Accelerating startups

Silicon Valley visits Denmark in February

In February 2012, SCALEit will host two startup events: 1 in Copehagen and 1 in Århus. To stir things up a bit, we have invited successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and mentors to inspire Danish entrepreneurial minds to think bigger, build clever - and scale faster!

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Are you an experienced or aspiring entrepreneur? A student who needs new input for your studies? Or perhaps just looking to feed that entrepreneurial spirit by learning a thing or two about integrating best practices and new ideas to a startup. Then this event is for you - so come out and greet us!

Let us know if you want to join one of our SCALEit workshops by signing up below - and we will let you know when early bird tickets become available!

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Until then, here are some inspiring links you should check out
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	Scalable Business Ideas What is a scalable idea - and why should I worry about this subject?In the world of venture capital, 90 out of 100 business plans are rejected citing lack of scalability, and questions hovering around scaling. So what is scalability and why is necessary to attract VCs? In this session we will discuss successful cases. What made them scale? What was the core of the idea? And how do you build a scalable startup? When are you building a startup and not just a FNAC? Work with your idea Dont waste your time: Fail Fast, Fail Often, And Fail By Design Scale needs investment. Is your idea fundable?

	Have a Precise Summary! An executive summary is a quick overview. The purpose of this document is to summarize the key points and assets of your startup to stakeholders to save them time and spur interest . This type of document is crucial for the entrepreneur who are in the market for partners and investors. A strong one-page executive summary can be your key to the next meeting… *What to include - and what NOT* to include! 1 page, really? Yes, really. Less is more! Get feedback on your business assumptions**
Build Clever - There are No Facts in the Building! Customer Development is about testing your startup’s hypothesis to validate the product and market fit. To build a strong validation, these two questions should be at the core of your hypothesis and Customer Development testing:1. Does my product/service as specified solve a problem or a need that customers have?2. Is my solution compelling enough that they want to buy it or use it today?These, and many others questions, can be solved when working with customer development. Buy and read this book! Business Model Canvas Are you a Danish startup with a successful customer development story? Tell us and we will feature you!

To share the world’s entrepreneurial epicenter with you, SCALEit will arrange a one-week SCALEit Camp to the Silicon Valley for Danish startups. We want to give all of you Danish entrepreneurs a thorough introduction to the ecosystem that is the Valley, and inspire you on how to scale your startup and prepare for global markets.
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During the week, you’ll learn the perfect elevator pitch, use the pitch on stage in front of Silicon Valley’s startup scene, get feedback from outstanding Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, go-to-market experts and startup mentors , meet ‘n greet some of the valley’s tech giants and basically grow a valuable network to help your startup scale. The program of the week will be much similar to the one we helt in June 2011.

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We accept up to 20 startups (2 people per company) per SCALEit Camp for a price of DKK 10.000. The price includes the program, events and all transportation during the week.

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Next SCALEit Camp is in April/May 2012. Sign up here and we’ll let you know when we call for applications. In the meantime, here are some insights to what will happen during the week!

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	Pitch workshop with the legendary Bill Joos: *Build the perfect Elevator Pitch* Bill Joos is THE guy who can teach everyone to give a catchy, concise and compelling pitch that will make people stop and listen. and we promise you’ll have fun learning from Bill. Don’t believe us - check out this video.
Feedback from Silicon Valley Advisors We have a great advisor team with SCALEit that will give you their two cents on how your startup can succeed. The feedback session will focus on product development, value proposition, business plan etc…
	Scale Sessions with Jeff Sneider How to Lean Your Startup Using Silicon Valley to globalize your startup proven models and how they work Debugging your business model
Visit tech giants of Silicon Valley They are all here: Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and many, many more. During the week, you’ll get to cross some of them of your list and start a great network in the valley.[/toggler]
	Next step in Silicon Valley We’ll make sure to introduce to incubator programs, lawyers, valuable mentors, Danish successful entrepreneurs etc. who can help you plan the next steps for world domination!

SCALEit Accelerator is a 12 week program designed to accelerate Danish companies with potential for global growth. The program will give up to 10 promising Danish tech companies a smooth entrance to the hotspot of Silicon Valley by helping them setup a US presence, create strategies for the US market and become investor ready. We will give these companies the best possibilities for scaling their business and optimizing their business model for entering both the US market, and aim the companies for competition on the global markets!
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The ambition level is high, and the goal is to, in just 12 weeks, get to a conclusion on whether these companies can make it or break it in Silicon Valley.

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During the 12 week intensive program, the Danish companies will get help answering and act on key questions like: What is my go-to-market strategy for the US market, what are my options for funding the further development of my business, which corporate setup am I to use in the US, which key partners am I to engage with?

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During the 12 weeks we’ll work with you to achieve the following:

Setup your US presence
Build and act on your US go-to-market strategy
Obtain a priceless Silicon Valley Network
Become investor ready - and start finding them!
Meet with potential clients and strategic partners - and get ready to close deals!
Prepare for establishing a Danish-US company setup

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		Why Silicon Valley? Silicon Valley is one of the best places on earth to start and build a technology company. Entrepreneurs from the United States and all over the world come here to turn their dreams into reality. The area has a well established ecosystem of investors, serial entrepreneurs, exit opportunities and experienced service providers who all work with one goal in mind; to create successful, global enterprises often from “2 guys in a garage”. This recipe gives fantastic opportunities to scale technology startups. Read more here!
12 weeks in Silicon Valley SCALEit Accelerator is from April 2nd to June 29th, 2012 Application deadline is February 1st, 2012
		Accelerate Your Startup Scheduled mentoring, fixed plans and focus on the important things, will give you a 10 hours a week program with us. The remaining 40-50 hours you can focus on your work, networking, making it happen and play smarter! Check out an outline of the proposed 12 week program here
Engaged Investors and advisors Leading investors - angel, venture capital and strategic advisors - are actively involved in the program. They will be mentoring, running workshops, helping you with presentations and preparing you for pitching at our investor days.
		Mentoring A mentor corps of three experienced Silicon Valley professionals will support each team, including; a Silicon Valley veteran, an industry expert and a lean mentor. Both before and during your stay in the Valley, mentors will be focusing on:- Business Model Validation Prioritizing and planning your time effective Culture and team building Preparing for and meet potential customers, partners and investers Learn more about the mentor program here
Business Model Validation A large part of the program is centered around customer development and lean thinking. In weekly workshops we will work with the participating companies to build ‘lean companies’. We will be using the Business Model Canvas platform to map out key areas in each companies’ business strategy.
WHAT? Validate your assumptions in your business model Ensure product and market fit Lower risk and increase your chances for success significantly	HOW? Customer Development Methodology Business Model Canvas Mentor Monday Sessions Effective office hours Read these materials
		Preparing for raising capital Building a company with returns on a global market, may very well be a play that includes funding for agressive scaling.
		WHAT? Learn the basics of raising capital in Silicon Valley Understand norms, term sheets, structures and processes Build a strong pitch Prepare for Investor Days Raise the right amount of money, from the right investor, on the right terms	HOW? Wednesday Lessons from VCs and entrepreneurs Workshops We will organize at least 2 formal Investor Days (after 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 months)
Legal Assistance During the program we will ensure that all teams get face time with lawyers to answer questions you may have. This time can be spent on ensuring that your company is properly equipped to engage and trade in the US market. Specific topics for this 1on1 time can be incorporation, term sheets, IP/patents etc.
		Office Space - in Networked Environments! The teams will be working from incubator and co-working spaces housing many other startups. We have office space options in San Francisco (RocketSpace & Nextspace), Mountain View (Hacker Dojo) and Sunnyvale (Plug and Play). You get to pick where you want to be! Open collaborative workspaces Workstations Meeting rooms High speed wireless Printers, copier, fax
Long term US Presence! Having presence or at least a mailing address in Silicon Valley is often key to attracting customers and partners. To local investors presence it is essential as they invest in familiar business structures (usually a Delaware Corporation) and companies they can drive to. As part of the SCALEit package we will help you establish presence in the United States and offer you the following for one year from the day you arrive in Silicon Valley: A virtual mailing address in the heart of Silicon Valley Access to meeting facilities (Innovation Center Denmark)
		Prep Workshop in Denmark To ensure that our participating companies are ready to hit the ground running when arriving in Silicon Valley, we want to prepare the participants. A three-day preparation workshop will be held in Copenhagen on March 5-7, 2012. This workshop is organized by us, executed by Silicon Valley experts and will include the following: A Customer Development workshop Work with customer development at a tailored workshop Prepare market material (business plan, executive summary and pitch) Team readiness Growth and execution plan The Silicon Valley culture The ecosystem and your fit
Networking Silicon Valley! Building a scalable company is obviously hard work, but to really make it happen in Silicon Valley, you also have to be outgoing and constantly out there networking, meeting people, facing clients and hunting investors. There are events to go to all day, every day in Silicon Valley and we of course have numerous events included in the program, to make sure you will be constantly action oriented throughout your stay. Join industry specific events Go to events on relevant topics, e.g. pitching, term sheets, strategic partnerships etc. Participate in large Silicon Valley conferences, e.g. Web 2.0, Launch Silicon Valley etc. Investor Days Public bi-weekly SCALEit meet-up
		Value propositions Market! Prepare your company to fit a large organic market Plug & Play model - come to the valley - be prepared - work focused! Network! You are not coming alone. You are connected from day one! Mentors. Experienced people with expert skill sets is on your side Capital access. 1/3 of the worlds venture capital is here. Seeking money? No equity! Unlike most accelerators, we don’t take a percentage of your company

SCALEit is a global growth program for Danish startups initiated by Innovation Center Denmark and executed in a partnership with Yggdrasil.me. With great passion for Danish entrepreneurship, the goal is to immerse Danish high tech companies to the world’s entrepreneurial capital: Silicon Valley. By creating a bridge to this unique ecosystem, the program will accelerate young Danish companies with a focus on improving their international competitiveness and create worldwide growth. We believe in the huge potential of the Danish startup scene, and our motivation is to see more of these startups become Danish growth companies on global markets.
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SCALEit is designed to enable and support a wide selection of talent in the Danish entrepreneurial environments. Over three years SCALEit aims to involve more than 1,000 Danish entrepreneurs, while providing up to 100 Danish technology companies the option of either one week or a three month stay in Silicon Valley. In the first cycle we focus on IT - with options to head for Cleantech, Lifescience and Pharma.
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We focus on small Danish technology companies in the size of 5-20 employees - usually with sales on national or regional markets. We are looking to work with companies that are product oriented - not service oriented. For us, the difference is that revenues of product oriented companies may not be (approximately) linear to the operating expenses (e.g. personnel). We seek product companies that sell 10 units a month with the potential of selling 1000 units without a linear increase in expenses. That’s scalability to us.
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Growth rocket for Danish companies
The SCALEit program is a multistage scale rocket that makes it possible for entrepreneurs at all stages to attend. The program follows three steps; a workshop in Denmark, a one-week intro camp in Silicon Valley and a three-months accelerator program also in the valley. Each step will refine and qualify the companies to accelerate through Silicon Valley and become global growth companies. But one size doesn’t fit all! Some companies are more mature than other, which is why participants don’t have to follow steps chronologically. If your company is ready to commit to three months, we are ready to have you.

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Our purpose
We have one solemn goal: Create easy and fruitful access to Silicon Valley for Danish high tech startups - seemingly and focused from day 1. We want startups to succeed and scale in the US with long term relations to Denmark.

Take The Tour

Silicon Valley visits Denmark in February