Aarhus made its mark at TechBBQ with startups and investors
Together with Kitchen, Startup Aarhus, Delphinus Venture Capital and City of Aarhus Business, INCUBA brought a strong group of startups and investors from Aarhus to TechBBQ.
From INCUBA Next Level Founder Hub, Cacto Health, Swiiftly, SWIFTtap, Tero Legal, Fusionflow.ai, Retix, Attune, Enya Health and Regulars participated across the two days of the conference. A number of investors also joined us at the stand, where a dedicated Investor Corner made it easy for startups and other participants to engage directly with them.
And there were plenty of conversations.
“People are very open and keen to talk. Some of the conversations go on for quite a while because you really get into the details,” says investor Søren Arnsbo from Arnsbo Group.
One conversation with a startup in particular saw concrete advice about the company’s upcoming funding round open up new perspectives on how to approach its funding journey.
“It was almost as if a whole new world opened up for them in terms of how they could structure their funding round,” he says.
Søren Arnsbo, investor from Arnsbo Group
Investors within easy reach
Direct access to investors was an important part of the Aarhus stand.
Over the two days, visitors could meet investors from EIFO, BII/Accelerace, Founderment, Delphinus Venture Capital, AURA Ventures, Greenwise Invest, Dreamers Collective and Arnsbo Group among others.
The Investor Corner was an integral part of the stand, providing an informal setting where startups could sit down and talk to investors without having to make a formal pitch or schedule a meeting in advance.
For Christian Vinther from Founderment, the opportunity to meet people face to face is one of the valuable aspects of TechBBQ.
“It gives you the opportunity to meet people face to face, and the stand provides a great setting for doing that. At the same time, I’m proud to help showcase what we have in Aarhus,” he says.
Delphinus Venture Capital also used the two days to expand its network and meet startups, other VC funds and relevant people from across the ecosystem.
“We’ve had lots of great conversations with relevant people from the ecosystem. It works really well to have a place where people can clearly see that there’s an investor here and know that they can simply come over and start a conversation,” says Victor from Delphinus Venture Capital.
INCUBA Next Level in miniature
In many ways, the stand became a small-scale demonstration of the thinking behind the INCUBA Next Level Founder Hub and Investor Hub at INCUBA Next in Katrinebjerg.
Here, founders and investors are based side by side, sharing everything from the coffee machine and breakfasts to events and everyday life in the building. One of the aims is to shorten the distance between startups and capital and create more of the informal encounters that can develop into sparring, relationships – and, in some cases, investments.
This was also one of the topics when INCUBA CEO Jacob Doktor Mogensen took part in the panel discussion Behind Every Founder: The Communities Powering Life Science at TechBBQ.
When asked what he was most proud of INCUBA’s community activities having achieved in recent years, his answer was clear: We have shortened the path to investors and the first investment.
The experience from INCUBA Next Level already shows that bringing founders and investors closer together makes a difference. Several investments have grown out of relationships created through the environment and activities surrounding the Founder Hub and Investor Hub.
At TechBBQ, the same principle could be experienced in a condensed format: startups on one side of the stand and investors ready for a conversation just a few steps away.
Fresh perspectives on products and new people to meet
For the startups, TechBBQ was also an opportunity to step outside their everyday environment in the Founder Hub, test their story and product, and meet people they would not necessarily encounter back home in Aarhus.
For Enya Health, the many conversations provided an opportunity to get concrete feedback on both the product and its design. “We’ve talked to lots of different people about the product and received some really useful feedback. It’s valuable to get out there and validate some of our user hypotheses with real people,” says the Enya Health team.
SWIFTtap also used the day to showcase its solution and meet new people.
“It was really great to be at your stand and have the opportunity to showcase SWIFTtap. Thanks for a great day,” says Mads Kramer from SWIFTtap.
Kenneth Bo Jensen, co-founder of Attune, joined TechBBQ through INCUBA Next Level and particularly highlights the value of stepping outside the usual surroundings:
“I joined the INCUBA NEXT accelerator at this year’s TechBBQ, and I would recommend it to anyone! It’s almost like an industry get-together, where you get the chance to meet people you don’t often run into, network with interesting new people and gain a fresh perspective on what you’re working on,” says Kenneth Bo Jensen.
For the companies, participating is therefore about more than visibility. The meetings at TechBBQ can provide new perspectives on products, potential customers and partners – as well as access to investors who may be relevant for the next stage of their journey.
Attune with Max Grünwald, Investment Analyst fra Delphinus Venture Capital
A face for Aarhus
The joint stand was also about showcasing Aarhus as one connected startup ecosystem.
Many visitors were curious about what Aarhus has to offer startups and scaleups – and particularly about the close links between the university, science park, community, capital and business.
That is something DiFacto, which has itself been part of INCUBA Next Level, recognises:
“It was a memorable experience to have the opportunity to represent INCUBA and Aarhus in general. We’ve gained so much from the environment ourselves, so being able to put a face to it is just really cool,” says DiFacto.
After two busy days in Copenhagen, the ambition remains the same back home in Aarhus: To continue shortening the path between startups, knowledge, capital and the people who can help companies move forward.
Thank you to all the startups, investors and visitors who stopped by – and to Kitchen, Startup Aarhus, Delphinus Venture Capital and City of Aarhus Business for another strong joint Aarhus presence at TechBBQ.
