. The Swedish market is important to test because it is a gateway to EU and vice-versa, going outside EU into Norway – that´s a great story for investors.
DigitalWell Ventures niche on HealthTech is interesting for the future, Dimitris Polychronopoulos thinks. Both because the subject is addressing the sustainable development goals and because it gives a chance to explore vertical accelerators. In Finland Founders Institute have already started an accelerator focused on FoodTech, which have affected the startup scene quite strongly.
Hopefully, DigitalWell Ventures can light a torch for HealthTech in Norway in the same way.
– That’s a key part of it. The network and specialization are really important, and in that area DigitalWell Ventures can help. The future for Founder Institute, in my opinion, is about creating verticals. That makes mentors, founders, investors, and the whole ecosystem more focused. If we can prove this concept, delivering 3 or 4 companies to DigitalWell Ventures, we might be able to bring this to a higher level, and catch the attention of our headquarters, says Dimitris Polychronopoulos.
Dugnad.ai erbjuder en digital plattform för att kartlägga, organisera och öka kraften i sociala nätverk. Tjänsten används just nu i ett norskt projekt för att minska ensamheten bland äldre.
Med sitt inträde i DigitalWell Ventures acceleratorprogram hoppas Dugnad.ai att kunna exportera en norsk livsfilosofi. Uttrycket ”dugnad” innebär att man kavlar upp ärmarna och hjälps åt tillsammans, vilket är grunden för allt ideellt arbete.
– Dugnad är det mest norska ord du kan tänka dig. Vi försöker digitalisera dugnadsidén och göra världen bättre på ett smartare och mer effektivt sätt, säger Geir Falkenberg, som grundat bolaget.
Dugnad.ai en deltar i ett projekt som drivs av HelseINN för att minska ensamheten bland äldre i 19 norska kommuner. Deras digitala plattform kartlägger de äldres sociala nätverk och upplevda ensamhet. Via en app kan sedan olika frivilliginsatser mobiliseras och organiseras efter behov.
Enligt Geir Falkenberg är skadeverkningarna av bristande sociala nätverk väldokumenterade på nationell nivå, men för att kunna hjälpa enskilda individer är det inte tillräckligt.
– Frågar du en kommun idag hur många av deras äldre som är ensamma så har de inte sådan data. Kunskap om det en viktig del av det här projektet, säger Geir Falkenberg.
Han menar också att en stor del av den traditionella vården riktar sig direkt till individen, vilket innebär att värdet av sociala nätverk ofta förbises. Sällskap för att komma ut på promenader efter en höftledsoperation kan med andra ord vara lika viktigt som själva ingreppet.
– Vi kan kartlägga vem som verkligen har behov av mer aktiviteter och personer runt sig, så de inte blir sittande passiva och ensamma. Corona har visat ett ökat behov och det offentliga klarar inte att lösa den här utmaningen på egen hand, säger Tone Bjørnov, styrelseordförande i Dugnad.ai.
”Mycket välfärdsteknologi riskerar att reducera kontakten mellan människor – vi använder tekniken för att öka kontakterna.” Geir Falkenberg, grundare av Dugnad.ai
Geir Falkenberg, grundare av Dugnad.ai
Appen, som är verktyget för personerna i nätverken som utför olika insatser, kan i sig vara en del av lösningen. Tillsammans med Oslo kommun tittar Dugnad.ai på hur en snabbt växande grupp ”unga” pensionärer kan engageras som volontärer.
– De måste aktiveras och är en potentiellt viktig resurs, men om de inte används riskerar många i stället själva att drabbas av ensamhet, säger Geir Falkenberg.
Dugnad.ai är en licensbaserad tjänst och riktar sig främst till kommuner och frivilligorganisationer. Geir Falkenberg menar att plattformen kan lösa många utmaningar i skärningspunkterna mellan professionella och frivilliga insatser.
– Att organisera det oorganiserade är mer krävande än att organisera ett företag. Det blir ofta väldigt ad hoc, ostrukturerat och svårt med rapportering kring vad som utförts. Här kan vi ge exakta instruktioner i appen om vad som ska göras med datum, tid och plats – och skicka ett tack efteråt! Jag menar också att man bör sätta större värde på de frivilliginsatser som utförs i samhället, säger Geir Falkenberg.
Dugnad.ai kan visa värdet av det ideella arbetet i en enskild organisation. Totalt sett uppskattas värdet av alla frivilliginsatser som utför i Norge till cirka 80 miljarder kronor årligen, men mer exakt data kring hur väl ett samhälles sociala skyddsnät fungerar är också viktigt för det offentliga. Bolaget har därför fått stöd av Innovasjon Norge för att vidareutveckla tjänsten.
Plattformen är anpassningsbar och kan användas i en rad sammanhang, där sociala nätverk och frivilligarbete spelar en central roll. Från miljöorganisationer till idrottsföreningar. Det stora fokuset på hälsa bottnar i Geir Falkenbergs egen bakgrund som sociolog, som har fått honom att fundera kring hur digitala hälsotjänster påverkar mänskliga kontakter.
– Mycket välfärdsteknologi riskerar att reducera kontakten mellan människor – vi använder tekniken för att öka kontakterna, säger han.
Dugnad.ai är också involverade i en indisk satsning, You can free us, för att hjälpa unga flickor ur prostitution. Behovet av att öka kraften i sociala nätverk är globalt, anser Geir Falkenberg. En stor anledning till att bolaget anslutit sig till DigitalWell Ventures accelerator är tillgången till expertis och nätverk som gör det möjligt att nå en internationell marknad, där Sverige ligger närmast till hands.
– Kan vi utföra samma aktiviteter för att minska ensamheten bland äldre på båda sidor gränsen så skulle de vara väldigt intressant. Därför skulle vi gärna testa vilja göra tester i samarbete med svenska kommuner, säger Geir Falkenberg.
DigitalWell Ventures are building healthier startups in the healthtech sector. A new feature in the accelerator makes it possible to apply to be a co-founder, matching different skills with ideas to create balanced teams.
A new initiative by DigitalWell Ventures is reaching for a fourth target group. The accelerator is already covering startups, investors and mentors. Now there is a way channelling those with skills and entrepreneurial ambitions, yet without a company.
The DigitalWell Ventures Talent Matching Platform aims to create an opportunity to find a position in an early stage startup, matching skills with ideas. By applying to the co-founder database, you will be invited to activities for startups and talents. And maybe it could be the start of a new career.
– The purpose is to find people with skills or an idea that wants to be part of a team. It could be technical skills, skills in sales and marketing or domain expertise. A common challenge in many teams is that co-founders have similar key competencies, rather than finding co-founders with complementary skills, says Stefan Skoglund, Innovation Manager at DigitalWell Ventures.
There are also facts about the success rate of teams with at least two co-founders, compared to one-man companies. According to Startup Genome, these startups will raise capital 30 percent more quickly, grow their customers three times as fast, and will be less likely to scale too quickly, avoiding premature scaling.
– We have already noticed that some teams lack certain key competences. Also, this is a way adding women to all male founding teams, and vice versa, to create more diversified teams, says David Holm, Investment Manager at DigitalWell Ventures.
David Holm and Stefan Skoglund is looking forward to be an active part in creating stronger founding teams.
Drivhuset, an organization supporting entrepreneurs with early ideas, has already signed up as a partner, and are applauding the possibility to take part in the matchmaking process.
– This is exactly what we been looking for. Many people talk about this, but until now nobody has been doing it, says Josefin Danielsson, Business Developer at Drivhuset.
The idea to create strong teams, even before there is a company, has been developed by the startup company builder Antler. DigitalWell Ventures version on this concept is to support existing start-ups, but also be an active part in the teambuilding process.
The service is already up and running at DigitalWell Ventures website, and the first applications have already dropped in.
Read more – and send your application!
A milestone has passed for DigitalWell Ventures. Today the first two start-ups – Ineq Solutions and StudyBee – graduated from the accelerator program. But really, there was three start-ups on stage at Karlstad Innovation Park…
The third one was DigitalWell Ventures own organisation. The process of starting an accelerator has been equally educationally for the Ventures teams as for the first companies.
Starting from zero, the first cohort attracted eight companies from four different countries. The accelerator also have gathered an international network of more than 50 mentors from four continents, David Holm, Investment Manager at DigitalWell Ventures, summed up when opening the ceremony.
– I am deeply impressed of the journey you made, and without the first companies there would never have been an accelerator, said Håkan Spjuth, Head of Grants and Innovation Office, University of Karlstad, and board member of DigitalWell Ventures.
Lina Svensberg, Program Manager of DigitalWell Ventures, also stressed the mutual benefit and the contribution the pilot companies have made do develop the accelerator program.
There was no doubt that the first graduation ceremony involved lots of emotions. Lina Svensberg have followed Ineq Solutions for a long time, starting in DigitalWell Innovation Support. Seeing her protégés entering the stage, holding the diploma and with a newly signed deal that gives access to all schools in the City of Stockholm made her shed a tear of joy.
– This journey you have made is incredible and I am so glad that I could take part in it, said Lina Svensberg.
The DigitalWell Ventures team celebrating the first graduates, StudyBee and Ineq Solutions, at Karlstad Innovation Park.
Beside the new deal with Stockholm, Ineq Solutions have launched a new service called ConfidBox, targeting psychosocial matters at companies. In the same way their core product can gather information about relations between pupils at schools, it can also benefit a company, for example in creating well-functioning working teams.
Founders of Ineq Solutions, Sara Lindahl and Sofi Finnstam especially praised the overall support and expertise provided by the DigitalWell Ventures team. A support that has made them overcome challenges of information security, being female founders and showing that social innovation can be profitable.
The overall support in the accelerator program was also highlighted by Johan Henricson, CEO at StudyBee. During StydyBees run in DigitalWell Ventures their new products and packaging, focusing on schools rather than teachers, has boosted their sales. To this date more than 50 schools use StudyBees digital tools to follow the pupils results, with and early warning-system that shows when support is needed. Having most customers at high schools Johan Henricson also reached out to elementary schools to test the Google Classroom-based product.
Actually, the graduation ceremony was the first IRL-meeting between Johan Henricson and the DigitalWell Ventures team. The quarantine that came with Corona turned DigitalWell Ventures from a dual-location accelerator to a non-location accelerator.
For the next cohort the physical workspaces in both Karlstad, Arvika and Oslo will open. Tale Skjølsvik, Professor and Vice-Dean at Oslo Metropolitan University, manifested this fact welcoming the next generation of accelerator companies to Oslo. She also appreciated DigitalWell Ventures Lean Start-up-based methods and pointed out the impact of innovation and the surrounding ecosystem for the academia, also driven by innovative companies.
To further boost the ecosystem surrounding the start-ups Stefan Skoglund, Innovation Manager at DigitalWell Ventures, also gave a short introduction to DigitalWell Ventures One. A separate investment company that will be launched next year. The idea is to give investors a chance to invest in the start-ups in the accelerator, and also share knowledge and networks to make more people become investors.
A lot of startups may have the right vision, the right team and the right product. Without skills to handle the financial design it can still end up in a crash. Björn Larsson have created a process to make founders think like investors – now all companies in DigitalWell Ventures can take part of that.
When do I want my money back and how much is that going to be?
If you are a founder meeting Björn Larsson, that’s his first question to you. Having experienced both failure and success as a founder himself he started thinking of what founders really should know, before bringing in capital.
The short answer is to make them think like investors.
The more educational perspective ended up with Björn Larsson creating: The Investment Readiness Process by Beels. More than 80 companies have gone through the program, it is also licensed to several start-up hotspots, like Connect Sverige and Linköping Science Park.
– I wish that I had understood better why investors act like they do when I started as a founder. If you don’t have that understanding it´s easy to take things personal, that can make certain decisions by investors almost seem hostile – when they in fact have good reasons to act like they do, says Björn Larsson.
Björn Larsson have created ”The Investment Readiness Process by Beels”. Now all start-ups in DigitalWell Ventures accelerator can take part of it.
His process is about the founders taking control of the financial design of their company. Lacking that control can create a bad situation, both for founders and investors.
– I would claim that 90 percent of the companies that give a short pitch to investors focus on their product, the market, and their team. Last, they briefly bring up their financial needs, that’s almost a nonchalant way asking for money, says Björn Larsson.
In his example a company could be valuated to 30 million. The founders ask for 1.5 million to keep them going for the coming 12 to 18 months – but are just guessing. Björn Larsson want them to be able to pinpoint their financial need to reach the next milestone, how much it takes to reach the next and so forth until a future exit can show the potential value of the investment.
That’s also a remedy to avoid a very high early valuation of a company, which could turn out very wrong.
– 99 percent of all founders wants the valuation in the first investment round to be as high as possible. But as long as a company have a negative cashflow the shares doesn’t really matter. It is the stakeholder with capital that have the power, so the founders have already given up control, says Björn Larsson.
In a common scenario the company don’t even reach their short-term sales goals, hence having to ask the investor for more money – risking “down rounds” lowering the company´s valuation.
– That can result in a brutal dilution of the share value. It´s a very common scenario, risking the founders to lose energy and disappointing the angel investors, who also may lack resources for further investments. In the long run that reduces the access to venture capital. My vision is to have more investors joining in early stages, without getting burned, says Björn Larsson.
He is though super clear that his process isn’t about lowering valuations in general, it´s about having the facts to estimate a relevant valuation:
– I would never in my life try to convince someone to lower or increase the valuation of their company. I just recommend them to go through my process, then they can make those calls themselves.
Finally the initial question also needs to be outspoken between the founders: When do I want my money back and how much is that going to be?
– That is why I want to put the founders in the investors position. One founder may have 20 percent of the shares and the other 80. And if the answer is economic independence, that can mean very different things…that must be written down in numbers, says Björn Larsson.
– It could also be that one founder with key competence plans a early exit. That could be critical for the company, so the founders timeframe is as important as the investors.
Matching the founders visions and goals with the investors economic expectations, in time and volume, is a way of creating a common agenda. If both parties have this understanding the relationship have gotten a good start.
But not knowing the investors good enough is the most common mistake made by start-ups, Björn Larsson thinks:
– It´s so easy getting in a situation when the investors have time and money, and you don’t. I sometimes wish there was a time of engagement – but when the investment is made you are “married” to the investors.
– Every startup knows the importance of getting to know your user/customer. But the same kind of logic could also be applied to your investors – by getting to know them and their needs, their perspective and language, you will be able to build a more compelling value proposition to them, and also avoid some of the most common mistakes in your financial design.
– That’s why we have chosen to include the Investment Readiness Process by Beels in DigitalWell Ventures accelerator program, and offer it to all our startups.
Sticky Beat har nominerats till Svenska Designpriset för sitt arbete med Lumeno – en digital följeslagare för suicidprevention och ökad psykisk hälsa. Idén var den första som fick stöd av DigitalWell Arenas innovationssupport – och framgångarna har banat väg för fler entreprenörer.
I genren digitala välfärdstjänster har en app som bland annat ska förhindra suicid en speciell ställning. Marie Niljung, som tillsammans med Filippa Gagnér Jenneteg och Susanne Tell är initiativtagare till tjänsten, säger att ämnet lätt drabbas av beröringsskräck.
Nomineringen till Svenska Designpriset tycker hon är ett kvitto på att Lumeno brutit den barriären.
– Jag vet inte om någon annan än Sticky Beat hade klarat att forma appen så bra, eftersom ämnet är så känsligt. Samtidigt finns risken att man är så rädd för att göra fel att man inte gör någonting alls. Det dör fortfarande fyra personer varje dag i suicid, nu gör vi verkligen något tillsammans för att skapa en förändring, säger Marie Niljung.
Hon beskriver samarbetet med Sticky Beat som magiskt och även för själva innehållet har det gett ett stort mervärde.
– En viktig funktion som de har bidragit med är att användarna kan lämna feedback direkt i appen. 90 procent handlar om att människor har förmedlat vad de känner för Lumeno, med förslag på väldigt konkreta förbättringar. Så vi har verkligen nått fram, säger Marie Niljung.
Sticky Beat har deltagit i utvecklingen sedan prototypfasen. I maj lanserades den första versionen av Lumeno och redan innan årets slut ska en ny version finnas tillgänglig för användarna.
– Nu vet att vi unga människor kan få stöd i Lumeno att hjälpa sig själva. De behöver inte ens surf för att använda den och stödet finns tillgänglig dygnet runt, säger Marie Niljung.
Livskämpar AB, som är företaget bakom Lumeno, var de första entreprenörerna som fick stöd via DigitalWell Arenas innovationssupport. I teamet fanns redan stor kunskap om hur man jobbar med suicidprevention och psykisk hälsa, bland annat via boken ”Handbok för livskämpar”. Däremot var processen att omvandla den kunskapen till en digital tjänst oprövad.
– Det som har varit revolutionerande med innovationssupporten är att vi har kunnat ge stödtjänster och konkreta medel till att skapa prototyper – att pitcha en tjänst som inte finns är svårt. Livskämpars framgångar och driv har bidragit till att vi har vågat stötta fler entreprenörer i tidiga skeden. Vi har sett vilken skillnad ett tidigt stöd kan göra för en driven entreprenör. säger Lina Svensberg, Process Manager på DigitalWell Arena.
Marie Niljung beskriver supporten från DigitalWell Arena som grunden i ett husbygge – och en viktig anledning till att bland andra Vinnova stöttat den fortsatta utvecklingen av appen.
Framgångarna till trots så finns ändå utmaningar kvar att lösa för att nå en bredare målgrupp – och rädda liv.
– Lumeno kommer alltid att vara gratis för användarna och fri från annonser. Än så länge har vi bara nått ut i Värmland och vi behöver fler samarbetspartners som kan hjälpa till med finansieringen. Allra helst ser vi att företag inte bara puttar in pengar, utan också köper vårt utbildningsmaterial om psykisk livräddning. Jag ser det som en säkerhets- och arbetsmiljöfråga, på samma sätt som hjärt- och lungräddning, säger Marie Niljung.
Här kan du rösta på Lumeno i Svenska Designpriset
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