I incorporated my first company in the country of Denmark. However, I am a Bulgarian by origin. Lately, I had the chance to speak with quite a few investors, accelerator representatives, and various other stakeholders from Denmark and around the world. Well, it turns out that one of the most provocative questions that I received is why I didn’t start my company in my home country. The goal of this article is to provide a brief answer and also to share the perspective of a foreigner on the matter.
1. Location
According to Forbes, “The Nordic region has become an attractive geography for venture capital investment”. To be more specific, Denmark has been identified as a #1-country in the following two categories “Best Countries To Start a Company” and “Corruption Perceptions Index”. Also, when it comes to R&D and Innovation, Denmark is being ranked 5th in the world sitting right next to countries like Switzerland, USA, and Finland.
Why is it important: location matters for all kind of businesses to some extent. In my case, I had to get my feet wet with the Nordic market’s characteristics mainly because of our go-to-market strategy needs and customer profile insights.
2. Standard of living
Inspired by the highly-praised facts that I found, conducting a standard of living check-up was what came next. Oddly enough, I was not really surprised about what my research validated. The standardized monthly earnings in Denmark in 2014 was almost 39,000 DKK.
Why is it important: knowing the solvency specifics of our potential client is indeed valuable when filtering out who our customer is and who – is not. Also, this had helped us better determine our product’s pricing strategy.
3. Well-developed ecosystem
It turns out that in Denmark there is a plethora of investors, experienced business practitioners, and leaders who work synchronously. For instance, take a look at that database that I spotted while looking for some more info. Isn’t that all I needed to get psyched about Denmark’s ecosystem?!….
Why is it important: I came to realize that not everyone (even the locals) could tell me whom I may turn to advice when in need. So, I decided to better do my homework and explore the ecosystem and the opportunities that it provides.
4. Education
As being a life-long learner myself, Denmark is like a heaven to me when it comes to education. Free, easily-accessible, high-leveled educational system available to all. Period.
Why is it important: universities are usually the best source of skillful talent. Therefore, universities in Denmark = recruitment made easy.
Instead of conclusion, I would like to mention that neither one of this factors by itself, but the combination of all is what drove me to come, see, experience, and make the final call on where shall I start my entrepreneurial endeavors. So, here I am; struggling, developing, and learning hard in order to deliver value and prosper along with my like-minded teammates.
Lyubomir Hristev
Employment
New Venture Creation specialist | Business Designer @ Berger Neurorobotics
What is your best entrepreneurial advice?
Learn how to read data and eventually, make sense out of it. Gut feeling and intuition is definitely nice-to-have but nonetheless, unnecessary for initial success.
